Sermon on Psalm 105:1-7, with overview of whole Psalm. G.S.Munro. From http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gsmunro/resource.htm

The great theologian John Calvin said that all true wisdom consists of two parts - the knowlege of God, and the knowlege of ourselves. And unless we have both together, we will properly understand neither ourselves nor God.

God has revealed himself to us, not in Mathematics or Metaphysics or Philosophy, or some abstract pursuit of the mind, but in concrete historical acts. God reveals himself, not in religious theory made up by gurus sitting down and meditating upon life the universe and everything, but by his dealings in history with real human beings like ourselves.

Psalm 105, together with Psalm 106, rounds off the fourth section of the book of Psalms. In these psalms we find a contrast between two aspects of the history of salvation. Psalm 105 lists the mighty acts of God. He is the God of history, the God who is unfailingly faithful. Psalm 106 lists by contrast the acts of man, who is unfailingly unfaithful and stubborn, continually flinging back in God's face his kindness and mercy.

To quote Calvin, "man never achieves a clear knowlege of himself unless he has first looked upon God's face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself. For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and holy...unless by clear proofs we stand convicted of our own unrighteousness, foulness, folly and impurity." Calvin calls God's character - his righteousness, wisdom and power - the straightedge by which our crookedness can be seen and measured. Looking at God's purity is the antidote to all human pride.

But how do we contemplate God's purity? It's not by meditation and mysticism. It's by looking at him in the way he deals with people in sacred history - in the bible.

In February we began this series on the history of salvation in the Old Testament. I've chosen to preach on Psalm 105 today, because it summarises where we have come to in the story of salvation so far.

I'm not going to go through the whole 45 verses. I'm only going to deal with verses 1 to 7 in detail. I will, however, give you an overview of the various sections of the Psalm, and you will have an opportunity to ask questions about anything in those verses.

Someone said to me a while ago that they had trouble visualising when all these things happened, and that a time line would be a useful thing to have. So, let's have a look how this psalm encapsulates the history of God's dealing with his chosen people, from the time of Abraham, to the time of the Exodus. You will find this time line on the back of the What's on at Willoughby program you've been given.

INTRODUCTORY OUTLINE: (show outline on overhead or sheet of paper)

verses 8-11 The Promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

In about 2000 BC, God promised to Abraham, a people, a land, and a blessing. He said that through Abraham he would bless all peoples on earth. You can find these promises in Genesis chapters 12 to 17, which we preached on in February.

verses 12-15 of Psalm 105 are about protection for the Patriarchs.

This is talking about Genesis chapters 18 to 36, where we see that God protected the early fathers of the Israelites, despite their foolishness, sinfulness, and weakness. In this part of Genesis are sordid tales of lying, cheating, sexual immorality, incest, murder, and just about every crime you can think of, perpetrated both against and by, the ones who were the heirs of God's promises to Abraham. But nothing could stop God from going back on his word, and he kept his people safe through all this.

verses 16-22 Saved through Joseph
(from daddy's boy to mummy Gen 37:3-50:26)

These verses refer to the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 to 50. Again it shows how God is so much in control of history, that he even uses the evil intentions of men to bring about his good purposes. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in egypt, but God raised up Joseph to be the grand visier of the whole country, second only to the pharaoh. When Joseph's father Jacob and his brothers have to buy grain from Egypt because of the severe famine, Joseph is able to rescue them from their plight. He says to his brothers, of their act in selling him, "you meant this for evil, but God meant it for good."

verses 23-25 Israel in Egypt

Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, and his sons and their families, 70 people in all, went to Egypt. They lived there in the land of Goshen under the care of Joseph and the goodwill of the pharaoh. Verse 24 here says that the Lord made his people very fruitful, and that's where the book of Genesis ends, and Exodus begins. But after several centuries, a pharaoh arose who did not know what Joseph had done for his land, and the Egyptians became afraid because there were so many of these Hebrews in the land. They might take over, they thought, and so they formed their own equivalent of the AAFI party to do something about it. They oppressed and enslaved the Israelites. But Exodus tells us that God heard their groans and remembered his covenant with their father Abraham. And so in

verses 26-36 God saved them through Moses whom he sent.

This is found in Exodus chapters 4 to 11. He judged Egypt and their Pharaoh. He sent nine plagues upon their land, which are listed here in verses 27 to 37. But each time, pharaoh's hard heart would not relent and let the Israelites go. Then in verse 37: "he struck down all the firstborn of their land, the firstfruits of their manhood." Last week Paul spoke about chapter 12 of Exodus, the Passover. In the Passover, God spared his people from the final judgement upon Egypt - the death of the first born sons. The angel of death passed over the houses of those who put their trust in Yahweh, the God who is the eternal I am. Then the Egyptians, as it says in verse 38, "were glad when they left."

Verses 37-42 relate Israel's Exodus from Egypt and their time in the wilderness, where God miraculously provided for them.

This part of Israel's history is found especially in Exodus chapters 12 to 17. In verse 41, where it says he gave them water from the rock at a place called Meribah, the New Testament tells us that Christ was that Rock. Figuratively speaking, it was he whom they drank from, by faith, just like us.

verses 43-45 speak about the conquest of the promised land under Joshua.

But between verse 42 and verse 43, you may insert the whole of the next Psalm, psalm 106, because this keeping of God's promise to give the descendants of Abraham a land, was kept despite the total unfaithfulness of all that generation that left Egypt. Psalm 106 - read it later for yourself - describes in vivid detail how Israel sinned and so spent 40 years in the desert on a journey that should have taken 11 days. When you disobey God and go your own way, it's never a short cut. It's always the longest, most painful way round.

But get there they did. God had given the Canaanites 400 years to repent and turn to him. They didn't, and he used the Israelites to judge them for their sin. They came in, took the land, and the promise to Abraham was well on the way to being fulfilled.

Now, before I go through verses 1 to 7, are there any questions about verses 8 to 45?

EXEGESIS OF VV 1-7:

What's this all about then? Is it all just an ancient history lesson? I mean, we're talking about events that happened in an obscure little part of the middle east, ten thousand miles away from us, between 2 and 3 thousand years ago. Why is all this relevant? How can what happened back in the bronze age, have any effect on plastic age people?

Well, it can. For the full answer you'll have to keep coming as we continue to preach through the Old Testament. But the short answer is found in verses 1 to 7 of this Psalm.

Here we see the imperatives for Israel and for us. The psalmist says things like:

Give thanks
Make God known to the nations
Sing his praises
Glory in his holy name
Look to the Lord and his strength only
Seek His face and
Remember what he has done for you.

These verses are addressed in verse 6 to the sons of Abraham, the descendants of Jacob. Now very few of us are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Most of us are not Jews. But the New Testament shoes that every Christian belongs to this family, whose history and calling we inherit. Here are the early chapters of our own story: we can sing of its miraculous beginnings with more than just a spectator's interest. Galatians 4 7 says "those who believe in Christ are children of Abraham." If we are in Christ, then by faith we are descended from Abraham. This is our spiritual heritage, through Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, our true Passover Lamb, the one who ultimately fulfils all the promises in the Old Testament. Through him, we can remember not only what God did for Abraham, or his marvellous deliverence of his people in the Exodus, but we remember especially what he has done for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf.

Look at verse 1: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name."

What does it mean to call on God's name? We have seen in our series on Exodus, that God's name is the expression of his character. He said to Moses, "I am who I am." He reveals his name as Yahweh, and as his dealings with his people unfold through the Old Testament, we see that name filled out with an ever increasing knowlege of God's character. He is the Holy, eternal and all powerful God, whose being is far beyond all we can imagine. His perfection and purity burns up all that is impure in his presence. But for those who trust him, and approach him on his terms, He is the close and caring God, who comes down to rescue his people.

It is not until the New Testament that the fullness of his name is known. Jesus, whose name means "God to the rescue," is God made man. God could do no more than he has to show us his name, his character. His name is Jesus.

Romans 10 verse 9 says: "if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." And verse 13 says, "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

To call upon the Lord's name, to call upon Jesus, is to call upon God's revealed character as the God who saves, the God who forgives through the death of Jesus our Passover Lamb, sacrificed for our sins.

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name," and then verse one goes on, "make known among the nations what he has done."

Or, as Romans 10 continues, "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" "

Don't you want the people of the nations, the people of your country, the people of Willoughby, your friends, your workmates, your family, to hear the good news of what God has done for you?

And do you know what is to characterise us, individually, and as a church, as we do this? Look at verse 2 and 3. "Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice."

Joy. That is the natural response of someone who has been let off the death penalty, isn't it? We ought to celebrate with joy, especially when we meet together. Our services should reflect not just the solemnity and reverence due to God's holiness, but also the joy and exuberance of experiencing his forgiveness and friendship. The Christian life is not a funeral march.

The hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Verse 4. "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." Do you find yourself, like I do, often relying only on your own strength? Paul says that the power available to us by God's Holy Spirit who dwells in us, is the same power that raised Jesus from death. How stupid to rely on our own puny power instead. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

verse 5. "Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth."

Do you believe that? God judged Egypt, and his judgements still go out into all the earth. He condemns what is evil and praises what is good. His judgements are in all the earth. Don't give it up to the materialists. Speak up in areas of politics and ecology and other areas of ethics that affect our society. Be known as people who follow God's guidelines for his creation. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people," the bible declares. I don't agree with everything that Fred Nile says. I don't agree with everything that the Pope says. But they're right about one thing. God has the right to rule over all people, and to decide what is right and what is wrong about human behaviour. Abortion is wrong, euthenasia is wrong, racial prejudice is wrong, promiscuity is wrong, and God's judgement is upon such things.

God is the God of judgement who will punish evil without exception. But people need to know that God is the God who forgives those who turn back to him, and put their trust in Jesus. If you've done that, then verse 8 should make your heart respond with thankfulness to God. "He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham..."

Because of that covenant promise, God kept his ancient people safe through unimaginable hardships. He never, never, never gives up on his promise. He does bring about what he plans and purposes. Unlike us, he always does what he says.

God has not changed. He promises us eternal life in Christ. He promises us the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor, comfort, and guide. He promises strength to cope with anything that the world, the flesh and the devil can send against us. He promises to keep us until the end.

Remember. Remember the wonders he has done. Remember what he did for his ancient people Israel, the miracles and the judgements. Remember above all the miracle of the cross, where the eternal God made flesh suffered and bore our sins. Remember the miracle of how God has worked in your own life and the lives of those you love. Look back to the way he has kept his promise in the past, and look forward confidently to the future, no matter what life and death may hold. Because the promise of Jesus is, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

TIMELINE FOR SERMON (not to scale):

Sermon on Psalm 105:1-7, with overview of whole Psalm. G.S.Munro. From http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gsmunro/resource.htm