Sermon by Neil Earle
Good morning, brethren.
I was thinking, we're not so far into 2006 that we can't look back at the year 2005 and ask, "Can we get to do this one over again?"
Or on another note we could say, "Lord, it's good to be alive."
Reflecting back on tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes and now, in February, an ongoing splurge of violence in Iraq with our forces over there buttoned down hoping and praying against a civil war – well, this can make a seeming mockery out of what is a very nice counteractive set of Scriptures.
I'm thinking of Psalm 103:1-5. Remember these words?
"Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.
"Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."
The repetitive rhythm in the poetry is conveyed even in our attempts at translation and it expresses beautifully, solemnly and majestically the point the writer is making. "All his benefits" – what a beautiful thought for meditation upon in our stormy times.
It continues: "Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction" – yes, that's all of us hearing these words – God has been with us. As the Cowboy Prayer has it, "Thank the good Lord you're still above ground.
The Psalmist continues praising and thanking God: "Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies."
Just linger on that for a minute, drink it in. "Loving kindness" – what a beautiful word. In Hebrew it is HESED – it means mercy, kindness, goodness, steadfast love. In the Old Testament it is employed two ways – God's love for his people and their love for him. HESED. Tender mercies in Hebrew is plural – RAHaMIM – related to rehem, the Womb and rehem is expressive of compassion, of pity and the personal, caring, deep heart of God.
Doesn't this simple word study and the power and evocativeness of the words God inspired put you in a totally different mood than we get watching the news? I should say. A little in depth study can lift you out of your everyday mood and mode. A wise man said that sometimes we need other's words to speak FOR us and on our behalf as well as speak to us. At times of death and tragedy we are often stunned, in shock. It's hard to breathe, let alone speak. That's where other pilgrim's words can speak FOR us. Or we need the words of others.
God knew that. That's why the Holy Spirit spoke to ancient people for times like ours. Bible Dictionaries tell us that HESED and RAHaHIM are expressed together in that New Testament word for grace, CHARIS from which we get Charity. And a lot more.
The Bible in both Testaments speaks the language of the womb, the language of the heart.
Our text, Psalm 103:5, continues. Now it focuses on God's loving activity on our behalf – "Who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle."
With words God blesses us and with words we bless God. But how? How can we bless God? The word means to delight him with genuine praise and thanksgiving. Of course. With praise we enter his gates, we are told elsewhere. Praise and thanksgiving usher us into God's courts. We stand with him and all God's people and metaphorically we join that immortal choir in heaven standing before the sea of glass. And when we go to heaven in prayer we are reminded we are standing before the God of the universe, the God of all power. The God who can do anything.
That's why the next verses of Psalm 103:6-8 remind us again of our God's nature. It says:
"The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed." Really? Really now? Is that what God does? In our world? Millions – no, billions – don't believe that. They look around and see oppression and react in anger. But wait – God doesn't see things as we see them. God is eternal. He has plenty of time. In time things work out. In time rain water breaks rocks. In time things change – mightily. I think of that every time I visit my wife's home in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is the home of Elvis Presley – yeah, we've been there. It's also the home of the Loraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. Only, it's not called the Loraine Hotel any more. It's called the National Civil Rights Museum.
And every time I go there I have to think, What a miracle, what a miracle of transformation. The place where MLK died is now the monument to his memory, a monument he would have been well pleased with indeed.
Well, that's as far as we have time to go into this Psalm today. But you can see why it has been called the great Psalm of praise. I like to call it the Eagle Psalm because it speaks of the eagle's process of moulting or regrowing its tail feathers. That's a nice symbol of transformation. Hallelujah. Thank God for inspiring this Eagle Psalm for us who feel too often like brooding doves. Keep reading, keep studying, let God speak to us through these wonderful words and let's not forget his benefits.