Sermon | Psalm 114

Last week, we began a six-week series on Psalms 113 to 118, and we talked about how these

six psalms can be considered as one song, and they have been considered as one song,

and it was sung during various feasts in Jesus' day, including the Passover.

The song is called the Hallel.

The word Hallel is the Hebrew word for praise.

This song is also called the Egyptian Hallel because of the psalm that we're looking at tonight.

Psalm 114 rehearses God's redemption of Israel from Egypt.

Like we said last week, these psalms would have been the last songs that Jesus sang

with his disciples together before his trial and his death.

Let's orient ourselves into that moment when they would have been singing the Egyptian Hallel

by looking at what the author and theologian N.T. Wright says.

He points out that Jesus had sung these psalms all of his life, and he knew them by heart,

as well as disciples.

And he says, what Jesus believed and understood about his own identity and vocation,

he believed and understood within a psalm-shaped world.

I love that.

Within a psalm-shaped world.

Let's use this psalm to look at this chapter of Israel's story, the Exodus,

and see how it's also Jesus' story.

We're going to see it's our story as well.

It's the story of Jesus, and it's our story as well.

Let's pray.

Father, we ask that you would illumine our hearts and our minds.

We can't understand this without your help.

May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I'm until a couple years ago, whenever somebody asked me the question, what do you do?

I always enjoyed saying, I'm a musician.

Because I thought they would think, oh, maybe he's the cool kind of musician.

Unless they plumbed just a little deep, and then they realized, not quite.

I was the front man of an Irish folk band in rural Florida.

And we had some fun songs.

One of my favorite ones was a poem by Robert Burns called Scots Wahey, or Scots Who Have.

And the lyrics go like this.

Scots who have with Wallace bled.

Scots whom Bruce has often led.

Welcome to your gory bed, or to victory.

Lay the proud usurpers low.

Tyrants fall in every foe.

Liberties in every blow.

Let us do or die.

The poem is written about the Battle of Bannockburn.

It was a decisive battle in Scotland's first war of independence.

Robert Burns imagined it being spoken by Robert the Bruce as he leads his soldiers into battle.

Robert the Bruce led the Scottish forces against a much larger English army and secured victory.

Not only did the victory lead, eventually, to Scottish independence, but one could say that that victory, that battle, defined the Scots as a people.

An event defined the Scots as a people.

Another song that I know, because I'm a band geek and some other band geeks might know, the song Chester, written by William Billings.

It goes like this.

Let tyrants shake their iron rod, and slavery clank for galling chains.

We fear them not.

We trust in God.

No England's God forever reigns.

Very similar to Robert Burns' poem.

This song was about the American War of Independence.

And one could argue that the American War of Independence defined the Americans as a people.

Our psalm today, Psalm 114, is a song that also celebrates a great deed.

For 400 years, the nation of Israel had lived in Egypt.

And while in Egypt, they had become enslaved and were treated brutally.

But God led his people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, dwelt with Israel in the wilderness,

led her again through the Jordan River and into the Promised Land.

And this song celebrates this victory, and it defines Israel as a people.

The Exodus defines or defined the nation of Israel as a people.

What about the New Testament people of God?

What about the church?

What about us?

What defines us as a people?

I'll answer that question a little later, but let's look first at what the psalm says about the Exodus.

And in particular, what it says about Israel's deliverer.

We're going to look at God's presence, God's power, and his care.

We're going to see God's presence, his power, and his care.

Let's look first at his presence.

Verses 1 and 2 says,

The Exodus event represents one chapter in a much larger story about God's presence.

In the very first chapters of the Bible, we read of God creating the heavens and the earth.

Those people who understand the world of the ancient Near East and its literature,

they read this description of the creation of the earth.

These people tell us that this is communicating that God was creating a temple.

God was creating a temple when he created the earth.

And in this temple, as one would expect, God sets up an image of himself.

And this image is human beings.

Human beings would reflect his image, bring to bear his creativity in the world,

and to reflect back his praises.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had an intimate fellowship with God.

They enjoyed his presence.

But when they rebelled, that fellowship was severed.

Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, and God's project was spoiled.

But God would resurrect his project.

He chose Abraham and made a covenant with him and his descendants

to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.

And though the plan would seem to derail while Israel was in slavery, Abraham's descendants,

God raises up a leader, Moses, and brings him out of Egypt.

God himself accompanies them on this journey,

first as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night.

And after he leads them through the Red Sea, Israel creates a tabernacle.

A tabernacle is an intricately constructed tent or complex tents.

And it functioned as a portable temple.

God's glory, we read, rests on the tabernacle.

And God is present among his people.

He's close to his people.

He's there. He's near.

This act of condescension is an act of grace.

With God's presence comes safety and protection.

It's a place where his glory is revealed and his judgments unveiled with power.

That power goes with God's people as they cross the River Jordan

into the land they've been promised to inherit.

They had crossed through the Red Sea into the wilderness,

and from the wilderness, 40 years later,

they pass into the Promised Land.

It's the second thing we're going to see in this psalm.

God's power.

It's so poetically described, isn't it?

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back?

O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills like lambs?

It would be easy to reduce this to trash-talking nature.

But something bigger is at play here, which we need to keep in mind.

Fast forward from the Exodus to Jesus' day,

the moment that the disciples and the rest of the nation of Israel

are praying these psalms during the Passover meal.

We find the people of Israel under Roman rule

in a huge empire surrounded by different worldviews.

Now, one of these worldviews would be called Epicureanism,

which basically says that if there is a God

or if there are gods, then they're a long way off,

and they don't interfere with us in the material world.

And that should sound familiar

because that worldview is still around to this day,

and it's very prevalent.

But the Jews of Jesus' day held a different view,

that creation is permeable.

And that sphere of God and the sphere of man,

they mutually overlap by design.

And because of the permeability,

God can act and work in and through created things.

We share this worldview too, and that's why we pray, right?

As Jews would enact the story of their redemption from Egypt

in celebrating the Passover meal

and in singing psalms like this one,

they wouldn't just be celebrating a past event

which displayed God's power,

but they would be declaring trust in God

to act again in power,

to show that power again,

to bring his presence back to Jerusalem.

God uses his power not just to defeat his enemies,

but to care for his people.

We've looked at God's presence, his power,

and now his care.

Last week we talked about God stooping,

caring for the poor and for the barren woman.

Here, in verses 7 and 8,

the psalm relays an event from the Exodus

where God stooped to care for his people

who were thirsty and desperate.

He turns the rock into a pool of water,

the flint into a spring of water.

I mentioned last week how my family went on a hike

about a month ago in New Hampshire,

three and a half miles up, three and a half miles down,

and my oldest three kids nailed it.

My youngest did not.

He went up great,

but he was too tired to go down.

He kept falling.

So I had to carry him a lot of the way down,

which was really kind of tiring work.

He's a big four-year-old.

But I loved it.

I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Just to carry his tired body,

his head slumped forward,

onto my shoulder,

my cheek resting against his

as we trudge down the mountain.

It felt intimate.

I felt a connection with my son.

And I thought,

this is probably the closest I'll ever come

to experiencing the intimacy

that a mother probably shares with her child

as she nurses him.

I won't experience that myself,

but this is the kind of intimacy

a mother has with her child.

I can only imagine the intimacy

that occurs between them.

The mother fully present to her baby,

giving the baby what he needs to survive.

And this is how I read verses 7 and 8.

God, he's fully and intimately present,

using his power to feed and sustain his people.

See, in this psalm,

God is powerful and glorious,

and he also stoops,

and he draws near,

and he cares for the weak.

So if this psalm celebrates the event

that defined the Old Testament people of God,

then what defines the New Testament people of God?

This is the question I posed earlier.

What defines the church?

Well, I would say it's the same thing.

It's the exodus.

It might be a surprise to some of you.

You might be thinking,

we're Christians.

Wouldn't the thing that defines us

be the death and burial

and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

And I would say,

yes, you and I,

we're both right.

We're talking about the same thing.

I say it because for over a thousand years,

every year,

God's people have been celebrating

the Passover meal,

reenacting God's mighty act of deliverance.

All four Gospels make very clear

that Jesus chose the Passover celebration

as the moment of his decisive action.

The Passover celebration

is Jesus' own grid

for interpreting his actions

and the events that would follow.

He is the fulfillment of the exodus.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the exodus.

Through Jesus' own death,

human beings are rescued

from the bondage of sin and death.

And through his resurrection,

they are brought into eternal life.

So let's look at the three things we discussed.

Presence, power, and care.

God's presence did return

as his people had hoped.

John tells us this.

The Gospel of John.

It says that,

Do you want to know God?

Look on Jesus.

God, the creator of the world,

who made his presence known as a cloud by day

and a pillar of fire by night,

became man.

And there are four eyewitness accounts

of the things he did.

We don't have to wonder

about who God is.

We can just look at Jesus.

And he came with power.

Jesus came with power.

The exodus is the sign

of what God's power can do,

and it's also a pledge

that it will happen again

when his people need it.

Do you wish to end poverty in this world?

God, in his power,

is determined to deal with it.

Do you cry out over injustice?

God and his power in Jesus Christ

will one day set all things to right.

Do you grieve over sickness

and the death that surrounds you?

God and his power in Jesus Christ

will one day make all things new.

Do you find yourself powerless

against a besetting sin,

addiction,

an unforgiving spirit,

self-loathing?

God and his power,

through Jesus Christ,

who began a good work in you,

will be faithful to complete that.

But God doesn't do it from afar.

He does it from a place

of intimacy and care.

After Jesus ascended to heaven,

he sent his Holy Spirit,

and so now God's presence

is manifested in us.

We, the church,

are his temple

and are empowered to fulfill

the work God originally gave humanity,

to reflect his image,

to bring to bear in this world

God's creativity

and now his restorative activity,

and to reflect back his praise.

And more intimately,

each of us as individuals

are indwelt with his spirit.

His spirit sustains us,

supports us,

comforts us,

tells that we are God's children.

He prays for us.

You cannot pray without God himself

praying with you,

so who will refuse you

if the one who grants

is the same as the one who asks?

God's children.

God's children.

God's children.

God's children.

God's children.

God's children.

God's children.

God's children.

I'd like to draw your attention quickly

to two implications

of God being present in us

and understanding this

in the context of the Exodus.

The first is,

if you are in Christ,

if you have been baptized in him

and believe in him

as the one who rescues you,

then the God who created the universe

dwells in you.

God is in you.

Therefore,

whoever you encounter at work tomorrow

is encountering God in you.

And so that is the most important meeting

they will have all day.

It is an interaction that can save them,

can heal them,

can encourage them.

It's an implication of what it means

to bear God's image.

The second implication is this.

We talked last week

about the dark night of the soul,

how to understand that

when we go through a dark night.

We talked about

how we can understand

the dark night of the soul

better if we understand our story

as it unites to the story of Christ.

Even further,

with this psalm,

we see that we can understand

the dark night of our soul

as it unites to the life of Christ

in the context

of the Exodus,

God's great work

of leading his people

out of the wilderness.

I'm going to quote

a counselor and professor of counseling.

His name is Chuck DeGroote.

He writes this.

In the gospel,

and this is what we've been talking about,

the gospel,

we participate in Christ's life,

that we're transformed

in and through the indwelling

of our suffering God.

Dark nights aren't optional.

They aren't a punishment for sin.

No, the dark night is the pathway,

that wilderness way

for those who long to enjoy

union with Christ.

Our experience of emptiness,

incredible though it may sound,

indicates the powerful work of God

hidden deep within us.

Our despair testifies to hope,

and our dying prepares us

for spiritual growth.

The dark night forms us

in ways that set us free

to love boldly

and compassionately.

On the night that Jesus' friend

betrayed him,

he took bread,

blessed it,

broke it,

and then gave it.

And in the same way,

Jesus takes us,

blesses us,

breaks us,

and gives us to a hurting world

to be God's very presence.

The dark night is a key part

of God's missional purpose

in the world.

God redeems our broken stories,

weaving new and better ones,

which paint pictures of redemption

and flourishing in our broken world.

Our honest lives

become the great signposts

in a broken world.

Redemption is here.

Gabriel Del Grande

is an Italian filmmaker,

and of course I'm not pronouncing that right.

He found himself

with four activists

in the city of Aleppo, Syria.

In September of 2013,

during some serious fighting,

a gunman took aim

at each of them

every time they looked out the windows.

And then it got worse.

The front line of the battle

merged with where they were.

They found themselves

on the front line,

and then a young boy

comes to their door.

The young boy is holding

a butcher's knife

and a wedding dress.

The boy cuts the dress

into strips,

urges them to tie a strip

tightly around their heads,

and then to follow him.

And they didn't know why,

but they had no other choice.

So they mustered up the courage

and followed this boy

through a battlefield.

Bullets

whizzing and whirring

over their heads.

And finally,

they made it to safety.

They realized later

that white was the signal

of the Free Syrian Army's snipers.

It was a wedding dress

that protected them,

that covered them.

A wedding dress

saved their lives.

A month after his return to Milan,

he and some close friends

met a Syrian refugee

trying to make his way

to Sweden.

Met them in a train station.

Asked Gabriel and his friends,

do you know when

the next train to Sweden leaves?

They said,

well, there is no train

that goes to Sweden from Italy.

But he knew a couple

other Syrian and Palestinian refugees

trying to make their way

to Sweden.

In Sweden,

they had family

and friends

and connections.

They saw safety there.

So, Gabriel had an idea.

He said to his friends,

you know who the border guards

would never stop?

A wedding party.

The police would never

check a bride's documents.

So they bought some nice clothes.

They did all the arrangements.

They did a lot of planning logistics.

They bought a wedding dress.

And the refugees

and those helping them

all dressed up

as bride and groom

and as the wedding party.

And they filmed their journey.

It's a documentary you can watch.

I don't know how,

but it's out there.

It's called

On the Bride's Side.

They filmed their journey

as they made their exodus

through Europe.

A wedding dress

had saved Gabriel's life.

And now it would be

a wedding dress

that would save these refugees

in their exodus

from Italy

through Europe.

Now the Bible speaks

about his union

with his people,

about God coming

to his people

as a wedding.

We are the bride of Christ.

And he gives us covering

which saves us.

And that covering,

we experience forgiveness

of sins.

And he leads us,

his bride,

from bondage

into freedom.

And every week,

here,

at this table,

we have a feast

looking forward

to a great wedding supper

that we will share

in his kingdom.

And in this meal,

this bread,

and this wine,

spheres of heaven

and earth

overlap.

and he feeds

our souls

through the bread

and the wine

and transforms us

more and more

into the image

of his son.

An image

we reflect

to a world

that he is making new

once again.

In the name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Let's pray.

God,

thank you for saving

us,

for redeeming us,

for rescuing us,

for you saw us

and you pitied us

and you lifted us

out of bondage

and sin

and brought us

into your kingdom,

into freedom,

into a life of joy

with you

as our king.

you weren't content

merely to do that,

Lord,

and so you gave us

your Holy Spirit

that we could

know you

intimately.

So God,

as we make our way

down the aisle

to take the bread

and the wine,

would you communicate

to us

your grace?

Tell us

we are your children.

Tell us

our sins

are forgiven.

Tell us

it's not

anything that we

have done

that has gained

us this favor,

but it's what

your Son has done.

thank you for rescuing us.

And now,

transform us.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.