14. Ascribing True Worship
Hymns: Each Step I Take, RHC 332 Moment by Moment, RHC 333 Yesterday, Today, Forever
PSALM 115
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. 9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. 14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. 17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD. Psalm 115:1-18 (KJV)
ASCRIBING TRUE WORSHIP
(1) GIVING ALL GLORY TO OUR INVISIBLE GOD (v1-3)
(a) HE IS MERCY AND TRUTH
(2) NOT IDOLS (v4-8)
(a) THEY CANNOT HELP
(3) BUT THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD (v9-16)
(a) HE IS HELPER AND PROTECTOR (v9-11)
i. HAVE FAITH IN HIM
ii. HAVE FEAR OF HIMHE IS GOOD TO ALL HIS PEOPLE (v12-16)
(4) WORSHIP THE LORD CONSISTENTLY (v17-18)
INTRODUCTION
The world is in rebellion against their Creator. They have not acknowledged Him although He has made them. It is sad to see the lost estate of this world. God did not leave Himself without a witness. We who have our spiritual eyes opened are His witnesses. The Christian witness points others to His Savior! He knows Him well and he is a living testimony of his God living in and through him. There is a consistency in his witness. This psalm is a testimony of the triumph of God in the believer’s life. He worships the living and true God.
Dear brethren, how is your witness? Can others see Jesus in you?
(1) GIVING ALL GLORY TO OUR GOD (v1-3)
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
How do you fight life’s battles? The way we fight our battles in life is closely watched! You claim to follow the living and true God. Where is He in this time of your trial? And when God does deliver us, do we testify and glorify His Name? The psalmist’s prayer is for God to magnify His own Name in His way in the psalmist’s life. Let me not stand in the way of God’s glory so that I may point others to the true Saviour!
God is in heaven – the preposition “in” has the sense of rest. You cannot see Him, He seemed to be at rest yet He is not. He is the enactor of all things. And He does so according to His delight. He sovereignly rules!
(2) NOT IDOLS (v4-8)
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
The world is oblivious of their Creator but put their trust in the imaginations of their own hands. This is sad. The prophet Jeremiah described the sad state of Judah who has gone after idols in their lives. So blinded, so lost and so helpless!
He warned them in Jeremiah 10:9-10 “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation… Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.” (Psalm 115:5—8, 135:15-18, Jer. 10:1-16)
(3) BUT THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD (v9-16)
a. HE IS HELPER AND PROTECTOR (v9-11)
i. HAVE FAITH IN HIM
ii. HAVE FEAR OF HIM
9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. 14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
The child of God has a child-like not childish trust in his LORD and receives His help and protection. Is this your experience?
We are exhorted to have faith and trust in our God Jesus Christ because He alone is the living and true God.
Indeed, He remembers (is mindful, v12) of us. One great thought for our meditation is that He blesses both the great and small, He reaches out to us His poor creatures who calls to Him. All who will fear Him will depart from evil, will be mindful to keep His laws.
His goodness to them must be recounted and there is a glorious future to it. Realize that death does not end all, absent in the body is present in the Lord. This is our blessed hope. And we step by step follow Him.
(4) WORSHIP THE LORD CONSISTENTLY (v17-18)
17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
While the Lord blesses us with life, let us cherish every moment to live for His honour and glory. In turn, as we ascribe worship to Him, He bestows us with His presence with us. What glory it is to walk with God!
May we bless and Lord and walk with Him daily as His witness. The lips of our praise are testimonies of His life in us. May we do so till we meet Him face to face. Amen.
EACH STEP I TAKE
W. Elmo Marcer
EACH STEP I TAKE MY SAVIOUR GOES BEFORE ME
AND WITH HIS LOVING HAND HE LEADS THE WAY
AND WITH EACH BREATH I WHISPER: “I ADORE THEE”
OH WHAT JOY TO WALK WITH HIM EACH DAY
CHORUS:
EACH STEP I TAKE I KNOW THAT HE WILL GUIDE ME
TO HIGHER GROUND HE EVER LEADS ME ON
UNTIL SOMEDAY THE LAST STEP WILL BE TAKEN
EACH STEP I TAKE JUST LEADS ME CLOSER HOME
AT TIME I FEEL MY FAITH BEGIN TO WAVER
WHEN UP AHEAD I SEE A CHASM WIDE
IT’S THEN I TURN AND LOOK UP TO MY SAVIOUR
I AM STRONG WHEN HE IS BY MY SIDE
(CHORUS)
I TRUST IN GOD NO MATTER COME WHAT MAY
FOR LIFE ETERNAL IS IN HIS HAND
HE HOLDS THE KEY THAT OPENS UP THE WAY
THAT WILL LEAD ME TO THE PROMISED LAND
(CHORUS)