Thanks very much, Stephanie. Good afternoon, everyone. Really good to have you with us today.
Particularly, I know there are quite a number of visitors here. You're very, very welcome at our service today.
So we're looking at Psalm 92 today. We've been going through some of the Psalms in what's known as Book 4 of the Psalms,
starting at Psalm 90 and going on from there. And I've called today's Psalm an Inside Out Psalm.
One of the most popular animated films of recent years was the film Inside Out.
I'm not a film goer, so I've read about it rather than seen it.
But I understand it's about an 11-year-old girl and it's about her emotions,
which are all shown as being characters, as you can see up there on the screen.
And this 11-year-old girl moves house. She goes to a big city, I think it's San Francisco.
And her emotions get all muddled and she feels she can't be sad, so sadness gets pushed out.
And for a while she finds it really difficult, until in the end she realises that her emotions are very important,
even sadness is an emotion that has value.
And as she gets her brain sorted out, if you like, as she gets her insights sorted out,
so she's able to adapt to her new circumstances in a new city.
Now I apologise to those who've seen the film, that's not a very good representation,
but that's what I took from it.
And it emphasises to us, I think, that what is inside, what is in our heads, if you like,
it is vitally important in the way that we react to the world around us, what is outside, inside, out.
If we get the inside right, if our thoughts and our attitudes are right,
then it's a lot easier to cope with what's outside.
And that was one of the great things I took from this psalm,
that if we can get what's inside right, particularly if we can get our relationship with God right,
then it's a lot easier to cope with things that happen in the world around us.
That's one reason why we called it an inside out psalm.
There's a second reason as well.
If you look at the psalm, if you've got it in front of you, look at the structure of the verses,
you'll see that most of the verses have two lines in them.
So verses 1 to 6 and verses 10 to 15 at the end all have two lines in them.
There are then two verses that have three lines, verses 7 and 9.
And then there's one verse in the middle that only has one line.
And you look at that and think that must be a really important verse.
It's only got one line and it's right in the middle of the structure.
And it is, it's the key to the whole psalm.
And it's, you, Lord, are exalted forever.
I think it said, you, Lord, are forever exalted in the version it's definitely read.
So it's a verse that's about God and about how great he is.
And when we come to understand that, and when we see that verse,
we can look at the rest of the psalm and we see some of the difficulties the psalmist faces.
We see the enemies that are against him.
And we also see that at the end he's able to praise God and even to be fruitful as he gets older.
But it's that verse in the middle, you, Lord, are exalted forever.
That is the key to understanding it.
When we have the inside right, when we have a right attitude and right relationship with God,
and we have him in first place in our lives, then everything else falls into place.
This psalm, again, if you go back, you notice at the beginning it says it's a psalm for the Sabbath day.
Now it's entirely clear why it's a psalm for the Sabbath day,
but perhaps it is because it talks about God and his works and how good they are.
And of course, God in the seventh day and the Sabbath day he rested,
and he was able to look back at how good his works were.
And he was able, as the exalted God and king, to say that they were good.
And we can look at it and we can say, too, God's works are good.
So that may be why it's a Sabbath psalm.
Let me just rearrange the verses a bit and we'll look at how we're going to go through it this morning.
Again, I'm going to be straight for a verse.
We're going to go from right to left on this diagram.
So we're going to start with the verses in the middle about God being exalted.
And I'm going to say that that is about believing in God.
Believing in who God is.
And that is the starting point for the rest of the psalm.
We have the verses round about it.
There's four verses there which I say are about trusting in God.
In these verses, the psalmist talks a bit about his enemies and God's enemies and how, as someone who trusts in God, he is strong.
He talks about having a horn like an ox.
And he is able to stand up to all the difficulties.
And then the outer shell of the psalm, if you like, is about rejoicing in God.
There's some great verses at the beginning about music and about singing.
And then at the end, the psalmist talks about how even in old age, it's possible to be fruitful and to be like a palm tree or a cedar tree if our trust is in God.
So we're going to start with believing in God.
We're then going to think about trusting in God, which comes from believing in God.
And then we're going to think about rejoicing in God, which is the result of trusting in God and of seeing his goodness.
So believing in God is just the one verse.
And it's about God being, as said, eternally exalted.
You, Lord, are forever exalted.
And like what here in his translation says that God defines exaltedness.
You are the definition of exaltedness.
And that's perhaps a good way to put it.
We need to start by recognizing what a great and what an awesome God we have.
And in particular, when it talks about God being exalted, I think what it means is that God is in control of everything.
And that God ultimately is the judge of everything.
The psalmist looks around him, and we'll come to this in a minute.
He looks around him and sees a lot of people who have no interest in God.
And he's wondering, why do they seem to do well?
But it comes to the conclusion, God is exalted.
God is all-powerful.
And therefore, God will judge righteously.
And ultimately, good will be seen to do right.
God is eternally exalted because he is the creator.
He is the sustainer of the universe.
And he is the one who is all-wise and who is all-good and who deserves all our praises.
And so the psalmist begins by stating his belief in God that God is eternally exalted.
Now, the psalmist, of course, only had bits of the Old Testament, only a partial understanding of what we understand about God today.
And I look at a verse like this, and I think as we look at God the Father, the Lord of the psalmist being exalted,
we also need to look at the Lord Jesus as the one who is exalted.
You may well know Philippians chapter 2, where it talks about the Lord Jesus humbling himself, becoming obedient even to death on a cross.
And then it says, therefore God has highly exalted him.
So the Lord Jesus now has been put in that place of the highest honor and the highest authority.
Jesus himself said, all authority has been given to me.
And Paul talks about Jesus as the one who will judge the world in righteousness.
So when we think about the God being eternally exalted, we also think about the Lord Jesus who has been exalted because of his death on the cross
and is the one now who has authority, the one who will judge, the one who is eternally exalted.
And as we start from that point in the psalm, then we can move on and we can think about, well, what are the implications of that for me?
And that's where the psalmist talks about trusting in God.
So you're following your Bible, now looking at verses 5 to 7 and verses 9 to 11.
And I've said that 5 to 7 are about God's deep thoughts and 9 to 11 are about God's decisive actions.
So verse 5, the psalmist says, how great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts.
The psalmist recognizes, as we should too, what a great, wise, all-knowing God we have,
and someone who knows much better than we ever could what is good and what is right for us,
and who thankfully is ultimately in control of all things.
But then he thinks, look at all these people round about me.
There are lots of people in the world who really have no thought of God.
Doesn't mean they're not intelligent.
He calls them senseless and fools.
Doesn't mean they've not got good brains and they're not intelligent people,
but they just can't see how great God is and how good it is to worship him and to live for him.
Now, the psalmist saw that all these thousands of years ago, how true it is also today.
An awful lot of people in our world who have no time for God who would say there is no God.
And the Bible describes people like that as being fools.
However intelligent they may be, however good they may be at doing things in human terms,
as they don't see the greatness of God,
then the psalmist says they're senseless.
They're fools.
They don't understand.
God has revealed himself to us.
He's revealed himself through creation.
He's revealed himself through the Bible.
He's revealed himself through Jesus.
And for some people that just means nothing.
And the Bible says, well, they're senseless.
They're ignoring something that's really important.
And yet in our world, often these are the people who seem to do well and to earn respect.
And the psalmist says, yes, that's true.
We're verse 7 now.
Yes, that's true.
They spring up like grass.
They flourish.
But ultimately, they don't prevail.
If they ignore God, ultimately there are consequences for that.
They're like the grass that springs up today and it's gone tomorrow.
They don't understand God and his deep thoughts.
And then verses 9 to 11 talk about how God's deep thoughts translate into decisive actions.
So again, the psalmist is thinking about evildoers,
but he's thinking particularly about those who are his enemies.
Now, I think we would take his enemies as also being God's enemies in this context.
The psalmist is saying, I'm a man of God.
Here are people who are opposed to me.
And he would also be saying, they're opposed to God.
So he talks about them as your enemies in verse 9.
And he talks about them as my adversaries in verse 11.
And he says, these people who ignore God, there are going to be consequences for that.
If you ignore God and want to do away with him and with his standards and with his rule,
then ultimately you will be judged for that.
They will perish, he says.
They will be scattered.
And that's kind of sobering reminder that those who reject God in this life
will have to face them in eternity.
And that they will be judged for the fact that they have rejected God
and that they have rejected Jesus.
But says the psalmist, as part of your decisive action
is dealing with my enemies and your enemies,
but it is also giving me good things
as you are the God of heaven and you want what is best for me.
And that's in verse 10.
You have exalted my horn like that.
The ox is one of the strongest beasts in the Holy Land,
particularly strong because of its horns.
It is able to defend itself against anything that comes against it
by using its horns.
And the horn that the psalmist talks about here
speaks of strength that comes from God
and it speaks of being able to withstand
even the most evil people
and the worst plans that they may make against him.
And alongside that,
he talks about fine oils being poured on me.
Now, oil was used in the Bible for anointing,
for anointing priests and kings and so on.
It was also used as something that would refresh you,
that would give you joy,
and that would help you to keep going in your life.
Now, I think that's probably what is being talked about here.
So he's got the strength like the ox,
the horn like the ox,
in being able to stand up to those who oppose him
and oppose God.
But he's also got these fine oils being poured on him,
so he's not just feeling all the time oppressed
and under pressure.
He's also refreshed by God
and by everything that God does for him.
God acts in the psalmist situation
to work things for his good
and to ensure that justice is done.
As we think about deep thoughts and decisive actions,
looking at it from a 21st century,
from a post-Christ perspective,
we need to look back on Jesus
and think how it applies to him.
The deep thoughts that God had
about how we who were rebels against God,
who went our own way,
who had nothing that would please God in us,
how could we be brought back,
how could we get forgiveness
for all the wrong we've done.
And God, in his great wisdom,
made his plan,
and he took decisive action
as he sent his son, Jesus,
into the world to be our saviour.
To go to the cross at Calvary
and there to take the punishment that was due to us
so that all those who put their trust in him
can know that they have forgiveness for sins
and can have a real relationship with God.
God's deep thoughts and his decisive actions.
And we need then to look at these and say,
I want to trust in God.
I want to recognise my failure before God
and I want to come to him
and to put my trust in him
in the Lord Jesus as my saviour.
So we believe in God
and we believe in who he is and his greatness
and then we trust in him,
particularly trust in Jesus
for all he's done for us.
And finally, we can then rejoice in God.
Two thoughts here as well.
Verses 1 to 4,
I call constant praise.
And then verses 12 to 15,
I've called consistent growth.
1 to 4 is about music.
Isn't music wonderful?
Great to come to church on a Sunday morning
and to sing these great songs together
of praising God and praising Jesus.
Great too if during the week
we can be singing and playing if we're musical
or listening to music that praises God
and that exalts him.
And the psalmist says that is a good thing to do.
It is good for us to praise God.
That's why he's created us
so that we can enjoy him
and we can appreciate him
and we can bring our praise to him
for all that he's done for us.
Psalmist says we should do it in the morning
and at night.
In other words, we should do it all the time.
Our lives should be a kind of symphony
of praise to God.
And he pictures first the musical instruments.
10-string lyre.
Lyre is normally a four or five string.
So I think of a 10-string lyre
as being a bit like a 12-string guitar.
So it's a bit more substantial
than a normal guitar.
Perhaps it makes a slightly louder noise.
It gives us the chance to really let go
and to celebrate what God has done.
And then alongside that,
you have the melody of the harp.
The harp quieter, more reflective.
Again, for many of us,
a good way to praise God
just to be reflective and to be quiet
as we think about him.
Both have a place in our worship,
in our music,
in our praise of God.
And then, of course, there's singing.
Verse 4,
You've made me glad by your deeds.
I sing for joy
at what your hands have done.
It is good for us to praise God.
And we should come together
on a Sunday morning
and as we praise together,
we should be enjoying
thinking about our God,
thinking about Jesus
and all that he has done for us
and worshipping him together.
And what should we be thinking about?
What should be the theme of our praise?
Well, verse 2 says
it's God's love
and his faithfulness.
Verse 4 says
it's his deeds.
So we're focusing on God.
Now, we're focusing on God
in relation to what he's done for us,
but very important
that in our singing
we're not just focused on me
and am I enjoying this
and is this something
that's of value to me.
We're focused on God
and we're focused on all that he is
and all that he has done for us.
And if our hymns,
if our songs together
exalt and glorify God
and glorify Jesus,
then it is good for us
to be praising like that
and that is pleasing to our God.
Never think of worship songs
as just something that we come and do
almost as wrote
or just fillers in the service.
They are a great opportunity
for us to bring together
collectively our praise
and our adoration of our God.
And they should be
not just on a Sunday morning
but throughout the week.
We should be making music
in our hearts.
Some are better,
more musical than others.
All of us can do it
in our hearts at least.
We should be making music
in our hearts to God
as we reflect on all the good things
that he has done for us.
So that's constant praise.
And then at the end of the psalm,
there's one of the reasons
why we should praise God constantly.
I call that consistent growth.
The picture here is of trees.
Two types of trees.
There's the palm tree
and there's the cedar of Lebanon.
Palm tree is probably the date palm
which would be the most common
in the lands of the Bible.
So a great source of food,
of nourishment for people
and a real presence among them.
Palm trees grow to an enormous height.
They live for many hundreds of years
and again and again
they keep producing fruit
even as they get older.
Cedars of Lebanon also
were very tall trees,
very imposing,
very majestic,
but they were particularly valued
for the quality of their wood.
So they provided really good wood
and they were particularly used
by the people.
And the psalmist said,
if we trust in God,
we can have the characteristics
of these trees.
We can be fruitful.
We can be useful.
We can,
even in old life,
in old age,
we can continue
to be productive
for God.
But particularly,
he says,
that happens
when we're planted
in the house of the Lord.
Verse 13,
plant in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish
in the courts of our God.
Now,
palm trees and cedar trees
can flourish perfectly well
in the wild,
but the psalmist here
is thinking of those
that are in the courts
of the temple
that people will see
as they come to worship God.
They've been transplanted,
if you like,
and they're now
in the place
where God is.
And of course,
when we think of ourselves
as being a bit like trees,
that is true of us
as well.
We have been transplanted.
We have been taken
from the state
that we once were in.
We have come to know Jesus
and we have been changed
and we are now
in the place
where God is
and we are able
to grow
in his presence.
And so says the psalmist,
these trees,
they bear fruit
in old age
and so can we
if we are trusting
in God.
We can bear fruit,
we can stay fresh
and green,
we can still be productive.
Older people in church
are a wonderful blessing
to those of us
who are younger.
I'm not really carrying
myself in the younger ones
these days
but younger than some.
But for those
who are younger,
older people
can be a real blessing.
Those who have been
walking with God
for many years
and who have
a great wisdom
and great experience
to pass on
in the Christian life
and who very often
are those
who are most faithful
in prayer
for the work
of the church
even if they're not
always able
to be very actively
involved in it.
As a church
it's very important
that we value,
that we treasure
those who are older
in the faith,
those who have
all these years
of experience
and of loving God
behind them.
If we are older
it's important
that we stay fruitful.
Now old age
does bring
its problems.
We're not able
to do as much
as perhaps we used to
or as we would
like to.
And for some older people
they can be feeling
I'd really like to do more
but I'm not able
to.
But even though
our bodies
may be fading away
yet our spirits
can be constantly
renewed
and can be constantly
rejoicing
before God.
And it's very important
if we are older
that we don't become
grumpy old men
or grumpy old women.
That we look at
what's happening
and we say
well that's not really
the way I would have done it
that's not the way
it was done in my day
and so I'm not really
very happy
about it.
It is wonderful
when you see older people
and there are quite a number
in this church
you see older people
and they see things
changing
and they see God
working
and they rejoice
in it.
they're not there
just to criticise
and to put younger
people down
they're there
to encourage them
and to build them
up in their faith
and to continue
to bear fruit
in their old age
as they encourage
the younger ones
as they pray for them
as they continue
to form
the bedrock
of the church.
Older people
are a wonderful
privilege for us
to have among us
as a church
and as we get older
so important
that we remain fresh
and keep that confidence
in God
and look at him
at work
and even if it's not
the way we might have
done it
still to rejoice
when God
is moving
among us
and to proclaim
as it says
in verse 15
the Lord is upright
he is my rock
there is no
wickedness
in him.
So where we start
in the middle
of the psalm
actually is reflected
right at the end
of the psalm
in the testimony
that we have
about God.
The God who is exalted
who is high
above all things
he also is
our rock
and we know
that he will always
do what is right
because in him
is no wickedness.
Everything he does
everything he thinks
is for our good
and he acts
and rules
with justice.
So we believe
in God
we believe
in who he is
we understand
his greatness
believe in his
son the Lord Jesus
we trust in him
we have a confidence
in him
and the knowledge
that he will
reveal ultimately
even at times
if it seems
that those
who are godless
are prevailing
in our world
we can trust God
and have confidence
in him
if we know him
and then we're able
to rejoice in God
whether we're young
or whether we're old
we can rejoice
in song
we can rejoice
too
as we see God
at work
among us.
As I put it
the heading of the slide
there
our God reigns
and we can
enjoy his presence
here
with us.
Let me finish
with some more
botany trees.
Most trees
if you cut
their trunks
in pieces
and get a cross
section
look something
like that
that's I think
an oak tree
but many trees
are like that
they have rings
and you can tell
a lot about
the history
of the tree
and the history
of the seasons
of the years
by looking at
the rings
and by seeing
how big they are
and how they've
been formed
and so on
and each year
a new ring
is created
because the
life of the tree
if you like
the bit that is
creating new life
is the bit
around the outside
and the tree
adds more
and more
layers
to it.
Palm trees
are a bit
different
we were thinking
about palm trees
earlier
palm trees
are a bit
different
they might
look a bit
more like
that
there aren't
the rings
because palm trees
don't grow
in the same way
as other trees
where other trees
grow around the outside
and add extra layers
to themselves
palm trees
kind of grow
from the inside
they kind of push out
and they grow
in that kind of way
now that creates
some practical
differences
if you were
to tie
a piece of
wire around
a tree
perhaps for a
washing or
something like
that
if you tied
it around
an oak tree
then what would
be likely to
happen
would be that
the tree
would grow
over the wire
so in a while
it would look
as if the wire
was coming out
of the tree
and you wouldn't
actually see
the bit
that was around
the tree
because it would
have been
covered by the
bark
and so on
if you did
that with a
palm tree
and tied a
wire around it
the tree would
grow out
and eventually
the wire would
snap
because the
growth is coming
from the inside
rather than
outside
rather than
over what
was there
already
what good
does that do
for trees
well if you
have a palm
tree
they can grow
in the most
difficult of
circumstances
they can grow
in situations
where there are
hurricanes and
there are typhoons
and there are
lots of things
which if a
normal tree
came up against
them it would
just snap
because the
core is hard
the outside
is soft
and as we
see when there
are storms
in this country
very often
trees fall
down or
they break
palm trees
on the other
hand have
that inner
strength
and although
they may bend
although they
may look as
if they're
going to fall
they have that
strength
throughout them
they have that
elasticity
and in the
worst of
circumstances
they will
prevail
because from
the inside
out
they are
strong
and that I
think is the
message of
this psalm
if we are
strong from
the inside
out
then whatever
the circumstances
in life
then we can
prevail in
them
if we have
that relationship
with God
as the core
of our lives
and we truly
do recognize
him as the
one who's
exalted
and have our
trust in him
then whatever
the circumstances
of life
we may bend
we may struggle
at times life
is hard
but it can't
break us
because we
have that
inner strength
through our
relationship
with God
so the question
this morning
is do we
have that
relationship
ourselves
do I have
that personal
relationship
and trust
in God
and if I do
then I can
depend on it
and I can
rejoice in it
I can sing
his praises
and even as
I get older
even as my
body is
perhaps failing
yet my
spirit can
be constantly
renewed
and like
that tree
that remains
fruitful
even in old
age
I can continue
to be productive
and to serve
God
let's all
be like that
make sure
we're trusting
in God
and then
be fruitful
in our praise
and our
service
for him
let's pray
together
and we're going
to pray
using the words
of a hymn
since we've been
thinking a bit
but hymns this
morning a hymn
written by
Timothy Dudley
Smith based
on the latter
verse of this
psalm
so let's pray
let this prayer
O Lord
be granted
may we live
and grow
fruitful trees
that God
has planted
where the
waters flow
when the
storms of life
assail us
let our roots
be found
firm in hope
that will not
fail us
deep
in hallowed
ground
word of God
to teach
and nourish
love of God
to tend
grant us
in your course
to flourish
fruitful
to the end
then in Christ
our sins
forgiven
God who
loves to bless
calls us
to the life
of heaven
trees
of righteousness
Amen