"The God of Salvation"
[Psalm 65]
October 28, 2007 Second Reformed Church
Wednesday is the 490th anniversary of a very important event. Do you know what it is? On October 31st, 1517, an Augustinian monk, by the name of Martin Luther, nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church. 490 years ago, Martin Luther presented the Church and the scholars with a list of 95 propositions for discussion. We mark this event as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation; this spark set the fire which created the Protestant Church, of which we are a part.
Well, what was Martin Luther wanting to debate? What was his problem with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church? Martin Luther challenged the Church saying that they had lately perverted the Gospel -- that salvation is not a joint work of God and man, but salvation is wholly, completely a work of God -- humans contribute nothing to their salvation.
On this Reformation Sunday, let us look at Psalm 65, a Psalm of David, and may these inspired words guide our eyes to God, where they belong, and may we swell with joy and thanksgiving, because our God is the God of Salvation.
"Praise is due you, O God, in Zion;"
When you came into the sanctuary this morning, did you desire to praise God? Were you drawn to this place this morning out of a need to join together with your sisters and brothers and praise God for Who He is?
If you didn't, pray that God would open your heart and cause you to desire to praise Him. Pray that God would open your eyes that you would see that God is worthy of praise -- praise is due God -- praise is owed to God by anyone and everyone who ever comes into His Presence. If you know Him, you must praise Him, you are compelled to praise Him. John Piper, in our Saturday afternoon studies, made the point that the normal, natural response for a Christian is to praise God and worship Him, to long for pure worship on Holy Mount Zion. And Dr. Piper says that God can't help it -- He's just that magnificent; He's just that beautiful. When you know Him, when you come into His Presence, you can't help but worship and praise and lift up His Name. Our God is worthy of praise.
"And to you shall vows be performed,"
When we worship God rightly, we make promises to Him. All of us who are Christians have promised God that we will repent of our sin, we will turn from it and not do it any more. We will pursue holy living; we will become like Jesus in every way. And God has indwelled us in the Person of the Holy Spirit that we might be able to accomplish those vows we make -- to flee from sin, to repent, to forgive, to live holy lives, to pray for each other, to support the work of God's Church -- the vows each member makes in becoming a member are made to God, as well as to the congregation. Our God is worthy of obedience, of our keeping the vows we make to Him.
And there are those who will object and say, "Well, God has never done anything for me." Or, "You have your God and I have mine."
"O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come."
One of the things that set the nation of Israel apart from all of the pagan nations, is that they understood that there is Only One God. All other gods are creations of our sinful minds or demons posing as gods. There is One and Only One God. He is the God Who answers every prayer that is prayed to Him in faith. God does not sleep, like the other so-called gods. God does not forget, like the other so-called gods. Our God answers every prayer that we raise to Him in faith. Doesn't that give us pause to be amazed?
And this One God is not just the God of Israel, or the God of America -- our God is the One God Who calls all peoples to Him. And every type of person -- man, woman, black, white, Jew, Gentile, slave, free -- God is God of every type of person that exists and persons of every type that ever exist will come to Him. There is no prejudice or preference in God’s Eyes -- all people are equal in God's Eyes, and all people are equally called to repent and believe in Him. So it ought never come to our mind, much less our lips, to say that any person from any background is not welcome in God's Church. Every person of any and all backgrounds is called and welcome to worship our One God together with us.
I heard someone ask, "Well Second Reformed is a white church, isn't it?" No, this is not a white church, this is not a black church, this is not a female church, not is not a male church -- this is a church where anyone of any background is welcome to worship the One God, our Savior. And we better make sure that people know that. God help us if we are known as a racist church.
Still, there is a problem, and David raises it: "When our deeds of iniquity overwhelm us," We are born -- we are by nature -- overcome by our sinful self, by our sinful deeds. We don't naturally desire to worship God. We don't naturally desire to keep our vows. Remember how Paul quotes from the Scripture, "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of the ages is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18 NKJV).
This is known as the doctrine of total depravity -- we are born sinners, every part of us has been infected by sin, no part of us has been preserved innocent and blameless before God. Most people think that God will welcome them into His Kingdom because they have been "good enough." God's standard is perfect holiness. If you are not perfectly holy, you cannot be received by God into His Kingdom. So, let us ask ourselves, have we ever done anything that was wrong? Have we ever sinned? The point is easily made.
But what about little children; babies? The Scripture tells us that we all inherit a sin nature from our father, Adam. Every human being is born a sinner, even before he or she commits a single sin. Adam was our representative and he freely, consciously, chose sin.
If you've ever have contact with a little child, test him. My nephew, Ty, was two back in March, and he loves cars and trucks. Now, if you take one of his trucks from him, even if he wasn’t playing with it, his normal response is, "MINE!!!!!" Now, some might say that he just hasn't learned the proper way to act in our society, but I say to him, "See, Ty, you are exhibiting total depravity." Because, for him, his whole universe is about himself -- "It's all about me!" And until we have been saved by Christ, even if we become very civilized and socially acceptable, in the end, the seventy-five year old woman will say, "It's all about me -- and what I deserve!"
So there's our problem: humans are born with their eyes locked on themselves -- so it is not possible -- as Paul just told us -- it is impossible for a person to turn, to repent, to even help God with salvation. And that's what Martin Luther was saying.
I take the time to stress this at length because it is not what American advertising would have us believe: "You deserve a break today." "This Bud's for you." "Have it your way." "We built this car with you in mind." American advertising says, "The sinful self is right -- it's all about you."
David tells us, that, if we have come into the presence of God -- the One, True God, we will see how common and miserable all those things we once strived for are. God is the most beautiful, the most magnificent, beyond our ability to describe. But we do not have the natural capacity -- the natural ability -- to come to God on our own, or even in co-operation with God. Hear the message of Reformation Sunday:
"You forgive our transgressions. Happy are those whom you choose and bring to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple."
God Alone forgives us of our sins. God Alone chooses us at out the mass of humanity for Himself. God Alone brings us into the courts of His Kingdom. God Alone satisfies us with His Goodness.
If you have come to worship this morning, believing in Jesus Alone for your Salvation -- that is a glorious work of God Alone in you, and it's just one more reason to praise His Name Our joy, our satisfaction, our life, our salvation, are found in God Alone. So, if we want joy and satisfaction, we ought to spend every moment in pursuit of God. There's nothing better; there's nothing else that will last.
"By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas."
Is there a more awesome story to be told, that God would Incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ, live under His Own Law, be put to death by sinful men, enduring the Wrath of God for our sins, to be raised and ascend and deliver all of His people? Is there any more amazing Truth, that for the sake of His Glory, God delivered us from God’s Wrath by taking our place? John cries out with mixed joy and amazement: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us; that we should be called the children of God" (I John 3:1).
Can you believe it? God calls us His children. God has changed us from cosmic rebels to children. God freely chose to make us His for His Sake. How can we not be amazed?
David says that we don't have to be a great theologian. We don't have to have a PhD. All we have to do is look at nature to understand that there is a God -- a Great God -- Who is worthy of praise and obedience:
"By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might."
Charles Spurgeon wrote, "Philosophers of the forget-God school are too much engrossed with their laws of upheaval to think of the Upheaver. Their theories of volcanic action and glacier action, etc., etc., are frequently used as bolts and bars to shut the Lord out of his own world" (The Treasury of David, vol. 2, 92).
In other words, when we look at the mountains, we can discern the volcanoes and glaciers and others actions that caused the mountains to form as they did, but Who is behind those actions, Who caused those actions so the mountains would be formed as they are?
"You silence the roaring of the seas, and the roaring of the waves, and the tumult of the peoples."
Who has the ability to silence the sea and the waves? Who can bring calm to the storm? Who can stop wars and silence the mouths of fools? Who can say "Be still!" and have all of the creation immediately obey?
"Those who live at the earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy."
Have you ever watched the sun-rise or the sun-set? Have you felt the power of God in the moment of the sun creeping over the horizon, and slipping down below? Who causes the planets to work in this way, that everyone on this planet can watch the sun-rise as the gates open and the sun-set as the gates close? Have you ever considered that sun-rise and sun-set are one of the Creation's ways of drawing our attention to God, that we, with Creation should cry out, "Joy! Joy! Hallelujah!" because we know the Only One Who is capable of doing these things?
"You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the River of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water it's furrows abundantly, setting its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness."
David tells us to consider the crops that feed us: God is the One Who brings the rain. Yes, water evaporates and collects in the clouds and gets heavy and is released down to the ground again. But Who causes the process and makes sure it continues? Who was it that punished Israel with a drought of three years (I Kings 17)? Who caused the rain to fall yesterday?
God is the One Who makes the soil fertile. Yes, we know the chemical make-up of soil that will bear fruit, and we can buy "Miracle-Grow" and other such things. But Who composed the elements in the soil in the first place? Who designed the seeds that they would respond and grow in such a medium?
Who set the cycle of life in a year that so perfectly suits the plants and animals that year after year all of our needs are provided for? We could talk about the devisers of calendars, but what of the One Who created the seasons? Who flung the planets in space? Who set all things in their motion and makes sure that they are sustained according to His Will?
He is our One God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote, "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:20-21 NKJV).
And David wrote, "The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy."
The Creation suffers due to our sin, but the Creation looks forward in hope, because the same God Who is alone our Savior, has promised that the Creation will be delivered from its suffering and be brought into the glory that Jesus has prepared for us. In response to that great news, the Creation physically responds, doing all it is able to cry out to God, "Glory! Joy! Praise Him!"
If the Creation knows God in this way -- that it should respond in constant praise and obedience for the sake of joy -- and the Creation does not need a Savior like we do, how ought we respond, as those who have been chosen to be saved by God Alone and have been brought into the Kingdom of God? Shall we not be filled with awe and joy, and live to praise God and obey Him?
Let us pray:
Almighty and Awesome God, when we consider Who You are and all You have done, we are amazed. We do not have the words to thank You for saving us by Your Life, for we were not able. When we truly stop to look at Your Creation, we can do nothing less than fall down and worship You. Train our eyes upon You that we might receive joy as You are glorified. And may all praise be to You Alone, now and forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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