Sermon | Psalm 113

So in the beginning of the service, I oriented everybody to a few different changes.

There's been some people that have come in since then.

Let me do that again.

I'm Dan Bielman.

I'm an assistant pastor here at Church of the Advent.

You've also seen Wright Wall.

Wright will be helping us celebrate communion.

Wright is the pastor of All Nations D.C. in the Northwest, a sister church of ours,

and Brian Wandel, an ordained deacon at Church of the Advent.

He's usually at the Brooklyn worship service in the morning.

Also, a little bit of orientation.

We're going to start a new sermon series today.

We're going to be in the book of Psalms.

No book of the Old Testament has been read so much throughout history as the book of Psalms.

They give voice to every state of the human heart, from joy to sorrow, from anger to gratitude,

for both individuals and congregations.

Now, there's a group of Psalms that holds a special place in the history of God's people.

Psalms 113 to 118.

These psalms can be considered as a single song.

The song has been called the Hallel.

Hallel means praise.

Now, you've heard the word Hallel countless times in your lives.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah means praise Yahweh or praise the Lord.

For the nation of Israel, the Hallel was used on many joyful occasions and feasts throughout the year.

Jesus would have sung the Hallel many, many times in his life

and was probably the last song he sang before going to his crucifixion.

Both Matthew and Mark record that after celebrating the Passover meal together,

they sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives.

That hymn is most likely the Hallel.

And as they sing its dramatic conclusion, Psalm 118,

the disciples find that the psalm finds its fulfillment in Jesus.

This song has been about him all along.

Now, we'll hear more about that on September 4th.

We'll be in the Hallel for six weeks.

Tonight, we'll start with Psalm 113.

Psalm 113 is a very direct call to praise God.

Very simply, we praise him for who he is and what he has done.

And when we ponder God and who he is and what he has done,

we're left with a question found at the center of this psalm,

which gives voice to our wonder.

Who is like the Lord our God?

Who is like the Lord our God?

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Lord, we need both your help in asking that question

and in hearing an answer.

And in hearing an answer, Lord, would you restore our sanity?

Would we find you more beautiful than when we came in here tonight?

Would we find you to be more glorious and majestic and wonderful and awe-inspiring?

Would we also know you to be more near than we could have ever hoped or imagined?

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Have you ever been in dire need such that you experienced complete helplessness?

Now, I thought of that question as I was preparing this sermon,

and I had a hard time coming up with examples from my own life.

I mean, some things came to mind, but I realized they weren't quite total helplessness.

Like, for one, this is probably a very common experience among people in this room,

because many have done graduate school and have been, like, without much on a graduate assistantship or whatever.

I started one week with just $8 to my name.

I had nothing except for $8, and I had no food,

and it felt a bit helpless at the time.

But, I mean, when I look back on it, like, $8 is actually quite a lot of money.

I mean, especially with ramen noodles, right?

Like, you can go a month on $8.

And when I think about it more, like, you know, I had friends and family,

a community surrounding me that could help me if I ran into trouble,

and I knew I was getting paid at the end of the week.

So, I mean, that wasn't really helplessness.

I experienced feelings of helplessness about a month ago.

Our family took a vacation to Vermont, and we did a hike in Franconia, Notch.

It was a much more difficult hike than we expected.

We were told it would be an easy hike, and it ended up being seven miles,

three and a half miles uphill at about this kind of gradient, you know, 80 degrees.

And my 11-year-old, and even my 6-year-old did the hike.

I'm very proud of my sons.

They're great hikers, mountaineers.

Now, the oldest two know that they're pretty good at hiking.

So, they often would go ahead of us, and then we would stop and wait.

There came a moment when they had gone ahead,

and I had stopped to talk to a couple that had come down.

I noticed an accent, so, hey, where's your accent from?

Blah, blah, blah.

And we talked for a while, and then we realized,

man, we've been here for a long time.

I haven't seen our kids in a while, so we call out for them.

We can't hear them.

This is our oldest two.

So, I run ahead, call out their names, don't hear from them, run further,

and I'm now frantically running up this mountain.

I'm not in great shape, so it would have been funny to watch, I'm sure.

And while I'm doing that, I'm starting to feel a little helpless.

You know, all of these worst-case scenarios start popping into my mind,

namely because I am running along this trail,

and there's a lot of cutbacks, right?

And some of these cutbacks, there is a phantom trail that shoots off from it.

And I thought, oh, no.

They started talking about Pokemon or Transformers or whatever,

and they just took this phantom trail, and they're going to be lost and gone all night.

Have we watched enough survival shows?

Will they be able to survive in the night?

Man, they're probably dehydrated already.

What are we going to do?

I kept running and calling and running and calling.

By the time I got to the top of the mountain, there they were.

They're great.

They ran ahead.

They were so excited to get to the top.

But, you know, when I look back on those feelings of helplessness,

they were probably irrational, I know.

But also, like, I knew if I could just find a cell phone signal,

I could just make a call, and there'd be helicopters swarming the mountain

looking for my children, because that's the kind of land we live in.

And so that's not really helplessness.

Now, this week I read an interview with Alan Gross.

It was written a couple years back.

Some of you may know that name.

He was a government contractor that languished in a prison in Cuba.

His cell was infested with ants and roaches.

His diet was awful.

He lost 100 pounds while he was in jail for several years.

But the thing that he and his wife feared the most

was that our government forgot his name.

Isn't that awful?

When you're stuck like that, in jail,

and you feel forgotten,

because no one cares.

Now that's helplessness.

There's a gentleman at the church that my family used to belong to in Florida.

He grew up as a ward of the state.

By age 11, he had bounced from foster home to foster home,

and he had had enough, just wanted to get out of the situation.

It was pretty bad for him.

So he ran away at age 11.

And for a whole year, he was changing his name,

trying to avoid detection,

sleeping in train stations,

bus stations.

And then he realized that

he was going through all those lengths for nothing,

because no one was looking for him.

He was 12 years old,

penniless,

hungry,

completely alone,

and forgotten.

No one cared.

Now that's helplessness.

There was a woman in the Old Testament

named Hannah.

You heard Wes read her story.

Good job with the pronunciation, Wes.

Hannah was barren,

month after month,

year after year.

And on top of that,

she had to endure

the mocks and ridicule

of her rival.

Hannah knew exactly

what her status was.

A woman in that culture,

unable to conceive,

was considered worthless.

And did you hear her prayer?

She prayed,

Remember me, Lord.

Do not forget me.

Why would she pray those prayers?

Because she felt like God

had forgotten her.

She felt like God

had not remembered her.

That no one cared.

And that's helplessness.

Except,

not only did God

not forget her,

but she's exactly

the kind of person

that God remembers.

Look at verses 7 and 8

of Psalm 113.

Verse 7 says,

He lifts the needy

from the ash heap.

We are to picture

mounds of trash

piled outside

of a city.

And we're to picture

the ones who sit

on these mounds.

Alone,

forgotten,

helpless,

hungry.

The psalm says,

He seats them

with princes.

He says that

partly to show

that their lowliness

involves not only

hunger and poverty,

but degradation

and shame.

Similarly,

the barren woman

in this culture

finds herself

in a similar

position

of degradation

and shame.

But this,

this is who God loves.

Who He pours out

His love

and affection upon.

The poor,

the helpless,

the barren woman,

the widow,

the orphan,

the sick,

the alien,

the refugee,

the one

in deep grief.

who is like

the Lord our God.

The psalmist

first shows us

God's transcendence.

Look at verse 4.

The Lord

is high

above all nations

and His glory

above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord

our God

who is seated on high.

What an image

of majesty

above the heavens.

We're not talking

about clouds here,

right?

talking about

dimensions of time

and space

that can't contain

God's glory

and no language

can adequately

describe Him.

Now in my opinion,

the best attempt

at describing Him

is found in the

Westminster Confession.

It's a document

drawn up at

Westminster Abbey

in the year 1646.

It says this,

There is but

one only living

and true God

who is infinite

in being

and perfection,

a most pure

spirit,

invisible,

without body,

parts,

or passions,

immutable,

immense,

eternal,

incomprehensible,

almighty,

most wise,

most holy,

most free,

most absolute,

working all things

according to the

counsel of His own

immutable and most

righteous will

for His own glory.

Who is like the Lord

our God?

Yet what really

makes Him unique

and fills the

psalmist with wonder

is that He is

seated on high

and He stoops.

Our translation

in verse 6

says He looks

far down.

Another translation

says that God

humbles Himself.

And yet another

translation says

that God

stoops.

That's it.

That's what God

is doing here.

He stoops.

What God

does that?

None.

I love how

Anne Zaki

puts it.

She is a

professor at the

Evangelical Theological

Seminary

in Cairo,

Egypt.

She says this.

Have you ever

seen a statue

of a stooping

God?

Not in all

the ancient

gods of

Greece or

Egypt or

China or

Japan or

the tribal

African gods or

the gods of the

Amazon.

Not one of them

will you find

stooping.

You find them

standing tall and

proud.

And the greater,

the more powerful

the God is,

the taller they

stand.

You won't find a

statue of a

stooping God

because stooping

is an inappropriate

posture for a

God.

There is no

glory in

stooping.

And yet,

our God

stoops down

to look past

the high and

mighty among

us and his

eyes rest on

the poor and

the needy.

Who is like

the Lord our

God?

For those of

you who at

the beginning

of this

sermon

succeeded

where I

failed and

identified with

feelings of

helplessness,

this psalm,

this kingdom

anthem,

shows us that

God sees from

on high and

stoops for

you.

God stoops

for you.

He looks past

the high and

the mighty and

his eyes rest

on you.

He will not

forget you.

You are not

alone.

How do we

know that?

Because this

psalm isn't a

theory about

God.

It's not a

set of moral

platitudes.

It's a

concrete

description of

God which

has been

manifested in

a concrete

event in

history.

We don't

have to

wonder what

it looks

like for

God to

stoop.

He showed

us when

he became

man.

This psalm

is fulfilled

in Jesus.

Jesus,

who being in

very nature

God,

did not

consider equality

with God

something to be

grasped,

but made

himself nothing,

taking the

very nature

of a servant,

being made

in human

likeness.

And being

found in

appearance as

a man,

he humbled

himself and

became obedient

to death,

even death

on a cross.

What is the

image of a

God who

stoops?

Look to

the cross.

The Son

of God

slain on

a cross

for us.

It's the

God who

stoops.

Now look at

this psalm

again and

notice who

takes the

initiative.

Notice who

does what.

He raises

the poor

from the

dust.

Notice what

it doesn't

say.

It doesn't

say the

poor person

has a

moment of

clarity.

Gets up,

walks off

his mound

of trash,

cleans himself

up,

promises to

do the

right thing,

and demonstrates

his

trustworthiness,

and then

God seats

him with

princes.

No,

he raises

the poor

from dust.

It starts

with God

and his

initiative.

God's

son

stooped,

as it

says in

Luke 9,

in order to

seek and

save the

lost,

the helpless.

God's

son stooped,

as it says in

Mark 2,

not to call

the righteous,

but sinners.

And that's

great news.

You know why?

Because nobody

is righteous.

God

stooped,

because the

Bible describes

us as dead

and trespasses.

Now that's

helplessness.

That's the

most helpless

person of

all,

the one who's

already dead.

But hear what

Paul writes

in Colossians.

When you were

dead in your

sins,

God made

you alive

with Christ.

He forgave us

all our sins,

having canceled

the charge of

our legal

indebtedness,

which stood

against us

and condemned

us.

He has taken

it away,

nailing it

to the

cross.

That was

us,

helpless,

dead.

And just

like Lazarus,

Jesus'

initiative,

he raised

us up.

There are

many implications

to what we've

talked about,

which would be

expected since

we've talked

about the

nature and

attributes of

God.

We could

spend years

talking about

the implications

of that.

and we've

talked about

the gospel,

which is

really the

history of

the universe.

We could

spend years

talking through

those implications.

But we'll

talk about

one implication,

and I'll

suggest three

applications.

First,

an implication.

This is for

those of you

who even

though you've

been rescued

and been

made alive

and you know

you are

God's

child,

yet you

are still

in a dark

night of

the soul.

You've

done all

you can,

but you

can't find

a job.

You've

poured

yourself

into the

job that

you have,

but you

are being

undermined

by your

co-workers

and your

boss,

and you're

experiencing

complete

loneliness.

You feel

hurt by

the church.

and are

unsure if

you can

trust anyone

again.

You hate

being single.

You're

grieving a

loved one

who died

and the

emptiness

is not

going away.

You're

so depressed

that the

whole world

looks and

feels gray

and drab

all the

time.

You feel

crushed

by regret.

You're

a wife,

but you're

not a

mother.

And you

can't have

children.

We look

at Psalm

113,

and we

look at the

world,

and we

know there's

not a

one-to-one

correlation.

Not every

barren woman

in the world

becomes a

mother.

Not every

person in

poverty is

lifted out

of that

situation.

So how

do we

receive this

promise?

I think

it's by

knowing that

God reverses

hopeless

situations.

But not

always in

the precise

way we

expect.

I also

think it's

by understanding

your story

as it is

united to

the story

of Jesus.

Your life

is united

to His.

And so you

know that in

His suffering,

He understands

your suffering.

You share in

Christ's

sonship.

When the

Father looks

on you,

He sees

His beloved

child.

Not just

His beloved

child,

He sees

His favorite.

And as

Jesus has

been glorified,

you are

becoming more

and more

transformed

into the

image of

the glorified

Christ.

That means

different things

for different

people.

But in the

meantime,

for everyone,

pray in a

way that puts

God in

the vice

of His

own promises.

God

reverses

the hopeless

situation.

So pray

in a way

that puts

God in

the vice

of His

own promises.

That's what

He wants

from us.

That's how

He wants

us to pray.

Now finally,

three quick

applications.

The first

is simple.

The first

is read

the book

of Luke.

We find

at the

beginning

of the

book

of Luke,

Mary,

and she

sings a

song which

the church

has called

over time,

the Magnificat.

Magnificat

looks a lot

like Psalm

113.

As we

proceed from

the Magnificat

and go

through the

book of Luke,

it feels

like the

book of Luke

is this

huge exposition

of Psalm

113.

It's amazing.

Jesus

seeking out

the outcast,

the outsider,

the crippled,

the blind,

the sick.

Many of you

have read it

before,

so do it

differently this

time.

Try reading it

in one sitting.

Carve out

one or two

hours and

just immerse

yourself in

the book.

Some of you

have never

read Luke.

Some of you

may never

have read

the Bible.

And I think

this is a

great way to

be introduced

to Jesus.

Being introduced

to a God

who stoops.

Read Luke.

Look on

Christ.

If you

don't have

a Bible

and would

like one,

we have

extras and

we'll be

very happy

to give

you one.

The second

application is

this.

If we want

to be moved

to praise

him,

then we

are to be

where God

most clearly

demonstrates his

greatness.

I mean,

we can go

into the

mountains.

I love to

do that.

We can go

to the sea

and see God's

handiwork.

But God

shows his

universal power

in the mercy

which he extends

to those

who are

humbled

and lowly.

So,

perhaps if we

want to see

God at work,

we have to

hang around

rubbish heaps

and keep

the company

of women

weeping in

the night

because they

cannot conceive.

Second

Corinthians chapter

one says,

it is God

who comforts

us in all

our troubles

so that we

can comfort

those in

any trouble

with the

comfort we

ourselves

receive from

God.

For just as

we share

abundantly in

the sufferings

of Christ,

so also

our comfort

abounds

through Christ.

Doubtless,

if we truly

understand

the lowly

position

from which

we have

been raised,

we would

be agents

of God,

bringing comfort

to those

who are closest

to his heart.

The third

implication,

and that's

where the

psalm began,

is this,

as much

as it is

in your

power,

praise

ceaselessly.

Verse 2

says,

this time

forth and

forevermore.

Verse 3

says,

from the

rising of

the sun

to its

setting,

the name

of the

Lord

is to

be praised.

There is

no temporal

or geographical

limit to

the praise

that God

receives.

St. Augustine

describes the

prayer of

the church

as the

unceasing

prayer of

a single

man,

unique

across

space

and time.

It's a

description

of the

praise that

God receives,

a description

of his

greatness,

and it's

a command.

Therefore,

let your

prayers be

full of

blessings to

God.

Praise is

one of those

things that

works from

the outside

in.

So the

more we

praise him,

the more

we'll see

his hand

at work

in creation,

in beauty,

in acts

of mercy,

and the

more we

will wish

glory to

his name,

success to

his cause,

and triumph

to his

truth.

And when

you praise

him,

praise him

with the

church.

The phrase

hallelujah,

praise the

Lord,

is here

found in

the second

person

plural.

So our

praise is

to be

done in

the company

of those

who have

been

redeemed,

of those

to whom

mercy has

been shown,

to whom

God has

stooped

and raised

up.

in the

name of

the

Father,

and of

the

Son,

and of

the

Holy

Spirit.

Amen.

Let's

pray.

And let's

do that

now.

Let's

praise him.

So where

you are

in your

seat,

quietly,

praise him.

Give him

praise.

Tell him

how great

he is,

and glorious,

and beautiful,

and majestic.

Now praise

him for

his love,

and his

grace,

and his

mercy,

and his

nearness.

God,

you are

so great.

And so

good.

Who is

like you?

Who is

like you,

God?

There's no

one like

you.

And for

that, we

give you

our thanks,

and our

praise.

In

Jesus'

name,

Amen.