"A God Worthy of Our Praise" Psalm 135

I'm reading Psalm 135, 1-12, and 19-21.

The Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths.

He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,

who makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast,

who in your midst of Egypt sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants,

who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings,

Sion king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan,

and all the kingdoms of Canaan, and gave their land as a heritage,

a heritage to his people Israel.

In verse 19,

O house of Israel, bless the Lord.

O house of Aaron, bless the Lord.

O house of Levi, bless the Lord.

You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.

Blessed be the Lord from Zion,

for he who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

This past week, I went on a walk with a friend of mine,

just down the Trans-Canada Trail,

just by the school, actually.

It was a great walk.

It was an even better talk.

My friend talked about how his son, who is seven,

said to his dad,

Dad, I want to be rich.

I want to be really super rich.

And my friend says,

what does it mean to be rich?

Oh, to have a lot of money.

He's like, okay, and what's the money for?

So that I can be rich.

And the conversation continued on like this,

and my friend continued to ask his son,

in good Socratic style,

questions after question.

And eventually,

he recognized that what his son really wanted

wasn't oodles of cash.

He wanted a trophy.

He wanted to be recognized.

He wanted to be worthy.

He wanted to be praised.

My friend's a good dad.

He wants his son to grow up to be an upright man

and understand that money is a wonderful tool,

but a terrible master.

So, you know, it was,

we had a good laugh at the absurdity of children.

But here's the thing with children.

They are incredibly enlightening

because they see the world with a sobriety.

And they communicate needs with a clarity

that sometimes we lack as adults.

We want to seem upright

and thereby can hide similar comments

that my friend's son made.

We also have this desire to be praised

and to be recognized,

have trophies,

to have worth,

to maybe even be worshipped.

So I'm not suggesting that

all of us secretly are hoping

that somebody would make for us

a statue in the likeness

of what we look like

so that people can gather around

and burn incense to

and to drop down and worship.

But we have this desire

to be recognized

and celebrated by others.

It is very much the impetus

for many of our pursuits.

And this impetus gets both

something very right and very wrong.

We rightly recognize

that praise is actually a key part

of the human experience.

But we wrongly make ourselves

the object of that praise

rather than point that praise

to the Lord.

And I would humbly suggest

that this is the root

of all of humanity's evils.

So,

we're going to walk towards

this issue of praise and worship.

And we're going to ask

how can we

have proper worship

and proper praise

in our lives?

And why is it a worthwhile pursuit?

In fact,

why is it the most worthwhile pursuit?

So we're into our summer series

in the last section

of the Psalter.

We'll be reading

starting this week,

Psalm 135.

And we won't cover

all of the rest of the Psalms

up to 150,

but a good portion of them.

And we'll look at

the topic of praise

and worship this morning.

And we'll ask

some questions here.

The first question,

why we should worship?

Why?

What's the point?

Why should we worship?

The second,

how should we worship?

And then finally,

what happens when we,

in fact,

do worship?

So if you have a Bible,

you can turn with me

to Psalm 135.

It's a larger Psalm,

so we'll probably move

a bit quicker

than we normally do.

But look with me

at verses 1,

2,

3.

And this is what it says.

Psalm 135,

starting in verse 1.

Praise the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord.

Give praise,

O servants of the Lord,

who stand in the house

of the Lord,

in the courts

of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord,

for the Lord is good.

Sing to his name,

for it is pleasant.

Why praise God?

Why sing to his name?

Verse 3,

what does it say here?

Praise the Lord,

for the Lord is good.

Sing to his name,

for it is pleasant.

Other translations say

beautiful or lovely.

Lovely.

It may sound somewhat quaint

to say we should praise the Lord

because he is good and lovely,

or good and pleasant.

Maybe a bit anticlimactic as well.

Why not begin with God's incredible acts?

The Bible,

it's full of the incredible miracles

or incredible acts

that God performs to his people,

performs in this world.

Or maybe his benefits.

But first and foremost,

the psalmist here,

he says,

actually we should,

before we do all of that,

and it will come,

we should praise God for who he is

because he is worthy of praise.

He is good and he is pleasant.

Normally,

we judge something as good or bad

in relation to something else.

I can say a certain food is good

not only because I enjoy its taste,

but because compared with other foods

that aren't very good for me,

it's anything cooked banana.

Okay?

Disgusting.

This one is good.

But it's good,

but it's also good

because it's not like that.

All right?

It's not like that nasty cooked banana.

The same goes for something pleasant.

I'm enjoying a beautiful afternoon.

The humidity is not bad.

The mosquitoes aren't buzzing around me.

I'm with friends.

I have a cold beverage.

This is a very pleasant,

lovely afternoon.

But I,

all of that is true,

but I also say it's a pleasant afternoon

because it's also in comparison

with an unpleasant afternoon.

Again,

a muggy,

nasty day,

or can I talk about like minus 20 right now?

We just got over it.

But nevertheless,

like minus 20

and we're not doing something fun outside.

We're just homebound.

You know,

we compare something

and we judge something

deeming it good,

of course,

because it's good,

but also in relation to what it is not.

So,

the psalmist here is calling God

good and pleasant,

good and lovely,

good and beautiful,

but in relation to what?

What could possibly compare,

what could we possibly compare God to?

You see,

the scriptures,

it speaks of God

as the maker of all things.

Nothing that was made

was made apart from God.

He is the only being

in all of creation

that has ever existed

that has not himself been created.

He is the uncreated one.

When God made all things,

he called them good

and made humanity

calling us very good,

the very pinnacle of creation.

But even we are

an unworthy comparison to God

in Romans later on in the book,

Paul will say,

it's like a pot

comparing itself to the potter.

It's categorically different.

We can't actually compare.

So,

even the very pinnacle

of creation itself

is a very feeble

and futile comparison

to God.

And yet,

here we have the psalmist

calling God

good and pleasant.

But again,

in relation

to what?

This is a very important thing

to consider for us.

God is completely

self-referential.

He is perfect

and without need.

He is

uncomparable.

Okay?

He is completely uncomparable.

That means that

when he created,

he did so

not because

he was obliged to.

He created

not because

he was compelled to.

So,

in the end,

he creates

out of

pure act

because he

willed it.

He creates

out of

pure love

because

it is not

contingent love.

It's not a love

that he has to show

because somebody

first showed him love.

he creates

out of perfect love

and pure act.

So,

it is not

something

we can compare

in any of creation to.

God is

completely unique

in and of himself.

He is pleasant

and lovely

not because

there is a comparison

of something

that is

lovely

and good

but

just because

he is.

So,

the question then is

how can we

understand

God's goodness

and pleasantness?

Why

then would the

psalm include this

in these opening

verses

in Psalm 135

if there is

nothing in the

world to create

to compare

God to?

I think the

short answer

is simply

that we cannot

fully understand

who God is.

That's a

key aspect

of who God

is.

Is that

he is

unknowable

in an

exhaustive

sense.

if we

could

somehow

be exposed

to the

fullness

of who

God

is

the

scriptures

say

we

would

be

undone.

I mean

consider

this

if

staring

without

special

sunglasses

at an

eclipse

will blind

us

okay

don't try

this at

home

it will

blind

you

how much

more

with unveiled

face

to gaze

upon

the one

who

created

that

son

we

can't

know

the

fullness

of

who

God

is

yet

even

to

talk

of

this

is

an

act

of

creation

because

we

are

understanding

the

goodness

of

God

his

greatness

to

hopefully

the

maximum

extent

that

our

finite

minds

can

possibly

imagine

so

God

is

worthy

of

praise

because

he

is

simply

put

because

he

is

and

yet

and

yet

God

again

completely

uncompelled

to do

so

reveals

himself

to

us

he

expresses

his

goodness

and

pleasantness

to

humanity

in

an

act

again

of

sheer

love

and

pure

will

because

look at

verse 4

what does

it say

for

the

Lord

has

chosen

Jacob

for

himself

Israel

as

his

own

possession

he's

chosen

a

people

for

himself

Israel

in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

God

will speak

of why

he chose

Israel

and he

simply

says

not

because

you

are

great

not

because

you

are

wonderful

just

because

I

chose

you

there

was

nothing

in

you

that

compelled

me

to

choose

you

I

chose

you

and

so

it

is

to

all

them

that

God

chooses

that

God

extends

his

grace

and

favor

to

he

chooses

because

he

delights

to

reveal

himself

to

us

the

truly

unknowable

infinite

God

he

expresses

his

love

and

will

his

goodness

and

pleasantness

and

loveliness

beauty

to

finite

and

fallible

people

and

he

does

so

he

does

so

just

because

this

is

who

he

is

and

what

does

he

call

us

those

that

he

calls

to

be

his

own

the

second

part

of

verse

four

he

calls

Israel

his

own

possession

which

carries

with it

this

idea

of

something

that's

deeply

treasured

something

of

high

value

he

treasures

us

those

that

he

reveals

himself

to

why

should

we

worship

God

because

he

is

worthy

to

be

worshipped

in

and

of

himself

if

this

is

who

God

is

then

I

guess

the

next

question

would

be

how

are

we

to

express

our

love

and

affection

to

him

in

response

to

his

goodness

and

loveliness

and

this

brings

us

to

our

second

point

how

we

should

worship

and

there's

two

ways

that

the

psalmist

is

going

to draw

our

attention

to

look

with

me

at

verses

five

to

seven

and

we'll

find

out

this

first

way

this

is

what

it

says

for

I

know

that

the

Lord

is

great

and

that

our

Lord

is

above

all

gods

whatever

the

Lord

pleases

he

does

in

heaven

and

on

earth

and

the

seas

and

all

deeps

he

it

is

who

makes

the

clouds

rise

at

the

ends

of

the

earth

who

makes

lightnings

for

the

rain

and

brings

forth

the

wind

from

his

storehouses

the

first

way

we

ought

to

worship

God

is

to

remember

and

embrace

the

truth

that

God

is

the

creator

of

all

things

now

I

alluded

to

this

in

the

previous

point

but

we

need

to

think

about

these

things

and

meditate

upon

it

God

created

everything

not

out

of

a

storehouse

of

existing

!

raw

materials

but

out

of

nothing

!

in

fact

the

opening

chapters

of

Genesis

speak

of

him

speaking

he

speaks

creation

and

there

it

is

I

mean

it

really

is

you

meditate

upon

this

and

it

does

not

compute

it's

very

hard

to

grasp

and

yet

the

psalmist

is

saying

listen

meditate

upon

this

think

about

this

that

God

is

the

one

who

creates

out

of

nothing

and

again

he

creates

not

because

he

is

compelled

to

create

because

it

is

his

very

will

to

create

and

he

creates

out

of

love

why

because

the

triune

God

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

is

has

always

existed

and

it

is

the

very

source

of

love

itself

so

that

love

always

has

an

object

that

it

places

itself

on

so

what

do

I

mean

God

loves

the

Son

God

the

Father

doesn't

just

love

God

the

Father

God

the

Father

loves

God

the

Son

God

the

Son

loves

God

the

Father

and

the

Holy

Spirit

is

described

as

the

very

power

and

expression

of

that

love

amongst

the

Godhead

and

then

when

God

creates

what

does

he

do

he

extends

that

love

into

creation

so

God

is

the

creator

of

all

things

creating

out

of

nothing

creating

uncompelled

creating

out

of

love

the

psalmist

is

drawing

our

attention

to

this

reality

and not

only

that

but

this

means

that

the

the

Lord

is

master

over

everything

that

there

is

no

part

of

the

ocean

that

is

by

and

large

unexplored

okay

that

he

doesn't

know

about

no

part

of

the

cosmos

the

galaxy

that

he

hasn't

considered

or

surprised

him

he

made

it

all

considering

all

of

this

should

be

something

that

helps

us

to

have

a

bigger

vision

of

this

God

so we

recognize

who

he

is

if

you guys

followed

the

Artemis

mission

when the

astronauts

returned

Reed

Wiseman

one of

the

four

astronauts

himself

a

self-confessed

not really

a religious

guy

he's getting

interviewed

just about

a week

after

they

landed

and he

said

he

had

seeing

outer

space

going

around

the

moon

it

shook

him

and

he

didn't

have

the

ability

to

contemplate

it

and when

they

came

back

to

earth

and

they

were

on

a

navy

vessel

the

very

unreligious

man

asked

for a

chaplain

to

come

in

and

the

chaplain

came

in

and

he

saw

the

cross

lapel

pin

and

he

said

he

started

to

cry

he

would

say

quote

humanity

has not

yet

evolved

enough

to

comprehend

what

we

just

experienced

I

mean

I

was

telling

Christine

just

this

morning

you

couldn't

pay

me

to

go

to

the

moon

I

love

terra

firma

I

love

this

earth

I

don't

like

flying

but

if

I

could

somehow

see

what

they

saw

I

wouldn't

come

back

and

puff

up

myself

thinking

how

grand

I

was

nobody

that

goes

to

Canmore

or

visit

the

Rockies

whatever

you know

mountain

traversing

climbing

spending

a day

gets

up there

and thinks

man I

am

so

fantastic

they're

awestruck

at what

they

see

this

is

the

God

we

serve

we

consider

that

he

has

created

all

things

so

that

whether

you

are

somebody

inside

or

outside

the

Christian

faith

whether

you're

struggling

with

doubt

you feel

your

faith

is

rock

solid

the

imperative

is still

the same

meditate

upon

God

as

creator

think

about

the

vastness

of

this

created

world

and think

about

how he

spoke

it

into

existence

the

Lord

who

is

the

creator

of

all

things

worthy

of

our

praise

he

is

the

one

we

are

to

worship

but

the

psalmist

continues

because

it's

not

just

that

hey

you

need

to

remember

God

as

a

creator

linked

to

God

being

the

creator

is

also

God

the

redeemer

look

with me

at

verses

8

to

14

he

it

was

who

struck

down

the

firstborn

of

Egypt

both

of

man

and

of

beast

who

in

your

midst

o

Egypt

sent

signs

and

wonders

against

Pharaoh

and

all

his

servants

who

struck

down

many

nations

and

killed

many

kings

Sihon

king

of

the

Amorites

and

Og

king

of

Bashan

and

all

the

kingdoms

of

Canaan

and

gave

their

land

as

a

heritage

a

heritage

to

his

people

Israel

your

name

O

Lord

endures

forever

your

renown

O

Lord

throughout

all

the

ages

for

the

Lord

will

vindicate

his

people

and

have

compassion

on

his

servants

God's

redemptive

acts

follow

from

his

power

in

creation

he

is

the

strongest

force

in

the

universe

therefore

anything

that

opposes

him

or

his

people

he

will

oppose

himself

the

psalmist

points out

two

acts

of

redemption

towards

the

people

of

Israel

the

first

is

the

exodus

if

you

are

familiar

with

the

Bible

or

if

you

watch

the

prince

of

Egypt

it's

a

story

where

Israel

is

400

years

a

slave

not

12

years

a

slave

400

years

a

slave

and

what

does

God

do

he

hears

their

cry

he

rescues

them

out

of

Egypt

there's

10

plagues

and

Egypt

is

struck

down

it

culminates

with

them

going

through

the

Red

Sea

and

the

Red

Sea

crashing

down

defeating

Pharaoh

and his

army

forever

it is

such

an

important

story

to

understand

the

entire

biblical

story

itself

what

is

the

point

of

drawing

our

attention

to

this

the

Lord

takes

very

seriously

the

redemption

of his

people

freedom

is

something

that

he

is

very

much

in

favor

of

God

who

sees

and

hears

his

people

oppressed

in a

very

very

inhospitable

way

he will

show them

hospitality

by rescuing

them

and redeeming

them

and bringing

them into

a land

flowing with

milk and

honey

a land

that he

promised

to their

forefathers

Abraham

a land

where they

can

till

the

field

and enjoy

the fruit

of their

labor

not

somebody

else's

field

for

somebody

else's

table

but for

their

own

but then

he uses

another

the psalmist

then uses

another example

to speak

of God's

redemption

and this

redemption

has to do

with that

land

and how

as Israel

came out

of the

desert

they got

to the

land of

Canaan

which is

now the

land of

Israel

and dispossessed

it from the

nations that

existed here

but here's

the thing

this is what

it says

God

verse 10

who struck

down many

nations and

killed many

kings

Sihon

king of

the Amorites

Og

king of

Bashan

and all

the kingdoms

of Canaan

and gave

their land

as a

heritage

a heritage

to his

people

Israel

for us

maybe this

is a bit

of a

difficult

thing to

celebrate

okay

the people

today

that wish

for the

complete

annihilation

of a

people

group

they are

they're not

people to

to worship

okay

they're not

people to

hold up

in esteem

I would

push back

on anybody

who said

listen we

need to

just have

a day

celebrating

the Ayatollahs

or Boko

Haram in

northern Nigeria

or any

of the

communist

states that

still push

hard against

freedom

and oppress

their people

we don't

celebrate

those people

here in

Canada

I'll just

say this

and by the

way if anybody

wants to talk

to me about

this afterwards

I'm not going

to go into

a great deal

of apologetics

around this

but just to

say that God

is not a

genocidal God

sometimes the

surface reading

can seem that

that God is

about wiping

out entire

nations

at a very

surface level

reading

but I'll just

say to you

without proving

it right now

but again

come up to

me afterwards

and we'll

talk

that God

is not a

genocidal God

he's a God

of justice

and love

and mercy

nevertheless

what we see

here is that

God is

seeing the

enemies of

God's people

the injustice

that's in the

land and he

is saying to

them listen

you've lost

the right

to this land

my people

are the people

that have

been promised

this

and what

God does

when he

dispossesses

the land

of Canaan

is that he

remembers his

promise to

Abraham

and he

gives the

land that

was promised

to them

which is to

say that he

brings them

into a place