Sermon Audio: Summer Psalms

Over the summer months it's harder to sustain a sermon series, with attendances varying, and people here, there and everywhere. In recent years, I've tended to preach summer sermon series in the Psalms. They are usually standalone units of text - the Psalm by itself can be understood without needing to know what comes before or after. Yet there are ways of doing series in the Psalms - so last year, we followed the Psalms of the sons of Korah. You could also follow the songs of Asaph; do a series in the biographical Psalms of David; the songs of ascents (Ps 120-134); or the 'one hit wonders' - Psalms whose author only wrote one in the Psalter.

This year, I preached through some familiar Psalms with well-loved hymn versions. This meant that we could sing the hymn versions well, even with lower than usual attendances, and there was a variety of emotions and themes coming to the surface.

Here, for your encouragement and upbuilding, are the sermons I preached over the summer - my summer Psalms:

Psalm 72: Praying for the King.

Psalm 23: The Lord's my shepherd.

Psalm 95: Worship and a warning.

Psalms 42&43: Thirsty for God.

Psalm 121: Where does my help come from?

Sermon: Psalm 124 Our Help is in the Name of the LORD

This summer, I want to invite you to come with me on a journey. The good news is that we won’t even have to leave sunny Dundonald, yet we’ll join with believers as they journey towards Jerusalem. Over these summer nights, we’re beginning a series in the Songs of Ascents. These are a collection of short Psalms, from 120 to 134, which were sung by the pilgrims as they travelled along to Jerusalem for the great festivals of the Jewish year. In recent times we’ve looked at some of them, so this year we’re going to do from 124 to 131.

The pilgrims didn’t have their iPods in their ears, ignoring everyone else on the train or the bus. No, the pilgrims are together, singing together as they urge and encourage one another along the way, climbing the hills as they get closer to Jerusalem, and as they watch for the first sighting of the temple in the distance. (Reminds me of when we were younger and out for a drive, looking out for the water tower at Rathfriland, or the big yellow cranes at Harland and Wolff).

As they sing, they recall their history, and praise the LORD who watches over them - especially as they travel through dangerous territory along the way. This is particularly the case in our Psalm tonight. As they reflect on their history, they recognise just what the LORD has done for them. It appears as if someone would lead off: ‘If it had not been the LORD who was on our side’ then call for everyone to join in: ‘Let Israel now say - if it had not been the LORD who was on our side...’ As we’ll see, the people of God had been threatened, but God has worked to save them. We’ll see this under three headings: The risk to the people of God; The rescue of the people of God; and The rescuer of the people of God.

First, then, the risk to the people of God. We see this throughout verses 2 to 5 in a series of vivid word pictures. The precise historical events are unclear, although as we’ll see later it might be early in David’s kingship - while it’s hard to pinpoint one particular point in Israel’s history, the threat is nonetheless very real. Enemies of the people of God are never far away - and it’s clear that they can produce a vicious blow when they rise up against God’s people. There’s the image of God’s people being swallowed up alive, in the fires of anger - anger being kindled against them. From fire, the picture changes to water - the flood sweeping them away, raging waters.

The threat to God’s people is never far away. Just think of what Jesus said: ‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.’ (John 15:18 ff) Opposition is not something to be sought out, and yet it will inevitably come because we are following Jesus and not joining in with the wicked ways of unbelievers.

The Psalm reminds us that opposition is real, the risk, the threat to God’s people is fierce. We see that in verses 6 and 7, where the threat is portrayed as being prey to their teeth - food for wild animals; and as being trapped in the snare of the fowlers. (Now this isn’t talking about Robbie Fowler, who used to play for Liverpool, but about a hunter of wildfowl). When I was preparing, a line from an Elvis Presley song came to mind - ‘we’re caught in a trap’. One of the commentaries noted that when an animal is trapped, any movement, any attempt to get free only makes the situation worse. Helpless, hopeless, and hunted.

Yet into the desperate situation, the LORD works for the rescue of his people. Rather than being swallowed up alive and being prey for their teeth, the LORD has not given us up! Rather than being swept away by the flood and torrent of waters, we have been saved. Rather than being trapped and caught, the LORD has broken the snare and enabled escape.

The bird can’t free itself, and nor could the people of Israel from the position they found themselves in. Yet rescue has been achieved, and freedom is accomplished. No wonder the people celebrate and encourage each other with these words!

It could be that this refers to David’s kingship, and the threat of the Philistines. Remember, David became king in Judah and (later) Israel when Saul died in battle against the Philistines. The Philistines hear about the new king, and set out to destroy him too. Flip over to 2 Samuel 5:17. ‘And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said “The LORD has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood.”’ (5:20) The psalm might reflect this period, then, as the flood has been turned back upon God’s enemies, leading to his people’s rescue.

As we’ve seen, whatever the situation, the people couldn’t rescue themselves - it took a rescuer. Here, as elsewhere, the only one to save the people of the LORD is the LORD himself. So what does this Psalm teach us about the LORD? Look at verse 8.

‘Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.’ The rescuer, the help is bound up in the name of the LORD. Two things to notice here. First, the actual name used. You see, in the Bible there are many names of God - God, or King, or the Holy One of Israel. The use of particular names is usually significant. Here, it is the name of the LORD - capital letters LORD. So what is the significance of this? LORD in capital letters is the Covenant LORD (Yahweh / Jehovah), the covenant making God. The LORD who has made promises keeps them. but second, it is the name of the LORD in which there is help. The name signifies the power, the character, the very nature of the LORD. We see this as David reminds us that the LORD has made heaven and earth. Our enemies might have power over us, but they can’t triumph over the one who made all things (including them!).

As we continue to think about the rescuer of the people of God, we’re led to a comforting, but also challenging discovery (which we notice in the very first line of the Psalm). The LORD, the rescuer of his people, is on our side. He must have been - otherwise the people would have perished ‘If it had not been the LORD who was on our side...’ So because the people of God have been rescued, then he must be on our side.

I don’t know how that sits with you. To have God on your side. Maybe it sounds a bit too militaristic or tribal, when rival armies both invoke God to give the other side a good hammering... We’re more comfortable with the encounter of Joshua before Jericho was conquered. ‘When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said “No, but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” (Joshua 5:13-14) Not is God on our side, but who is on the Lord’s side?

Yes and yes, and yet still, the Psalm declares that the LORD is on the side of his people, working to rescue them from their enemies. The LORD is portrayed as the husband of his people, the Lord Jesus the husband and head of the church. Husbands, is there anything you would not do for your wife? If you love your wife, then how much more the Lord Jesus, who died for his bride (Ephesians 5:25). The Lord is on your side, if you are on his side!

I want to give you two examples of the LORD working rescue for his people, one scriptural, and one from more recent history. Remember when Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt? Pharaoh suddenly realises that if all the slaves have gone, there’s no one to make the bricks and build the houses. So off he sets with his chariots and horsemen to capture the people of Israel again. Moses has led the people to the edge of the Red Sea, water in front, and desert behind. Then they notice the dust cloud behind them. Egypt in pursuit, and they’re trapped. Water in front, Pharaoh behind, his anger kindled, ready to swallow them up, and force them into the flood. And what happens? The LORD rescues his people, creating a way through the water, so that again, rather than his people being swept away, the flood is turned on the enemies of God’s people. The Egyptians follow them into the sea and are drowned. ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.’ (Exodus 15:1)

Or think of the state of the people of God during the 1500’s. The Roman Church had lost sight of the gospel, caught up with indulgences and good works. But a remnant of the Lord’s faithful people were left, including Martin Luther who rediscovered the gospel of justification by faith. Such opposition he encountered, and yet the Lord rescued him from popes and princes and brought about a reformation and revival, which spread abroad bringing many to be converted. God had not abandoned his people. Two English bishops were martyred, and yet their prayer was answered mightily: ‘Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.’

And what of us? We are the people of the LORD, so that these Psalms are our Psalms. That means that we too will face opposition - remember Jesus’ words from earlier. This opposition comes from those on the outside, who set themselves against the faith and against believers - maybe a Dawkins, a fundamental athiest. But opposition can also comes from within. The troubles in the Anglican Communion have come about through the opposition to the gospel, with faithful Anglicans facing opposition and persecution within The Episcopal Church (in the USA) and in Canada. Faced against the power of the liberal media, scholars and churchmen, what hope for the people of God? Within ourselves, not much, but our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

As the Lord has rescued his people in the past, we can be confident in the name of the LORD. As Paul writes to the Romans, ‘What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’

This sermon was preached in St Elizabeth's Halls on Sunday evening 28th June 2009 at a celebration of the Lord's Supper.

Countdown to Romania

So I'm in the final few days before heading off to Romania. Been trying to work out what I need to take, all I need to pack, as well as doing a few other things before I go. Over the next day or so I'm hoping to set up a special prayer letter email list, if you would like to be on it, let me know. Not sure if I'll actually have much internet access, with about 40 people on the mission team and restricted times, but you never know.

In other news, the lads were out bowling last night, and I managed to storm to victory (for a change). I'm reckoning that Bryan is my scud - with him in Scotland now, I did better than I have in a long time!

The wedding

Now that the photos are online and I have a wee bit of time before I head off for the afternoon, I thought I would do a more fuller blog posting about the wedding from last Saturday. So here goes...

As I've said, Bryan Kee married Louise Wilkinson in the Scottish city of Dundee; in the famous old St Peter's Free Church - the church of Robert Murray M'Cheyne (who I'm sure I've mentioned on the blog a few times before). Joined by family and friends, it was a very special day, and all enjoyed it immensely.

The weather even held up for it - a mostly sunny day, with the only rain coming when we were driving to and from getting the photos taken at Megginch Castle. (I've since learnt that part of Rob Roy was filmed there!) The reception was held in the Apex Hotel on the quayside in City Quay, and the evening sunshine was beautiful out across the quays. The meal was very good, as was the venue - a good size of a room for the number of guests.

The photographer was very good, taking thousands of photos over the day, which will soon be uploaded to his website to have a look at. The evening entertainment was a pianist who played in the background, enabling people to catch up on the craic, and also make new friends.

All in all, it was a fantastic day. Contrary to the (joking) expectations of my family, the whole experience hasn't put me off looking forward to my own - it being exactly one year today until I marry Lynsey! Here's to that day, when Bryan and Louise will become my siblings-in-law!

The Twelfth

Magherabeg drums
Originally uploaded by Gary McMurray.

As you have probably noticed, today is the Twelfth of July. It's a public holiday in Northern Ireland, and is marked by Orange parades across the country.

The South-West Conference of the Orange Order had their demonstration in Laurencetown and Lenaderg, at the place where King Billy forded the Bann at Huntly. This morning it was wet, wet, wet as the brethren assembled on the Huntly Road, and the rain persisted during the outward parade. Rain, as well as meaning there were umbrellas aplenty. But it also means that the lambeg drums couldn't be brought out.

During the service and speeches, the weather cleared, and the sun came out! All this meant that the parade on the way back was much better, and the lambeg drums could be heard! The photo illustrating this posting is of the drums with my brother's lodge, Magherabeg True Blues LOL 838.

In total, I took 550 or so photos, and am working through sorting and renaming them. So far I only have a few of Magherabeg online at Flickr, but more will come after the weekend... Tomorrow morning I'm heading off to Scotland for the Wilkinson-Kee wedding!

Sumer Mudness

While I had forgotten to mention it in the actual posting, the title of the last posting was referring to the fact that there hadn't been very much rain for the first day or so at Summer Madness. However, by last night when the festival was drawing to a close, it was indeed Summer Mudness, especially in the Paddock sub camp, where mats had to be put down to navigate a path through the mud leading into the camp!

So today is a fallow day, for resting up before Streetreach is launched tonight. Tomorrow morning hundreds (or is it thousands) of young people will go into thirty areas of Belfast to demonstrate the grace and love of God in practical ways. But before that happens, we'll recap on some news from the festival!

I've really enjoyed being on the Prayer Ministry Team, and being able to pray with young people seeking to return to God, or to honour him with their lives, or to come to know him for the first time. Last night was really special, as I got to lead a man to Christ! Earlier in the day I also prayed with a wee lad who had made the commitment but hadn't went forward for prayer ministry or a chat with his youth leader.

In all, there were about 100 new Christians over the weekend, which is absolutely brilliant! Please be praying for them now as they begin this new life with Jesus.

The Prayer Ministry Team themselves were great, and a very welcoming and encouraging bunch. It was Robert and my first time on the team, and they were brilliant at helping us in getting involved - a special thank you to Chris and Susan Bennett, who lead the team so well!

Another great aspect of Summer Madness was getting to meet up with people you don't generally see from one year to the next. Sadly, though, one such meeting was called very short as I was called to the prayer room, but hopefully it won't be so long before we meet again!

So the rest of this week for me is shaping up with the Streetreach worship events in the evenings (starting at 9pm in the King's Hall - entrance by the Lisburn Road); and writing sermons for Dundonald and Dromore during the day, as well as proof-reading my book!!! I now have it in my possession and am trying to get it proofed as soon as possible for a September launch. More news will follow in due course...

Summer Dryness

Just a quick update. As Andy has commented on the previous post, there are certainly ways and means of updating blogs if I am at home (although always late at night and then an early start to get back down to the venue!). So here goes.

Right now, the parties have started for night two of Summer Madness 2007 (SBSU). The worship on Friday night was led by Bluetree (I presume) and a few additions, and the whole Summer Madness event began with a powerful chorus of 'Our God reigns.' As well as some modern loud praise songs, I really appreciated their switch to acoustic and a couple of older hymns - 'Jesus paid it all' in particular struck a chord with me (although I couldn't remember where I knew it from).

The speaker last night was Bart Campolo. Prior to the event, he had raised a certain level of controversy (or is that too severe - we'll say discussion) for his views on universal salvation, but he was very good. Last night he spoke on the Good Samaritan, and how we need to be loving our neighbour - those who are the very least in society and the world.

So far I'm enjoying the opportunity of being involved in the prayer ministry, and being able to minister to the young people responding to the message, and to what God is doing.

Right... time to go to bed! More updates will follow in due time!

Summer Wetness

Tomorrow the 2007 Summer Madness festival begins, and it looks like it's going to be a wet one - Summer Wetness, rather than Summer Madness... I'm heading down later on to put up a tent for Bert and me to stay in, although I'm still favouring the option of commuting to the event - we're not a million miles away from it, and it means I'll get a decent sleep!

This year it's the 21st birthday of Summer Madness, having previously been running at CastleArchdale in County Fermanagh in the early years, then Gosford Forest Park at Markethill, and now at Balmoral Showgrounds (the King's Hall) in Belfast. My first year was 1999, and I've always enjoyed it.

I might have previously mentioned that it has always been a special place for me, and it was where I believe I felt the call to ordination - both in 1999 (when I fought it) and in 2002 (when I consented). So now I'm giving something back, by working on the prayer ministry team this year. Can't wait!

Not sure if I'll be updating much for the next few days, but watch this space - there may be ways and means of updating the blog!

Injected!

Well, the injections have been completed - one in each arm. Thankfully I didn't really feel them going in - just a mild sense of something sticking in, and there's just been a mild stiffness in the arms since. But nothing to hold me back - went to Bangor and Donaghadee this afternoon with my camera, and even bumped into David Riddell in Bangor! (Pray for David and his wife Judith as they prepare to go to Africa with CMSI this summer)

We're now in the countdown to Summer Madness, which starts on Friday. Robert and me are helping in the Prayer Ministry team, and camping somewhere...

Smiles are here to stay :)

Just a very quick update - in the prayer letter I talked about my summer plans, if everything got sorted. I got an email yesterday afternoon to say that I have been accepted onto the Smiles mission team! Hurray! Romania here I come!

British Summer Time

Or maybe you would prefer to call it Daylight Savings Time. No matter. Tis the same thing! It's always great when the clocks go forward and we have the light for longer in the evenings. On Sunday night it was nice to be sitting in the Cathedral for the evening service, and for daylight to still be streaming through the windows. Makes a change from the dark evenings of winter where we go into church in the dark...

The other thing about BST is that it can provide a laugh for churches! On Sunday morning I was preaching in Dollingstown and Magheralin (for the sermon, see the separate posting), and we were singing the final hymn, when in walked a family arriving (as they thought) for the start of the service. Guess they forgot to put their clocks forward! Then a family were telling me they had done the same in Dromore as well! But they didn't go in, they just drove past and on back home again.

However, there's almost a professional danger in British Summer Time for those working - what if the preacher forgets to set his clock forward, or sleeps in? Especially with an 8.30am Holy Communion service...