WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.320 Thank you, Simona. 00:00:02.100 --> 00:00:03.980 My name is Bruce, if we haven't met. 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.820 And it's a pleasure and privilege to begin what I believe, Ian, 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:11.620 as a week of several weeks in the fourth book of the Psalter. 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:15.720 The Psalms, if you're not aware, are the liturgy or the songbook 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:16.859 of the temple worship. 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:20.219 So they bring their own unique problems, their poetry. 00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:22.660 But of course, when we read it in English, 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:25.719 we don't really have access to the poetic text that it was written in, 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:28.019 so some of that can just get lost on us. 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:33.679 But I always find it a really amazing thing to do, 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:36.079 to spend time in this songbook, 00:00:36.480 --> 00:00:40.119 which ultimately, I understand, is the Lord Jesus Christ's songbook. 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:48.579 The whole sweep of these 150 songs make a very long arc from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150. 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:53.100 But let me pray for us as we begin this week with Psalm 90. 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:56.480 Loving Father, we thank you for these words, 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:00.039 words that are simultaneously words from people to you, 00:01:00.819 --> 00:01:07.759 in praise, in worship, in prayer, in mourning, in weeping, in rejoicing. 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:11.359 But at the same time, words from you to us, 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.500 words that address us, words that command us, 00:01:15.679 --> 00:01:18.799 words that encourage us, words that comfort us. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:23.700 We ask that your blessing would rest on us as we listen to you this morning 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:30.299 and continue to listen to you over the next few weeks as we explore the Psalms. 00:01:31.259 --> 00:01:32.359 Please do that now. 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:33.659 In Jesus' name, Amen. 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:43.239 Now, there's a BBC kids' program that's made it all the way across to Australia, 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:44.239 across the waters. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:46.979 I imagine some of you might be familiar with it. 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:49.099 Grandpa in My Pocket. 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:52.959 If anyone can tell, I have children, I see these things. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:57.620 It has the English actor James Bolan as Grandpa. 00:01:57.620 --> 00:01:57.820 Grandpa. 00:01:58.340 --> 00:02:01.040 And Grandpa owns a magic shrinking cap, 00:02:01.660 --> 00:02:05.460 which initially only his 10-year-old grandson knows about. 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:10.099 And the cap enables him to shrink down to about four or five inches high, 00:02:10.200 --> 00:02:12.920 and he runs very fast, and he brings objects to life. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.360 It's just terrific kids' TV. 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:19.819 That perfect combination of the everyday with a very wild imagination. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:24.300 But I think Grandpa in My Pocket captures perfectly 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:26.000 how a lot of people think about God. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.840 A lot of people think of God as this friendly, portable old man 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:32.620 that you can take with you wherever you go. 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:35.939 He has magic powers, and you can be entertained by him 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:37.460 once a week on Channel Church. 00:02:39.379 --> 00:02:42.099 Perhaps that's slightly exaggerated, but not much. 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:43.599 Not much. 00:02:44.020 --> 00:02:46.900 It is very easy, I think, to have a picture of God 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:50.620 that is considerably smaller than he actually is, 00:02:51.060 --> 00:02:53.020 and we have this tendency to reduce him, 00:02:53.539 --> 00:02:55.560 if not to a grandpa in our pocket, 00:02:55.560 --> 00:02:57.960 to something at least not much bigger than that. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.140 And it doesn't correspond to reality, does it? 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:07.719 This very serious problem is really at the heart of Psalm 90. 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:09.420 It raises the question, 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:12.180 how big is your picture of God? 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:14.860 It's really important, 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:18.260 because when we allow our picture of God to shrink down 00:03:18.260 --> 00:03:21.020 four or five inches high, 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:26.060 it traps God's people, 00:03:26.660 --> 00:03:31.300 and it brings us into a trap that we fall into over and over again, 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:35.620 and it's a trap that we see the psalmist climbing out of 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:37.340 through Psalm 90. 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:40.900 So as Psalm 90 unfolds, 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:45.060 we see him reflecting on how big God actually is. 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:48.759 Now he's speaking on behalf of God's people, 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:52.659 as they have made this collective experience 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:56.199 of regaining a picture of just how big God is. 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:59.759 And it unfolds in these poetic meditations 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.159 on three aspects of God's bigness, 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:03.459 his eternity, 00:04:04.339 --> 00:04:05.099 his holiness, 00:04:05.839 --> 00:04:06.859 and his love. 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:10.539 And the first thing that the psalmist sees 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:12.099 is God's eternity. 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:18.399 He sees again that God simply is there. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.959 He doesn't come, 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:21.699 he doesn't go, 00:04:21.919 --> 00:04:23.159 God is simply there. 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:25.339 But the interesting thing, I think, 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:27.359 is what reminds him of this. 00:04:28.219 --> 00:04:31.259 And he begins to regain this sight of God's eternity 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:35.899 by realizing how ephemeral and transient that he is. 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:41.239 Now it's nearly 20 years since Kate and I got married. 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:43.639 It doesn't really feel that long ago. 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:45.739 Kate still kind of looks the same. 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:47.599 I look in the mirror and realize 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.680 it is, in fact, a very long time ago. 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:52.360 But I'm told even after 50 years, 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:54.000 it can feel just like yesterday. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:55.300 Is that the case? 00:04:56.140 --> 00:04:56.700 Peter and Terry? 00:04:57.060 --> 00:04:58.600 I've got some more nods over here too. 00:04:59.700 --> 00:05:01.920 It might have been back in the Jurassic era, 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:03.680 but in a very real sense, 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:04.879 it feels like yesterday. 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:07.360 And that's the feeling 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:11.480 that gets the psalmist thinking about God's eternity. 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.340 He begins to reflect on how quickly 00:05:15.340 --> 00:05:17.020 a whole lifetime passes. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.100 And in verse 10 he writes, 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:24.420 The length of our days is 70 years, 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:25.460 or 80, 00:05:26.140 --> 00:05:27.260 if we have the strength. 00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:31.140 Yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:32.780 for they quickly pass, 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:34.939 and we fly away. 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:40.680 He reflects on how 70 or 80 years fly past. 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.019 And that gets him thinking about God. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:47.100 Even a long life can feel incredibly short. 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:49.920 But if it feels like that to us, 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:51.800 what must it feel like to God? 00:05:52.780 --> 00:05:54.759 And so the psalmist begins to reflect further, 00:05:54.860 --> 00:05:55.819 and he begins to think about 00:05:55.819 --> 00:05:57.960 the fact that God actually was there 00:05:57.960 --> 00:05:58.920 in the Jurassic era. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:00.720 In verse 2 he writes, 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:03.680 Before the mountains were born, 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:08.100 or before you brought forth the earth and the world, 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.200 from everlasting to everlasting, 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:13.180 you are God. 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:17.519 And one of the amazing things I find 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:20.079 when I see the historic photographs 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:21.420 and etchings of Edinburgh 00:06:21.420 --> 00:06:23.680 that you see all around the place, 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:26.199 such a history-conscious city this is, 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:28.759 is just how radically everything changes. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:30.680 It's really fun to see that, 00:06:31.460 --> 00:06:33.160 except for Solisby Crags. 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:34.600 That is amazing. 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:36.040 You see all these pictures, 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:37.540 and the crags are identical. 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:40.640 It doesn't matter whether it's a photograph from 1900 00:06:40.640 --> 00:06:42.379 or an etching from 1700, 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:44.080 the crags are there. 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:50.379 But God can remember when it was different. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.780 He was there when the volcano was heaving 00:06:52.780 --> 00:06:54.480 and the plates were shifting. 00:06:55.700 --> 00:06:58.180 God was there when the mountains were born, 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:00.700 and he's been there ever since. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:04.020 God has been there ever since, 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:06.000 watching the world grow up. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:09.019 And to him, it does feel like yesterday. 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:12.180 In verse 4, the psalmist says, 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:13.939 For a thousand years in your sight 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:16.879 are like a day that has just gone by, 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:19.480 or like a watch in the night. 00:07:21.339 --> 00:07:22.839 It's a very big God. 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:24.779 But how big is your God? 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:27.279 Is your God eternal? 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:30.339 Or is he more or less your own age? 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:35.879 The psalmist marvels at God's eternity. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.480 But then his mind turns to God's holiness. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:42.379 Now I think this is something we forget 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:45.959 even more quickly than God's eternity. 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:47.920 We forget even what the word means. 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:50.560 To say that God is holy 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:54.420 is to say that he is utterly different. 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:00.259 And especially how differently good he is. 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:03.079 So in the same way that a thousand years 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:04.360 are like a day to God, 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:08.039 a single sin to God is like a thousand to us. 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.259 And the difference between God's definition of good 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:14.319 and our definition of good is simply immense. 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:17.259 What seems like a trifle to us 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:19.000 is not a trifle to him, 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:20.560 because his goodness, 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:22.480 his own goodness, is infinite. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.879 And so his response to sin 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:28.460 is immensely bigger than ours. 00:08:29.200 --> 00:08:31.420 And that's what's behind this rhetorical question 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:33.800 that the psalmist poses in verse 11. 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:44.620 He's saying, 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:46.360 who knows how angry God gets? 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:48.899 Well, nobody. 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:50.340 Nobody does, 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:53.200 because you would have as much luck 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.340 measuring God's anger 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:58.080 as you would calculating how old God is. 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:00.600 But more to the point, 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:02.179 nobody knows how angry God gets 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:03.539 because we never think about it. 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:04.679 It's not particularly nice. 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:08.339 In fact, our whole culture mocks the idea 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:11.579 that God should be angry about sin. 00:09:12.459 --> 00:09:15.259 We think he should all just take it all in his stride. 00:09:16.459 --> 00:09:18.419 And frankly, this rubs off on us 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:20.979 because we are immersed in our culture. 00:09:22.959 --> 00:09:24.599 But in verses seven to nine, 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.799 we are reminded that God doesn't keep his people in the dark. 00:09:29.319 --> 00:09:30.859 I can't see where we're up to. 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:31.719 Is that the one? 00:09:31.839 --> 00:09:32.500 I think it is. 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:36.379 He doesn't keep his people in the dark. 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:40.519 And he reveals his anger to his people. 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:43.399 And this is the experience of God's people 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:45.860 that the psalmist is recounting. 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:46.340 He says, 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:48.559 We are consumed by your anger 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:51.379 and terrified by your indignation. 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:55.200 You have set our iniquities before you, 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:58.220 our secret sins in the light of your presence. 00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:02.759 All our days pass away under your wrath. 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:07.620 See, God doesn't allow his people to labor under the delusion 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:08.879 that he just doesn't care. 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.879 He will reveal his anger from time to time in judgment. 00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:19.320 Now, it's hard to tell exactly what period of Israel's history 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:20.399 is on view here. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:22.299 But it's highly likely, 00:10:22.459 --> 00:10:24.720 and I think there are a number of things that indicate in this psalm, 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:26.360 that the exile is on view. 00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:30.179 But ultimately, it doesn't really matter. 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:34.519 The point is that through this experience of judgment, 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:39.860 God's people had once again come to see how big God is. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:42.419 But how about you? 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:44.180 How big is your picture of God? 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:46.639 Is your God holy? 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:51.180 Or is he not much different to any of us? 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:56.159 Seeing God's holiness is incredibly important 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.700 because God's holiness is a kind of gateway 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:02.060 to seeing a bunch of other things about God 00:11:02.060 --> 00:11:06.860 and perhaps the most important aspect of who God is for us. 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:09.560 In seeing God's holiness, 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:11.860 the psalmist comes to see this important, 00:11:12.800 --> 00:11:14.560 this crucial aspect of who God is. 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:17.740 Seeing God's holiness reveals to the psalmist 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:21.379 just how big God's love actually is. 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:23.500 And this is where everything clicks for him. 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:25.180 It's like a thin ray of light 00:11:25.180 --> 00:11:29.560 penetrating this darkened cell of his heart and mind, 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:31.820 indeed the whole nation's heart and mind. 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:35.899 So how do you know how much someone loves you? 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:40.820 Well, I'd like to suggest it's not at birthdays or anniversaries. 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:43.440 I'm not alluding to people who forget birthday presents 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:44.800 or anniversary presents. 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:47.200 I'm just suggesting it's not revealed 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:49.480 in how much someone might be willing to spend on you. 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:52.300 You know how much someone loves you 00:11:52.300 --> 00:11:54.700 when you see how much they are willing to endure. 00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:59.720 Now last week there was a terrible accident in our household. 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:03.800 You're not supposed to use your children as sermon illustrations, 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:04.559 but here goes. 00:12:05.079 --> 00:12:07.599 A very special cup was accidentally broken last week. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:09.839 My wife Kate, as many of you might know, 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:11.219 is an English literature fan. 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.500 She's very pleased when we got to visit Jane Austen's home. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.059 And there was a cup celebrating the 200th anniversary 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:19.479 of the novel Emma. 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:23.060 And this cup was enjoyed every day at breakfast 00:12:23.060 --> 00:12:26.080 and last week until the terrible accident. 00:12:27.460 --> 00:12:31.120 But when a child knocks said cup off the bench, 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:33.220 said child was devastated. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.879 And said child soon becomes aware 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:39.920 of just how much their mum loves them. 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.019 Because it soon becomes apparent 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:46.120 that this is bigger than however much love 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.080 was invested in a cup. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:50.580 This is a very trivial example, 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:52.740 but the dynamic is basically the same. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:55.860 It's a trivial example for many reasons. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:59.240 For a start, it's not a sin to break a cup, 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:00.539 especially by accident. 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:03.860 But when we sin against God, that is no accident. 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:06.440 When we sin, we turn our backs on Him. 00:13:07.179 --> 00:13:10.180 And you really come to know that somebody loves you 00:13:10.180 --> 00:13:11.720 when they continue to love you 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.360 when you turn your back on them. 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.779 And this is how the psalmist comes to know 00:13:16.779 --> 00:13:19.379 just how big God's love is. 00:13:20.539 --> 00:13:25.980 If God is so angry, yet He still loves me, 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:27.279 how great is that love? 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:31.860 It's even bigger than what I've done against Him. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.279 That is the key insight of the psalm. 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.460 Now how big is your picture of God's love? 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:40.519 Is it as big as this? 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:45.240 The psalmist sees that it is. 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.059 And he reaches out with a thin sliver of faith. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:56.199 He hopes that there might be morning 00:13:56.199 --> 00:13:58.379 after the dark, dark night. 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:00.319 He hopes that there might be morning 00:14:00.319 --> 00:14:02.100 because God's love is so big. 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:04.480 And then he calls out in verse 14, 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:11.639 satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love. 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:12.879 He calls out, love me. 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:18.379 And we see how the psalmist wants God to love His people 00:14:18.379 --> 00:14:20.420 in the bookends of the psalm. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.620 Verses 1 and verses 17, 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.879 the very first and the very last sentences. 00:14:26.540 --> 00:14:30.180 He wants God to shelter him. 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:32.479 Look at verse 1. 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:38.399 Lord, you have been our dwelling place 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.199 throughout all generations. 00:14:41.479 --> 00:14:42.899 A dwelling place. 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:45.019 It's a lovely image, isn't it? 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:48.279 It's an image of shelter and safety. 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:52.000 This is how God loves His people. 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:53.179 He shelters them. 00:14:54.099 --> 00:14:55.099 Throughout all generations, 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:57.059 God has kept the rain off His people. 00:14:57.059 --> 00:14:59.079 He has kept out the wind. 00:14:59.619 --> 00:15:02.319 Like a secure house, He's kept them safe. 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:06.239 Like a home, He has been a place of chairs, 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:08.739 warm fires and meals. 00:15:09.219 --> 00:15:10.259 It's a beautiful image. 00:15:11.339 --> 00:15:13.099 God has been their dwelling place. 00:15:14.219 --> 00:15:17.439 The thing is, God's people got sick of home sweet home. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:21.180 They went off and took shelter in other places. 00:15:21.340 --> 00:15:23.140 God was no longer their dwelling place. 00:15:24.020 --> 00:15:28.460 They sought shelter, security, and satisfaction in other places. 00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:32.020 And as a result, God left them. 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:33.900 And this was His judgment upon them. 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:37.500 I think one of the most devastating chapters of the Old Testament 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:43.500 is not all the terrifically brutal and gruesome chapters. 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:45.200 It's Ezekiel chapter 10, 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:49.220 which is a vivid depiction of God moving out of the temple 00:15:49.220 --> 00:15:53.340 and leaving His people to the invading armies of Babylon. 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:55.980 In the grand scheme of things, 00:15:56.059 --> 00:16:00.500 this is a devastating chapter in the story of Israel. 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:06.179 But now the psalmist prays that God would show them His love once again. 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:09.379 He wants God to be their dwelling place once more. 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:11.299 And so he prays in verse 17, 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:14.500 the other bookend of the psalm, 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:17.519 establish the work of our hands for us. 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:21.240 This prayer alludes, I think, to the rebuilding of the temple. 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:24.419 When the people of Jerusalem went out of exile, 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.120 the Babylonians burnt down the temple. 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:30.320 And it was plain to God's people that this happened 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.920 because God had, in fact, left His dwelling place. 00:16:34.680 --> 00:16:36.140 The city could be razed. 00:16:36.780 --> 00:16:37.980 The temple could be burnt down 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:41.080 because God was no longer there to stop that. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.300 And this was His judgment on them. 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:46.560 Just as they had left Him, 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:49.580 He eventually would leave them. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:53.540 But when God returned them from exile, 00:16:54.780 --> 00:16:57.340 God's people would set about refurbishing the temple 00:16:57.340 --> 00:17:01.420 in the great hope that He would return once more 00:17:01.420 --> 00:17:03.100 and dwell among them. 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:06.940 And this is where the psalmist's prayer comes in. 00:17:07.059 --> 00:17:10.600 The psalmist asks God that He would bless the work of their hands. 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:14.019 It's not just that the nails are going straight. 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:17.660 It's bless this rebuilding of your dwelling place. 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:22.600 We cannot dwell in you if you do not dwell among us. 00:17:23.600 --> 00:17:25.360 See, it's not a prayer for carpentry. 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:29.900 It's a prayer that God would indeed once more live among them. 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:33.840 Live among your people once again so your people may live in you. 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:36.580 And this is the burden of the psalm. 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:39.599 And so the psalmist repeats himself. 00:17:40.159 --> 00:17:42.740 Yes, establish the work of our hands. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.639 God has been their dwelling place throughout all generations. 00:17:48.419 --> 00:17:50.059 He wants it to be like that again. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:56.279 But the point is that the psalmist only got to this point 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:00.119 after he regained a much bigger picture of God. 00:18:01.099 --> 00:18:04.179 He only got to this point of wanting to dwell in God 00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:08.200 after he saw once again just how big God is. 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:12.480 And so that is really the center of this psalm. 00:18:13.100 --> 00:18:14.900 How big is your picture of God? 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:18.840 Can you see how big He is? 00:18:19.840 --> 00:18:22.100 Or is He more like a grandpa in your pocket? 00:18:24.860 --> 00:18:27.259 In the course of Israel's long and sorry history, 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:30.279 God revealed Himself again and again to His people, 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:33.700 reminding them of His eternity. 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:37.019 Of His holiness and of His love. 00:18:38.360 --> 00:18:40.360 But nowhere did He do this more clearly 00:18:40.360 --> 00:18:42.720 than in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:46.720 At the cross, God showed His immense love 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.799 by taking upon Himself the sin of His people. 00:18:51.120 --> 00:18:54.720 At the cross, God revealed the full extent of His holiness, 00:18:55.580 --> 00:18:57.160 pouring out His righteous judgment, 00:18:58.160 --> 00:18:59.660 even on His Son. 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:03.580 And in the resurrection, God demonstrated His eternity, 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:08.600 swallowing up death in the power of His immortality. 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:11.960 And God revealed Himself in this way 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:14.620 to summon not just His people Israel, 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:16.259 but indeed the whole world 00:19:16.259 --> 00:19:19.519 to do exactly what the psalmist does in his prayer. 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:23.820 God wants us to make Him our dwelling place, 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:26.539 to make Him our shelter. 00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:30.519 So is that what God is for you? 00:19:30.879 --> 00:19:31.939 Is He your shelter? 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:36.439 We all take shelter somewhere. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:39.019 If our family's pretty nice, 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:40.359 that might be our shelter. 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:42.700 If work is pretty nice, 00:19:43.159 --> 00:19:44.319 that might be our shelter. 00:19:44.879 --> 00:19:48.399 Our shelter is whatever makes the world a safe place. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:52.480 We shelter in success wherever we can find it. 00:19:53.180 --> 00:19:55.300 In people, wherever we can find them. 00:19:55.380 --> 00:19:56.820 In food, in comfort, in wealth. 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:59.519 But none of these can possibly shelter us 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:00.519 from God's holiness. 00:20:02.060 --> 00:20:04.420 And all of these things come from God anyway. 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:09.800 And that's why God calls us to take shelter in Him. 00:20:13.100 --> 00:20:15.440 But we constantly take leave of our shelter. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:18.019 I find myself constantly seeking shelter 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:20.360 in other things or other people. 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:22.080 And this is a mistake. 00:20:23.900 --> 00:20:26.140 Don't people, food, wealth, all of these, 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:28.920 doesn't all of that come from God anyway? 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.360 We do this. 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:34.519 We make this mistake 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:37.259 because we can no longer see 00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:39.279 that He is the better shelter. 00:20:42.620 --> 00:20:44.059 Indeed, the only shelter. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.360 That modern Irish psalmist, Van Morrison, 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:52.039 captures the experience of God's wayward people 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:54.779 in one of his songs when he sings, 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:58.279 When will I ever learn to live in God? 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:00.039 When will I ever learn? 00:21:01.820 --> 00:21:04.519 It's a great paraphrase of Psalm 90, 00:21:04.600 --> 00:21:05.440 what's going on here. 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:06.759 When will I ever learn? 00:21:07.600 --> 00:21:08.740 Well, the answer is very simple. 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:11.600 When I see how big God actually is. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:15.139 And that's why we must constantly return to the cross 00:21:15.139 --> 00:21:17.279 and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:21:18.139 --> 00:21:20.099 Only there will we see 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:23.279 what will return us to our true shelter. 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:27.579 And only there will we see what it is 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:29.980 that we truly need sheltering from. 00:21:29.980 --> 00:21:34.279 So maybe this psalm finds you this morning 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:35.360 sheltering elsewhere. 00:21:36.360 --> 00:21:38.880 Perhaps God has been your shelter for some time. 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:42.779 Perhaps you've entrusted yourself to Jesus Christ 00:21:42.779 --> 00:21:44.279 for the forgiveness of your sins 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:46.960 and received His promise of eternal life 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:48.519 for the concerns of each day. 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.799 I take it this is a church 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:54.039 and so many of us, if not most of us, 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:55.259 that's true. 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:59.000 Yet you seek your shelter elsewhere. 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:03.319 On a day-to-day basis, 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:05.119 for the concerns of each day, 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:07.519 to all intents and purposes, 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:10.099 you're seeking your shelter 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:11.720 in those lesser things, 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.200 those things that ultimately come from God. 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:16.119 If that's you this morning, 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:18.579 the psalm simply calls you to understand 00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:20.539 why you are so wet and cold. 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:26.500 It's funny, only in Scotland could it rain inside. 00:22:26.919 --> 00:22:29.079 Where I spend most of my days at New College, 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:31.139 unbelievably it rains inside. 00:22:31.239 --> 00:22:32.619 But that is the image of a shelter 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:34.359 that doesn't work, isn't it? 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:37.459 So understand why you are so wet and cold. 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:40.339 Why your roof leaks. 00:22:40.739 --> 00:22:42.739 Or in Joe Cocker, perhaps not a modern psalmist, 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:44.719 when the rain comes through the floorboards. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.180 I've never quite understood that line. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.140 But it's indicative of a shelter 00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:50.700 that doesn't work. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.839 If the psalm finds you this morning 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:55.140 sheltering other things, 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:59.640 say what the psalmist says. 00:23:02.019 --> 00:23:03.720 Be my shelter once again. 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:08.140 But maybe the psalm finds you this morning 00:23:08.140 --> 00:23:09.660 in a situation not too dissimilar 00:23:09.660 --> 00:23:11.220 to that of the psalmist himself 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:13.220 or the people that he's speaking 00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:15.440 on behalf of. 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:17.120 Perhaps for some time God has been your shelter, 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:18.559 but you've wandered far from him. 00:23:19.900 --> 00:23:22.600 Perhaps it's a bit like 00:23:22.600 --> 00:23:24.680 in one of the sermons I heard a few years ago 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:25.740 when the preacher said, 00:23:26.100 --> 00:23:28.039 I don't know what you get up to during the week. 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:29.660 That's a great line. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:30.779 This is really true. 00:23:30.779 --> 00:23:32.740 I don't know what you get up to each week. 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:34.899 In fact, it's possible 00:23:34.899 --> 00:23:36.180 that the real state of your life 00:23:36.180 --> 00:23:37.019 is quite hidden, 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.099 not just from me, 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:40.639 but from other people, 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:41.799 maybe even yourself. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.420 That it is not hidden from God. 00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:46.759 If you have wandered to the far country, 00:23:46.899 --> 00:23:48.099 God calls you this morning 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:49.160 to return to him. 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:53.240 Make these psalmists your own words. 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:55.339 Speak to your heavenly Father. 00:23:55.339 --> 00:23:57.000 You've been my dwelling place. 00:23:58.379 --> 00:24:00.559 Be my dwelling place again. 00:24:03.659 --> 00:24:04.899 Turn to him in repentance 00:24:04.899 --> 00:24:07.399 and let him be your shelter once again. 00:24:08.899 --> 00:24:09.899 But it's also possible 00:24:09.899 --> 00:24:10.779 that this whole psalm 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:12.159 is actually quite foreign to you. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:16.000 You might never have been at home with God. 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:18.059 You might not know what it is 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:19.199 to take shelter in God. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:21.559 You might have only ever been looking in 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:24.599 on the chairs, fires and warm meals, 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:27.419 even if you walk through the doors 00:24:27.419 --> 00:24:29.679 of this church on a regular basis. 00:24:30.159 --> 00:24:31.339 If that's you this morning, 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:32.399 God is telling you 00:24:32.399 --> 00:24:34.859 in this psalm 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:37.399 that you do not need to know these... 00:24:37.399 --> 00:24:38.419 Sorry, he is telling you 00:24:38.419 --> 00:24:40.039 that you do not know these things 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:42.119 because you have never seen him. 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:45.679 That is what he is saying in this psalm. 00:24:46.019 --> 00:24:47.479 If you do not know these things, 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:49.119 it's because you do not see him 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.339 and you have never seen him. 00:24:50.719 --> 00:24:51.699 And so he calls us 00:24:51.699 --> 00:24:52.679 to look again 00:24:52.679 --> 00:24:54.059 to where he has shown himself 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:55.519 most clearly. 00:24:56.379 --> 00:24:57.519 He is calling you to see 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.599 Christ crucified 00:24:58.599 --> 00:24:59.919 and the empty tomb 00:24:59.919 --> 00:25:01.279 where he revealed 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.479 his holiness, love and eternity 00:25:03.479 --> 00:25:05.899 nowhere more clearly. 00:25:06.939 --> 00:25:07.959 And he did all this 00:25:07.959 --> 00:25:09.159 to be your shelter, 00:25:09.699 --> 00:25:10.699 to protect you 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:12.680 from his awesome holiness, 00:25:12.840 --> 00:25:14.299 to give you the forgiveness of sins 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:15.840 and eternal life 00:25:15.840 --> 00:25:18.460 and to be ever so much more than that, 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:19.539 to be your shelter. 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:22.420 And if that's you this morning, 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.000 make the psalmist's words your own. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:26.059 Speak to your heavenly Father 00:25:26.059 --> 00:25:26.400 and say, 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:28.100 you have never been my dwelling place. 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:30.700 Be my dwelling place from now 00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:32.580 and indeed forever. 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:36.600 As we reflect on this psalm now, 00:25:36.600 --> 00:25:37.880 let us pray together. 00:25:40.700 --> 00:25:41.400 Loving Father, 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:42.319 you have indeed been 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:43.920 the dwelling place of your people 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:46.019 throughout all generations. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:47.900 From everlasting to everlasting, 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:50.100 you are God. 00:25:51.860 --> 00:25:53.539 Give us a fresher heart of wisdom 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:54.559 this morning. 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:56.580 Let us once again see 00:25:56.580 --> 00:25:58.160 the demonstration of your holiness, 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:01.019 love and eternal life 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:03.259 in the death and resurrection 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:04.440 of your son Jesus. 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:07.120 And in doing this, 00:26:07.380 --> 00:26:08.160 Lord, we pray, 00:26:08.340 --> 00:26:09.340 draw us to yourself 00:26:09.340 --> 00:26:11.559 that we may dwell in you 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:13.120 and you in us. 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:14.860 For Jesus' sake we pray. 00:26:15.320 --> 00:26:15.640 Amen.