PM Psalm 93

[0:00] This morning, my name is Thompson McKenzie. I'm a second year student at ETS, that's Edinburgh Theological Seminary, through Edinburgh. On a few intimations, on Wednesday evening at 7pm, the prayer meeting and Bible study will be led by William Kenyon.

[0:19] The next Lord Day, at 11am, the Reverend Ken MacLeod, our interim moderator, will lead the morning service. And in the morning service, we'll also look forward to the baptism of Hannah and Martha.

[0:34] The service at 6pm in the evening will be led by Reverend Robert Dale. So, you'll be encouraged to know that the congregation has now received recently from two trusts the grants of £3,000 and £7,000, towards the cost of the dry rot renovations.

[0:54] After allowing for further gifts and donations, the net cost borne by the congregational funds totals £8,400.

[1:04] And the other part is, giving the continued easing of restrictions is to do with congregational singing.

[1:17] Last Wednesday, we recommenced the congregational singing of psalms at the prayer meeting, though masks were still required.

[1:31] We will restart congregational singing this morning, and we'll continue to do that for the psalms this evening. Although we still need to wear the masks during our singing.

[1:48] And I just thank, this afternoon, the hospitality that was shown to myself by William and Fiona. Let's start today's worship.

[2:03] Let's sing together in Psalm 110 from Sing Psalms, page 149. And we'll sing some verses 3 to 6.

[2:15] When you display your power, your people flock to you. At dawn arrayed in holiness, your youth will come like dew. Psalm 110 from Sing Psalms, verses 3 to 6.

[2:33] When you display your power, your people flock to you.

[2:49] Christ of Sing Auftragende, intake dapat can be made of all the dogs, Jesussaac Alerts 20 for flesh and sheep.

[3:03] Now you will hold on my finger. Unchangeably the Lord With sun and purple storm Just like every sin You are a priest forevermore The Lord's a dear right hand Then He will never save He on His day our proud Will cross the peace through By His way

[4:06] Our nations He will trust The dead in His true life The mighty O The earth will cross All newness to the light Let us pray As we come towards the end of this day Lord We thank you for the blessings that you have bestowed upon us The opportunity to praise your name Once more to sing your praises The opportunity to study your word

[5:09] And to exchange a short time of fellowship We remember the blessing of your Son Who you gave in place of us By whose death our sins have been forgiven We give you thanks That we once more Through Christ Your Son Can be in union with you That He will intercede for us That through Him We once more are cleansed Thank you Lord For the body of your church That together we can share your message With the outside world Let us not be insular In closing ourselves Off from the world But let us take your message out to the world

[6:10] We are not of the world We belong to you But we require to be in the world To be taking your message Out to those who have yet to hear it Help us to look to partner With other denominations In the preaching of your word To take your message to them Who have not yet accepted Your Son as their Saviour But let us keep as our guide Your word Your words of Scripture That we teach nothing That is contradictory to it That we teach nothing And add nothing to what it contains Lord we pray for your church abroad As believers face real and present danger

[7:16] To preach your word To tell others of you And often the only opportunity To spread your word Is by witness in their daily lives and actions We think of the Asian Of Asia And the subcontinent of India To the harshness of judicial penalties In countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan For preaching your word For blaspheming against The teachings of Islam We pray that evangelism The spreading of your word May still occur That you will raise up That you will raise up Preachers in these lands To bring others to you And to share the gospel message Of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

[8:17] We think of India and Nepal And at times The rising intolerance Of Christianity As Hindu nationalism Rises and grows In countries like Nepal Which proclaim freedom of religion Yet Make it an offence to Offend Their native And ancient religions We pray for the people Lord Who have came to accept you In faith In these nations And find themselves Cast out From their families And their villages Because They have accepted you As their God This causes hardships At any time But even in these times

[9:18] Of Covid We think How much more Difficult it makes life When people are reliant On each other And Lord We give you thanks With the advances That have been Made in the battle Against Covid For the vaccinations And the easing Of restrictions Here at home Even to the simple things I've been able to Sing together In our praise to you This morning and evening But let us not rush Into our own desires And wishes To ease lockdown For our sakes For the things That we have missed But let us be led By your wisdom And pray for that wisdom To lead our governments Not just our governments At Edinburgh And Westminster

[10:19] But governments At an international level That is some of the Most powerful Men in politics Meet In the south of England That they may That your wisdom May bear influence On them That we may look At the ending Of needless suffering And pain That man inflicts On his fellow man That we may Create a spirit Of cooperation And concern And concern That we may End the division Between north And south Between rich And developed countries And struggling And developing nations And it's important Lord That we remind That these are not Just government issues They are matters Which each of us

[11:19] Have a role To play in In how we Consume The products That we buy The choices We make About Where Our purchases Come from And the conditions In which people Have to work It is our responsibility To play our part In having care For others And as we start This new week Let us take forward Something From your word Today Into our week ahead Let us be Witnesses For you In school In college In training Or in work That we may Glorify your name And bring Honour And praise To you Always These things

[12:22] We ask Through Christ Our Lord And Saviour Amen Let us sing again To God's praise In Psalm Number 25 From the Scottish Psalter That is page 231 Psalm 25 And this First version That we will be Singing Verses 4 To 7 So page 231 Show me Thy ways O Lord Thy pass O teach Thou Me And do Thou lead Me in Thy truth Therein My teacher Be Psalm 25 Verses 4 4 To 7 Show me Thy ways O Lord Thy Paths O teach Thou Me And do

[13:24] Thou lead In Thy School And In Thy Teacher Be For Love Thy God Thy Cross To Be Salvation Send And I Am Holy All The Way Death Spirit To Attempt All Than Janne Tenemos love Father What I We Our Center Am Lord Christ What Do祂

[14:25] I have stressed, Lord, they may be old forever.

[14:38] My sins and faults of you, do thou, O Lord, forget.

[14:51] After thy mercy, be upon thee, and for thy goodness grace.

[15:13] Our first reading this evening is taken from Psalm 93. Reading the full Psalm. Psalm 93, from the beginning.

[15:33] The Lord reigns. He is robed in majesty. The Lord is robed. He has put on strength as his belt.

[15:46] Yes, the world is established. It shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old. You are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord.

[15:59] The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters.

[16:11] Mightier than the waves of the sea. The Lord on high is mighty. Your decrees are very trustworthy. Holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.

[16:25] I'm reading from the New Testament, from Hebrews, chapter 6, verses 13 to 20. So Hebrews, chapter 6, verses 13 to 20.

[16:55] Hebrews, chapter 6, verses 13. For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, Surely I will bless you and multiply you.

[17:13] And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves. And in all their disputes, an oath is final for confirmation.

[17:26] So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise, the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath.

[17:38] So that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

[17:53] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. A hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain. Where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having becoming a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

[18:13] Thanks be to God for the reading of his holy word. And his name be the praise and the glory. Now we'll listen to the hymn, We Have an Anchor That Keeps the Soul Steadfast and Sure While the Billows Roll.

[18:30] So while William plays it, we just contemplate on the words and where those fit into the readings that we have just heard. Thank you, William. Will your anchor hold in the storms of life When the clouds unfold their wings of strife When the strong tides lift and the cables strain Will your anchor drift or firm remain We have an anchor that keeps us all Steadfast and sure while the billows roll Fastened to the rock which cannot move Grounded firm and deep In the Savior's love

[19:31] It is safely poured And the Savior's hand And the cables passed from his heart to mine Can defy the blast through strength divine We have an anchor that keeps us all We have an anchor that keeps us all Steadfast and sure while the billows roll Fastened to the rock which cannot move Grounded firm and deep In the Savior's love When our eyes behold The city of gold Our harbor bright We shall anchor fast

[20:34] Fast by the heavenly shore With the storms all past All past forevermore We have an anchor that keeps us all We have an anchor that keeps us all Set fast and sure while the billows roll Fastened to the rock which cannot move Grounded firm and deep Keep in the Savior's love Let's pray Father may the thoughts of our minds And of our hearts be acceptable in your sight These things we ask through Christ Our strength and our redeemer Amen Reflecting on this hymn of praise

[21:37] That we have just listened to Do we have an anchor to hold on to? In these turbulent uncertain times Tonight's psalm seems a fitting one To explore as it shows The one dependent and unchangeable thing In this world is God It demonstrates his eternal existence His power And the faithfulness of his promises Perhaps You may think that a life jacket Would be more appropriate To keep us afloat In the storms of the sea But no I think we require An anchor To keep us grounded To hold us firm In God's love And protection We don't need To be staying afloat And straying off As we're washed away By the storms of life But do we trust in God

[22:41] In testing times? Obviously just now We immediately think of COVID When we think of Turbulent and uncertain times And certainly These are But we have many other Times of uncertainty In our lives And do we Look to God Even in these smaller Everyday Uncertainties Such as The moving of home A new school College or job Are getting married And the blessings Of starting A new family All are new situations All can bring uncertainty All bring a busyness Of events But do we In these times Of excitement Expectation Or fear Trust and reflect On God In our lives Or do we get caught up In the events That are happening?

[23:40] And think We'll worry about God Later God is always with us And he offers us Stability And security In uncertain times As we read the psalm This evening In verse 1 We're assured That the Lord reigns And in verse 2 That he is everlasting Verse 3 and 4 That he is mightier Than all Of creation And in verse 5 That God's decrees Are very sure And he dwells In his house His temple Forever So let's look A little closer At this short But action packed Psalm And the trust We should place In God Our Father Straight from The start of Verse 1 The psalmist Announces positively That our God Reigns His first sentence The Lord reigns

[24:41] He is robed In majesty The Lord is robed He put on strength As his belt It is a positive And present statement Our God has reigned He does reign And despite opposition He will reign forever It is a short But joyful Power Packed Proclamation The Lord reigns And it is reflected In the New Testament When Paul writes In 1 Corinthians 12-13 Jesus is Lord Jesus is Lord And our Lord reigns You see Spurgeon states Talking of God He has clothed himself In splendour Look at the beauty Of his creation And strength He has put on strength As his belt The image Is an image Of God Preparing for action Remember that In the Old Testament Israel

[25:41] In times of Remember That in the Old Testament Israel In the times Of walking with God Did not rely On their own strength To protect him Or to conquer The land of Canaan God was their refuge And their strength They were delivered From their enemies By God's mighty hand They were instructed In how To prepare For the fight But God Was in control And God Gave his people Victory If we think of Joshua And the city Of Jericho God was quite clear In how The people Were to line up How they were to March round the city And then In the seventh day How they were all To shout out And the walls Crumbled When Israel Obeyed God's commands The city Of Jericho Fell to them We think of Gideon And his victory

[26:42] We think how God reduced the numbers And reduced them again And then gave instructions To Gideon As to the actions Of his men The result being Once again God gave Victory To the Israelites Not in the great numbers Of men That they initially had But in the few chosen So that God Got the glory But we also see In the New Testament How God was set aside By the Israelites And how In that setting aside Of God Having a disregard For his For him And his teachings They fell They fell From glory They fell Into captivity Their city In Jerusalem Was destroyed And they were Carried off To Babylon For 70 years When we think of God Putting on

[27:43] The belt Of strength It reminds us Of Paul's Instructions In Ephesians 6 To put on The armour Of God To prepare Ourselves For battle He writes In Ephesians 6 10-18 Finally Be strong Be strong In the Lord And the strength Of his might Put on the whole Armour of God That you may be able To stand Against the schemes Of the devil For we do not Wrestle against Flesh and blood But against The rulers Against the authorities Against the cosmic Powers over this Present darkness Against the spiritual Forces of evil In the heavenly Places Therefore Take up The whole Armour of God That you may be able To withstand In the evil day And having done All to stand For him Stand therefore Having fastened On the belt Of truth And having Putting on The breastplate

[28:44] Of righteousness And as shoes For your feet Having put on The readiness Given by the Gospel of peace In all Circumstances Take up The shield Of faith With which You can extinguish All the flaming Darts of the evil One And take the Helmet of salvation And the sword Of the spirit Which is the word Of God Praying at all Times in the spirit With all prayer And supplication To that end Keep alert With all Perseverance Making supplication For all the saints It seems Strange that Paul begins With putting on The belt Of truth As I'm sure Paul's concern Was not about Our trousers Falling down But not being Familiar with Armour And preparing For battle I thought it More sensible To start With the breastplate At least

[29:46] You have Quickly Got some Partial protection Against the attack Of the enemy But we need To think back To the Times of Paul And who Was the supreme Soldier The supreme Soldier would have Been the Roman Soldier For whom The belt Was an important Part of his Uniform Paul is in No doubt That we face A battle Perhaps Unpopular Language today In society Desire for Peace and love To live And to let Live And to Allow cultures At odds With God's Teachings To grow This is not Just a battle Against society But one Orchestrated By Satan And his Followers It is a Spiritual battle And the Importance Of the belt Is it is Where Roman Soldiers Stored their Weapon So without A belt

[30:46] Not only Would our Trousers fall Down But we Cannot carry Our weapon Of defence For our Belt is The belt Of truth For Christians Truth is God's word The scriptures God's word Does not Contain Truths To be Mined By the Knowledge Of man But God's word Is truth And it is Our Foundation As Paul Is clear In his Writings To Timothy In 2 Timothy 3 16 And 17 All Scripture Is breathed Out by God And profitable For teaching For reproof For correction And for training And for training In righteousness That the man Of God May be Complete Equipped For every Good work So as the Belt is Close to Our body And is Wrapped Around us So we Should surround Ourself With God's Word

[31:46] And his Truth That it Will Distinguish For us What is God What is Of God And what Sin Enacts Against God As God Puts on Strength As his Belt Let us Put on The belt Of truth The final Sentence Of verse 1 Links With verse 2 Yes The world Is established It shall Never be Removed And in Verse 2 Your throne Is established From of Old You are From everlasting Here we Have the Assurance That God Has created The world And is Involved In the World It is Sustained By him Our God Is not A great Watchmaker Making a Beautiful And intricate Creation Which he Then winds Up Sets Down And allows To run

[32:47] Its course He is a Present God A personal God Who interacts With you And I Even to Them who Have yet To be Called to The Father His Holy Spirit moves Within their Hearts Preparing the Way That they Will be Open to Accept God's Grace And accept Christ By faith We see His creation Inune with Him In Genesis Three Before the Fall of Man And God Would walk Together In the Garden With Adam And Eve The good News is That we Still Can Can still Through faith In our Lord Jesus Christ Through him We can Still have Communion With God Oh what a Privilege What a Blessing That would Be That fallen Sinners Could walk Once more With God

[33:47] To have Union with Him The evidence Of his Kingly office Is in Creation Itself God's world Has been Established And his Rule over It Will never Be moved It has Existed And been Established Before time It has Always been Scientific Theories Always need A beginning Yet none Can provide It Even the Big Bang Theory Still questions What caused The Big Bang God is the Beginning Of all things God Is eternal This does Not mean That our Universe Will Continue In its Present State Forever We see It changing Daily before Our eyes And as we Know God has Promised That there Is a New heaven And earth Coming Where Righteousness

[34:47] Reigns Second Peter In second Peter he Writes in Chapter 3 Verses 13 But according To his Promise According to God's Promise We are Waiting for New heavens And the New earth In which Righteousness Dwells On Christ's Return And at the Final judgment This corrupt Earth will Pass Away And God Shall create A new Pure Earth And heaven Rather the Psalmist is Speaking of God's sovereign Rule Over all In other Near Near Eastern Religions They believed That creation Was subject To the reign Of competing And chaotic Powers But the God revealed In scripture The God of The Bible Has no Rivals Since he Has established His throne Over creation

[35:48] Itself Nothing Falls Outside his Sovereign decree We can trust Him Forever Because He controls All Paul writes In him We have Obtained An inheritance Having been Predestined According to The purpose Of him Who works All things According to The counsel Of his will This point Is developed Further In verses Three And four As we Look at The power Of nature And God's Power over It Calvin Looks at This from Two view Points As this Was Calvin's Favourite Psalm Some of You may Have been Wondering How long It would Have taken Me To bring Him Into This Exposition The Illustration Of the Lord's Divine Power Associated With the Floods Links For Calvin To Psalm 23 Verses Three And four Where the

[36:48] Psalmist Writes The voice Of the Lord Is over The Waters The God Of Glory Thunders The Lord Over Many Waters The Voice Of the Lord Is Powerful The Voice Of The Lord Is Full Of Majesty We Can Clearly See God's Power In Nature As He Is Over The Waters And His Mighty Voice Is Said To Be In The Thunder The First Reference reinforces God's Existence As The All Powerful Triune God Before The Start Of Time We Read In Genesis 1 And 2 About God's Existence In The Beginning God Created The Heavens And The Earth The Earth Was Out Form And Void And Darkness Was Over The Face Of The Deep The Spirit Of God Was Hovering Over The Face Of The Waters The Second Reference To The Voice

[37:48] Of God Being In Thunder Is Repeated In John 12 Jesus Has Been Talking About The Time Having Come For The Son Of Man To Be Glorified God God God Glorified His Name God Declares That He Has Glorified His Name And Would Do So Again And The Crowd Claim That God's Voice Had Thundered If We Look At The Power Of The Floods And Devastation They Cause We Can Also See How Great Our God Is As He Has Control Over The Sounds Of The Floods And The Tempests Of The Seas Again We Can See Other Old And New Testament Links To God's Power Over The Waters In Genesis 6 God Uses The Power Of The Flood To Destroy Humanity Outside Of Noah's Family His

[38:49] Family Had Been Taken Into The Ark Because Of The Sinful Living Of Man And His Rejection Of God But God Sets The Limits Of The Floods Setting The Timescales For The Rain And Giving Noah The Design Of The Ark To Save The Animals And His Family That He Has Decreed And In Mark 4 We Read In Verses 36 To 41 On Leaving They Nine Big open and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling.

[39:32] But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion and awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still.

[39:49] And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

[40:09] Jesus is asleep as the disciples become afraid of the lashing storm that is causing the boat to fill with water. And being awakened, the Lord rebukes the wind and to the amazement of his followers stills the waves.

[40:25] So the sea, which in the ancient world was often a symbol of chaos and disaster, we see the power of God to calm and control nature.

[40:37] His creation. The creation can never be greater than its creator. Our God is eternal and our God is all-powerful. Now the psalmist in the final verse looks to God's relationship with man.

[40:56] For the psalmist, God's house was seen as the tent of the tabernacle and later as the temple in Jerusalem where he would dwell. This obviously created some difficulty for the Jewish teachers after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.

[41:15] For the Christian, God's house was no longer a physical building. God resides within each one of us through his Holy Spirit.

[41:26] Paul again writes in 1 Corinthians 6-19, Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God.

[41:38] You are not your own. The psalmist looks to God's decrees which are trustworthy. God has made a covenant with Abraham and God honours his promises many times throughout the Old Testament.

[41:55] He acts to fulfil his covenant made with Abraham. He gives Abraham an heir and his son Isaac. He grows the offspring of Abraham.

[42:07] He foretells the nation's suffering in Egypt. But also fulfils his promise to bring his people out of Egypt. God remembers their suffering and brings them back to Canaan.

[42:24] God states that he will be Abraham's shield now and in the future. He says, I am your shield is in the present tense and your very great reward and assurance for the future.

[42:42] So today we have the same promise in the new covenant in Christ. That God will be our shield. It does not rule out trials in times of difficulties.

[42:54] It doesn't rule out challenges and sufferings. but we have an assurance of God's presence and God's protection. As Paul in Ephesians 6, 10 and 18 takes up the imagery of God's armour to assure us we are not alone in our fight.

[43:14] So we hold fast in God's strength and not our own. Do not be afraid we are not alone. Our God and our strength is with us.

[43:26] We also have a reward in God that through Christ our separation has been ended. Adam brought us into sin separating us from God and through the sacrifices of Christ we can once again be united with God.

[43:46] A new covenant sealed by Jesus' blood on the cross the barriers of belonging to God's people had been removed. All are now acceptable into God's kingdom by His grace.

[44:02] Not through the actions or sacrifices of men but a new covenant with Christ we are now members of that family by God's grace and in faith alone.

[44:15] Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We sang in the last verse of our anchor hold Will your eyes be holed through the morning light the city of gold and the harbour bright?

[44:30] Will your anchor safe by the heavenly shore when life's storms are past forevermore? Will you be safe by the heavenly shore when life calms and we are at peace?

[44:46] Or will you be washed away by the rising tide of sin and separation from God? And don't think you have plenty of time because we know not when God will call us and without causing upset if anyone had seen the Euros last night we think of how quickly life and how finally life is balanced with the events of Christian Ericsson.

[45:15] a fit player playing for his country and then collapsed we pray that he makes a recovery and we pray for his family but that is life that is a delicacy of life and at the end of that life where will we be?

[45:41] Will we be with God by his heavenly shore or will we be separated from him forever? Let us pray Father we thank you for the promises that you have given us and for the experiences we have of their fulfilment we thank you for the gift of your son our Lord Jesus Christ our saviour and our redeemer we pray Lord for those who are still questioning for those who are still hesitant that they don't pause too long because we don't know when you will return you tell us in Matthew that you will come like two people walking up a hill one will be gone and one will be left one will be taken to glory with you and the other will be separated forever

[46:55] Lord we give you thanks and praise for your son and for the grace which you bestow upon us through Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour amen let's close our worship this evening with psalm 93 so psalm 93 which is in page 355 no it's not 354 help if I could read this evening so psalm 93 verse 354 the Lord doth reign and clothed is he with majesty most bright his works to show him clothed to be and gith about with might so it's from scottish psalm psalm psalm psalm psalm 93 the Lord of great and gold is he with majesty most bright his works to show him clothed to be and gith about with might and gith about with might the world is also established yet that it cannot depart thy throne is fixed so old and long from ever everlasting heart from everlasting heart the floods oh

[49:14] Lord have lifted up they lifted up their voice the floods have lifted up their ways and made a mighty voice and made a mighty noise voice but yet the Lord that is on high is more of might by far than noise of many waters is and light irgendwo wide that is excel and holiness forever

[50:54] Lord thy cause be calm and well thy cause be calm and well may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit go with us all Amen