An Inside Out Psalm

Thanks very much, Stephanie. Good afternoon, everyone. Really good to have you with us today.

Particularly, I know there are quite a number of visitors here. You're very, very welcome at our service today.

So we're looking at Psalm 92 today. We've been going through some of the Psalms in what's known as Book 4 of the Psalms,

starting at Psalm 90 and going on from there. And I've called today's Psalm an Inside Out Psalm.

One of the most popular animated films of recent years was the film Inside Out.

I'm not a film goer, so I've read about it rather than seen it.

But I understand it's about an 11-year-old girl and it's about her emotions,

which are all shown as being characters, as you can see up there on the screen.

And this 11-year-old girl moves house. She goes to a big city, I think it's San Francisco.

And her emotions get all muddled and she feels she can't be sad, so sadness gets pushed out.

And for a while she finds it really difficult, until in the end she realises that her emotions are very important,

even sadness is an emotion that has value.

And as she gets her brain sorted out, if you like, as she gets her insights sorted out,

so she's able to adapt to her new circumstances in a new city.

Now I apologise to those who've seen the film, that's not a very good representation,

but that's what I took from it.

And it emphasises to us, I think, that what is inside, what is in our heads, if you like,

it is vitally important in the way that we react to the world around us, what is outside, inside, out.

If we get the inside right, if our thoughts and our attitudes are right,

then it's a lot easier to cope with what's outside.

And that was one of the great things I took from this psalm,

that if we can get what's inside right, particularly if we can get our relationship with God right,

then it's a lot easier to cope with things that happen in the world around us.

That's one reason why we called it an inside out psalm.

There's a second reason as well.

If you look at the psalm, if you've got it in front of you, look at the structure of the verses,

you'll see that most of the verses have two lines in them.

So verses 1 to 6 and verses 10 to 15 at the end all have two lines in them.

There are then two verses that have three lines, verses 7 and 9.

And then there's one verse in the middle that only has one line.

And you look at that and think that must be a really important verse.

It's only got one line and it's right in the middle of the structure.

And it is, it's the key to the whole psalm.

And it's, you, Lord, are exalted forever.

I think it said, you, Lord, are forever exalted in the version it's definitely read.

So it's a verse that's about God and about how great he is.

And when we come to understand that, and when we see that verse,

we can look at the rest of the psalm and we see some of the difficulties the psalmist faces.

We see the enemies that are against him.

And we also see that at the end he's able to praise God and even to be fruitful as he gets older.

But it's that verse in the middle, you, Lord, are exalted forever.

That is the key to understanding it.

When we have the inside right, when we have a right attitude and right relationship with God,

and we have him in first place in our lives, then everything else falls into place.

This psalm, again, if you go back, you notice at the beginning it says it's a psalm for the Sabbath day.

Now it's entirely clear why it's a psalm for the Sabbath day,

but perhaps it is because it talks about God and his works and how good they are.

And of course, God in the seventh day and the Sabbath day he rested,

and he was able to look back at how good his works were.

And he was able, as the exalted God and king, to say that they were good.

And we can look at it and we can say, too, God's works are good.

So that may be why it's a Sabbath psalm.

Let me just rearrange the verses a bit and we'll look at how we're going to go through it this morning.

Again, I'm going to be straight for a verse.

We're going to go from right to left on this diagram.

So we're going to start with the verses in the middle about God being exalted.

And I'm going to say that that is about believing in God.

Believing in who God is.

And that is the starting point for the rest of the psalm.

We have the verses round about it.

There's four verses there which I say are about trusting in God.

In these verses, the psalmist talks a bit about his enemies and God's enemies and how, as someone who trusts in God, he is strong.

He talks about having a horn like an ox.

And he is able to stand up to all the difficulties.

And then the outer shell of the psalm, if you like, is about rejoicing in God.

There's some great verses at the beginning about music and about singing.

And then at the end, the psalmist talks about how even in old age, it's possible to be fruitful and to be like a palm tree or a cedar tree if our trust is in God.

So we're going to start with believing in God.

We're then going to think about trusting in God, which comes from believing in God.

And then we're going to think about rejoicing in God, which is the result of trusting in God and of seeing his goodness.

So believing in God is just the one verse.

And it's about God being, as said, eternally exalted.

You, Lord, are forever exalted.

And like what here in his translation says that God defines exaltedness.

You are the definition of exaltedness.

And that's perhaps a good way to put it.

We need to start by recognizing what a great and what an awesome God we have.

And in particular, when it talks about God being exalted, I think what it means is that God is in control of everything.

And that God ultimately is the judge of everything.

The psalmist looks around him, and we'll come to this in a minute.

He looks around him and sees a lot of people who have no interest in God.

And he's wondering, why do they seem to do well?

But it comes to the conclusion, God is exalted.

God is all-powerful.

And therefore, God will judge righteously.

And ultimately, good will be seen to do right.

God is eternally exalted because he is the creator.

He is the sustainer of the universe.

And he is the one who is all-wise and who is all-good and who deserves all our praises.

And so the psalmist begins by stating his belief in God that God is eternally exalted.

Now, the psalmist, of course, only had bits of the Old Testament, only a partial understanding of what we understand about God today.

And I look at a verse like this, and I think as we look at God the Father, the Lord of the psalmist being exalted,

we also need to look at the Lord Jesus as the one who is exalted.

You may well know Philippians chapter 2, where it talks about the Lord Jesus humbling himself, becoming obedient even to death on a cross.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And then it says, therefore God has highly exalted him.

So the Lord Jesus now has been put in that place of the highest honor and the highest authority.

Jesus himself said, all authority has been given to me.

And Paul talks about Jesus as the one who will judge the world in righteousness.

So when we think about the God being eternally exalted, we also think about the Lord Jesus who has been exalted because of his death on the cross

and is the one now who has authority, the one who will judge, the one who is eternally exalted.

And as we start from that point in the psalm, then we can move on and we can think about, well, what are the implications of that for me?

And that's where the psalmist talks about trusting in God.

So you're following your Bible, now looking at verses 5 to 7 and verses 9 to 11.

And I've said that 5 to 7 are about God's deep thoughts and 9 to 11 are about God's decisive actions.

So verse 5, the psalmist says, how great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts.

The psalmist recognizes, as we should too, what a great, wise, all-knowing God we have,

and someone who knows much better than we ever could what is good and what is right for us,

and who thankfully is ultimately in control of all things.

But then he thinks, look at all these people round about me.

There are lots of people in the world who really have no thought of God.

Doesn't mean they're not intelligent.

He calls them senseless and fools.

Doesn't mean they've not got good brains and they're not intelligent people,

but they just can't see how great God is and how good it is to worship him and to live for him.

Now, the psalmist saw that all these thousands of years ago, how true it is also today.

An awful lot of people in our world who have no time for God who would say there is no God.

And the Bible describes people like that as being fools.

However intelligent they may be, however good they may be at doing things in human terms,

as they don't see the greatness of God,

then the psalmist says they're senseless.

They're fools.

They don't understand.

God has revealed himself to us.

He's revealed himself through creation.

He's revealed himself through the Bible.

He's revealed himself through Jesus.

And for some people that just means nothing.

And the Bible says, well, they're senseless.

They're ignoring something that's really important.

And yet in our world, often these are the people who seem to do well and to earn respect.

And the psalmist says, yes, that's true.

We're verse 7 now.

Yes, that's true.

They spring up like grass.

They flourish.

But ultimately, they don't prevail.

If they ignore God, ultimately there are consequences for that.

They're like the grass that springs up today and it's gone tomorrow.

They don't understand God and his deep thoughts.

And then verses 9 to 11 talk about how God's deep thoughts translate into decisive actions.

So again, the psalmist is thinking about evildoers,

but he's thinking particularly about those who are his enemies.

Now, I think we would take his enemies as also being God's enemies in this context.

The psalmist is saying, I'm a man of God.

Here are people who are opposed to me.

And he would also be saying, they're opposed to God.

So he talks about them as your enemies in verse 9.

And he talks about them as my adversaries in verse 11.

And he says, these people who ignore God, there are going to be consequences for that.

If you ignore God and want to do away with him and with his standards and with his rule,

then ultimately you will be judged for that.

They will perish, he says.

They will be scattered.

And that's kind of sobering reminder that those who reject God in this life

will have to face them in eternity.

And that they will be judged for the fact that they have rejected God

and that they have rejected Jesus.

But says the psalmist, as part of your decisive action

is dealing with my enemies and your enemies,

but it is also giving me good things

as you are the God of heaven and you want what is best for me.

And that's in verse 10.

You have exalted my horn like that.

The ox is one of the strongest beasts in the Holy Land,

particularly strong because of its horns.

It is able to defend itself against anything that comes against it

by using its horns.

And the horn that the psalmist talks about here

speaks of strength that comes from God

and it speaks of being able to withstand

even the most evil people

and the worst plans that they may make against him.

And alongside that,

he talks about fine oils being poured on me.

Now, oil was used in the Bible for anointing,

for anointing priests and kings and so on.

It was also used as something that would refresh you,

that would give you joy,

and that would help you to keep going in your life.

Now, I think that's probably what is being talked about here.

So he's got the strength like the ox,

the horn like the ox,

in being able to stand up to those who oppose him

and oppose God.

But he's also got these fine oils being poured on him,

so he's not just feeling all the time oppressed

and under pressure.

He's also refreshed by God

and by everything that God does for him.

God acts in the psalmist situation

to work things for his good

and to ensure that justice is done.

As we think about deep thoughts and decisive actions,

looking at it from a 21st century,

from a post-Christ perspective,

we need to look back on Jesus

and think how it applies to him.

The deep thoughts that God had

about how we who were rebels against God,

who went our own way,

who had nothing that would please God in us,

how could we be brought back,

how could we get forgiveness

for all the wrong we've done.

And God, in his great wisdom,

made his plan,

and he took decisive action

as he sent his son, Jesus,

into the world to be our saviour.

To go to the cross at Calvary

and there to take the punishment that was due to us

so that all those who put their trust in him

can know that they have forgiveness for sins

and can have a real relationship with God.

God's deep thoughts and his decisive actions.

And we need then to look at these and say,

I want to trust in God.

I want to recognise my failure before God

and I want to come to him

and to put my trust in him

in the Lord Jesus as my saviour.

So we believe in God

and we believe in who he is and his greatness

and then we trust in him,

particularly trust in Jesus

for all he's done for us.

And finally, we can then rejoice in God.

Two thoughts here as well.

Verses 1 to 4,

I call constant praise.

And then verses 12 to 15,

I've called consistent growth.

1 to 4 is about music.

Isn't music wonderful?

Great to come to church on a Sunday morning

and to sing these great songs together

of praising God and praising Jesus.

Great too if during the week

we can be singing and playing if we're musical

or listening to music that praises God

and that exalts him.

And the psalmist says that is a good thing to do.

It is good for us to praise God.

That's why he's created us

so that we can enjoy him

and we can appreciate him

and we can bring our praise to him

for all that he's done for us.

Psalmist says we should do it in the morning

and at night.

In other words, we should do it all the time.

Our lives should be a kind of symphony

of praise to God.

And he pictures first the musical instruments.

10-string lyre.

Lyre is normally a four or five string.

So I think of a 10-string lyre

as being a bit like a 12-string guitar.

So it's a bit more substantial

than a normal guitar.

Perhaps it makes a slightly louder noise.

It gives us the chance to really let go

and to celebrate what God has done.

And then alongside that,

you have the melody of the harp.

The harp quieter, more reflective.

Again, for many of us,

a good way to praise God

just to be reflective and to be quiet

as we think about him.

Both have a place in our worship,

in our music,

in our praise of God.

And then, of course, there's singing.

Verse 4,

You've made me glad by your deeds.

I sing for joy

at what your hands have done.

It is good for us to praise God.

And we should come together

on a Sunday morning

and as we praise together,

we should be enjoying

thinking about our God,

thinking about Jesus

and all that he has done for us

and worshipping him together.

And what should we be thinking about?

What should be the theme of our praise?

Well, verse 2 says

it's God's love

and his faithfulness.

Verse 4 says

it's his deeds.

So we're focusing on God.

Now, we're focusing on God

in relation to what he's done for us,

but very important

that in our singing

we're not just focused on me

and am I enjoying this

and is this something

that's of value to me.

We're focused on God

and we're focused on all that he is

and all that he has done for us.

And if our hymns,

if our songs together

exalt and glorify God

and glorify Jesus,

then it is good for us

to be praising like that

and that is pleasing to our God.

Never think of worship songs

as just something that we come and do

almost as wrote

or just fillers in the service.

They are a great opportunity

for us to bring together

collectively our praise

and our adoration of our God.

And they should be

not just on a Sunday morning

but throughout the week.

We should be making music

in our hearts.

Some are better,

more musical than others.

All of us can do it

in our hearts at least.

We should be making music

in our hearts to God

as we reflect on all the good things

that he has done for us.

So that's constant praise.

And then at the end of the psalm,

there's one of the reasons

why we should praise God constantly.

I call that consistent growth.

The picture here is of trees.

Two types of trees.

There's the palm tree

and there's the cedar of Lebanon.

Palm tree is probably the date palm

which would be the most common

in the lands of the Bible.

So a great source of food,

of nourishment for people

and a real presence among them.

Palm trees grow to an enormous height.

They live for many hundreds of years

and again and again

they keep producing fruit

even as they get older.

Cedars of Lebanon also

were very tall trees,

very imposing,

very majestic,

but they were particularly valued

for the quality of their wood.

So they provided really good wood

and they were particularly used

by the people.

And the psalmist said,

if we trust in God,

we can have the characteristics

of these trees.

We can be fruitful.

We can be useful.

We can,

even in old life,

in old age,

we can continue

to be productive

for God.

But particularly,

he says,

that happens

when we're planted

in the house of the Lord.

Verse 13,

plant in the house of the Lord,

they will flourish

in the courts of our God.

Now,

palm trees and cedar trees

can flourish perfectly well

in the wild,

but the psalmist here

is thinking of those

that are in the courts

of the temple

that people will see

as they come to worship God.

They've been transplanted,

if you like,

and they're now

in the place

where God is.

And of course,

when we think of ourselves

as being a bit like trees,

that is true of us

as well.

We have been transplanted.

We have been taken

from the state

that we once were in.

We have come to know Jesus

and we have been changed

and we are now

in the place

where God is

and we are able

to grow

in his presence.

And so says the psalmist,

these trees,

they bear fruit

in old age

and so can we

if we are trusting

in God.

We can bear fruit,

we can stay fresh

and green,

we can still be productive.

Older people in church

are a wonderful blessing

to those of us

who are younger.

I'm not really carrying

myself in the younger ones

these days

but younger than some.

But for those

who are younger,

older people

can be a real blessing.

Those who have been

walking with God

for many years

and who have

a great wisdom

and great experience

to pass on

in the Christian life

and who very often

are those

who are most faithful

in prayer

for the work

of the church

even if they're not

always able

to be very actively

involved in it.

As a church

it's very important

that we value,

that we treasure

those who are older

in the faith,

those who have

all these years

of experience

and of loving God

behind them.

If we are older

it's important

that we stay fruitful.

Now old age

does bring

its problems.

We're not able

to do as much

as perhaps we used to

or as we would

like to.

And for some older people

they can be feeling

I'd really like to do more

but I'm not able

to.

But even though

our bodies

may be fading away

yet our spirits

can be constantly

renewed

and can be constantly

rejoicing

before God.

And it's very important

if we are older

that we don't become

grumpy old men

or grumpy old women.

That we look at

what's happening

and we say

well that's not really

the way I would have done it

that's not the way

it was done in my day

and so I'm not really

very happy

about it.

It is wonderful

when you see older people

and there are quite a number

in this church

you see older people

and they see things

changing

and they see God

working

and they rejoice

in it.

they're not there

just to criticise

and to put younger

people down

they're there

to encourage them

and to build them

up in their faith

and to continue

to bear fruit

in their old age

as they encourage

the younger ones

as they pray for them

as they continue

to form

the bedrock

of the church.

Older people

are a wonderful

privilege for us

to have among us

as a church

and as we get older

so important

that we remain fresh

and keep that confidence

in God

and look at him

at work

and even if it's not

the way we might have

done it

still to rejoice

when God

is moving

among us

and to proclaim

as it says

in verse 15

the Lord is upright

he is my rock

there is no

wickedness

in him.

So where we start

in the middle

of the psalm

actually is reflected

right at the end

of the psalm

in the testimony

that we have

about God.

The God who is exalted

who is high

above all things

he also is

our rock

and we know

that he will always

do what is right

because in him

is no wickedness.

Everything he does

everything he thinks

is for our good

and he acts

and rules

with justice.

So we believe

in God

we believe

in who he is

we understand

his greatness

believe in his

son the Lord Jesus

we trust in him

we have a confidence

in him

and the knowledge

that he will

reveal ultimately

even at times

if it seems

that those

who are godless

are prevailing

in our world

we can trust God

and have confidence

in him

if we know him

and then we're able

to rejoice in God

whether we're young

or whether we're old

we can rejoice

in song

we can rejoice

too

as we see God

at work

among us.

As I put it

the heading of the slide

there

our God reigns

and we can

enjoy his presence

here

with us.

Let me finish

with some more

botany trees.

Most trees

if you cut

their trunks

in pieces

and get a cross

section

look something

like that

that's I think

an oak tree

but many trees

are like that

they have rings

and you can tell

a lot about

the history

of the tree

and the history

of the seasons

of the years

by looking at

the rings

and by seeing

how big they are

and how they've

been formed

and so on

and each year

a new ring

is created

because the

life of the tree

if you like

the bit that is

creating new life

is the bit

around the outside

and the tree

adds more

and more

layers

to it.

Palm trees

are a bit

different

we were thinking

about palm trees

earlier

palm trees

are a bit

different

they might

look a bit

more like

that

there aren't

the rings

because palm trees

don't grow

in the same way

as other trees

where other trees

grow around the outside

and add extra layers

to themselves

palm trees

kind of grow

from the inside

they kind of push out

and they grow

in that kind of way

now that creates

some practical

differences

if you were

to tie

a piece of

wire around

a tree

perhaps for a

washing or

something like

that

if you tied

it around

an oak tree

then what would

be likely to

happen

would be that

the tree

would grow

over the wire

so in a while

it would look

as if the wire

was coming out

of the tree

and you wouldn't

actually see

the bit

that was around

the tree

because it would

have been

covered by the

bark

and so on

if you did

that with a

palm tree

and tied a

wire around it

the tree would

grow out

and eventually

the wire would

snap

because the

growth is coming

from the inside

rather than

outside

rather than

over what

was there

already

what good

does that do

for trees

well if you

have a palm

tree

they can grow

in the most

difficult of

circumstances

they can grow

in situations

where there are

hurricanes and

there are typhoons

and there are

lots of things

which if a

normal tree

came up against

them it would

just snap

because the

core is hard

the outside

is soft

and as we

see when there

are storms

in this country

very often

trees fall

down or

they break

palm trees

on the other

hand have

that inner

strength

and although

they may bend

although they

may look as

if they're

going to fall

they have that

strength

throughout them

they have that

elasticity

and in the

worst of

circumstances

they will

prevail

because from

the inside

out

they are

strong

and that I

think is the

message of

this psalm

if we are

strong from

the inside

out

then whatever

the circumstances

in life

then we can

prevail in

them

if we have

that relationship

with God

as the core

of our lives

and we truly

do recognize

him as the

one who's

exalted

and have our

trust in him

then whatever

the circumstances

of life

we may bend

we may struggle

at times life

is hard

but it can't

break us

because we

have that

inner strength

through our

relationship

with God

so the question

this morning

is do we

have that

relationship

ourselves

do I have

that personal

relationship

and trust

in God

and if I do

then I can

depend on it

and I can

rejoice in it

I can sing

his praises

and even as

I get older

even as my

body is

perhaps failing

yet my

spirit can

be constantly

renewed

and like

that tree

that remains

fruitful

even in old

age

I can continue

to be productive

and to serve

God

let's all

be like that

make sure

we're trusting

in God

and then

be fruitful

in our praise

and our

service

for him

let's pray

together

and we're going

to pray

using the words

of a hymn

since we've been

thinking a bit

but hymns this

morning a hymn

written by

Timothy Dudley

Smith based

on the latter

verse of this

psalm

so let's pray

let this prayer

O Lord

be granted

may we live

and grow

fruitful trees

that God

has planted

where the

waters flow

when the

storms of life

assail us

let our roots

be found

firm in hope

that will not

fail us

deep

in hallowed

ground

word of God

to teach

and nourish

love of God

to tend

grant us

in your course

to flourish

fruitful

to the end

then in Christ

our sins

forgiven

God who

loves to bless

calls us

to the life

of heaven

trees

of righteousness

Amen