Yan Hadley spoke tonight on Psalm 121 on the subject of standing firm when life is sinking fast. Our society seems to be sinking in many ways – morally, spiritually, politically and socially, and as individuals, we often feel as though we are sinking when circumstances overwhelm us. The ‘four Ls’ of Psalm 121 give us hope in such difficult times and teach us how to stand firm.

1. Look Beyond Yourself & Your Circumstances

The psalmist lifts his eyes up to God and realises that attitudes matter. Self-effort, self-pity and self-centredness are the result of only looking to ourselves for solutions; ultimately, we need to look up to God in order to have a right perspective. Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:17) demonstrate the need for a spiritual perspective when we face opposition: the servant saw only the human forces arrayed against them, but Elisha could see the invisible forces of God which were there to protect and help. Similarly, Stephen, even when being stoned to death, could look up to heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55) Jesus is our ultimate example in looking beyond the circumstances (Heb 12:2), seeing not simply the scorn and shame of the cross but the joy of the salvation His sacrifice would provide. When we look beyond ourselves and our circumstances, praising and worshipping God and using the gift of tongues to soak ourselves in God, we find that a changed perspective gives us strength in God.

2. Let Your Mind Focus on the Greatness of God

The psalmist realised his help came from God, the Maker of heaven and earth. Our God is the Sovereign Lord and nothing is too difficult for Him. (Jer 32:17) We need to focus our minds on God, for a double-minded person is unstable in all their ways (Js 1:8) – spiritual schizophrenia is no help to us in trouble! We need God’s help and strength, and God promises to hear and answer us. (Jer 33:3) Is 9:6 reminds us who our God is:  ‘Wonderful Counsellor’ (who gives us the right answer because He knows all about the problems), ‘Mighty God’ (who has the power to help us), ‘Everlasting Father‘ (who has the willingness to help us because we are His children) and ‘Prince of Peace’ (who can help us not to panic, see Is 26:3)

3. Listen to God

We need to listen to God and believe the promises He gives us in His word. There are so many other voices vying for our attention (rational thinking, feelings, circumstances, other people etc.) but we need to listen to God and meditate on His promises. God is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19) and all His promises are ‘Yes’ in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). These are some of the promises Yan reminded us of:

• forgiveness to deal with sin and guilt (1 Jn 1:9)
• healing to deal with illness (Ps 103:3)
• deliverance to set us free from bondage (Ps 34:19)
• provision to care for our every need (Phil 4:19)
• guidance to lead us through uncertainty (Prov 3:6)
• confidence that God will sustain us (Ps 55:2)

4. Live with a Total Conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Ps 121 repeatedly talks about the Lord and Phil 2 reminds us that God has exalted Jesus to the highest place and given Him the name above every name. No matter what the name of our problem which is causing us to sink, Jesus is greather than that name. God is in control. As we focus on the supremacy and sovereignty of God (Rom 8:28), God brings security into ur lives, enabling us to stand in His mighty power (Eph 6:10).

Garry spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court about SatNavs and directions… Sometimes a SatNav can be really useful, negotiating you through different routes (especially if a familiar route is blocked because of an accident), but sometimes it can’t be trusted (if new roads have been built, for example.) The SatNav is a useful guidance help, and just as we use them to direct and guide us on journeys, so too God wants to direct us on life’s journey to the destination of reaching heaven and eternal fellowship with Him.

Isaiah 30:21 reminds us that God promises to lead and direct us: ‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”’ Life is not always easy and the first direction we ever receive from God is to make a U-turn, for ‘there is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.’ (Prov 14:12) Repentance – that turning around from going our own way to following God – is the first step on the journey towards God. Life is not always like a straight road; sometimes it feels like we don’t know which path to follow or how to reach our destination. Ultimately, that’s where trust comes in, for we are called to follow God even when we can’t see where He is leading us. By faith we travel along many paths, but God promises us the guidance of His voice telling us where to go.

SatNavs tell us when we have reached our destinations, and God is able to lead and guide us to our eternal destination with Him.

Paul urged the Ephesians to pray for him to be able to declare God’s word fearlessly (Eph 6:18-20) and we all need to pray for those in authority and leadership over us (see 1 Tim 2:1-2). Many of you will have heard about the Ashers’ court case this week, when the Supreme Court ruled that the McArthur family in Northern Ireland were not guilty of sexual discrimination by refusing to bake a cake with the slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’ because it conflicted with their beliefs about the Biblical nature of marriage. This is an important step in the protection of free speech and the right to act according to conscience, but this is only one of many issues when we need to pray for Christians in all walks of life who are standing up for their beliefs in ways that may well seem incompatible to the laws of the land.

The Christian Institute (which seeks to be a Christian influence in a secular world and which supported the McArthur family financially in this protracted legal battle) is holding a ‘Week of Prayer’ for our nation from 21-27 October. They urge us to pray for different areas where the Christian voice needs to be heard:

1. for our schools, where Christian teachers, parents and pupils are on the front line of a secular onslaught as new proposals on ‘Relationships Education’ in England promote the LGBT agenda and will sideline parents.

2. for our society, that Christian values may be upheld (thinking especially of abortion laws, gender issues, ‘hate speech’ laws which can be used against Christians and so on)

3. for our children, to be protected from an increasingly sexualised culture, with pornography, gender issues, gambling and other ‘adult’ issues increasingly finding their way into children’s lives

4. for our leaders to have wisdom and to legislate according to God’s truth, not political ideology or secularised ideas

Please do join in prayer over these important issues, asking God to heal our land and revive us again.

These are the key questions we often ask when thinking about any situation, and it’s no difference when it comes to praising God!

Who should praise God?

Ps 148 in particular talks of all creation praising God (Ps 148:3-4, 7-10). Hallelujahs are ‘spoken’ by the wind and water, by widow and orphan, by ravens and angels, lute and harp, sea monsters and saints. People are obviously included in those who should praise God (Ps 149:2), but angels also praise Him (Ps 148:2) and in case we feel anyone is excluded, Ps 150:6 says ‘let everything that has breath praise the Lord’!

When should we praise God?

Ps 146:2 reminds us that we should sing God’s praises ‘as long as I live’ (see also Ps 63:4) and Paul takes up this theme to the Thessalonians when he writes, ‘rejoice always. Give thanks in all circumstances.’ (1 Thess 5:16-17) He tells the Philippians to ‘rejoice in the Lord always’ (Phil 4:4) and Heb 13:15 urges us to continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise. Praising God should be an ongoing feature of our lives.

Where should we praise God?

Praise can be private (done at home – ‘on my bed I remember you’ Ps 63:4) or public (when we join with others in official gatherings – Ps 22:25). It can come ‘from the earth’ (Ps 148:7) or ‘from the heavens’ (Ps 148:1). There is really no limit to where we can praise God!

Why should we praise God?

There are definitely more than 10,000 reasons why we should praise God, but the book of Psalms essentially focuses on reasons connected to God’s character (who He is) and His actions (what He does.) Ps 146:6 focuses on God as the Maker of all things and the faithful one, with this psalm going on to consider His help for the orphans, widows, foreigners and prisoners. There is also an evangelistic aim to praising God: by speaking of the glory of God’s kingdom and of His might, other people come to know of His great acts. (Ps 145:11-12)

How should we praise God?

These last 5 psalms give us many ways of praising God, mentioning singing (Ps 146:2, Ps 147:1, Ps 149:1), dancing (Ps 149:3) and through musical instruments (Ps 147:7, Ps 149:3, Ps 150:3-5). Other psalms talk of shouting praise to God (see Ps 33:3, Ps 47:1) and clapping (Ps 47:1). We can praise God in many different ways and forms, but the overall impression is that praise can be noisy, exuberant and vibrant. Perhaps in our more reserved British culture, we need to understand that praise should be whole-hearted (Deut 6:5) and involves our whole being. God is worth praising – it’s worth getting excited!

So many of the psalms urge us to enter God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise (Ps 100:4, Ps 146:1-2), but we don’t always stop to consider the many benefits of praise, perhaps because we associate praise with feelings of exuberance and joy, and we don’t always feel that way when we come into God’s presence! To praise God means to express gratitude or admiration for Him, and He commands praise not because He is narcissistic or vain, but because He is worthy of praise.

Praising God is important because…

1. it restores perspective to us. We praise God for His acts of power and His surpassing greatness (Ps 150:2) and are reminded of who He is and who we are (‘Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Ps 100:3)) Life is a lot easier when we get these fundamental relationships right!
2. it leads us into God’s presence (Ps 22:3) where there are blessings for evermore (Ps 16:11, Ps 67:5-6)
3. it paves the way for God’s Holy Spirit to move in miraculous power (see Acts 16:25-26, 2 Chron 20:21-23)
4. it is a spiritual weapon (Ps 149:6-9)
5. it is the pathway to joy and spiritual refreshment (Neh 8:10, Ps 16:11)

‘Hallelujah’ is one of those foreign words which has been adopted into the English language and used in all kinds of pieces of music (from the triumphant ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ to the very popular Leonard Cohen song ‘Hallelujah’). It means ‘praise the Lord’, from the Hebrew word ‘hallel’ (praise) and ‘yah’ (the shortened form of Yahweh, God’s most holy name.) It’s also the key word in the final five psalms in the Psalter, often known as the ‘Hallelujah’ psalms or the ‘Final Hallel.’

As we move towards the end of our studies on the book of Psalms, it’s appropriate that we look at this word in more detail and at the subject of praise, for (according to Claus Westermann), ‘praise is the last word of faith.’ The psalms are arranged into 5 books and each book concludes with praise (often known as a ‘doxology.’) In many ways, the Psalms show us the whole of life’s journey, from obedience to praise, ‘through the unmapped back countries of pain, doubt, and trouble.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘Answering God’, P 121) These last five psalms – all of which begin and end with the word ‘Hallelujah’ – help us to understand that there is a glorious future awaiting us all in God (see also Rev 19:1, 4, 6). Psalm 145 lists many reasons for praise (connected with both God’s character – He is gracious, compassionate, forgiving, faithful, slow to anger, rich in love – and with His actions – which are wonderful, awesome and great) and each of the remaining five psalms looks at different aspects of praise.

Ultimately, praising the Lord is both pleasant and fitting (Ps 147:1) and is something which we must do individually (‘praise the Lord, my soul’ Ps 146:1b) and corporately. Praising God restores our perspective, reminding us of His greatness and our humility, and leads us to a place of spiritual victory (see Ps 149:6-9).