Psalm 115

Well read and treasured in your heart, and turn with me to Psalm 115.

Before I read, let me remind you that this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name,

give glory for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness.

Why should the nations say, where is their God?

Our God is in the heavens. He does all that He pleases.

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak, eyes, but do not see.

They have ears, but do not hear, noses, but do not smell.

They have hands, but do not feel.

They have feet, but do not walk.

And they do not make a sound in their throat.

Those who make them become like them.

So do all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust in the Lord.

He is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord.

He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord.

He is their help and their shield.

The Lord has remembered us.

He will bless us.

He will bless the house of Israel.

He will bless the house of Aaron.

He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.

May the Lord give you increase, you and your children.

May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth.

The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.

The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence.

But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.

This is one of the psalms sung by the Jews at the feast of the Passover.

Which likely means that it was sung by our Lord on the night that he was betrayed and arrested.

It is not certain who or at what time this psalm was penned.

And therefore I'll refer to its writer as the psalmist from here on.

But we can, however, see from its contents that the occasion for its writing is summed up in the question of verse 2.

Why should the nation say, where is their God?

It would seem that God's people have once again found themselves afflicted.

And the psalmist implores God to make himself known for the sake of his name.

In the midst of their suffering, whatever that was, whatever the occasion was.

The psalmist does not wish that God's people would be given glory.

That their name would be made great.

But that God would be given glory.

That he would be beheld as the loving and faithful God that he is.

The psalmist writes in verse 1,

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

The psalmist pleads with God to act.

Not on any merit of God's people as they have none.

But rather on the merit of God's character and zeal for his own glory.

John Calvin in writing concerning verse 1 of Psalm 115 said,

This is a point to which we ought carefully to attend.

That altogether, unworthy as we are of God's regard,

we may cherish the hope of being saved by him.

From the respect that he has for the glory of his name.

And from his having adopted us on condition of never forsaking us.

The psalmist answers the question,

Where is there God?

With confident and holy derision in verse 3.

He writes,

Our God is in the heavens.

He does all that he pleases.

God is in a place where he cannot be seen.

But all of his loving kindness and faithfulness toward mankind can be seen.

And he does all that he pleases.

What an astounding statement that is.

What a limitless statement.

Our God does all that he pleases.

If God wills that something should happen, it happens.

If he does not intend for something to happen, it will not happen.

Beloved, this reality is such a comfort to the afflicted church.

The church militant.

Nothing happens apart from God's providence.

Nothing.

We worship the one true and living God.

There are no other gods.

And the psalmist is going to show us the futility of worshiping any other than our God.

But before we consider verses 4 and following,

I want to show you something about the structure of Psalm 115.

We've looked at verses 1 through 3 in brief.

Verse 1.

The psalmist makes an appeal for God himself to glorify himself.

For him to act in a way that brings his name honor.

In verse 2, we see this expression of wickedness.

The wicked, the nations say, where is your God?

And in verse 3, we see a declaration of God's place, where he is.

He's in the heavens and of his power.

He's sovereign.

He does whatever he pleases.

Now look at verses 16, 17, and 18.

We find these three points made in verses 1, 2, and 3 in reverse in verses 16, 17, and 18

with some small variations.

In verse 16, so track me backwards,

we see a declaration of God's place.

The heavens are God's heavens.

With the addition of man's place, right?

It's granted to him by God.

So man is in the earth.

The earth has been given to man.

In verse 17, we see.

In verse 2, the wicked ask this wicked question.

Here we see that they do not worship God at all.

In no way at all do they worship God.

And then verse 18, in verse 1,

there is an appeal for God to glorify himself.

But in verse 18, we see that God's people are meant to,

are created to, ascribe glory to God in the praise of him.

So you see how it's reflexive in that way.

So in verses 1 through 3, we see the sovereignty of God

bringing about the praise of his name.

And in verses 16 through 18, we see, as God's people,

our image-bearing responsibility to do the same.

There is much talk today about finding God's purpose for your life.

Here it is in this text.

That we would bring him great glory.

That we would leverage all that we have and do

in order to show God more as he is.

You are never more as God intended you to be

than when you are working in his strength

for the praise of his name.

You are never further from God's intention for you

when you are worshiping lesser things.

These two sets of three verses each serve as an inclusion.

There's a literary term for you today.

As an inclusion bookends for verses 4 through 15.

And they bookend a juxtaposition between the worship of false gods

and the strong confidence that we can have

in worshiping the one true and living God.

So, this has been my prayer for you this morning.

If you are of the nations,

one of those who do not belong to God,

who worship the creation rather than the creator,

my prayer for you is that you will behold

the steadfast love and faithfulness of God this morning

toward his people,

and that you will be moved to place saving faith

in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

If you are of God's people,

if you have placed saving faith

in the person and work of Jesus Christ,

my prayer for you is that you will behold

the steadfast love and faithfulness of God

afresh this morning,

and that he will show you how inclined you still are

to worship at the feet of the creation.

Having been adopted into the family of God,

how likely you are to turn back from him

to lesser forms of worship.

So, in order to do that,

in two points,

number one, verses four through 15,

the futility of false gods,

and number two,

the glory of the one true and living God.

So, number one,

the futility or uselessness of false gods.

Look what the psalmist says about them.

Their idols, the nation's idols,

are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

Idols are created things.

The psalmist tells us in verse four,

they are the work of human hands.

They are made of precious metals in this case,

the specific idols he's referring to,

but they are made all the same.

And he goes on and he elaborates this point

with accusations of their uselessness.

Verse five, beginning,

they have mouths,

but they do not speak.

These graven images have the image of a mouth,

but they say nothing.

Genesis chapter one tells of God creating the world

with mighty words.

But idols are dumb.

They can utter nothing.

They cannot speak words of promise

or encouragement or warning.

They have, verse five,

eyes, but do not see.

When Hagar is told by an angel of the Lord

that she will bear a son,

it is recorded in Genesis 16, 13.

So she called the name of the Lord

who spoke to her.

You are a God of seeing.

For she said,

truly here I have seen him

who looks after me,

who is caring for us

as he observes us

and then interacts with us.

It is a contradiction altogether

to have a God who cannot see.

Verse six,

they have ears,

but they do not hear.

There is no sense

in offering up prayers

to a God that cannot hear your prayers.

Exodus 2, 24

records that God heard their groaning

and God remembered His covenant

with Abraham, with Isaac,

and with Jacob.

Our God is a God who hears.

Idols hear nothing.

On in verse six further,

they have noses,

but do not smell.

This is likely a reference

to God's acceptance of sacrifice.

Genesis 8, 21 records,

verse 7,

and when the Lord smelled

the pleasing aroma

of the sacrifice,

the Lord said in His heart,

I will never again curse the ground

because of man,

for the intention of man's heart

is evil from his youth.

Neither will I again

strike down every living creature

as I have done.

A God who cannot smell

cannot receive

an acceptable sacrifice.

Verse 7,

they have hands,

but do not feel.

False gods cannot sympathize

with our weakness,

nor can they bring us comfort.

The writer of Hebrews,

in Hebrews 4, 15 says,

for we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize

with our weaknesses,

but one who in every respect

has been tempted as we are,

yet without sin.

Our God became a man

in order that He might

sympathize with us,

understand our suffering,

and come to us in it.

Further in verse 7,

they have feet,

but they do not walk.

False gods have no activity.

They just sit.

The one true and living God

does all that He pleases.

But false gods do nothing.

Isaiah 41, 7,

the craftsman strengthens

the goldsmith,

and he who smooths

with the hammer,

him who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering,

it is good,

and they strengthen it

with nails

so that it cannot be moved.

The idol gets nailed down

to the floor

so it cannot be taken.

They have feet,

but they do not walk,

and they do not make a sound.

In their throat.

More literally, I think,

they do not muse.

They do not have thought.

False gods are lifeless

and useless.

This is a comprehensive charge list.

There are seven charges

that are being made here.

Idols are utterly useless,

useless,

and the worship of them

is an exercise

in futility.

In studying these charges

against false gods,

my mind was drawn

to the taunting words

of Elijah

to the prophets of Baal.

You may recall

1 Kings 18, 27

from our reading together

not too long ago.

Elijah says,

I'm sorry,

that's in the future.

It's been one of those weeks.

He says to the prophets of Baal,

cry aloud,

for he is a God.

Either he is musing,

or he is relieving himself,

or he is on a journey,

or perhaps he is asleep

and must be awakened.

False gods have nothing

to offer us.

But the psalmist continues

by telling us in verse 8,

those who make them

become like them.

So do all who trust in them.

This is the one-two punch

of the point

that the psalmist

is trying to make

about false gods.

Let me elaborate on that

a bit more.

There's lots of this kind of language

in the Scripture

about having eyes

but not seeing,

and ears but not hearing.

Let me give you a couple

of examples of this.

Jeremiah 5,

21-24.

God says,

Hear this,

O foolish and senseless people,

who have eyes

but see not,

who have ears

but hear not.

Do you not fear me,

declares the Lord?

Do you not tremble before me?

I place the sands

as the boundary of the sea,

a perpetual barrier

that it cannot pass.

Though the waves toss,

they cannot prevail.

Though they roar,

they cannot pass over it.

But this people

has a stubborn

and rebellious heart.

They have turned aside

and gone away.

They do not say

in their hearts,

Let us fear the Lord our God

who gives the rain

in its season,

the autumn rain

and the spring rain,

and keeps for us

the weeks appointed

for the harvest.

But God says

to people of Israel,

as rebellious people of Israel,

You have failed to see me

as the creator,

as the emphasis

that He's making

throughout this passage

in Jeremiah.

Who has held the sea

in its boundaries?

Who set the shore?

And no matter how hard

the sea tries,

it cannot come past

the place

I have told it.

I give the rain

in its season,

the autumn and the spring.

I schedule out

when the harvest

will happen.

Verse 21 says,

You are a foolish

and senseless people.

Have eyes,

but do not see.

Have ears,

but hear not.

You are like

the very things

that you worship.

Another place,

Ezekiel 12, 2.

Son of man,

you dwell in the midst

of a rebellious house,

who have eyes to see,

but see not,

who have ears to hear,

but hear not,

for they are a rebellious house.

All of us

were once these people.

Eyes that did not see.

Ears that did not hear.

Praise God

that by His Spirit

He works faith

in blind and deaf people.

We once were blind,

but now we see.

We once were deaf.

I'm going outside the song now,

but now we hear.

In Matthew chapter 13,

Matthew 13:11

verses 11 and following,

Jesus responds

to the apostles

asking why He speaks

in parables,

and He says this,

To you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven,

but to them

it has not been given.

For to the one who has,

more will be given,

and he will have an abundance,

but from the one who has not,

even what he has

will be taken away.

This is why I speak to them

in parables,

because seeing,

they do not see,

and hearing,

they do not hear,

nor do they understand.

Indeed, in their case,

the prophecy of Isaiah

is fulfilled that says,

and this is Isaiah 6, 9, and 10,

you will indeed hear,

but never understand,

and you will indeed see,

but never perceive.

For this people's heart

has grown dull,

and with their ears

they can barely hear,

and their eyes

they have closed.

Lest they should see

with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart,

and turn,

and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes,

for they see,

and your ears,

for they hear.

For truly,

I say to you,

many prophets

and righteous people

long to see

what you see

and did not see it,

and to hear

what you hear

and did not hear it.

Oh, beloved,

we have much reason

to praise God

for his grace

to us in Christ.

He has caused us

to be born again.

He has given us

our sight,

and given us

the ability to hear.

He had made us

not like idolaters

any longer.

He's restored in us

our imago Dei,

our willingness

and our ability

to praise him

and worship him

as we should.

Now,

most of us

I would presume

to think all of us

do not find ourselves

in a position

to bow down

to carved images.

I did not grow up

in a house

where as a follower

of Jesus Christ

I had to neglect

the shrine

that was held

someplace.

However,

the Bible

is relentless

about the idolatry

of our hearts

because we were created

to worship

God alone.

and idolatry

takes all

types

of forms.

God says to his people,

good command,

a command we need

to keep,

Exodus 23,

you shall have

no other gods

before me.

Charles Spurgeon said,

and this is on your bulletin

if you want to look at it,

if you love anything

better than God,

you are idolaters.

I'll repeat that part of it.

If you love anything

better than God,

you are idolaters.

If there is anything

you would not give up

for God,

it is your idol.

If there is anything

that you seek

with greater fervor

than you seek

the glory of God,

that is your idol.

And conversion

means a turning

from every idol.

It means that we take

all things

and count them

as loss

for their surpassing

worth

of knowing

Jesus Christ,

our Lord.

And beloved,

our hearts

are so inclined

to idolatry.

And I believe

that Satan

loves nothing more

than to get

in the mix

and have us

be acceptable

of our idolatry.

To think,

yeah, yeah,

Jesus,

and,

I can still have,

I can still enjoy,

I can still do,

and in that

we so regularly

put those things

in places

of prominence

in our lives.

Most of us,

again,

I would dare say

all of us,

don't have a closet

in our home

with a shrine set up,

a thing that we bow to.

It's not so on the surface

for us,

but it's rather

more about

the attitudes

and the intentions

of our heart.

What are your

affections

set on?

What do you seek,

as Spurgeon said,

with fervor?

What do you talk about?

What do you spend

your money on?

Where is your time

aimed at?

If it's not

the glory of God,

then it's an idol.

An idol is anything

that we place

as the primary focus

of our lives.

And we regularly

take good things,

good things,

meant to be good,

meant to be given

as gifts from the creator

for our enjoyment.

And we make them idols

by loving them

above God himself.

And this comes out of us

in all kinds

of ugly ways.

Let me give you

just some examples

of some things

that can be good,

but can be idols

in your life.

security.

Feeling safe

can be an idol

in your life.

Material possessions

of all kinds.

Aren't we Americans?

Revving up

into Christmas season.

Really watch our hearts,

beloved.

What is it

that we worship?

Knowledge.

Knowledge can be

an idol in your life.

You can worship

how much you know

or how much you don't know

but want to know.

your political ideology

can be an idol

in your life.

Having control

of the situation

can be an idol

in your life.

Comfort

and leisure

can be idols.

Good health

can be an idol.

Hear me,

those of you,

our family included,

who strive

to be healthy

and to eat healthy,

this can become

idolatry for us.

pleasure,

success,

our physical appearance.

Guys,

I know some of you

really want to be swole.

That could be idolatry.

Your ambition

and dare I even say

your family

seems to be

the last

acceptable idol

often

in the church.

Anything

that's placed above

the prominence

of God

in our lives

can be an idol.

And beloved,

it comes at us

from all directions

all the time.

The Christian life

is meant to be a life

of repentance

and faith

turning from

our sinful idolatry

into God.

We will not be done

with this

in this lifetime.

But,

I can tell you,

by faith,

by the grace of God,

we can get better.

We can improve

upon

true worship

of the one

living God.

We can

put away

our idolatry.

And I want to show you

just a little bit,

just a brief glimpse

of how it is

that we

identify idolatry

in our lives

and how it is

that God works

to strip idolatry

out of our lives

by looking at

James chapter 4.

James 4 · chapter mention

So mark somehow

Psalm 115,

your finger,

bookmark it,

and turn to

James chapter 4.

James 4 · chapter mention

In verse 1,

James asks

an astounding question.

What causes

quarrels

and what causes

fights

among you?

What causes

our relational

disagreements?

And this isn't

necessarily

just what's happening

inside of a church

fellowship.

This is with

our spouses.

This is with

our co-workers.

This is with

the guy that pulls

out in front of you

on the road.

What's causing

the quarrels

and causing

the fights

among you?

And he says this,

is it not this

that your passions

are at war

within you?

Your passions.

Things that you

desire to have

and it's not

being had the way

you want it to be

had.

And so

things happen

as a result

of that.

anxiety

or anger

which we

mask with

terms like

frustration

and stress.

These are not

things that

God's people

are meant to be

living in.

These are not

emotions that are

meant to be felt

by God's

people.

Your passions

are at war

within you.

Verse 2,

you desire

and do not

have

so you

murder

your anger

in your heart.

You covet

and cannot

obtain

so you

fight

and you

quarrel.

You do not

have

because you

don't ask.

You ask

and do not

receive

because you

ask wrongly

to spend

it on

your passions.

You don't

aim these

things at

the glory

of God.

You aim

them at

your self.

You

adulterous

people.

So here's

a people

turning back

from their

God

to their

idols.

Right?

This is

in our

Bible reading.

We've been

in the

book of

Judges.

We've just

gotten through

the book

of Judges.

And you

see a

people

devoting

themselves

in worship

to God.

Things get

restored.

A judge

comes along

and sorts

things out.

And then

how quickly

do they

go back

to the

idols

of the

land?

They go

back to

the

Canaanite

Baals

to worship

them once

again.

That's

what's

happening

here.

You

adulterous

People!

Do you

not know

that friendship

with the

world

is enmity

with God?

Therefore

whoever wishes

to be a

friend of

the world

makes himself

an enemy

of God.

As people

who have been

delivered by

God,

who are

his people,

we are so

very apt

to do

this.

Let me

to make

the point.

I had

another

example

in mind

at this

point in

the sermon,

but I

thought because

it was

yesterday,

it was a

better

example.

This was a

really tiring

week for me.

It was an

exhausting

week.

A great

week,

but it was

a go,

go,

go,

go week.

We had

across two

days,

three different

Thanksgiving

events.

On Friday,

I've got

family from

in town.

Chris is

going to

come share

with us

in just a

moment at

the end

of the

service.

We decided

to do some

work out

of my

parents'

property.

They had

a huge

oak tree

come down.

It was

like four

oak trees

it seemed

like from

that wind

storm.

We used

chainsaw

all day.

I was

really sore,

really tired

at the end

of all that.

Saturday,

I worked

up here

trying to

get ready

for this

morning.

All I

wanted to

do was

sleep or

soak in

a hot

tub.

I was

tired.

Saturday

evening,

the plan

was to

go home

and put

our

Christmas

tree

up.

Put our

tree up

at the

house and

spend some

time

decorating

it,

watching

elf and

drinking

cider while

we put

together the

tree.

A good

plan,

an enjoyable

time to

spend with

the family.

I was

frustrated

because I

really wanted

to be

comfortable.

I just

really wanted

comfort.

I wanted

to be done

with the

project of

it all.

Our

Christmas

tree stand

has been

a frustration

to me.

It's not

a stand

I have

particularly

enjoyed

across the

years.

I go

through all

the work

though,

get the

tree trimmed

up,

get it put

together,

get it in

the house,

water in

the tree,

get the

lights on

the tree,

and I

look down

and there's

a puddle

on the

floor,

and the

stand was

cracked.

Apparently,

I hit it

with a hammer

a little too

hard,

and I cracked

the bottom

of it,

and it was

leaking

everywhere.

So,

we had to

take the

tree with

the stand

now with

water in it

standoff,

discover what's

wrong with

it,

go to

Walmart on

a Saturday

night in

Gainesville,

which is

super fun,

buy a new

tree stand,

come back,

put the whole

thing back up

again,

go through the

process.

So,

you're picturing

what's going

on.

We have

little ones

running around

who are

bouncing,

jumping off

things,

really excited

that the

tree's back

in the

house now,

and Sam,

with a great

deal of

foresight and

thoughtfulness,

had already

gotten a cup

of water.

She's concerned

about now

water being back

in the stands,

so the tree

doesn't die.

So,

she brought

this big

cup of

water,

and she

set it

down next

to the

edge of

the couch,

and then

she stepped

back to

make sure I

was getting

the tree

right,

and our

one-and-a-half

year old

walked along

and kicked

the cup

of water

over.

So,

in the

place that

we had

already

cleaned up

water,

now there

was a

whole

other

cup

of water

on the

floor,

and I

went,

really,

in the

middle of

the floor,

water,

like that.

And Sam

said,

you go

sit down,

I'll

clean it

up.

Okay,

so what

came out

of me,

right,

this anger

that came

out of

me,

which she

certainly

did not

deserve,

was my

frustration,

my inner

brewing,

with my

desire to

be comfortable,

right,

I wanted

to be done,

I wanted

to sit

and do

nothing,

and confounded,

all of these

little things

were getting

in the way

of that

happening,

and it

made me

mad,

because I

wanted my,

you see how

I'm worshipping

myself,

and this

comfort that

I have,

right,

so these

little events,

I have this

little effigy

of me built,

and these

little events

are coming

along and

hacking the

leg off my

idol,

and it's

starting to

fall over,

and it

made me

mad,

right,

clearly,

sin,

and the

temptation

in me is

to immediately

justify it,

right,

and we all

do this,

well,

of course,

of course I'm

upset,

this is taking

forever,

I'm so tired,

I've had so

much work to

do this

week,

I can't

believe,

the water,

right,

and the

proper response,

which I'm

thankful by the

grace of God,

I got to in

the span of

time,

because I've

practiced this a

ton,

was to

apologize to

Sam,

I'm really

sorry,

I'm really

sorry,

I'm so

tired,

but that's

not my

excuse,

it was sin,

right,

you forgive me,

she said,

yes,

of course,

I forgive you,

because I know

you're beat

down,

I know you're

exhausted,

all the same,

right,

what is going

on in my

heart when I

get upset,

like that,

it's idolatry,

it's idolatry,

right,

so how is it

that God

exposes our

idolatry,

right,

how is it that

we come to

realize,

how is it that

I've learned,

like when I

fail in that

way,

to go,

wait a second,

this is not

justifiable,

I can't just

go around saying,

well of course I'm

getting upset,

right,

I want to give you

four quick ways

that he does it,

and I know we're

getting short on time,

so I'm going to move

pretty quick here,

how is it that

God exposes our

idolatry,

number one,

by his word

and his spirit,

by his word

and his spirit,

beloved,

if you want to be

a true worshiper

of the one,

true,

only God,

you must read

his word,

right,

he's not a

dumb God,

he's spoken to us,

he's given us a

text,

he's handed it to us,

and we have it in

plenty,

right,

know this word,

it will begin

to sift you

like sand,

it will begin

to help expose

your idolatry,

Hebrews 4.12,

for the word of God

is living and active,

sharper than any

two-edged sword,

piercing the division

of soul and of spirit,

of joints and of marrow,

and discerning the thoughts

and intentions

of the heart,

so as I'm dealing

with this emotional

response,

what's running

through my mind

is James 1.8,

that I'm meant

to be quick

to hear

and slow

to speak

and slow

to anger,

for the anger

of man does not

produce the righteousness

of God,

this is what pops

into my head,

right,

the spirit of God

goes,

I got one on file

for you,

right,

you've read

and studied it,

you've memorized it,

and it's right there,

and he throws it up,

and I go,

ah,

idolater,

right,

I need to repent,

I need to turn

from my sin

and back to God,

the word of God

does this,

so God exposed

our idolatry

by his word

and his spirit,

secondly,

he may expose

our idolatry

by frustrating

our idols,

by withholding

them,

the things

that you want,

things that you

think you need

to make you

happy,

for you to be

fulfilled,

he may not

give you,

or,

giving them

to us

and allowing

us to experience

their futility,

letting you

have the thing

you asked for

and run it

out to its

very end

and to say

there's no

value in

this thing

that I

thought

was a thing

worth

worshipping.

In Psalm

Psalms 106:13–15

106,

verse 13

through 15,

this is

in referencing

to Korah's

rebellion

from number

16,

the psalm

says,

but they

soon forget

his works,

they did

not wait

for his

counsel,

but they

had a

wanton

craving

in the

wilderness

and put

God

to the

test

in the

desert.

He

gave

them

what

they

asked,

but sent

a wasting

disease

among them.

Let them

see the

very futility

of the

thing

that they

worshipped.

God

exposed

their

idolatry

by

frustrating

our

idols,

by withholding

them,

or allowing

us to

experience

their

futility.

Third,

God

exposed

their

idolatry

possibly

by giving

us

an example

of true

worship.

So this

is where

the church

is extremely

helpful.

We come

around people

who deal

with the

same things

that we

deal with,

who are

willing to

share with

you their

very

experienced.

Let me

tell you

about my

idols,

that you

might not

be an

idolater,

that you

might learn

to purge

idols from

your living.

This is a

wonderful place

in which to

read biography,

to see men

and women

who have

gone before

us,

who have

been faithful

worshippers,

of God.

We also

get wonderful

examples from

the scripture.

1 Kings

18,

36.

This is back

to Elijah,

as I mentioned

earlier.

At the time

of the

offering,

Elijah the

prophet came

near and

said,

O Lord,

God of

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Israel,

let it be

known this

day that

you are

God in

Israel,

and that

I am

your servant,

and that

I have

done all

these things

at your

word.

And we

know that

he called

down fire

of God

that lapped

up the

water and

lit the

sacrifice

on fire.

We see

that he

had devoted

himself to

the one

true living

God and

had obeyed

his word.

So God

can expose

our idolatry

by giving

us examples

to look

around at

people who

were godly

and serving

God well.

God also

exposed our

idolatry,

number four,

and this is the

last one,

by administering

loving

discipline.

If you

belong to

God,

you will

experience

the

discipline

of God.

The writer

of Hebrews

says in

chapter 12,

verses 5

and 6,

verse 6,

and have

you forgotten

the exhortation

that addresses

you as

sons?

My son,

do not

regard lightly

the discipline

of the

Lord,

nor be

weary

when reproved

by him.

For the

Lord disciplines

the one

he loves

and chastises

every son

whom he

receives.

So God

in his

great,

steadfast,

loving kindness

toward us

disciplines

us to

expose

those things

that we

pick up

and worship

that are

lesser things

and therefore

damaging things.

God is our

greatest and

highest good

and so God

helps to

strip away

idols

in our

lives.

So,

the four ways

that he

works at that.

Go back to

Psalm 115.

So what

then is the

remedy

of this

idolatry?

How is it

that we're

not idolaters

when we

worship

God?

We aim

our worship

as people

will worship

something,

so we aim

our worship

where our

worship belongs,

the one

true

and living

God.

So this is

the second

overall point,

the glory

of the one

true

and living

God.

The psalmist

tells us

that the

remedy of

this idolatry

is to

trust,

to place

our faith

in this

God.

Our God

who is in

the heavens

who does

all that

he pleases.

And we

get these

wonderful

repetitions.

O Israel,

O house

of Aaron,

you who

fear the

Lord,

so the

people and

the people

set aside

for the

specific task

and then

all of us

who fear

the Lord,

trust in

the Lord.

Place your

faith in

the Lord.

Believe in

his promises

to you.

He is

their help

and he

is their

shield.

He is both

actively

pursuing our

good and

he's also

shielding us

from harm.

He's passively

pursuing our

good as well.

He's stopping

things that

would be to

our detriment.

And we are

so quick to

define our

good or our

bad in

human terms.

We must get

it clear in

our minds

that as we

worship God,

as we set

our aim on

him,

as he works

our good,

that it's

his good

he intends

to work in

us.

It's for our

good,

it's his

good.

Romans 8,

28,

29.

I hope this

doesn't get

old to you.

And we know

that for those

who love

God,

all things,

this is our

God who's in

the heaven,

who does

all that he

pleases,

all things

work together

for good.

For those who

are called

according to

his purpose.

A lot of

people love

28,

right?

And then they

walk around

trying to figure

out what

the good

is,

right?

Oh,

someday I'll

figure out

the good.

In hindsight,

I'll understand

the good.

But Paul tells

us in verse 29

what the good

is.

We don't have

to wonder

about it,

just like we

don't have to

wonder about

our purpose.

Our purpose

is to glorify

God.

What is the

good that

he's seeking

in our

living,

right?

Verse 29,

for those whom

he foreknew,

he also predestined

to be conformed

to the image

of his son.

That's the

answer.

What's the

good that God

is seeking

in all of

our

circumstances,

all of this

working in

us,