WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.980 Back in late 2007, Church of the Advent was a group of men and women meeting on Friday nights in a house just across 16th Street, just down Newton. 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:32.340 And it was situated such that when we came out at the end of those gatherings, after we had eaten dinner together and prayed together, we would come out into the street and you could turn and you could look down the road and you could actually see the side of Canaan Baptist. 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:48.960 And back then, it was hard to imagine all that God might have done. We could never have imagined that, but we would sometimes look down the road and look at those stones and wonder, might we ever worship one day in that space? 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:54.820 And it seemed like kind of a far cry then, and yet here we are. 00:00:55.859 --> 00:01:01.399 And so if you're here for the first time just joining us, for one, well done finding it. 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:09.319 Since this is our first time here, it would be very understandable if some of you might have wandered around looking, but I'm glad that you found your way here. 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:14.900 But this marks not just our first time here, but it marks an extraordinary answer to prayer. 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:20.160 And yet again, we as a community are reminded of at least two things. 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:24.760 One, that we are, as a church, part of a much larger body. 00:01:25.820 --> 00:01:41.760 And so when it comes to our need for space, it's a great joy when we find another church like Canaan Baptist Church, with whom we can agree on the second thing, and that is this, that God is a God who provides. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.520 That He always provides for His people. 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:48.020 That He has provided this space. 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:58.580 And unlike the previous space we were in, with all of its accoutrements and all of the good things about it, I think it's pretty clear what we believe in this space. 00:01:59.080 --> 00:02:02.340 And we're very excited about that, and very excited about this. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:07.939 And in fact, I hope we can get more information about all the symbolism in this cross behind me. 00:02:07.960 --> 00:02:09.780 It's actually rich with symbolism. 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:10.620 It's beautiful. 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:13.599 And as we toured this space, we got to hear some of that. 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:17.400 And so if we can get our hands on that, we'll make it available for you all as well. 00:02:17.700 --> 00:02:20.539 But we are thankful to God for Canaan Baptist Church. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.060 We're thankful to God for their willingness to host us. 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:30.800 And we're hopeful for all that might happen as a result of this relationship with Pastor Owens and this congregation. 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:34.620 I can't wait for you to meet all of the folk of Canaan Baptist. 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:39.659 And we're right now exploring ways that that might happen so that we can get to know one another better. 00:02:39.659 --> 00:02:47.479 But in light of God's provision, in light of all that we have to be thankful for, this service is a service of thanksgiving. 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:52.699 And as I said at the beginning of the service, it's a time to remember all that God has done. 00:02:52.780 --> 00:02:58.419 And so I can think of no more appropriate text on which to focus our attention than Psalm 118. 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:02.599 Psalm 118 is an absolutely wonderful psalm. 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:07.799 For those of you keeping score at home, it was a favorite of both St. Augustine and Martin Luther. 00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:11.620 Some say it was Martin Luther's single favorite psalm. 00:03:13.019 --> 00:03:14.659 It's a psalm, as I said, of thanksgiving. 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:16.799 It praises God for all that He does for His people. 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:26.419 Moreover, this psalm, if you pick this up when we read it, it's specifically written to be used in corporate worship gatherings. 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:31.060 And it has a structure, especially in the Hebrew, that is a liturgical structure. 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:36.759 It's what's called an antiphonal psalm, meaning it's designed for call and response. 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:42.680 And I think when Deborah was leading us a little while ago in the reading of this psalm, 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:46.000 you could probably pick up on that call and response rhythm. 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.340 So it's made for this setting specifically. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.840 And it's been used for thousands of years for just that purpose. 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:58.180 And it begins structurally with a kind of call to worship. 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:04.060 First a call to Israel, then a call to the worship leaders, the house of Aaron, that's essentially the worship leaders. 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:06.620 And then a call to all who fear the Lord. 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:08.900 And it progresses like a liturgy. 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:12.939 And yet it all is built around this central thematic truth. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.100 Can anybody guess what the main idea of Psalm 118 is? 00:04:19.340 --> 00:04:20.579 Just take a stab at it. 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:21.379 This is not rhetorical. 00:04:25.780 --> 00:04:26.180 Yeah. 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:27.319 What is it? 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.879 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:31.360 Right? 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:32.379 How do you know that? 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.040 Because it's repeated, what, some five times throughout the psalm. 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:35.540 Right? 00:04:35.900 --> 00:04:39.460 Psalm 136 actually repeats this same phrase 26 times. 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:41.340 Over and over and over. 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:46.160 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:49.639 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:58.680 So it's a psalm about God's love, about God's eternal love, and how that love is the most foundational, important reality there is. 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:02.259 And so we're going to take some time tonight just to look at that phrase. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:08.240 And actually all of Psalm 118 is sort of bound up in this one phrase. 00:05:08.919 --> 00:05:10.659 The steadfast love of the Lord. 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:13.800 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:15.800 So we're going to look first at steadfast love. 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:21.420 And the reason we're doing that is because a lot of times if you're anything like me, you can sort of hear these phrases. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:24.319 And it's kind of the Bible language. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:32.060 Phrases like steadfast love in your brain can just kind of skirt over it without ever really going down into the depths of what it actually means. 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:35.860 And so we're going to spend a little more time on steadfast love. 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:39.420 And then we're going to look at what it means that this love endures forever. 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:40.920 So let's pray. 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:51.699 Our Father in heaven, we recognize that we are here because of your steadfast love. 00:05:53.259 --> 00:06:00.879 We are able to trust that you're here with us because of your steadfast love. 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:13.699 We're able to recognize that we're able to worship in a space like this because of the goodness and the hospitality of a church like Canaan Baptist. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.160 And yet even that is motivated by and rooted in your steadfast love. 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:25.800 And so Lord, as we are gathered around your word tonight, please help us, please illuminate this text. 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:32.500 Please teach us, not just in our minds but in our hearts, what it means that your steadfast love endures forever. 00:06:32.640 --> 00:06:34.660 And we pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:35.420 Amen. 00:06:35.420 --> 00:06:35.540 Amen. 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:45.379 So here we are looking at this phrase that is the kind of central theme of Psalm 118 and actually many other psalms. 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:47.500 God's steadfast love endures forever. 00:06:47.640 --> 00:06:50.120 And so let's look at steadfast love. 00:06:50.840 --> 00:06:54.560 This phrase is repeated throughout the Old and New Testament. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.759 And we're reading from the English Standard Version translation. 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:03.459 But if you have another translation that you're looking at, you may see a different word in its place. 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:10.540 It can also be translated as kindness or faithfulness or mercy or goodness or loyalty. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:18.899 And the reason that there are so many diverse ways of translating this is because the actual Hebrew word is very, very hard to translate. 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:21.879 It's the word hesed. 00:07:22.259 --> 00:07:24.799 And if anybody knows how to speak Hebrew, that's a horrible pronunciation. 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.259 It's more like hesed, like that. 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:30.519 But I can't do it because I'm from North Carolina. 00:07:30.659 --> 00:07:31.719 So I'm not even going to try. 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:34.439 So from here on out, it is hesed. 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:37.079 And just accept that that's not the best way to say it. 00:07:37.339 --> 00:07:37.739 Hesed. 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:45.679 And so this word hesed, there have been numerous articles and word studies, numerous dissertations, 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:50.220 even entire books written on this single word hesed. 00:07:50.379 --> 00:07:51.600 And that tells us two things. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.180 First of all, it's incredibly hard to translate accurately. 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:56.840 There is no English equivalent. 00:07:58.420 --> 00:07:59.920 Second thing it tells us is this. 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:01.660 It's enormously important. 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:05.560 In terms of understanding what it means to have a relationship with God, 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.579 it may be one of the most important words in the Bible. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:09.819 And so that's why we're looking at it. 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:14.920 But this word hesed, this concept, because it has no English equivalent, 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:16.199 we're just going to take a stab. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.140 And this is my best attempt to convey what it means. 00:08:19.220 --> 00:08:25.520 In Psalm 118, we're going to say this, that hesed means God's loyal covenant love. 00:08:26.460 --> 00:08:29.700 God's loyal covenant love. 00:08:30.080 --> 00:08:32.560 And I'll unpack that a little more. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:37.039 At the core of the Bible, there's this kind of amazing truth 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.379 that's captured in the word hesed. 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:41.799 And here's that truth. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:47.159 That God, who is vastly superior to anything that he's made. 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:48.259 Okay. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:50.980 Vastly beyond anything in existence. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:53.340 God who doesn't need anything. 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:54.000 Right? 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:56.960 Unlike the Babylonian gods or the Greek gods or the Roman gods. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:08:59.480 God doesn't need anything. 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:02.659 Moreover, God doesn't owe us anything. 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:04.379 He doesn't owe his creation anything. 00:09:05.379 --> 00:09:08.179 In other words, if God snapped his fingers and obliterated everything, 00:09:08.179 --> 00:09:10.019 he would be perfectly just in doing so. 00:09:11.319 --> 00:09:13.979 He's not beholden to us in any way. 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:15.279 Hard to get our minds around that. 00:09:15.739 --> 00:09:17.939 Nevertheless, it's true. 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:23.059 And yet a God like that, looking at a world like ours and people like us, 00:09:23.739 --> 00:09:27.459 nevertheless chooses to bind himself to his people. 00:09:27.719 --> 00:09:27.979 Covenant. 00:09:28.419 --> 00:09:31.599 Bind himself to his people by making this promise. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.620 That he will bless them. 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:35.600 That he will provide for them. 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:37.700 That he will seek their good. 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:39.659 And see them flourish. 00:09:40.300 --> 00:09:41.220 No matter what. 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.620 Now imagine God making a promise like that. 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:48.139 He binds himself to his people. 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:49.700 To do them good. 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:51.700 And to bless them. 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:53.240 And to see that they flourish. 00:09:53.700 --> 00:09:57.480 And so it's because of that that the psalmist who is reflecting on this. 00:09:57.540 --> 00:09:59.580 The whole psalm is about this idea. 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:01.620 The psalmist in verse 6 can say, 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:03.379 The Lord is on my side. 00:10:03.680 --> 00:10:04.700 I will not fear. 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:07.940 Now that's been used and abused by everybody. 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:08.420 Right? 00:10:08.660 --> 00:10:11.280 By football players and politicians and everybody in between. 00:10:11.540 --> 00:10:11.740 Right? 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:13.180 God's on my side. 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:14.080 No, God's on my side. 00:10:14.139 --> 00:10:14.300 Right? 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:20.040 The person who belongs to the Lord can legitimately say that. 00:10:21.180 --> 00:10:22.620 And it's a way of saying this. 00:10:22.680 --> 00:10:23.900 That God is for me. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:25.500 God is for you. 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:26.759 God is for us. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:32.639 God isn't sitting there with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:33.960 Frustrated, angry. 00:10:34.819 --> 00:10:38.259 Kind of getting over his, you know, just kind of being sick of it all. 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:40.700 God is for you. 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:45.480 And because he's bound himself to us in covenant. 00:10:46.299 --> 00:10:49.200 Then he glorifies himself by being true to that promise. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:51.299 The Lord is on my side. 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:52.000 I will not fear. 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:53.100 What can man do to me? 00:10:53.100 --> 00:10:55.840 The Lord is on my side as my helper. 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:58.659 I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 00:10:58.700 --> 00:10:59.960 And by the way, what does it say God is? 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:02.139 The Lord is on my side as my helper. 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:03.440 Right? 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:04.800 Just a little side note here. 00:11:04.860 --> 00:11:05.600 A little excursus. 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:08.659 Genesis chapter 2 is the first place we see this word show up. 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:10.000 Right? 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:10.820 God creates Adam. 00:11:10.920 --> 00:11:12.920 Puts him in the garden to work and to keep it. 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:13.700 Adam's there. 00:11:13.800 --> 00:11:14.519 God looks at Adam. 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:16.159 Looks at the masculine gender. 00:11:16.300 --> 00:11:17.740 Looks at this half of humanity and says, 00:11:18.040 --> 00:11:19.000 This is not good. 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:21.240 It's not good. 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:22.820 This is incomplete. 00:11:23.680 --> 00:11:25.379 It's not good that man should be alone. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.220 This is not the fullness of humanity. 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:30.259 This is not the fullness of what will reflect my image. 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:31.779 Something more is needed. 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:33.240 This man is outnumbered. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.299 This man is inadequate, insufficient for the task. 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:42.899 Therefore, I will create a helper suitable for him. 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:46.620 Now, if you read Psalm 118, 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:52.279 that should lead us to understand that when God talks about Eve as being a helper, 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:54.159 that does not mean what we often think it means, 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:55.679 and that is some kind of personal assistant. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:57.679 Right? 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:02.259 The word azar, helper, actually means something akin to divine reinforcements. 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:04.019 It's a military term. 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:05.379 Right? 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:07.600 And the sense in Psalm 118 is this. 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:11.559 God is my helper, and without God, I have no hope. 00:12:12.379 --> 00:12:13.620 I have no hope. 00:12:14.299 --> 00:12:15.139 I'm outnumbered. 00:12:15.179 --> 00:12:15.740 I'm surrounded. 00:12:16.259 --> 00:12:17.179 I'm flanked. 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:20.039 My vulnerabilities are exposed. 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:20.860 They're being exploited. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:23.580 I have no hope unless God sends divine reinforcements. 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:26.539 The Lord is on my side as my helper. 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:30.199 I shall look in triumph on those who hate me, 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:31.539 those who seek to do me harm. 00:12:32.299 --> 00:12:34.679 And I think some, I bring that up because I think sometimes we, 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:38.559 maybe the ways we misunderstand helper in Genesis 2 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:42.539 connect with the ways we maybe misunderstand helper in Psalm 118. 00:12:43.319 --> 00:12:45.059 In other words, we can sometimes think of God 00:12:45.059 --> 00:12:47.179 as a kind of administrative assistant, 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:49.360 a kind of divine gopher, 00:12:50.079 --> 00:12:50.599 you know, a kind of, 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:52.219 hey, if you could take care of this, that would be great. 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:53.199 I'm going to focus on this, 00:12:53.319 --> 00:12:54.860 and if you could just work this out, that would be great. 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:56.419 Let me know how it turns out. 00:12:56.539 --> 00:12:58.480 As though God somehow reports to us and says, 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:00.019 what else do you want me to do, you know? 00:13:01.099 --> 00:13:01.699 Not so. 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:02.819 Divine reinforcements. 00:13:03.599 --> 00:13:04.339 God is my helper. 00:13:04.459 --> 00:13:05.099 He's for me. 00:13:06.319 --> 00:13:09.199 So God has said His loyal covenant love 00:13:09.199 --> 00:13:12.360 means that He's for us always. 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:15.839 He's always seeking our good for those who belong to Him. 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:21.059 And so it's worth pausing before we move to the next part of this phrase 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:23.740 and ask, so what? 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:26.459 And there are a lot of implications that we could draw out 00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:28.400 from just this concept of hesed, 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:30.500 but I just want to give you a couple. 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:32.519 The first implication is this, 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:37.519 that once God sets His love on you, 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:41.519 once God sets His love on you, 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:45.700 nothing, nobody, 00:13:47.300 --> 00:13:48.960 nothing in existence 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:51.080 can separate you from that love. 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:53.720 Nothing. 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:55.160 Right? 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:56.740 So some of you maybe come from a background 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:59.160 where you, maybe you grew up in a believing family 00:13:59.160 --> 00:14:00.340 or you grew up in the church 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:01.540 and you were very involved 00:14:01.540 --> 00:14:03.139 and you considered yourself a follower of Jesus. 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:05.320 And then maybe you left. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.920 And maybe you haven't been to church for years and years and years 00:14:08.920 --> 00:14:10.320 and maybe you just wandered in 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:11.280 and this is your first time back. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.900 Or maybe like a good number of people at Advent, 00:14:14.020 --> 00:14:15.759 you're sort of kind of figuring out 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.320 what you believe at this stage of your life. 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:18.480 You sort of grew up with this, 00:14:18.540 --> 00:14:19.580 but you're trying to figure out 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:21.080 kind of where you are now. 00:14:21.560 --> 00:14:22.840 Or maybe you have a friend like this. 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:23.620 Or maybe you know somebody 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:25.680 who was a strong follower of Jesus, 00:14:25.800 --> 00:14:26.300 they were in the church, 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:27.420 and now they're totally gone. 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.700 They're totally, you know, 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:30.900 living a completely different life. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:33.600 If this is true, 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:38.200 if God's hesed is what we've just said it is 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:39.379 by looking at this psalm, 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:41.440 if that's true, 00:14:42.400 --> 00:14:45.060 it means that you can leave the church, 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:47.700 you can leave your social group, 00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:49.060 leave all your Christian friends. 00:14:49.640 --> 00:14:50.760 You can leave your town, 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:51.700 you can leave your city, 00:14:52.380 --> 00:14:53.240 you can leave the country, 00:14:53.400 --> 00:14:55.520 you can leave your whole identity, 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:57.600 you can leave an entire way of life, 00:14:57.660 --> 00:14:59.620 you can leave an entire belief system 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:01.620 and you can completely reinvent yourself 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:03.120 with a new name and a new identity 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:04.020 and a new place 00:15:04.020 --> 00:15:05.540 with an entirely new belief system 00:15:05.540 --> 00:15:06.780 and an entirely new way of life, 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:08.560 an entirely new set of morals and ethics, 00:15:08.760 --> 00:15:10.140 an entire new source of hope 00:15:10.139 --> 00:15:11.659 that you have placed everything on, 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.220 and you can leave all of that. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:18.620 And you can never, ever, ever leave the love of God. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:21.519 You will never escape it. 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.539 And there's an amazing place in Psalm 23, 6, 00:15:25.939 --> 00:15:28.100 where the psalmist declares that the Lord's goodness 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:32.460 and hesed will pursue him all the days of his life. 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:33.980 God will pursue you. 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:39.779 And it will haunt you. 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:43.759 It will haunt and tug at the edges of your thoughts. 00:15:43.939 --> 00:15:46.679 It will tug at the corners of your heart. 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:49.500 It will haunt your reflections. 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:52.759 It will whisper to you. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.100 And you'll never be content. 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:00.279 Because God will pursue you and pursue you and pursue you. 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:02.720 Because he's chosen to set his love on you, 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:05.919 and not even you, not even you, 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:07.779 can separate yourself from that. 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:10.639 So that's the first thing it means. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:14.379 The second reflection, or the second implication, 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:16.759 of God's hesed, his covenant love, 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:18.059 is this, 00:16:18.459 --> 00:16:22.899 that we should never, ever, ever build our lives on human love. 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:27.079 We should never build our lives on human love, 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:30.480 because only God's love is steadfast enough 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.000 to bear the weight of a human life. 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:37.319 Only God's love is strong enough to bear the weight of a human life. 00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:39.840 So, verse 8 in Psalm 118 says, 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:43.240 it's better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 00:16:43.319 --> 00:16:46.740 It's better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.580 And I bring this up because I think all too often, 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:50.440 if you're anything like me, 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:54.759 all too often we are tempted to compromise our relationship with the Lord 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:58.560 for the sake of human love. 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:00.320 Right? 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:04.180 We're willing to compromise our relationship with the Lord 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:07.259 for the sake of being included in a social group, 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:09.579 or being accepted by certain friends, 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:11.740 or being approved of in a work setting. 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:15.359 Now, we don't do it kind of black and white, 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:17.240 but we'll sort of downplay and minimalize. 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:18.740 Oh, you know, I'm not that kind of Christian. 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:20.059 I'm not going to... 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:21.039 And it's easy to say that, 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:23.279 because there are a lot of things that Christians are known for, 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.579 a lot of things that Christians do that are embarrassing, 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:27.400 and we want to distance ourselves as far as possible. 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:28.559 But at some point, 00:17:29.339 --> 00:17:31.980 are we making it clear 00:17:31.980 --> 00:17:33.980 that our relationship with God 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:35.779 is the single most important thing there is, 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:37.019 and that there is nothing more important? 00:17:38.700 --> 00:17:40.500 Or to what extent are we minimizing that? 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:42.180 Right? 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:44.500 And this shows up in romantic relationships as well, 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:46.579 whether you're sort of dating somebody, 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:49.299 or sometimes this happens if you get married, 00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:50.740 and then one person comes to faith, 00:17:50.779 --> 00:17:51.759 and the other person doesn't. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:53.859 Or one person... 00:17:53.859 --> 00:17:55.940 Both people used to be followers of Jesus, 00:17:56.059 --> 00:17:57.500 but then one kind of leaves it, 00:17:57.539 --> 00:17:58.900 and it happens all different kinds of ways, 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:00.720 and maybe you're in a situation like this, 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:02.460 and maybe you didn't choose to be there, 00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:05.420 but you just kind of find yourself in a situation like this, 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:06.779 and you have to figure out what to do, 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:08.160 where one of you follows Jesus, 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:08.920 and the other one doesn't. 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:12.720 I'm not going to sort of point blank 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:15.100 tell you what to do black and white, 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:17.440 because it's up to you to make a decision. 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:19.660 It's up to you to decide what wisdom looks like. 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:21.640 But I will just get very pragmatic for a second 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:22.279 and say this, 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:24.860 that if you are in such a situation, 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:26.620 that the point will come. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:28.300 It will come. 00:18:28.360 --> 00:18:29.180 At some point, 00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:31.160 you will have to decide, 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:33.779 are you going to compromise your relationship 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:34.759 with this person 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:36.920 for the sake of your relationship with God, 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:39.000 or are you going to compromise your relationship 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:41.640 with God for the sake of this person? 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:43.619 At some point, 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:44.660 you will have to decide 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:45.859 who is number one. 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:49.319 You can't have two top priority people in your life. 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.160 That's why two people being together 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.779 and sharing a faith in Jesus, 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:55.440 that's why that works so well, 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:57.160 is because both people decide, 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.720 my spouse is not my number one. 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:00.579 Jesus is. 00:19:00.579 --> 00:19:02.839 When you agree on that, 00:19:02.899 --> 00:19:03.899 it works quite well. 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:05.159 When you disagree on that, 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:06.500 it can cause a lot of problems. 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:07.159 At some point, 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:07.859 you have to decide 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:09.619 which relationship gets compromised. 00:19:12.379 --> 00:19:13.639 So your relationship with God 00:19:13.639 --> 00:19:14.980 is the most important thing there is. 00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:15.960 All human love, 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:16.740 even the best of it, 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:17.319 is finite, 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:18.179 it's imperfect, 00:19:18.339 --> 00:19:20.039 it cannot ultimately satisfy 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:22.059 the way God's love can. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.519 So even if she is the woman of your dreams, 00:19:26.699 --> 00:19:28.259 even if he is the prince 00:19:28.259 --> 00:19:29.519 that you've been waiting for 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:30.519 in every other way, 00:19:30.579 --> 00:19:32.379 it is better to take refuge in the Lord 00:19:32.379 --> 00:19:34.079 than to trust in princes. 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:35.819 Right? 00:19:35.919 --> 00:19:38.019 This truth actually became very real 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:39.519 for a man named George Matheson. 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:42.379 So imagine you're George, 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:45.439 and you're a kind of rising luminary 00:19:45.439 --> 00:19:47.379 in the Church of Scotland. 00:19:48.139 --> 00:19:49.000 You're an academic. 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:50.619 You've written a couple of articles. 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:52.559 People are starting to whisper about you 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:53.460 and to say this could be 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:55.059 one of the greatest theological minds 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:56.399 in our day. 00:19:57.439 --> 00:19:58.980 You're engaged to be married. 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:01.039 Everything looks great. 00:20:01.980 --> 00:20:03.059 And then you go to the doctor 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:03.700 and you find out 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:05.779 that you've been having some problems 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:06.420 and you realize 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:07.620 that you're losing your vision. 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:09.880 And that the clock is ticking 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:10.759 and that you're going to lose 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:11.940 all of your vision and go blind. 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:14.420 So George finds this out. 00:20:14.539 --> 00:20:15.440 George gets up the courage 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:16.640 and he goes to his fiancée 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.220 and he breaks the news to his fiancée. 00:20:18.259 --> 00:20:19.000 I'm losing my sight. 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:19.640 I'm going to be blind. 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:21.759 So she goes away. 00:20:21.860 --> 00:20:22.640 She thinks about it. 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:23.740 She reflects on her life, 00:20:23.840 --> 00:20:24.660 her hopes, her dreams, 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:26.040 all that she wants out of life. 00:20:26.100 --> 00:20:26.940 She comes back to George 00:20:26.940 --> 00:20:27.220 and says, 00:20:27.340 --> 00:20:29.540 George, I've thought about it. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:32.600 I cannot face the prospect 00:20:32.600 --> 00:20:34.300 of being married to a blind husband. 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:36.340 So she leaves. 00:20:37.620 --> 00:20:38.420 Calls off the wedding. 00:20:39.320 --> 00:20:40.640 Now this is the late 1800s, 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:41.800 so losing your sight back then 00:20:41.800 --> 00:20:42.880 was even a much bigger deal 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:43.860 than it is today. 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:45.720 You needed somebody to help you. 00:20:46.520 --> 00:20:47.700 George, I can't handle it. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:48.140 I'm out of here. 00:20:49.080 --> 00:20:49.920 What's George going to do? 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:51.240 So then George's sister comes 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:52.340 and says, 00:20:52.460 --> 00:20:53.580 it's okay, I'll take care of you. 00:20:54.340 --> 00:20:55.360 So with her help, 00:20:55.580 --> 00:20:56.460 he begins to flourish. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:57.920 He pulls out of academia, 00:20:58.080 --> 00:20:58.799 becomes a pastor. 00:20:59.120 --> 00:21:00.380 Church begins to grow and thrive. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.019 Everything looks like it's going to go great 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:05.539 until she falls in love 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:08.240 and she gets engaged 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:10.519 and she has to come to George 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:10.759 and say, 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:12.140 George, I've met this guy. 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:12.660 He's great. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:13.400 We're in love. 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:14.039 We're getting married. 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:15.220 I'm sorry. 00:21:15.340 --> 00:21:16.340 I can't help you anymore. 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:18.880 So here George is, 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:21.720 the evening before this wedding 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:22.460 for his sister, 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:23.900 the whole family goes out 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:24.920 to make preparations 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:26.200 for the wedding 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:27.259 that's happening the next day 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:28.559 and George finds himself 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:29.640 sitting in his home 00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:30.640 utterly alone. 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:33.580 And he's sitting there in the dark 00:21:33.580 --> 00:21:34.600 facing the prospect 00:21:34.600 --> 00:21:36.819 of living the rest of his life alone. 00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:40.600 And in that moment of darkness, 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:43.480 he writes a hymn. 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:46.440 It takes him five minutes 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.799 and he later said 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:50.539 that it was the only hymn he ever wrote 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:53.380 that didn't require any editing. 00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:55.759 It just poured out of him. 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:58.700 And here are the opening words to this hymn. 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:02.440 O love that will not let me go, 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:06.019 I rest my weary soul in thee. 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.740 I give thee back the life I owe, 00:22:10.360 --> 00:22:13.400 that in thine ocean depths its flow 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.480 may richer, fuller be. 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:21.799 It's a song that we sing regularly here 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:22.480 at Church of the Advent. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:25.140 The point is this. 00:22:25.140 --> 00:22:27.620 Don't build your life on human love 00:22:27.620 --> 00:22:29.160 because only God's love 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:31.180 can bear the weight of a human life. 00:22:32.120 --> 00:22:33.720 Only God's love is strong enough, 00:22:34.020 --> 00:22:34.900 steadfast enough. 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.160 God's chesed love, 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:39.759 his loyal covenant love, 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:41.500 is the only thing 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.900 about which we can say 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:44.100 it will never let us go. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:46.640 So this is the first part of this phrase, 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:49.180 his steadfast love, 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:50.060 but then it continues, 00:22:50.860 --> 00:22:51.980 endures forever. 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:52.059 forever. 00:22:52.700 --> 00:22:53.880 God's steadfast love 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.440 endures forever. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:57.400 So I want you to think about this 00:22:57.400 --> 00:22:57.880 for a second. 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:01.500 How could God make such a promise? 00:23:04.360 --> 00:23:04.960 In other words, 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:06.240 think about the world, 00:23:06.339 --> 00:23:06.839 think about you, 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.259 think about the people that you know, 00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:09.339 the state of society, 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:10.160 think about all that. 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:11.720 Think about the fact that God knows that. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:14.500 God knows us better 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:15.299 than we know ourselves. 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:17.440 And think about God 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:18.779 making a promise like that. 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:21.360 Looking at people and saying, 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:22.500 I'm going to love you 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:23.179 and bless you 00:23:23.179 --> 00:23:24.119 and seek your good 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:25.259 no matter what, 00:23:25.459 --> 00:23:26.959 and I'm going to do that forever. 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:31.259 More specifically, 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:32.559 here's the question. 00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:35.839 If God is both perfectly loving 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:37.359 and perfectly just, 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:38.879 how does he make such a promise? 00:23:41.139 --> 00:23:41.519 Right? 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:43.559 Because if God acts in justice 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:45.299 and punishes all wrongs, 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:46.579 punishes all injustice, 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:48.339 punishes all evil, 00:23:48.959 --> 00:23:49.179 right? 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:50.380 Not only that which we commit 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:51.240 against God 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:52.000 by rejecting him 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:52.620 and ignoring him 00:23:52.620 --> 00:23:53.320 and denying him, 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:54.680 but all that which we commit 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:55.640 against one another. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:57.299 If God acts and punishes 00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:59.019 everything as it deserves, 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:01.560 he can't fulfill the promise 00:24:01.560 --> 00:24:02.820 to love and to bless 00:24:02.820 --> 00:24:04.299 because we would all be eradicated. 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:08.060 But if God continues 00:24:08.060 --> 00:24:09.220 to love us forever 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:10.640 without bringing any justice, 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:14.019 if God never lifts the oppressed 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:15.580 out of their oppression, 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:16.659 if God never liberates 00:24:16.659 --> 00:24:17.460 the captives, 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:19.599 if God never restores justice, 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:21.139 if God never brings peace 00:24:21.139 --> 00:24:22.500 where there's war and violence, 00:24:22.599 --> 00:24:25.339 where God never brings rescue 00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:26.419 to the poor and to the needy, 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:27.519 if God never vindicates 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:28.699 the orphan and the widow, 00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:30.079 if God never does these things, 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:32.139 is that really love? 00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:34.199 No, at that point, 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:36.079 it becomes some sort of sappy, 00:24:36.619 --> 00:24:38.259 sort of milk-thin 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:39.899 kind of sentimentalism. 00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:42.400 But it's not love. 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.180 It has no teeth. 00:24:45.220 --> 00:24:46.540 How does God do both? 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:48.940 You know, it had to have been 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:51.519 a mystery for hundreds of years. 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:53.600 You know, you can imagine 00:24:53.600 --> 00:24:54.380 sitting in church 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:56.480 and you're a Hebrew 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:57.300 and it's the Passover 00:24:57.300 --> 00:24:59.340 and you're reciting Psalm 118 00:24:59.340 --> 00:25:00.040 and you're, you know, 00:25:00.080 --> 00:25:01.420 his steadfast love endures forever, 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:02.940 his steadfast love endures forever, 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:03.540 and you can imagine 00:25:03.540 --> 00:25:04.420 sort of doing this 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:04.960 and you can imagine 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.060 the kind of precocious 13-year-old 00:25:07.060 --> 00:25:08.440 kind of knocking his dad 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:08.920 on the, 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:10.400 Dad, how does God 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:11.259 actually do that? 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:12.360 You know, and the dad's like, 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:13.160 don't ask questions, 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:13.720 just believe. 00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:15.640 You know, just say the words. 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:17.440 But it's a good question. 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:19.400 It's a really good question. 00:25:20.560 --> 00:25:22.300 I don't think it had an answer 00:25:22.300 --> 00:25:24.560 at the time it was written. 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:25.840 I don't think for hundreds of years 00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:26.860 it really had an answer 00:25:26.860 --> 00:25:27.860 because I don't think, 00:25:28.060 --> 00:25:28.600 and you can read 00:25:28.600 --> 00:25:29.519 some of the Jewish philosophers 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:30.340 and get the sense 00:25:30.340 --> 00:25:31.279 that they really didn't have 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:32.539 any idea how God 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:33.539 was going to work it all out. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:35.340 Justice and love. 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:36.880 Justice and mercy. 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:38.140 How does that hold together? 00:25:38.140 --> 00:25:39.900 It didn't make sense 00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:41.000 until Jesus came. 00:25:42.020 --> 00:25:43.280 And once Jesus came, 00:25:43.580 --> 00:25:45.720 everything began to fall into place, 00:25:45.800 --> 00:25:47.640 especially Psalm 118. 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:48.960 Did you know that Psalm 118 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:50.960 is the single most quoted psalm 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:51.520 in the New Testament? 00:25:52.360 --> 00:25:53.400 It's the only psalm 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:53.820 that is quoted 00:25:53.820 --> 00:25:55.400 by all four gospel writers, 00:25:55.540 --> 00:25:56.600 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 00:25:56.599 --> 00:26:00.000 Both times that Jesus wept 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:00.819 over Jerusalem, 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:03.859 both times that Jesus wept 00:26:03.859 --> 00:26:07.119 because they rejected their God, 00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:11.279 both times he quoted Psalm 118. 00:26:12.139 --> 00:26:13.779 When Jesus came down the road 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:15.519 to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, 00:26:15.719 --> 00:26:17.259 pilgrims gathered on both sides 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:18.419 and they began to sing out 00:26:18.419 --> 00:26:21.299 quoting Psalm 118. 00:26:21.299 --> 00:26:23.839 When Jesus confronted 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:25.119 the unbelieving leaders 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:25.919 of the Jews 00:26:25.919 --> 00:26:26.960 and he told the parable 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.000 of the wicked tenants 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.819 and how the landowners 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:30.819 sent messengers 00:26:30.819 --> 00:26:32.200 and then ultimately his son 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:33.200 and the wicked tenants 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:35.039 rejected and killed his son, 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:40.419 he then quoted Psalm 118. 00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:43.879 When Peter in Acts chapter 4 00:26:43.879 --> 00:26:45.200 is brought before the authorities 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:46.980 and he accuses the leaders 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.860 of murdering the son of God. 00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:51.539 At the cornerstone, 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:53.620 at the very center of his argument, 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:56.120 he quotes Psalm 118. 00:26:57.220 --> 00:26:58.660 When the author of Hebrews 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:00.240 wanted to encourage believers 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:01.779 in the face of persecution 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:02.779 and imprisonment 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:03.599 for following Jesus, 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:06.420 he quotes Psalm 118. 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:07.880 Right? 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:09.620 In Matthew chapter 26, 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:11.319 it says at the end 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:12.279 of the Last Supper, 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:14.039 Jesus and the disciples 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:15.420 sing one final hymn 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:16.400 before they stand up 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.400 to go out 00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:18.360 where Jesus will shortly 00:27:18.360 --> 00:27:19.480 be arrested. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.259 And if you know anything 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:23.580 about the Passover celebration, 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:26.039 all of these psalms, 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:27.900 the Psalms 113 through 118 00:27:27.900 --> 00:27:29.680 were sung or recited 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.539 throughout the Passover 00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:32.400 ending with Psalm 118 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:33.880 and so they would have observed 00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:34.759 this tradition 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:36.120 and so the final hymn 00:27:36.120 --> 00:27:37.160 that Jesus sang 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:37.940 at the last meal 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:39.060 that he had with his disciples 00:27:39.060 --> 00:27:40.140 before he's taken away 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:40.800 to be crucified 00:27:40.800 --> 00:27:43.640 is Psalm 118. 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:46.020 What does all of this tell us? 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:47.120 Simply this, 00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:49.560 Jesus and the writers 00:27:49.560 --> 00:27:50.259 of the New Testament 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:51.640 are all screaming, 00:27:52.840 --> 00:27:54.700 if you want to understand Jesus, 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:57.340 you have to understand Psalm 118. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:00.080 And if you want to understand Psalm 118, 00:28:00.360 --> 00:28:01.980 you have to understand Jesus. 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:04.040 This psalm is all about him. 00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:07.780 So how does God make such a promise 00:28:07.780 --> 00:28:09.080 to love us forever 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:11.679 if he's not only perfectly loving 00:28:11.679 --> 00:28:13.179 but also perfectly just? 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:15.000 The answer comes in verse 21. 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:16.519 What does it say? 00:28:17.879 --> 00:28:19.699 He becomes our salvation. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:22.619 Not he brings our salvation, 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:24.079 not he plans for our salvation, 00:28:24.419 --> 00:28:25.899 not he arranges and orchestrates 00:28:25.899 --> 00:28:27.699 and hopes our salvation goes well. 00:28:27.899 --> 00:28:29.339 He becomes it. 00:28:31.399 --> 00:28:32.079 And you say, 00:28:32.139 --> 00:28:32.759 well, what does that mean? 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:34.279 And Paul kind of explains that 00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:35.659 in 2 Corinthians 5. 00:28:36.299 --> 00:28:36.659 He says, 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:38.940 for our sake God made him to be sin 00:28:38.940 --> 00:28:40.380 who knew no sin 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:42.100 that in him we might become 00:28:42.100 --> 00:28:43.180 the righteousness of God. 00:28:43.300 --> 00:28:44.980 So how does God become our salvation? 00:28:45.300 --> 00:28:45.779 Simple. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:47.519 He sends an innocent being, 00:28:47.840 --> 00:28:48.660 Jesus, into the world. 00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:50.840 Jesus becomes sin 00:28:50.840 --> 00:28:54.740 and is eradicated on the cross 00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:56.720 so that we, the sinners, 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:57.900 become righteous. 00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:00.320 Jesus becomes sin 00:29:00.320 --> 00:29:02.500 so that we can become righteous. 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:04.800 God becomes our salvation. 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:08.500 It's an amazing truth 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:09.220 and the impact 00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:11.000 was like a shockwave in the world. 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:12.519 This psalm is all about Jesus 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:13.440 and then when you begin 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:14.279 to read back through it, 00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:15.539 you begin to make the connections. 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:17.159 Oh, as you read these verses, 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:18.119 verse 17, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:19.799 Jesus is the one 00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:21.500 who is first able to say, 00:29:22.220 --> 00:29:23.119 I shall not die 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:24.059 but I shall live 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:25.639 and recount the deeds of the Lord. 00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:26.859 When did he first say that? 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:28.619 Easter morning. 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:30.319 Right? 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:31.720 Jesus is the stone 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:32.659 the builders rejected 00:29:32.659 --> 00:29:34.019 who has become the cornerstone. 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:34.940 Verse 22, 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:36.259 Jesus is the one 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:37.819 who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:29:38.139 --> 00:29:38.900 Verse 26, 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:41.819 how can God make such a promise 00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:42.960 that his steadfast love 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:43.779 would endure forever 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:45.660 because Jesus Christ 00:29:45.660 --> 00:29:46.799 has become our salvation? 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.619 So as we hold all this together, 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:53.519 remember that this is a phrase 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:54.319 that was repeated 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:56.079 again and again and again. 00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:59.420 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:02.480 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:04.779 If you grew up in Israelite society 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:07.759 and you observed the Passover faithfully, 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:09.500 by the time you were our age 00:30:09.500 --> 00:30:10.779 of most of us in this room, 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:12.120 you had literally sung 00:30:12.120 --> 00:30:13.460 or recited these words 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:15.000 thousands of times. 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:20.720 So the final question is why? 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:22.980 In other words, 00:30:23.059 --> 00:30:24.180 why do we repeat things? 00:30:26.120 --> 00:30:26.559 Right? 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:27.700 You can't repeat everything. 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:31.600 Why do we repeat certain things? 00:30:32.840 --> 00:30:33.059 Right? 00:30:33.100 --> 00:30:35.019 We tend to repeat important things. 00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:35.440 Right? 00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:37.680 But why would we do that? 00:30:39.059 --> 00:30:40.180 It's because that's the best way 00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:40.740 to remember it. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:42.920 Right? 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:44.200 So when you say something 00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:44.920 again and again and again, 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:45.600 or better yet, 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.340 this is a song, 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:47.680 if you sing something 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:49.000 again and again and again, 00:30:49.059 --> 00:30:49.600 what happens? 00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:50.700 It becomes ingrained 00:30:51.380 --> 00:30:52.360 not only in your mind, 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:53.279 but in your heart. 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:55.359 It begins to burn 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:56.619 its way into you 00:30:56.619 --> 00:30:57.839 and it roots itself 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.700 deeper and deeper 00:30:58.700 --> 00:30:59.899 and deeper and deeper 00:30:59.899 --> 00:31:01.599 until it's at the very core of you. 00:31:02.379 --> 00:31:03.359 And you would remember it 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:04.700 maybe before you even remember 00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:05.740 your own name 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:07.259 if you repeat it enough. 00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:08.139 Now why is that? 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:11.099 Why would God want us 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:12.319 to repeat this 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:13.420 and to memorize it 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:14.559 until it is at the very center 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:15.180 of our hearts? 00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:20.680 When I was a kid, 00:31:20.779 --> 00:31:21.320 my parents, 00:31:22.120 --> 00:31:24.140 they made my brother and I 00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:25.779 memorize our address 00:31:25.779 --> 00:31:26.420 and our phone number. 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:27.700 Right? 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:28.640 We're little kids 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:29.779 like a lot of the kids here. 00:31:30.600 --> 00:31:31.900 And their idea was 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:33.120 if they know nothing else, 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:34.060 you know, 00:31:34.080 --> 00:31:34.900 and they knew me, 00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:35.700 they know I have no sense 00:31:35.700 --> 00:31:36.120 of direction, 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:37.140 and they said, 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:38.100 this kid's got to at least 00:31:38.100 --> 00:31:39.200 know his address. 00:31:39.820 --> 00:31:40.039 Right? 00:31:40.140 --> 00:31:40.900 And so they made us 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:42.080 repeat, repeat, repeat, 00:31:42.320 --> 00:31:42.480 you know, 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:43.519 227 Clifdale Drive, 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:44.720 227 Clifdale Drive, 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:45.220 227, 00:31:45.220 --> 00:31:48.039 and we repeated it 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:48.880 until we knew it by heart, 00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:49.799 until we could basically 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:51.059 pass the 3 a.m. test. 00:31:51.339 --> 00:31:51.539 You know, 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:52.380 where they could theoretically, 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:54.019 I don't think they ever did this, 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:54.620 but theoretically, 00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:55.880 they could shake us awake 00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:56.460 at 3 in the morning, 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:57.180 what's your address? 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:58.319 227 Clifdale Drive, 00:31:58.380 --> 00:31:58.579 you know. 00:31:59.019 --> 00:31:59.440 And we'd go, 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:01.920 now why did they do that? 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:03.700 Well, 00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:04.759 because in the event 00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:06.660 that circumstances happened 00:32:06.660 --> 00:32:08.660 such that we were totally lost, 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:10.460 that we had no idea 00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:11.019 where we were, 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:12.500 we didn't recognize 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:13.380 any of our surroundings, 00:32:13.380 --> 00:32:14.940 we were totally turned around 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:15.440 and backwards, 00:32:15.560 --> 00:32:15.960 and we didn't know 00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:17.420 what way was north and south, 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:18.560 and we didn't recognize anything, 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:19.700 and there was nobody around 00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:20.100 to help us, 00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:21.120 and we were totally alone, 00:32:21.460 --> 00:32:23.520 and totally apart from all that, 00:32:25.100 --> 00:32:26.240 that in that moment of panic, 00:32:26.280 --> 00:32:27.580 if we forgot everything else, 00:32:27.880 --> 00:32:29.340 we would remember our address. 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:31.820 227 Clifdale Drive, 00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:33.400 227 Clifdale Drive, 00:32:33.560 --> 00:32:35.040 227 Clifdale Drive, 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:36.400 and we could use that 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:38.080 to find our way home. 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:41.199 I think in many ways, 00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:43.379 this verse is meant 00:32:43.379 --> 00:32:44.740 to do the exact same thing 00:32:44.740 --> 00:32:45.939 for us spiritually. 00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:48.059 You find yourself in a place 00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:49.460 where you are completely overwhelmed, 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:51.359 where you're suffering, 00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:53.279 where things have gone poorly for you, 00:32:53.439 --> 00:32:54.259 where you're struggling, 00:32:54.899 --> 00:32:55.679 you get to that place 00:32:55.679 --> 00:32:55.819 where, 00:32:55.899 --> 00:32:56.960 and if you're a Christian long enough, 00:32:57.019 --> 00:32:57.679 you will get there. 00:32:58.319 --> 00:32:59.699 It's not just certain kinds of people 00:32:59.699 --> 00:33:01.079 or people with less faith, 00:33:01.179 --> 00:33:02.559 everybody gets there. 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:03.579 You follow Jesus long enough, 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:04.359 you will be there. 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:04.939 How do we know? 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:06.059 Because Jesus was there. 00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:08.119 And if it happened to Him, 00:33:08.159 --> 00:33:09.079 it's going to happen to you. 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:10.859 It's going to happen to me. 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:12.480 Many of us in this room, 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:13.940 it has happened to us. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:14.740 Some of us in this room, 00:33:14.919 --> 00:33:16.039 it's happening right now. 00:33:16.159 --> 00:33:17.019 And you're in a place 00:33:17.019 --> 00:33:18.299 where it's all dark, 00:33:19.019 --> 00:33:19.980 and you're struggling, 00:33:20.399 --> 00:33:21.879 and you don't know where God is, 00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:23.639 and everything in you is saying, 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:24.659 there is no God, 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:25.559 this is stupid, 00:33:25.679 --> 00:33:26.579 this is foolish, 00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:27.779 or if there is a God, 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:29.559 I don't want to know that kind of God. 00:33:29.639 --> 00:33:30.519 How could this happen? 00:33:30.779 --> 00:33:32.000 This is awful, I can't, 00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:32.779 I don't want to have anything 00:33:32.779 --> 00:33:33.679 to do with that kind of God. 00:33:33.879 --> 00:33:34.779 He doesn't care about me, 00:33:34.779 --> 00:33:35.740 He doesn't love me, 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:37.059 all the things that I've done, 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:38.620 He couldn't possibly care about me. 00:33:38.819 --> 00:33:40.160 All of these voices are in your head, 00:33:40.220 --> 00:33:42.140 this cacophony of noise 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:43.799 telling you there's no matter what, 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:44.839 no matter what, 00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:46.079 God has abandoned you. 00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:47.200 If there even is a God, 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:47.819 and it's dark, 00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:49.120 and you have no idea where you are, 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:52.440 from the depths of your heart, 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:55.000 God's steadfast love 00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:56.819 endures forever. 00:33:57.019 --> 00:33:58.920 His steadfast love 00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:00.200 endures forever. 00:34:00.339 --> 00:34:01.859 His steadfast love 00:34:01.859 --> 00:34:03.579 endures forever. 00:34:03.579 --> 00:34:05.240 It will lead you home. 00:34:06.179 --> 00:34:08.099 If you forget everything else, 00:34:09.099 --> 00:34:10.860 and you only remember one thing, 00:34:11.739 --> 00:34:13.759 the whole gospel is bound up 00:34:13.759 --> 00:34:14.519 in these words. 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:16.579 His steadfast love 00:34:16.579 --> 00:34:17.900 endures forever. 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:19.420 Let's pray. 00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:25.460 Our Father in heaven, 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:29.119 these foundational words 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:33.460 reflect all of the beauty of the gospel, 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:35.420 all of the beauty of your son, 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:38.200 all of the beauty of his sacrifice, 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:41.059 the beauty of the cross, 00:34:41.799 --> 00:34:43.599 the hope and the beauty of the resurrection, 00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:47.639 the hope of a life that goes beyond death, 00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:49.960 the hope that enables us to say with Jesus, 00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:51.000 I shall not die, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:51.919 but I shall live, 00:34:52.879 --> 00:34:54.559 and I shall recount the deeds of the Lord. 00:34:56.239 --> 00:34:57.519 Lord, we ask that your Holy Spirit 00:34:57.519 --> 00:34:59.139 would now impress these words 00:34:59.139 --> 00:35:01.879 into the deepest parts of our hearts and souls, 00:35:01.880 --> 00:35:05.740 that we would be able to pass the 3 a.m. test, 00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:06.920 that when all else fails, 00:35:07.019 --> 00:35:08.400 when we've forgotten everything else, 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:10.320 that your Holy Spirit 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:11.940 would whisper these words to us, 00:35:12.780 --> 00:35:14.119 that your steadfast love 00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:15.140 endures forever. 00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:16.619 We pray this in the name of your son 00:35:16.619 --> 00:35:17.640 and our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:35:18.039 --> 00:35:18.260 Amen.