king David – Tawa Baptist

November 17, 2019 Tawa Baptist

Create in me a clean heart

Scriptures: Psalm 51 and 2^nd Samuel 11 & 12

Structure:

Introduction
Keith Green
King David
Psalm 51
Conclusion

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me;

Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord

Take not Your Holy Spirit from me;

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,

And renew a right spirit within me.

Introduction:

Some of you may have seen the movie Rocketman recently

It’s a bio pic about the life of Elton John
Elton John is of course an incredibly talented musician, but he didn’t write all those hits songs on his own – many of his songs are a collaboration with Bernie Taupin
Bernie was the lyricist – he wrote the words and gave them to Elton who then put them to music.

Last week we began a new sermon series called ‘Anthems’

In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the history of our faith.
The purpose is not to find fault with the words but to help us interpret the songs in the best possible light.

Today’s song is called, Create in me a clean heart

This song is a collaboration between king David, Keith Green and the Holy Spirit
The lyrics were written by David roughly 3,000 years ago, I’m not sure who wrote the tune we sing it to but it was covered by Keith Green about 40 years ago.
Before we get to king David though, let’s consider Keith Green’s life

Keith Green:

For Keith Green it was all about glorifying God. This is what Keith says…

The only music minister to whom the Lord will say, ‘Well done, thy good and faithful servant’, is the one whose life proves what their lyrics are saying, and to whom music is the least important part of their life. Glorifying the only worthy One has to be the minister’s most important goal.

Keith Green was born in 1953 is New York, into a show biz family

Like king David, Keith was Jewish, although unlike David, Keith’s family didn’t practice the Jewish faith
Keith was genuinely gifted, a child star. At the age of 11 he landed a five-year contract with industry giant Decca Records
Time magazine hailed him as a ‘prepubescent dreamboat” who “croons in a voice trembling with conviction…”
Keith was poised to become the next teen heart throb until Donny Osmond beat him to it. Worldly success didn’t happen for Keith.

In the 1960’s, at the age of 15, Keith ran away from home in search of girls, drugs and the promise of universal love preached by the hippie movement

This was a time when the west was discovering the east and so Keith looked to eastern religions to try and find spiritual truth
As he devoured the writings of the religious ‘masters’ one thing struck him as odd: their teachings kept referring to Jesus Christ, but Jesus was at the bottom of Keith’s list.
Eventually, one day in 1973 after much trial and error, when he had exhausted every other option Keith bought a cross, put it on and alone, through tears prayed in desperation, “Jesus, if you’re there, show yourself to me.” And Jesus did. The love of Jesus broke through.

In the gospel Jesus says, those who have been forgiven much, love much.

Keith Green had been forgiven much and so his love for Jesus was very strong. Keith had a tremendous energy and passion to see others come to faith in Jesus and it showed in the songs he wrote
Between 1977 and 1982 Keith released five gospel albums
But he wasn’t just a performer – Keith was the real deal.
He and his wife Melody opened their home in radical hospitality to people in need and they gave away most of the money they earned
They also wrote an evangelical magazine called Last Days
Some people saw Keith Green as a prophet, because his songs called the church to repentance, but he was never comfortable with that label.

Sadly, in July 1982, just a few months before his 29^th birthday, Keith died in a plane crash. It was around this time I became a Christian and was baptized.

King David:

Create in me a clean heart is a simple song based on verses 10-12 of Psalm 51

It is essentially a prayer for conversion from the inside out – a heartfelt request for real and lasting change to one’s self

The sub-title to psalm 51 reads: A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone into Bathsheba.

To put you in the picture, David has, by this stage, been king for a number of years and has enjoyed quite a bit of success
While his army is away fighting David stays home in his palace
One evening he looks out over his balcony and sees a beautiful woman bathing. Like the Bruce Springsteen song, David is on fire.
Maybe it is the loneliness of leadership?
Maybe it’s the corrupting influence of power?
Or maybe David has simply grown complacent in his prosperity?
Whatever the reason, David must have this woman and invites her to his room. Her name is Bathsheba.
One thing leads to another and Bathsheba gets pregnant.

This is not a good look for David. David wants to cover his tracks, to hide what he has done

Bathsheba is married to Uriah the Hittite. Uriah is a good guy. He is actually away fighting in David’s army
David calls Uriah back from the front line, tries to get him drunk and then sends him home in the hope he will sleep with Bathsheba
That way no one will know what David has done – everyone will think the baby is Uriah’s.
Well not quite everyone. God knows. But David puts God out of his mind. David behaves as though God does not exist. Practical atheism.

Unfortunately for David, Uriah is a real boy scout and instead of going home to get reacquainted with his wife, Uriah sleeps on the doorstep of David’s palace.

He can’t stand the thought of taking any comfort for himself while his brothers in arms are sleeping rough in fox holes.
This means David has to resort to Plan B. He sends Uriah back to the front and a messenger follows.
The message is for Joab, the commander of David’s army. David wants Joab to put Uriah where the fighting is heaviest and then fall back so Uriah gets killed by the enemy.
Joab is a soldier. He follows orders and it is done. Uriah dies in battle and, after the time of mourning, Bathsheba becomes David’s wife.

David thinks he is in the clear. Yes, he’s having trouble sleeping and like Lady MacBeth he just can’t seem to get rid of that damn spot, but at least his reputation is intact. Then Nathan, the prophet, turns up

Nathan is wise in his approach. He doesn’t confront the issue head on. That would only make David angry and defensive.
Instead Nathan goes for the sucker punch. He tells David a parable [1]

“There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had many cattle and sheep, ³while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. ⁴One day a visitor arrived at the rich man’s home. The rich man didn’t want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal for his guest.”

⁵David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die! ⁶For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man”.

All at once David knew it saying, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’. Then he goes on to compose Psalm 51.

Psalm 51:

As I said before, the words we sung earlier are just a handful of lines from David’s original song.

They capture the essence of the psalm but to understand them properly we need to hear them in the context of the whole
From verse 1 we read…

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

These opening verses summarise the psalm – David wants mercy from God. Previously he had wanted justice. Now that he sees himself as he is, he wants mercy.

David’s plea for mercy shows what he believes about God’s character – that God is gracious and good.
Someone once said that faith is believing that God accepts me even though I am unacceptable.
David knows he is unacceptable and yet he has the faith to believe that God is generous enough to forgive him and accept him.

David doesn’t rely on his own good works to save him – he doesn’t say to God, ‘I’ve done a lot of good things for you and Israel over the years Lord. Remember what I did with Goliath. How about you let this slide.’

Rather, David relies on God’s steadfast love and mercy, God’s hesed.

David describes his wrong doing with the words: iniquity, transgressions & sin

They are essentially three ways of saying the same thing, although each word has a different nuance.
Iniquity is any act of injustice
Transgressions refers to the ways David has crossed the line of God’s law (in this case coveting, adultery, murder and lying)
While sin is more a state of being in which we act independently of God, as though God did not exist.

The word wash, as in ‘wash me thoroughly’ is the same word that is used for washing clothes

In David’s day, people got stains out of clothes by rubbing the fabric together or by beating the clothes on a rock
For David to ask God to ‘wash me thoroughly’ then, is to invite some rough treatment for his sin – David does not expect cheap grace.
God’s forgiveness of David did not mean David got off scot free.
In 2nd Samuel 12 the prophet Nathan tells David that, while he is forgiven, his child to Bathsheba will die and the sword will never depart from David’s house. God is merciful but he’s also just.

From verse 3 we continue…

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

These verses contain David’s confession. Often when we mess up in some way, our first instinct is to deny our wrong doing or make excuses or blame someone else. David does not do this. David admits he is wrong and God is right. No excuses.

At the beginning of verse 4 David says he has sinned against God alone, which jars with us a bit because clearly David’s iniquity has affected Uriah, Bathsheba, the nation of Israel, his family and himself as well.

I think David is using the word sinned in the sense of operating independently of God, behaving as though God did not exist.
The point is, sin is first and foremost an affront to God
So often we judge ourselves by the ethic of: “It’s okay as long as I don’t harm anyone else.”
But in saying that, we exclude God. We don’t consider God as a person
We forget how our actions affect the Lord.
As offensive as David’s behaviour was to other human beings, it was even more offensive to God.

Derek Kidner observes the change in David’s attitude here…[2]

Previously David’s only concern was, ‘How do I cover my tracks?’ How do I protect myself and my reputation?
Now David is more concerned with ‘How could I treat God like this?’

David is not blaming his mother or his parents in verse 5, where he talks about being guilty even in the womb

No. David is saying the problem is with me. My character is deeply flawed. I have always been prone to sin. I am to blame.

From verse 6 we read…

6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore, teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
The problem is inside us. Sin starts with a lie, with stinking thinking.
We need God to teach us the wisdom of being honest with ourselves so we can think straight – then change will happen from the inside out.

Verse 7: 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

When a priest declared a leper clean and fit to re-join the community they would dip the branch of a hyssop tree in sacrificial blood and sprinkle the person seven times. David is comparing himself to a leper.
Jesus’ blood, sprinkled on us, makes us clean.
The word purge is equivalent to ‘de-sin’ [3] – in other words, ‘remove from me any desire to be independent of you God’.

Verse 8: 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

The weight of David’s guilt is crushing him deep inside and, like broken bones, it is extremely painful, not to mention paralysing
He can’t enjoy anything because of his guilt.

And so we get to the verses we sing in church…

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

The words create and renew go together. They refer to something only God can do. David is asking for a miracle of transformation, a deep conversion of himself from the inside out

In the Genesis account of creation God brings order to the chaos, so that it becomes functional.
David wants God to bring order to the chaos of his heart – to renew the core of his being, as opposed to replacing it.

Over the past few months our car has been playing up. Not all the time, just randomly, sporadically. Sometimes, when we turned it on, it would start up for a few seconds and then the engine would die. Other times it ran fine.

I took it to the mechanic last week and he diagnosed that it was a faulty cam-belt sensor. The sensor thought there was a problem, when there wasn’t, and shut the engine down unnecessarily.
These days we fix a problem like a faulty sensor by throwing the old one away and putting a new one in, but this is not God’s preference.
Sometimes God replaces but more often He is inclined to use what is already there – to transform what is broken and make it functional again.
So create in me a clean heart does not mean throwing the old heart away and replacing it with a new one, like with the sensor in our car
Create in me a clean heart means transforming the old heart so that it functions in the way it should.

The words heart and spirit (as in the human spirit) go together

It’s difficult to tie these words down or define them exactly because they can be used in different ways depending on the context

Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart because it is the well-spring of life

The heart is to our soul what a water bore is to a farm.
The heart is to our life what roots are to a tree.

Spirit can mean the breath that animates the body and makes it alive, but it can also refer to something that is not physical or material and yet still very real.

Spirit normally has to do with relationship though – as in the bond between God and people and what characterises that bond

For example, a ‘spirit of fear’ describes a relationship based on fear.
Or we might say, someone has a ‘gentle spirit’, meaning they relate with others in a gentle way, as opposed to a rough or violent way
A right spirit is a relationship characterised by treating others right
A right spirit can also be translated as a ‘steady spirit’ or a ‘loyal spirit’. David doesn’t want to be inconsistent in his relationship with God or others – he wants to be steady and loyal and faithful.

We express our self (who we are) through our heart & spirit

Our heart and spirit characterise the condition and direction of our life [4]
In praying for a clean heart and a right spirit David is acknowledging that the direction and condition of his life have gone haywire
David’s heart & spirit have expressed adultery and murder and he doesn’t want that to happen again
David wants his life to be open to God and directed toward His purpose.

My lawn at home has quite a few daisies and butter cups in it. As much as I like mowing lawns I’m reluctant to cut the flower heads off.

During the day the daisies and buttercups open up to face the sun.
They direct themselves toward the light and in doing so they express the beauty of their heart and spirit. But then at night they close up again.
We human beings are a bit like flowers. In the same way a flower expresses its beauty by opening its petals to the sunlight, so too we express our beauty as we direct our lives toward God and open our heart to His light (the light of Christ).

Verse 11: 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

God’s presence and God’s Holy Spirit go together – God is present through His Spirit.
Today the children in the Flock Sunday school are learning how Samuel anointed David to be king of Israel
When king Saul disobeyed God, the Lord took His Spirit away from Saul and gave it to David
The anointing of God’s Spirit gave David both the power and authority to rule as king of Israel – God’s Spirit made David royalty. God’s Spirit makes us royalty too.
Perhaps David is worried that God will take away his kingly authority, like he did with Saul.
More likely though David doesn’t want to lose the intimacy he enjoys with God through the Holy Spirit.
The application for us here is that we can’t presume upon God’s grace.
God’s Spirit is a gift, freely given. But God can and will take His Spirit back if we abuse our power or position without remorse.

God’s presence may also be a reference to the temple in Jerusalem – the temple being a symbol of God’s presence

This psalm would have been particularly poignant for the Israelites in exile in Babylon (a few hundred years after David).
They knew what it was to be cast away from God’s presence and longed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
The body of Christ, the church, is the new temple of God’s presence
When we sing this line we aren’t just asking for some personal mystical experience of God’s Spirit – we are asking to remain in Christ as part of His body the church.
We are saying, ‘Don’t excommunicate me Lord. Let me enjoy communion with you and your people.’

Verse12: 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Joy is a positive energy – it sustains our spirit. David had no joy.
People may lack joy for a whole lot of reasons, often through no fault of their own. But, in David’s case, it was because of what he had done wrong, because of his guilt.
God’s salvation for David, in this situation, means God’s forgiveness
David has killed an innocent man and therefore he deserves to die
Salvation would mean having his life spared
Salvation would also mean a clear conscience.
David wants to be free of his guilt so he has the energy he needs to willingly do what God wants.
A willing spirit can also be translated a princely spirit, as in a noble spirit.

Verse 13: 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

I don’t think David is intending to preach to people here. I think he means his example will be a sermon to others.
When people see how God has saved David, they will repent. They will think, if God can forgive David’s sin, then he can forgive mine too.
Indeed, David’s example of honest (excuse free confession) and deep heart felt repentance has provided hope for forgiveness and a pathway to redemption for millions of people down the centuries.

The rest of the psalm then talks about worship…

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. ¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. ¹⁶For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. ¹⁷The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. ¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, ¹⁹then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

For our worship to be acceptable it must come from a broken spirit and a contrite heart – from the inside out

‘God is looking for the heart that knows how little it deserves and how much it owes’ [5]
Our humility is beautiful to God, like an open daisy or a buttercup

Conclusion:

I’m not sure why Keith Green chose to do a cover of Create in me a clean heart

Perhaps it was because he identified with David in being a prodigal son who had returned to God his heavenly Father
Or maybe it was to irritate the church’s conscience – a kind of call for God’s people to live holy lives and not take God’s salvation for granted.
Keith longed for deep conversion for himself and others.

Like Keith Green, king David had been forgiven much and so he loved much

Worship is an expression of our love for God
Psalm 51 begins with confession and ends in worship
Before we can worship God properly we have to realise how much we have been forgiven
And before we can realise how much we have been forgiven we have to face the truth about ourselves, we have to feel the depth of our sin and make our confession.

Let us pray…

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me;

Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord

Take not Your Holy Spirit from me;

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,

And renew a right spirit within me.

Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

Listen to (or sing) the song, ‘Create in me a clean heart’. What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does it evoke for you?)
How did you come to faith in Christ? In what ways is your conversion story similar to Keith Green’s? In what ways is it different?
How do you feel as you read the story of David & Bathsheba & Uriah? Who do you identify with most in this story? (David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab or Nathan.) Why?
What is sin? How does David’s sin affect him? How does sin affect you?
What do we notice about David’s confession and repentance? How do we find forgiveness with God?
How is your heart & spirit? Are you open to God’s light or are you closed off to God?
What does God require from us in worship?

[1] Refer 2 Samuel 12:1-7.

[2] Refer Derek Kidner’s commentary on Psalms 1-72, page 208.

[3] Ibid, page 209.

[4] Refer James Mays commentary on the Psalms, page 203.

[5] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, page 211.

May 29, 2017May 29, 2017 Tawa Baptist

Kings & Priests

Scripture: Psalm 132

Title: Kings & Priests

Structure:

Introduction
A place to call home (King David)
A call to worship (Priests)
Conclusion – Jesus (King & Priest)

Introduction:

Once there was a young man smitten with a beautiful girl

– She was somewhat indifferent to him though, and careless with his feelings in the way pretty girls can afford to be, but this didn’t deter him

– When the young man heard the girl’s birthday was coming up he told her he would send her a bouquet of flowers, one for each year of her life

– Later that afternoon he called the local florist and ordered 21 roses, with instructions that they be delivered on the girl’s birthday

As the florist was preparing the order he decided, that since the young man was such a good customer, he would put an extra dozen roses in the bouquet, bringing the total to 33

– The girl didn’t take it so well and fortunately for the young man, he never heard from her again

– Years later he found someone else better able to reciprocate his love [1]

This morning we return to our series on the Songs of Ascents

– These songs were probably sung by Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to the temple in Jerusalem for various religious festivals

– They are songs for the journey home to God

Our focus today is psalm 132 – It is a kind of a duet in two halves

– The first half is essentially a prayer asking God to remember King David and his plans to build a house for the Lord

– While the second half details the Lord’s response to this prayer

– Like the florist in the story, God answers by giving his people more than they asked for or imagined.

– Sometimes His ‘more’ may seem like a set back to us – but in the long run it proves better. From the NIV we read…

¹Lord, remember David and all his self-denial. ²He swore an oath to the Lord, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: ³“I will not enter my house or go to my bed, ⁴I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” ⁶We heard of it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:⁷“Let us go to his dwelling place, let us worship at his footstool, saying,⁸‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. ⁹May your priests be clothed with righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy.’” ¹⁰For the sake of your servant David, do not reject your anointed one. ¹¹The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne. ¹²If your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever.”¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, ¹⁴“This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it. ¹⁵I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food. ¹⁶I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.¹⁷“Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. ¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame, but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

A place to call home:

There’s been a lot in the news lately about housing shortages, especially in Auckland but also in other main centres

– Tawa has seen a bit of development as well

– For some years now new houses have been going in around the Woodman Drive area

– More recently a sub-division has been going ahead at Kenepuru

– And we hear of plans for medium density housing around the Tawa Junction area

– People are wanting room – a place to call home, space to dwell and rest

– And for many that involves sacrifice & self denial just to save enough for a deposit

Psalm 132 begins with the psalmist remembering David’s self denial before the Lord

To remember means more than just re-calling to mind a thought from the past

– The kind of remembering the psalmist is doing here is tangible and practical – like when someone ‘remembers you in their will’ – they actually do something for you

– On ANZAC day we remember the self denial and sacrifice of soldiers by taking a day off work and holding dawn services to pay our respects

– More than this though we don’t take our freedom for granted

– In NZ when someone reaches the age of 65 the government remembers their years of tax paying and contribution to society by giving them a weekly superannuation payment and a gold card

– We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us – we appreciate the benefits their self denial has brought

So when the psalmist says, Lord, remember David and all his self-denial, I think he is letting God know that he values the legacy David has left

– He doesn’t take David’s self denial for granted

– It’s kind of a thanksgiving for what David did in the past

Verses 2-5 detail David’s vow to find a place for the Lord

– David plans to deny himself – he won’t rest until he has made room for God

What then does it mean to find a place for the Lord?

– After all, God fills the universe – how can David possibly create a dwelling for God?

– That would be like me thinking I could dig a hole large enough to contain the oceans of the world

David is well aware that God cannot be contained in a house – God will not be domesticated

– More than likely psalm 132 has the events of 2^nd Samuel chapters 6 & 7 in mind when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem

This is a picture of what the Ark of the Covenant might have looked like

– For Israel the Ark embodied the holy presence & rule of the Lord God

– It was also a tangible reminder of God’s covenant with Israel as it contained the 10 commandments

Since its construction in the wilderness the Ark had been kept in a tent

– Having the embodiment of God’s presence travelling around in a tent showed the people that God wasn’t tied down to one specific location

– For many years the Ark had sat in obscurity on someone’s farm until David thought to bring it Jerusalem

– Then, once David had brought the Ark to the capital, it began to bother him that the Ark was kept under canvas while he lived in a flash palace

– So when David talks about finding a place for the Lord, he means he wants to provide better accommodation for the Ark – he wants to bring it to Jerusalem and build a temple to house it

Interestingly God is referred to (in verse 5) as “the Mighty One of Jacob”

– Jacob was famous for wrestling with God all night as he returned home after many years away

– Perhaps there is an association here with David wrestling or struggling in his efforts to find a place for the Lord to dwell

– Certainly it wasn’t an easy thing bringing the Ark to Jerusalem

– It took David two attempts and a man died in the process

– Not only that but David became estranged from one of his wives

David also wrestled with God over building a temple to house the Ark

– David lost sleep over this issue – it kept him up at night, just as the angel of the Lord kept Jacob up all night in a wrestling match

I think there is a point of application here for us today

– In our busy lives God often gets crowded out and like David it requires some self denial and commitment on our part to create room for God

Let me illustrate what I mean…

– One of the consequences of more housing in Tawa is more pressure on infrastructure and roads

– The intersection on the Main Rd and Surrey St, just outside the church here is a case in point

– The Council would like to put a roundabout there to help traffic flow

– And while there are some benefits for the wider community in having a roundabout those benefits come at a cost to the church – in particular its looking likely that we will lose around a dozen car parks give or take

– The Council have been really good in talking with us about how we can minimise the loss of parks – they have gone out of their way to help us by seeking to free up other parks nearby

– Obviously we would want to reserve the closest parks for the elderly, for those with young children and for visitors or newcomers

– But there will be some who may have to deny themselves by parking further away in Oxford St, for example

Now the church doesn’t exist for itself – we are here for Jesus and for the world that God loves – so I’m not protesting against the roundabout

– If it benefits the wider community then perhaps we need to see the loss of parking as part of our mission of being a blessing to the world

I’m also aware that having to park a little further away is a relatively minor inconvenience, especially when compared with the events in Manchester this past week

– But although it’s a relatively small thing it is yet another thing in a long list of things which put distance between the church and society and make it more difficult for people to attend worship services

The loss of parks seems to me to be a kind of parable in that it illustrates what’s happening on a larger scale in NZ today

– Incrementally, over time, God and the church are getting crowded out of our society by all sorts of things, like work & sports and other stuff

– At the same time there is a growing distance between the church and society: the church often holds values which are at odds with society and we Christians cringe at the way the church is misrepresented in the media

– Our society is generally less accommodating to God and the church (as we’ve seen with CRE) and so it is becoming harder to be a Christian

– Therefore we who believe in Jesus need to be more intentional, more committed in making a place in our own lives for God to dwell

– Like David, it is going to require more self denial on our part, to build a bridge between church and society

Returning to psalm 132: Despite David’s good intentions the Lord God did not want David to build a house (or a temple) for Him

– Instead, the Lord would build a house (as in a royal dynasty) for David

In verses 2-5 David makes a vow to God, now in verses 11-12 God makes a vow to David, saying…

– “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne…”

– The Lord is referring here to Solomon

– David would not be the one to build a temple for the Lord, but his son Solomon would

God then goes on to make a conditional promise to David…

– “If your sons keep my covenant… then their sons will sit on your throne forever…”

This was a pretty big deal

– Moses’ sons didn’t become the leaders of Israel after him

– Nor did Joshua’s or Samuel’s or Saul’s

– This was new – David had no reason (in history) to think that his descendants would be king after him

– Here God is giving David far more than he ever asked for or imagined

– We can’t out give God – He is too generous

A call to worship:

When I was about 6 my dad decided to build a swimming pool in our backyard

– My dad likes a project and he is pretty handy at that sort of thing

– It was 1976 so the pool was kidney shaped and deep enough to dive into

– Anyway, dad decided he wouldn’t get a digger in to excavate the hole for the pool but would dig it out himself by hand

When we started I thought that with my help we could dig the hole in a day, but I quickly learned I had overestimated my digging ability

– Despite all my efforts it took me most of the morning to shift half a cubic metre with my little spade

– In the end my contribution was fairly modest and I had to adjust the timeframe I had in mind for completion of the project

We worked on digging that hole for weeks but it was worth it in the end

– We got so much fun and enjoyment out of that pool

– Of course it’s the end you need to keep in mind when you are shovelling clay – it’s the end that keeps you going

– The interesting thing is that when the end is in sight you find a second wind – an extra burst of energy in anticipation of realising your goal

For the Jewish pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem to worship the Lord the journey was perhaps a bit like digging out the hole for the pool by hand

– They didn’t fly there in a plane or drive there in a car or ride on a train

– They typically walked, sometimes a very long way

– This wasn’t a journey they could knock off in a day – it might take weeks depending on where they had come from

– But by keeping the end in mind – thinking about the temple in Jerusalem – they found the strength to keep going

Returning to verse 6…

– Ephrathah and Jaar refer to the region around Bethlehem, David’s hometown – Bethlehem is quite close to Jerusalem, about 9 km’s away

Verses 7-9 appear to be a call to worship

– As the Jewish pilgrim’s walk through the fields of Jaar they know they are getting close, the end is in sight and they get a second wind, so they say: “Let us go to his dwelling place…” that is, to the Lord’s temple

– “Let us worship at his footstool” – his footstool being the Ark

Verse 8 recalls the time of the Exodus from Egypt when Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years

– The Lord God led the people by a pillar of cloud and fire

– Each time the pillar moved the Israelites would pick up the Ark and say,

– Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place, you & the ark of your might.

– They were essentially asking God to bring them home to the Promised Land

Verse 13 of psalm 132 tells us the Lord chose Zion for his dwelling – his resting place

– For the psalmist, in the Old Testament, Zion equated to Jerusalem – basically the main centre from which God ruled

– For us Christians though Zion isn’t limited to geographic Jerusalem – it is essentially anywhere that God reigns

– So Zion is a code word for God’s kingdom – the kingdom of heaven

Verse 15 tells us that where God reigns (where His kingdom has come) there is abundance and no poverty

– I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food

– Verse 15 is looking forward to the realisation of God’s kingdom in its fullness when everyone will have enough

– We haven’t got there yet, we are still digging the hole, still fighting against hunger and poverty in our time – and so the underlying assumption of the economic system we live under is scarcity

– But this is not what the end looks like at all – the underlying assumption of God’s kingdom (of Zion) is abundance

– What was it Jesus said? I have come that you may have abundant life

In connection with worshipping at God’s footstool (at the Ark) we have the prayer (in verse 9) that the Lord’s priests be clothed with righteousness;

– The Lord responds positively to this desire in verse 16 saying…

– I will clothe her priests with salvation, & her saints will ever sing for joy

These two verses are almost identical, except that in one the priests are clothed in righteousness while in the second the priests are clothed in salvation

– Righteousness means ‘right relationship’ – dealing with people in a way that is fair and kind.

– While salvation means being given abundant life, as opposed to being destroyed or excluded

– Salvation comes in many forms: physical healing, forgiveness of sins, peace in our relationships, deliverance from evil, the eradication of poverty, acceptance into God’s family and so on

– In the Bible righteousness & salvation are not things we achieve by our own efforts – they are gifts from God received by faith – by trusting God

– Having said that God still likes to involve us in the process

When I was digging the hole for the pool with my Dad and my Pop, they pretty much did all the work – my contribution was quite small really and yet I probably got more use and enjoyment out of the pool than they did

– It’s a bit like that with God’s gifts of righteousness and salvation – God does most (if not all) of the spade work but he still accepts what we bring

One of the key roles of the priests was to mediate God’s forgiveness to the people through the sacrificial system

– The priests were there to help restore righteousness – that is to restore people to right relationship with God and between people

– Priests that are clothed in righteousness therefore are priests who are able to mediate forgiveness because they themselves have been forgiven and stand in right relationship with God

Closely related to their role in mediating God’s forgiveness, the priests also had a role in mediating God’s salvation

– The priests were a bit like doctors (except without the science)

– The priests didn’t necessarily heal people but they had the authority to declare someone clean after they had been healed or purified

– We read about this in the gospels. After Jesus healed some lepers he told them to show themselves to the priest so they could be declared clean and re-join the community

The Jewish priests wore special garments in carrying out their priestly duties – but wearing a special costume doesn’t make the priest fit to cleanse people, any more than wearing a surgical gown makes me fit to remove an appendix

The people’s prayer was for their priests to be clothed in righteousness

– But in verse 16 God responds by saying, I can do better than that. I will give you priests who are clothed in salvation – that is, priests who mediate my power to heal and cleanse

The other part of the prayer in verse 9 is that God’s faithful people sing for joy

– Worship should not be a loveless duty

– Singing for joy is the icing on the cake – it speaks of a life that is overflowing with gratitude for the goodness of God

– God’s response in verse 16 is that Zion’s faithful people (those who submit to God’s reign) will ever sing for joy

– Once again God answers his people’s prayer with more than they asked for or imagined – their joy will be forever, without end

– The grind of digging the hole for the pool may last for weeks but the joy of using it lasts a lifetime

Conclusion:

Psalm 132 concludes by looking forward in hope to God’s ‘anointed one’

– ‘Anointed One’ in Hebrew is Messiah

– As Christians we believe Jesus is the Messiah

We find three images for Jesus the Messiah in verses 17 & 18:

– Horn, lamp and crown

Horn is an image of strength

– Lamp is an image of clarity (or truth & wisdom)

– And crown is an image of royal dignity – not just power but holiness too [2]

Verse 18 tells us that the Messiah’s head will be adorned with a radiant crown

– The original Hebrew literally reads, ‘his crown will blossom’ [3]

– Unlike the glitter of a man-made crown which looks pretty but is still dead, God will adorn Jesus’ head with the crown of life

– God’s Messiah will be King over life and death

– The poetry here is pointing forward to Jesus’ resurrection life

The poetry is also pointing back to Aaron, the high priest of Israel during Moses’ time

– You may remember how God caused the wooden staff of Aaron to bud and blossom as a way of accrediting Aaron’s ministry as his priest

For Christians the connection is intuitive

– In and through Jesus, God’s promises are fulfilled

– Jesus replaces the Ark of the Covenant – he is the embodiment of God’s power & presence

– Jesus is the ideal priest clothed in righteousness and salvation with power to forgive sins and to bestow abundant life

– Jesus is David’s greater son who, following his resurrection from the dead, ascended to heaven where he sits enthroned in Zion

– And Jesus is God’s answer to his people’s prayers – an answer far more generous and far better than we asked for or imagined

– In short, Jesus is our hope and joy

Let us pray…

[1] Adapted from a story found in the book “The bells! The Bells!” compiled by Mark Stibbe, page 70.

[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, page 488.

[3] Ibid.

May 1, 2017 Tawa Baptist

The Weaned Soul

Scripture: Psalm 131

Title: The weaned soul

Structure:

Introduction
Humility of heart
Contentment of soul
Conclusion – Hope

Introduction:

On the wall here we have three pictures

– We have Doctor Who’s ‘Tardis’

– The Wardrobe from the ‘Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’

– And the suitcase from ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them’

Who can tell me what these three things share in common? [Wait]

– That’s right – they are all a lot bigger on the inside than they appear on the outside and they transport you to a different world

This morning we return to our series on the Songs of Ascents

– These songs were probably sung by Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to the temple in Jerusalem

– They are songs about drawing nearer to God

Our focus today is psalm 131

– While this song appears quite small from the outside (only three verses long) – it is actually very spacious on the inside

– Psalm 131 is like a gateway into a whole different realm

– In this song the author, King David, touches on some pretty deep themes including humility of the heart, contentment of the soul and hope for the nation. From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

¹O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.

²But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

³O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

Humility:

I have in my hand a spirit level

– This is a builder’s tool which shows whether something is level or not

– If the floor or the wall or whatever it is you are measuring is straight and true then the bubble here will sit nicely between the two lines

– But if it’s on an angle (if one part is lifted up or standing too proud) then the bubble will move outside the lines [1]

David begins psalm 131 by talking to the Lord about humility. He says…

– O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high…

– David is saying here that he is not proud – he is humble

Some people think that humility consists of being self-deprecating or having a low self-esteem or putting yourself down. It doesn’t.

– Humility is about having a true and accurate estimation of yourself in relation to God and others

– The person who is truly humble doesn’t think too highly of themselves nor too lowly of themselves – they are level headed in their perception

– To be humble then is to be on the level, straight, true and honest

Now you might be thinking – isn’t David boasting when he says he’s not proud, doesn’t that undo his humility? (humility is a sort of a Catch 22 like that)

– Well no. David isn’t boasting, he is simply stating the facts

– He has got his spirit level out and everything is straight & true – nothing is lifted too high or sitting too proud

David says that his heart is not lifted up

– What does he mean by his ‘heart’?

Contemporary western society tends to equate the heart to a person’s feelings or emotions

– In the Bible though, the heart isn’t limited to a person’s feelings

– Rather the heart is the seat of the will

– In other words, the heart is where decisions are made

– This means, what we say and do comes from the heart

– Our personal values, the things that are important to us, the principles we live by all reside in the heart

– The human heart is sort of like the parliament of the individual

– The heart governs a person’s life

You sometimes hear people talking about ‘inviting Jesus into your heart’

– What does that mean?

– It means to let Jesus sit on the throne of your life,

– Let him be Lord, let him be Prime Minister,

– Give him executive authority, make Jesus your power of attorney

– Let Christ inform and guide the decisions you make

When David says to the Lord, my heart is not lifted up (or not proud) he means something like: I don’t make decisions without you God

– I am not wilfully disobedient

– I don’t think that I know better than you Lord

– I submit my will to your will

– I give you, O God, power of attorney over my life

Now at this point some of you, who know David’s story, might be thinking…

– ‘Really? Is that right David? What about Uriah and Bathsheba? How did God feature in those decisions?’

– And that’s a fair point – David wasn’t perfect.

– We don’t know exactly when David wrote psalm 131

– It could have been before the debacle with Uriah and Bathsheba or it might have been after that, when David had repented

– We can be fairly confident he didn’t write it during that time

In any case we are told that David was a man after God’s own heart

– Meaning that, generally speaking, David pursued God’s will

– He went after what God wanted in most situations

Returning to verse 1 – David goes on to say to the Lord:

– …my eyes are not raised too high

– If a person’s heart is where decisions come from then a person’s eyes relate to perception

– It’s like David is saying: I don’t look down on others

– I don’t think of myself as better than other people

– I don’t even compare myself to them

– And I don’t see my desires as being more important than anyone else’s

Sometimes we can be bitterly disappointed when we don’t get what we want, especially if someone else does get what we want

– That’s my seat, I always sit there

– I was looking forward to that last piece of cake and someone beat me to it

– I really wanted to be selected for the Lion’s tour of NZ but Warren Gatling didn’t pick me

– Or, I wanted to sleep in but the kids woke me up early

– These are frivolous examples of course but you get the point:

– The truly humble person knows that it’s not realistic to expect to always get what you want

– Humility is the awareness that we are not the centre of the universe – the world doesn’t revolve around us

The second half of verse 1 continues this theme of humility

– I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.

Here David appears to be saying, I accept my limits – in particular the limits of my understanding and the limits of my ability

– Humility means accepting that we don’t know everything and learning to live with mystery, which can be more difficult for some than others

Science is able to explain many things about the physical universe but not everything

– In 1953 Albert Einstein wrote a letter in response to one of his critics

– In the letter he says…

“Dear Mr. Moffat, our situation is the following. We are standing in front of a closed box which we cannot open, and we try hard to discover what is and is not in it.” [2] (The closed box Einstein was referring to is the universe)

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

– What happens to something when it enters a black hole in space?

– Who built Stonehenge?

– Is there intelligent life on other planets?

We could go on but I don’t mean to side track your thinking or occupy your mind with things too great and marvellous

– If we are this limited in our understanding of the physical universe how much more limited are we when it comes to understanding God?

– Humility means accepting the limits of what we know and learning to live with mystery

Humility of heart is perhaps the most important of all the virtues

– It’s a bit like the soil out of which the other virtues grow

– Like the virtue of contentment – which we read about in verse 2…

Contentment:

But [instead of occupying my time and thoughts with things too great and marvellous for me – instead of comparing myself with others and instead of lifting what I want above what God wants]

– I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

David has talked about the heart, the eyes and the mind

– Now he talks about his soul

– What is the human soul?

Well, describing the soul is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle – you can’t really define the soul in one pithy sentence or reduce it to a formula

– The best we can do is describe the soul in pieces and then admit that we don’t have all the pieces – there are limits to our understanding here

The soul is different from the heart and the spirit

– The heart is where values are held and decisions are made – like the parliament of the individual

– And the human spirit is our capacity to connect or relate with God and others – sort of like wifi or cell-phone coverage

– While our soul is the life force which animates us and connects the various aspects of our self

If the term ‘life force’ is too Star Wars sounding for you then you might prefer Dallas Willard’s metaphor, where he compares the soul to an inner stream, which refreshes, nourishes and gives strength to every other element of our life [3]

– Just as a river gives life to the land it passes through, so too our soul gives life to our body, our mind, our heart and our spirit

– Normally we can see a river or a stream but the stream of our soul is underground, it is hidden deep beneath the surface

– In fact the soul is the deepest level of life and power in the human being

Expanding on Dallas’ metaphor we could say that if the soul is a stream of water, then God is the source (or the well-spring) of the soul

– While the human spirit is the channel (or the conduit) through which the water of our soul flows

The thing that convinces me most that we have a soul is death

– Whenever I see a dead body it’s obvious to me that the soul has departed

– Looking at a corpse is quite different from looking at someone sleeping

– Death has a certain pallor – a kind of greyness

– A dead body is missing something more than just a heart beat

– It’s missing the soul – it’s missing the stream of its life force

Returning to psalm 131 – David says he has calmed and quieted his soul

– What does it mean then to quieten your soul?

– Well, sitting still in silence, is a helpful start but it’s not usually enough by itself – our mind can be racing even if our tongue is still

– We quieten our soul by abandoning outcomes to God

– By not seeking to manipulate the end result

– Not seeking to make ourselves look good in the eyes of others

– Not seeking success or fame or superiority

– Embracing the truth that we (on our own) don’t have the resources to make things turn out right

– The soul settles down and finds its level when we let go of our reputation and simply trust God with the outcome

Dallas Willard compares the soul to an inner stream

– Like any metaphor though it has its limits, it’s just one piece to the puzzle

– King David provides another piece, comparing his soul to a weaned child with its mother – The poetry in this verse is profound

To say the soul is like a child indicates that the soul is not static or fixed but is dynamic, changing and growing, developing and learning

– Furthermore it seems David is implying that God is the mother of his soul

– We normally hear God described as a Father but sometimes the Bible associates God with motherhood

– This is entirely appropriate – God cannot be contained by our narrow human categories

– In any case, David appears to be saying that his soul feels a close bond with God – like a mother and child

The aspect that is underlined most strongly though is that David’s soul is like a weaned child

– (He says ‘weaned child’ twice, which is significant in such a short poem)

– To be weaned is to become accustomed to managing without something which we were previously dependent on

– In the case of a mother and a baby, the child becomes accustomed to food other than it’s mother’s milk

– So the child stops drinking its mother’s milk and starts eating solid food

– It’s not that milk is bad – it is good for a time – but as the child grows it needs more substantial nourishment

A baby cries when it is hungry so the mother will feed it

– A weaned child doesn’t cry though – a weaned child knows it will be fed and waits for mum to prepare the meal

How does God feed the soul?

– God feeds the soul with meaning

– When something is meaningful it is worthwhile – it has a point to it, a purpose that is satisfying

– Meaning answers the ‘why’ questions of life & death

– We often find meaning in stories – that’s why the Bible is full of stories – they feed our soul, they help us to make sense of our lives and our losses

Ultimately God is the one who gives meaning to our lives

– The thing is, we often have to wait for that meaning to be revealed

Abraham couldn’t see the meaning of his wealth when he had no children to pass it on to – he waited many years for God to fulfil his promise

– But his wait was not in vain

I imagine Joseph struggled to see the meaning of his life when he was sold into slavery by his brothers and then later sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit

– But God used Joseph to save millions from starvation

Moses probably didn’t see much meaning in his life as a shepherd caring for sheep in the desert for 40 years, especially after being raised in a palace

– But God used Moses to save the Israelites from slavery

The disciples struggled to see the meaning in Jesus’ death on the cross

– At the time it may have seemed to them like they had wasted the last 3 years of their lives

– Little did they know the cross was part of God’s plan to redeem creation

You may be finding it hard to locate the meaning in your life at the moment

– Perhaps your job seems pointless or maybe you don’t have a job

– Perhaps you were once very involved in church work or missions but now you feel like God has forgotten you

– Maybe you have suffered a terrible loss and the grief is overwhelming

– Hang in there – you never know when God will reveal the meaning

John of the Cross was a 16^th Century Carmelite monk who didn’t really understand the meaning of his life’s work at the time

– Through his thinking and writing John was among those who tried to lead a reform of the Catholic church during the 1500’s

– John was arrested by those he was trying to help and during his confinement he wrote what became a classic, The Dark Night of the Soul

– I don’t expect he ever imagined God would use his writing to help millions in the centuries that followed

Let me read you some excerpts from his book – John speaks directly to this process of God weaning the Christian soul…

After a soul has been converted by God, that soul is nurtured and caressed by the [Holy] Spirit. Like a loving mother, God cares for and comforts the infant soul by feeding it spiritual milk. Such souls will find great delight in this stage. They will begin praying with great urgency and perseverance; they will engage in all kinds of religious activities because of the joy they experience in them.

But there will come a time when God will bid them to grow deeper. He will remove the previous consolation from the soul in order to teach it virtue and prevent it from developing vice…

They will enter the dark night of the soul and find all of these things removed. They will have the pleasure taken away so that the soul may be purified. For a soul will never grow until it is able to let go of the tight grasp it has on God…

When their delight [in spiritual milk] comes to an end, these persons are very anxious and frustrated just as an infant is angry when it is taken away from its mother’s breast…

Let it suffice to say, then, that God perceives the imperfections within us, and because of his love for us, urges us to grow up. His love is not content to leave us in our weakness, and for this reason he takes us into a dark night. He weans us from all of the pleasures by giving us dry times and inward darkness. [4]

David’s soul had been feeding on spiritual milk – but God weaned him off milk in order to help David grow up (spiritually)

– David’s soul had been through the dark night – a time of disorientation and dryness where his usual devotional routines (like writing and singing worship songs for example) had lost all their pleasure

– But now the dark night has done its work and David’s soul is content

– He doesn’t cry out to God every time something doesn’t go his way

– His prayer time isn’t a long shopping list detailing all his needs & wants or worries & fears

– He knows that God understands his needs and he trusts God to provide

– David has abandoned the outcome to God

– His soul has found contentment with the Lord

Now some of you will have been through the weaning process we call the dark night of the soul and you will know exactly what David and John of the Cross are talking about

– Others of you wouldn’t have faced the dark night yet – that’s okay

– If you haven’t faced the dark night, know that it’s coming

– And when it does come – don’t panic

– Be calm, be still, quieten your soul – abandon the outcome to God

– When your soul is being weaned by God you may feel like you are losing your faith – you’re not

Hang on through the dark night – God is bringing you to the next stage of faith in him, where you will be less anxious to know all the answers and better able to accept His will, even when His will is unpleasant or delays your satisfaction

Conclusion – Hope:

David finishes his song by addressing the nation…

– ³O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

Hope has to do with believing something good is coming in the future

– Hope is a form of meaning more substantial than milk

– The bread of hope feeds our soul in the present

– Hope sustains our soul with joy and energy

God has weaned David off spiritual milk and is now feeding him the bread of hope – David (the king) wants to share this bread of hope with his people

We are currently in the season of Easter, as we wait for Pentecost

– For Jesus’ first disciples Easter was a time of weaning

– There was Easter Saturday of course when Jesus was dead and the disciples were confused and grief stricken

– (A very acute dose of the dark night of the soul)

– But the time between Jesus’ resurrection and Pentecost was also a time of weaning

– Previously the disciples had access to Jesus 24-7

– He was present with them physically all the time – like a mother with a small child

– But after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension the disciples’ way of relating with Jesus had to change

– Jesus was no longer present with them physically

– The disciples had to go through this weaning process in order to grow up in the faith

Jesus didn’t abandon them altogether though

– Jesus gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit and the bread of hope

– He promised them he would return one day in glory to make all things right – this is our hope too

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/30-april-2017-weaning-the-soul

[1] The inspiration for this illustration comes from Josh Moody’s book, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 137

[2] http://discovermagazine.com/2004/sep/einsteins-grand-quest

[3] You can read more about Dallas Willard’s thoughts on the soul in his book, ‘Renovation of the Heart’, pages 169-181.

[4] From Richard Foster and James Smith’s book, ‘Devotional Classics’, page 33-36.