Sermon: Psalm 137 By the rivers of Babylon

Boney M have a lot to answer for. Thanks to their hit song, the first words of our Psalm today are instantly recognisable. I wonder if you can remember all the words? Whether you’ve remembered them or not, you might just be able to hum the tune - something that has been going round and round in my head this week as I’ve been preparing!

The song is a little older than me - 1978 when you were first dancing along to it. But while the first line is fixed in the memory, the last lines of the Psalm aren’t just so popular. In fact, they maybe caused you to have a sharp intake of breath. Could this be in the Bible? It just doesn’t seem to fit. We’ll come to those verses in due course.

From Boney M to another little rhyme. How does this go? ‘Remember, remember, the fifth of November...’. (Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot). The rhyme urges us to remember Guy Fawkes and his failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. As I was working on Psalm 137, I realised that the outline of the Psalm could be seen as ‘Remember, remember, remember.’ Psalm 137 remembers, not a failed plot, but an actual disaster.

So what are we remembering, what are we calling to mind? And how does that remembering express our faith in God, even in troubled times? Let’s see what Psalm 137 tells us, and store it up in our minds for when we need it for ourselves.

In verses 1-3, we see Remembering Zion- painful memories. As the opening line tells us, the people of God are far away from their home. They’re not in the city of Zion, or Jerusalem, they are remembering it ‘by the rivers of Babylon.’ They’re far from home, having been captured and taken away to strange Babylon (in modern day Iraq). This could be the song of Daniel and his three friends - Jerusalem has been destroyed, the people of God find themselves in a strange place, in captivity. As if that isn’t bad enough, the Babylonians want them to sing the songs of Zion, songs of joy, as if it’s an entertaining way to pass some time.

But rather than songs, there is weeping. They hang up the harps; they are faced with what they have lost. There’s no prospect of return. They watched the city being destroyed - the aftermath of which we hear in Lamentations 1. They’ve suffered loss, and even now, only have painful memories. Perhaps there’s even some regret over the loss. You see, God had promised David that they would live in the city, have a son of his on the throne, so long as the people kept the covenant and obeyed the Lord.

But the people were unfaithful. They turned away from God. And God has kept his promise. They’re away from the land. They remember Zion. And they weep.

Sometimes we don’t know what to do when someone starts crying. We don’t know what to say, or what to do. Maybe we feel awkward. Do you see how the Bible and the Psalms in particular tune in to every emotion. We had a praise-filled call to worship Psalm this morning, but this is darker, harder, more of a lament. Yet God can handle all of our days and all of our feelings. His word comes to us in every season. Even when we’re remembering Zion with painful memories.

As the psalm moves on, though, we come to remembering Jerusalem - by singing the songs. The question in verse 4 is at the heart of the whole psalm. It’s the question that drives the whole thing: ‘How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?’

Do you recognise the pain here? The songs of Zion speak of God’s promises and purposes all centred on Zion - the temple, the king, and the people of God, in God’s place under his blessing. And they’re far from there, in exile. They’re far from home. And it seems as if they think that they’re far from God as well.

But even in the pain, there is a desire to remember Jerusalem, to not forget the city of God. It might come with great cost, but the Psalm writer is committed to Jerusalem, even in exile. ‘If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth...’ His right hand’s skill and his tongue are the very things needful to play the harp and sing the Lord’s songs.

And what he’s saying here is that he isn’t going to forget Jerusalem. It’s going to have the place of supreme honour and devotion in his heart and life. They city of God may not be standing, and yet he is dedicated to it. Yes, there will be other joys - even in a foreign land. But Jerusalem will have highest place.

We sometimes see on the news the images of people being driven into exile, finding themselves in refugee camps, fearful, in danger, never knowing what is going to happen to them. But the truth is that we too are in exile. We may not realise it all the time, but the Christian is an exile and a stranger in this world. We’re not at home, we don’t really belong.

It’s the apostle Peter who writes ‘To God’s elect, strangers in the world...’ (1 Pet 1:1, also 1:17, 2:11) And that’s what we are. We don’t always fit in.

It’s as if we ask through the tears, how can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? When we go through troubling times, when the weight of the world is weighing heavily on us, how can we keep going, keep trusting, keep joyful? The answer the psalm gives is how could we not sing the Lord’s song?

How could we not keep trusting in God? One of the hardest and yet most special parts of ministry is being with those who are coming to the end of their life. To be with them, and then with their families gives an insight into how people tick, and what matters most to them. To see a believer continue to trust through the darkest of days - how could they do otherwise, they would say? Even in the tears, there is joy.

Remember, remember - with painful memories, we’ll continue to trust and find joy. But it’s when we get to the final remember that we get a little bit jittery. In fact, the compilers of the Church of Ireland lectionary readings would want us to stop at the end of verse 6. Here and no further, they decree.

But God, in his wisdom, has inspired all of Holy Scripture. As Paul says to Timothy, all of scripture (not just the bits we like, or are sanitised) is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting & training in righteousness. So what do these last verses teach us about God and ourselves? What does the final reminder point to?

The appeal is to remember Jerusalem, a cry for justice. We hear it on the news every day - a crime has been committed, we want the criminal arrested and tried. It’s a natural desire to see justice done. And so, the writer of the Psalm cries out to God for justice.

‘Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell.’ The Edomites were (if you went back far enough), far out relations of the Jews. Esau was Jacob’s brother - their descendants were near neighbours. But when Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, the Edomites joined in. They were like the cheerleaders urging on the Babylonians: ‘how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations.”’ Fair’s fair, you might think. But what about the next bit?

‘O daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us - he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rock!’ It’s a brutal image, an almost unthinkable one. Especially if the word used to describe the attackers is ‘happy.’ Could the soldiers have a smile on their face as they attack little ones?

But the word isn’t really happy. Rather, it’s the word (in other versions) ‘blessed.’ The writer of the Psalm, inspired by God, is adding to the curse pronounced on the Babylonians in other places in scripture (e.g. Isaiah 13, Habakkuk 2:8 etc). And in looking to God for justice, asking God to remember the Edomites and the Babylonians, the author is trusting in God’s perfect justice.

And it’s natural that we seek justice when we have suffered. But we need to be careful in pointing fingers at others, that three fingers aren’t pointing back at us. We cry for justice when we have been wronged, but could we stand under God’s just judgement by ourselves? Rather than justice, or (as seems to be popular on Facebook these days, karma), what we actually need is... mercy and grace.

It is in the cross that we see the just punishment that our sins deserved. God’s wrath has been satisfied. God’s peace and perfect justice have met, and given us mercy and grace. And so, it is in Christ that we are free from our sin, and called to follow his example, as he prayed for his persecutors. In Christ, God the just judge reconciles us to himself. We no longer bear our own punishment; instead we are forgiven, and sent to forgive.

But to reject Christ, to make yourself his enemy, to oppose the new Jerusalem, is to make yourself his enemy, to oppose the new Jerusalem, is, in the end, to side with Babylon, and to face his just judgement forever. It is only in Christ that we belong to the new Jerusalem, and find there our highest joy - the promise of eternal life with him.

Remember, remember, remember, and keep trusting as you find yourself an exile and stranger in this world, but keep going, as we journey to that new Jerusalem through the pain, through the tears, to that place of sweet delight.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 26th August 2018.

Sermon: Psalm 47 Directions for Worship

We’re coming towards the end of the summer holidays. Hopefully you’ve been able to have some kind of a holiday, to get away somewhere even for a wee while. And if you have been away, you might have gone along to a local church. Now, when you go to a different church, you notice all the things that are different - whether they stand or sit to sing or pray; and how they get on during the singing of the psalms or hymns or spiritual songs - whether everyone has hands in pockets, or holding books or hands in the air, or a combination of them all.

And, if you’re used to coming along to a Church of Ireland church, you know how we do things. Already we’ve stood, sat, and knelt; we’ve sung, and prayed, and listened. Now, this morning, the service is on a sheet, but all the standing up and sitting down bits are written down in the Book of Common Prayer - it tells us what to do and when to do it. (Anglican Aerobics, as my Presbyterian friends call it!).

In our Psalm this morning, Psalm 47, we find even more directions for worship. But these may not be ones that we are as used to doing, at least, not in worship. They might take us by surprise, or at least, out of our comfort zone. Look at verse 1: ‘Clap your hands, all you nations.’

We might be used to a round of applause coming at the end of a song, or in a theatre, or when the plane has landed safely, but here, the applause is coming at the start, at the outset. And the call to worship, to clap your hands, goes out from the temple. And it’s not just to the people of Israel gathered at the temple, it’s a call to ‘all you nations.’

It’s a bit like the mobile phone network - EE. Does anyone know what it stands for? Everything Everywhere. Psalm 47 calls on Everyone Everywhere to clap your hands, to worship God.

Now, when you hear the command to clap your hands, maybe you think it’s wanting a nice, polite round of applause. But no, it’s more a long, loud, sustained clapping - especially when it’s combined with the next line: ‘Shout to God with cries of joy.’ This is the roar of a crowd at a sporting event. It’s going to be loud! Don’t hold back!

Now that might be beyond what we’re used to here in church. But that’s the first call to worship in the Psalm. Loud, passionate, energetic worship. We might be more used to the second call to worship, found in verse 6: ‘Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.’ {Sometimes modern songwriters get a bit of stick for being repetitive, but the sons of Korah were at it a long time ago!]

The call to worship goes out from Jerusalem to all peoples. The directions are clear. It’s going to involved clapping, shouting, and singing. Lots of singing. But why? Well, we see the reason in each of the verses after the call to worship. So, after the call to clap and shout in verse 1, we get this reason in verse 2: ‘How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!’

And after the call to do lots of singing in verse 6, we get this reason in verse 7: ‘For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.’

The same truth is brought out each time. God is the (great) King over/of all the earth. God is the King, not just in Jerusalem, not just in Israel, not just somewhere else, but everywhere, even Richhill. Wherever you went on holiday, whether you were climbing mountains or lying on a sun lounger - God is King even there. Wherever your work will take you tomorrow - God is King there.

And if God rules over all the earth, then every person should worship their true King. That’s why the call to worship goes out to all nations, to everyone everywhere. Just knowing that God is King should be reason enough, but the Psalm continues to show us even more reasons why we should worship, clap, shout and sing.

In verses 3-5, we see that God was king in the past. This is what God has already done: ‘He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.’

As the sons of Korah lead worship in the temple, they look back to their history, to see what God has already done. They remember that God gave them the victory as he subdued the nations who lived in the land. God gave them the promised land by defeating the nations who lived there. Nations who made the people of Israel look like grasshoppers next to them. They couldn’t have done it by themselves, but God gave them the victory, because God is the king.

And do you see how verse 6 says that God has ascended? If God has gone up, it must have meant that he had come down - come down to help his people. Does that remind you of anything?

Isn’t it pointing us to the Lord Jesus, who came down from heaven, became one of us, and fought to free us from our enemies? Jesus lived the perfect life. He died on the cross to take away our sins, to give us freedom, to give us an inheritance of eternal life with him. He rose again from the dead, and then ascended into heaven. And why did he do it all? Because he loved us, and loves us still.

It’s because God has done all this in the past, that now the call to worship goes out to all peoples to sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. God is the king of all the earth, and we see all the trappings of royalty in verse 8. ‘God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.’

And here’s the present tense evidence of God’s kingly reign. Here’s the reason for everyone to praise him. Look at verse 9: ‘The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.’

Here we get a glimpse of what God is doing, and continues to do more and more since Jesus the King reigns. Whenever school starts back this week (or next), there will be assembly. That’s when the classes or year groups or whole school joins together in the assembly hall. And that’s what God is doing - bringing people together, from every nation.

It’s like the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games when, if you watch long enough, you see people coming into the stadium behind their flag - all gathering together for sporting competition. But it’s just a glimpse of people from every nation coming together as the people of the King.

You see, this ingathering of the nations has been God’s plan from the very beginning. God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12, called him to walk with him, and promised him descendants, land and blessing. In the Psalm writer’s day, they had seen some signs of this happening, as people like Rahab of Jericho and Ruth of Moab had heard the call to worship the one true God, and had become God’s people.

But now, in our day, God is doing this more and more, as people from every nation hear God’s word, hear the call to worship, and surrender to him. And it’s our prayer today that Carter will grow up to know and love the Lord Jesus.

Kings and presidents and prime ministers may seem to be impressive, and important and powerful, but they all belong to God. They’re under his control and his reign. We are called to worship the real ruler - God, who is greatly exalted. So as you hear the call to worship going out - have you heard it and heeded it? Are you worshipping God, the King of all the earth? Not just on a Sunday as you clap and shout and sing, but in every moment of your life? If you aren’t already, in heart and voice, then join the chorus, and give your praise to the one who is worthy.

but if you have heard, and you are worshipping, then it’s up to us to also join with the sons of Korah - not just in worshipping, but also in calling others to worship. So how can you get involved in sharing the call to worship? Perhaps you could bring your friend along to the Cafe Church evenings when we’ll be looking at the big questions - how can I believe that God exists? how can I believe that God is good? How can I believe that Jesus is the only way to God? Or bring your friend along to the Men’s Breakfast - a good feed, plenty of craic, and a short talk. Or partner with someone to go along to one of the new Growth Groups running this autumn.

Could we organise a mission trip to take the call to worship somewhere else? Or call our neighbours and friends and family to worship? Or, as the world comes to us, invite our new neighbours and colleagues and friends to come along with us to church?

The call is going out - let’s join in with our worship, and call others to join with us - as we clap, and shout, and sing for God our King. Amen.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 26th August 2018.

Sermon: Psalm 136 His love endures for ever

Psalm 136 stands apart from all the rest of the Psalms. And even as you flick through the Psalms, you notice its distinctive feature straight away. The feature that makes its main point, over, and over, and over again. There’s no getting away from what the Psalm is telling us, reminding us again and again that ‘His love endures for ever.’

If you remember nothing else from our Psalm this evening, at least, you’ll remember this. ‘His love endures for ever.’ That chorus comes at the end of every verse, at the end of every sentence, and sometimes even in the middle of the sentence, driving home that His love endures for ever. One of the commentaries suggested that we’re so unfamiliar with this repetition that it might feel as if the Psalm itself was going to endure for ever. But the Psalm makes its point. His love endures for ever.

When I was writing the sermon, I wondered if I should take my lead from the Psalm, and repeat that phrase after every sentence, but I decided against it. It might have been a bit much to have it in the Psalm and in the sermon. But let’s think about that sentence for a moment. Let’s break it down, to see what it is actually telling us.

HIS love endures for ever - the focus is on the ‘him’ behind ‘his’. And who is the he? Verses 1-3 shows us who ‘he’ is. ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good... Give thanks to the God of gods... Give thanks to the Lord of lords...’

It’s the love of the LORD, capital letters LORD, that we’re focusing on in this Psalm. When you see the word LORD in capital letters, it’s the covenant-making, promise-keeping Lord who is in view. Jehovah (or Yahweh). The LORD is good, so we are to give him thanks. More than that, he is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the ruler of the rulers - high over all, no one compares to him.

And the quality that sets him apart, besides his goodness, is his love. His enduring love. In fact, 1 John goes even further, to say that God is love. This is who he is.

We see just what the LORD has done, as last week, in terms of creation and then redemption. It’s creation, first, in verses 4-9. And here we find echoes and allusions to Genesis 1, to the story of God’s creating the world.

‘To him who alone does great wonders... who by his understanding made the heavens... who spread out the earth upon the waters... who made the great lights... the sun to govern the day... the moon and stars to govern the night...’

The LORD is the one who did all this. And he did it all because of his enduring love. When you look at the world, when you’re struck by a sunset, or when you marvel at the stars in the night sky - whatever you see is by God’s grand design. It was his idea, his understanding, his wisdom to form it and fashion it, to display his glory.

Some people may look at it all and think there’s no evidence of God, but another Psalm (19) tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God... And every feature - is a sign of God’s love. In front of me, there’s a phone, which has an app that can tell you when the sun will rise and set tomorrow. Another to tell you when high tide and low tide will take place next Tuesday. Another to say the phases of the moon, because it’s all perfectly designed and shows God’s love and care for us. Why? Because his love endures for ever.

If you were with us last week, you might recognise some of the next section. You see, in verses 10-22, the main focus is on God’s redemption of his people Israel. And there are some lines that are shared with Psalm 135. But there is a bit more detail here. Here’s what’s new in Psalm 136:

‘With a mighty hand and outstretched arm (12)... to him who divided the Red Sea asunder... and brought Israel through the midst of it, but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea... to him who led his people through the desert.’ (13-16).

There’s a greater focus on the escape here - how it was God who worked to rescue his people, with his mighty hand and outstretched arm. It was through the Red Sea that God brought his people to safety, and led them through the desert. And then, in words we heard last week, the kings that were killed, including Sihon and Og.

And why did God do all this? Because of his love for his people. Over in Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking to the people before he dies, and they go over into the promised land. And he deals with the question of why God chose them, why God set his love on them. Was it because they were a big nation? Populous? Mighty? Strong? No, it was simply because he loved them. ‘It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand...’ (Deut 7:8). He loved them because he loved them.

They hadn’t done anything to impress him. They hadn’t done anything to deserve his love. They had no merit, nothing going in their favour, except that God loved them. And isn’t that the same for us? We might try to think that God has chosen us and loves us because, well, how could he not? But we had nothing going for us. We were still his enemies, but God shows his love for us in this - Christ died for us.

We see his love in the events of the Exodus. But we also see his love in the events of the cross. That the perfect, holy, Son of God should stoop to live and die for sinners like us. That he should take our place, and bear our sin, so that we might go free, forgiven, and saved.

This is ‘His love’ - a love that we will never tire of singing about; throughout all eternity, this will be our song. And just as our song will endure through all eternity, it’s only because his love also endures for ever. There’s no best before date; no expiry date; no time-limited guarantee. His love endures for ever. And just as he continued to bear with the Israelites as they messed up again and again, so his love endures for us as well.

It’s why, after whatever sort of week you’ve had, you can come before him tonight. It’s why, whatever sort of week you’re about to have, you can come to the table. And in the little bit of bread, and the little sip of wine, you taste the tokens of his love, the ongoing pledge of his never-ending love for you.

You see, we are drawn into Psalm 136. We’re drawn into the opening verses, calling on us to give thanks. But we’re also drawn into the closing verses. You see, the main sections, creation and redemption are all past tense - they look back to what God did in the past. But verses 23 -25 are different. They gather the present day people of God into the story. They use, for the first time, ‘us’. ‘To the one who remembered us in our low estate... and freed us from our enemies... and who gives food to every creature...’

Those verses bring the Psalm into our experience, the way that he remembered us in our low estate, and freed us from our enemies. They way God continues to give food to every creature. The ways that we continue to experience his enduring for ever love.

So what do we do with this Psalm tonight? Do we remember it as the slightly odd and repetitive Psalm? Or do we hear the chorus, and take it up as our own - knowing, for sure, in our mind and our experience, that his love endures for ever.

You see, sometimes it can be hard to know that. Or hard to remember that, when you’re going through difficult circumstances. But if Psalm 136 is telling us anything, it is telling us that his love really does endure for ever. And because it does; because he does love us; it calls us to give thanks to the God of heaven.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 19th August 2018.

Sermon: Psalm 46 Be still, and know that I am God

This morning, we’re going to think about some holiday foods for a moment or two. What is your favourite ice cream flavour? Maybe you like bubblegum. Or raspberry ripple. Or my favourite, honeycomb. Sometimes, you might get a cone with two scoops of ice cream - and you can mix and match the flavours. That way you don’t have to choose just one flavour, you can have the two that you like the best. One scoop honeycomb, and one scoop mint choc chip - that’s my order. Yum yum!

Now, if it was a very hot day, and you really needed to cool down, then you would want a cone with three scoops of ice cream! So what would you choose for your three scoops? Three different flavours? Two scoops of one and one of the other? Or all three scoops of the same flavour?

Psalm 46 is a bit like a three scoop ice cream cone. From the way it’s printed in the Bibles (p570), you can see that it comes in three sections, three scoops. There’s also the little word ‘Selah’ at the end of each section - a word that calls for a pause, to stop and think about what you’ve heard, read or sung.

And the three scoops of Psalm 46 are all of the same flavour. If it was ice cream, it would be honeycomb, honeycomb and honeycomb. The three scoops all say the same thing. The three parts all have the same message.

It’s a bit like that other holiday food that you might have got when you were at the seaside. It’s really bad for your teeth - the stick of rock. And there’s something special about Blackpool rock - does anyone know what it is? Here’s a picture to help you - it says Blackpool rock on the inside of it. And it goes right through the whole stick. Wherever you bite it or break it; it says the same thing the whole way through. And that’s like Psalm 46. Whatever verse you look at, whatever part of it you’re in, it all says the same thing. It all has the one message.

And what is the message? What is Psalm 46 telling us? Well, it tells us in verse 1. Look at it with me. Say it with me: ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.’ (perhaps you’ll be ready to say that!)

Psalm 46 is telling us something about God. And what is it telling us? First of all, that God is our refuge. So what’s a refuge? It’s a place of safety, a place where you can take refuge. So if you’re walking in the mountains, you might find a refuge, somewhere you can sit and be warm, and be sheltered from the weather. And God is like for us. We can take refuge in him.

Secondly, God is our strength. Whenever we feel weak, or helpless, and wonder how we’re going to be able to do whatever it is that we need to do, God gives us strength. More than that, God IS our strength.

And thirdly, God is our ever-present help in trouble. Whenever you’re in trouble, whatever time it is, wherever you are, God is with you to help you. He’s always with you. He’s always present. You’re never on your own. You can never be alone when you’re a Christian, because God is with you. Always. Helping in times of trouble.

Now, put those all together, and we see what God is like: ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.’

Can you say that today? Is that true of you? Is God your refuge and strength? Your ever-present help in trouble? Because when you can say that, when you know that in your own life, then you don’t need to be afraid, no matter what might be happening. Even if your whole world comes crashing down around you, you don’t need to fear, if God is your refuge and strength, your ever-present help in trouble.

That’s what verses 2-3 tell us. ‘Therefore (in light of the truth about God - because he is who is he and does what he does, therefore:) we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their shaking.’

A long time ago now, Kevin Costner starred in a movie called Waterworld. Now, it wasn’t about the swimming pool in Portrush, but it was about imagining what the world would be like with global warming, so that there was no land, only water covering the whole world. Imagine that!

If you’ve been in Newcastle, then you’ve seen where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea (as Percy French put it). But imagine if the mountains of Mourne fell into the sea! And imagine you were in Newcastle watching as it all happened. It might be scary to see, but we wouldn’t need to be afraid, not if God is our refuge and strength, our ever-present help in trouble.

So the first section, the first scoop is telling us that God is what? Our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Now, the second scoop (v4-7) tells us the same thing in a slightly different way. It puts the two parts back to front or upside down. So, if God us an ever-present help in trouble, that means that (v7a) The LORD Almighty is with us. He’s always with us. With us even when we find ourselves in trouble. And if God is our refuge and strength, then it also means that (v7b) ‘the God of Jacob is our fortress.’

The two scoops are saying the same thing, using different words. It’s the same flavour, the same message. But here, the context has changed. In the first section, the danger was geological - all to do with the earth giving way. In this second section, the danger is political.

The city of Jerusalem is under siege. And when that happens, the enemy army comes up to the city and surrounds it. The people of God find themselves inside, and what might they need when they’re under siege? They need water to be able to survive. ‘There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.’ (4) If you have water, then you can wait out the siege.

But even more important than water, there’s something else that means that Jerusalem will win the battle. ‘God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.’ (5) Do you see how that fits with the Psalm? God is with his people and will help them - he’s an ever-present help in trouble; and he is also their refuge and strength.

In verse 3 the waters were roaring; in verse 6 it’s the nations that are in uproar, and kingdoms fall. God is able to help his people, no matter what the danger, or how fierce the opposition. And when God lifts his voice, the earth melts. No one can stand against God.

So, as the chorus goes, ‘The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is with us.’

In 2 Kings, we find a story which might well go with Psalm 46. In 2 Kings 18, Jerusalem is under siege. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria comes and surrounds the city. He has a huge army, and Jerusalem is in great danger. King Hezekiah receives a letter threatening the city, and he spreads it out in the temple before the Lord. And he prays, asking that God would help him, and deliver the city from Sennacherib’s hand.

The prophet Isaiah comes, and gives God’s answer - that God will help them. And that very night, 185,000 Assyrians all died, and Sennacherib withdrew from the city and returned home.

We get a picture of the scene in verses 8-9. ‘Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.’

God is the one who brings wars to an end. It’s simply impossible to fight against God, or to try to defeat God. To quote the Borg from Star Trek, ‘Resistance is futile.’

We see God’s works in verses 8-9, and we hear God’s words in verse 10. ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’

Sometimes, we hear that verse in the comforting, quieting, devotional sense - take a few moments during the day, be still, and know God. I have a picture above my desk reminding me to do that. It’s good to do. Maybe God is saying this to you today. In the midst of your busy-ness, be still, and remember that God is God and you are not.

But it seems that God is also speaking to his enemies here. If they’ve been trying to fight against him, trying to get rid of him, trying to forget him, he speaks, and invites them to stop their fighting. To be still, and know that God is God (and they are not.). Because God will be exalted among the nations, and exalted in the earth.

So where do you find yourself today? Are you on the opposition lines? Are you fighting against God? He invites you today to stop, to be still, to recognise who God is. He wants you to lay down your weapons, and surrender to him.

If you are a Christian, if you’ve already surrendered your life to him, then take heart! Remind yourself daily, when you be still, and when you be active, that God is your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. That the LORD Almighty is with you; the God of Jacob is your fortress.

That’s the message of Psalm 46. It’s written right through it, like Blackpool rock. It’s three scoops of the same flavour. God is with you; and God is for you.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 19th August 2018.

Sermon: Psalm 135 Why Worship?

Why do you come to church? What’s the reason that you get up out of your chair to come along on a Sunday evening? There could be any number of reasons why you’re here - habit, or duty, or desire, or delight, or anything in between. So why do you come to worship? Or, in the title of our sermon, why worship?

Hopefully, tonight’s Psalm, Psalm 135, will give us some more reasons to worship. It will help us to see why we worship, and expand our vision of God, leading to even more worship of him. Now, we’ll break the Psalm down into three sections (each with 7 verses), and see just who God is, and why we should worship him.

But as we dive into the Psalm’s opening verses, we’ll see that before we get to the ‘why’ of worship, we get the ‘who’ of worship. There’s a call to worship; a call to praise the Lord. And who should praise the LORD?

‘You servants of the LORD, you who minister in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.’ (1-2)

This is a call to the servants of the Lord - to those who serve him; those who obey him. And as verse 2 focuses in, it’s those who minister in the house of the Lord. We’re in Jerusalem, in the temple. And the people who are there, in the temple, are urged to praise the Lord!

Why would that be? Why would the people who are working for the Lord, who are serving in the temple - why would they need to be reminded to praise the Lord? Could it be that we sometimes get used to the way things are? That we are so used to the fact that we come along to church, that it’s just normal, regular, and we almost take it for granted?

You see, just because we’re in church, doesn’t necessarily mean that we are here to worship. But even if that’s the case, we get these gentle reminders, these little prompts and encouragements to really worship; to actually worship God. So why should we worship God?

The first reason comes in verse 3. ‘Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.‘ The Lord is good, and it is pleasant to sing praise to his name. We see how the Lord is good in verse 4: ‘For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.’

The Lord is good, and it’s seen in his choosing the children of Israel. You see, it’s not that we choose to worship God - he has already chosen us. And so our worship and praise is a response to God’s goodness, and his choosing us. Now, those two names, Jacob and Israel, they both refer to the same person, Jacob the grandson of Abraham, and the father of the twelve sons of Israel, the twelve tribes. It’s a way of referring to the whole nation of Israel.

And God chose them to be his own people, to be his treasured possession. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were God’s special people, but now, we are included in the church, and the things said of Israel are now said of the church (e.g. 1 Peter 2:9 - ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God...’)

God is good - as seen in his choosing. But then verses 5-7 show that God isn’t just good; he’s also great. And that’s in particular in comparison to any other small-g gods; whatever or whoever anyone else may worship. And how do we know he is great? Because he can do whatever pleases him, wherever he pleases - in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. Everywhere is within his control, and under his rule. Whether the weather is good or bad, God is in control of it all. So we see the clouds and lightning with rain and wind. And it’s God who makes it all.

Why should we worship the Lord? He is the God of creation. But that’s not all. You see, as verses 8-14 go on to tell us, he is also the God of salvation.

These verses are a mini-history of the people of Israel. We see just what God has done for his people - how he has acted in creation to save his people. One commentator suggested these verses are how God vanquishes his enemies and vindicates his servants. So what did God do?

‘He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of men and animals. He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.’

That’s all about the Passover - how God brought his people out of Egypt, out from their slavery, saved from Pharaoh and his servants. When they got across the Red Sea, they then spent some time in the wilderness, forty years in fact, before they started to receive their promised land. But it wasn’t the Israelites doing it. No, it was God;

‘He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings... all the kings of the Canaan - and he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel.’ (10-12)

Sihon and Og - they were both defeated in Numbers 21. And the kings of Canaan, they were defeated in the time of Joshua. The people came in, and God gave them the land, to be their inheritance. God is active in salvation. And verses 13-14 provide a summary of this section:

‘Your name, O LORD, endures for ever, your renown, O LORD, through all generations. For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.’ (13-14)

The LORD vindicates his servants by vanquishing his enemies. He is the God of compassion, for all his servants. Do you see the contrast? You have Pharaoh and his servants in verse 9, and the servants of the Lord in verse 14. To serve Pharaoh is to stand against God; to serve God is to know his compassion and salvation.

And we who are New Testament believers can see this point even more vividly. It’s in the cross of Jesus that we experience the rescue of God, and it’s through the cross that we are given our promised inheritance, as we look forward to the new heaven and the new earth, where righteousness is at home.

So why worship? God is good and great - seen in his choosing and creating. Further, God is in control, seen in his salvation. As we come to the final section, we have another comparison running. So as you look at verse 15, think - how is God in comparison to this?

‘The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.’ (15-17)

The writer looks at the idols that other people worship. They’re made of something - silver or gold; and they’re made by someone - by the hands of men. In comparison, what is God like? God is the maker, he wasn’t made. He made us, and everything else. Whereas these idols are made by someone. not very worthy of worship, are they?

And even if these idols look impressive, they’re not actually very impressive. They might look the real deal, but they’re not. They have all the features, just no ability. They can’t speak, or see, or hear, or breathe. They just kind of sit there. Unable to ‘do’ anything. Do we even need to compare them with our God? There’s no comparison! our God speaks, sees, hears, is alive and in control.

Now, even at this point, it’s clear that you would rather worship the living God rather than these useless idols. But verse 19 shows that we become like the thing we behold; that we become like the thing we look to and worship:

‘Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.’

You see, if you trust something that is useless and worthless and dead, then you will become the same. It’s a dead end, literally, to worship an idol. It can’t save you. It will only lead you to be like it.

But the same is true of the living God. We who trust in him will become like him. As we look to the Lord, as we trust in him, so we become more like him.

With these reasons, with even more ‘why’ to worship, the call comes again to praise the Lord - whoever you are, in whichever category you find yourself - to praise the Lord. Why? He is the God of creation - he made us and chose us. He is the God of salvation - saving the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, and saving us from slavery to sin. And he is the living God, who is re-making us in his image.

Those are great reasons to praise. So let’s do it. Let’s praise him, because he is worthy.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 12th August 2018.

Sermon: Psalm 45 The Wedding Singer

This morning, you are invited to a wedding. Now, don’t worry if you haven’t had your fake tan done; or if you haven’t worn your big hat or fascinator; you can come as you are. You see, the summer Psalm that we’re looking at this morning is all about a wedding. We see that in the very tiny writing just under where it says Psalm 45 on p569. ‘For the director of music. To the tune of Lilies. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song.’

This is a song for a wedding, but it’s also a song about a wedding. Whenever you’re organising a wedding, there’s so much to think of - invitations, gifts, venue, reception, honeymoon, and... music. And when it comes to music, there’s the entrance music, the hymns, the going out music, and what you’ll have at the reception - band, or DJ, or both!

Our Psalm today is from the Sons of Korah, the praise leaders of the temple. And one of them has been commissioned to write and sing this wedding song. We’re introduced to the wedding singer in verse 1: ‘My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.’

His heart has been stirred by a noble theme. He sings about the wedding, but as you see, it’s no ordinary wedding. This is a royal wedding. Now, we’ve had a couple of these in recent years - William and Kate, Harry and Meghan. But this one is the wedding of the king himself. And the wedding singer is on hand to capture the event, to sing about it and write about it with skill.

Now, for a wedding to take place, you need a man and a woman. That’s the pattern that God established in Genesis 1&2, and affirmed by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 19. And that’s what we see here at this royal wedding.

Now, whenever we have a wedding in church, the groom is here first, waiting around, hoping that the bride won’t be too late. And that’s what we see here in the Psalm, in verses 2-9. We see the king.

And the wedding singer is singing directly to the king. As you can see, it’s all ‘you’ and ‘your’. So what is the king like, on this his wedding day?

‘You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you for ever.’ (2) The focus isn’t on his clothing as much as his character - who he is, what he is like. And the reason he is so excellent, the most excellent of men, is that God has blessed him. This is a man who is living under the blessing of God - to do the right thing and say the right thing (out of lips anointed with grace).

Now, when William and Harry were married, they did so in uniform. So here, the king is girding his sword on his side, clothing himself with splendour and majesty - because he has a job to do. He is to act for truth, humility and righteousness; displaying awesome deeds; defeating his enemies and conquering nations.

In a world of pain and fear and injustice, how we need a king like this! With all sorts of fake news and downright lies, we need someone to act on behalf of truth. In a world of social media which is obsessed with self-promotion and pride and self-importance, this king stands up for humility. And as for unrighteousness and wickedness - that’s what fills our newspapers and TV news, and courtrooms. But this king rides forth on behalf of righteousness.

This is the sort of king that we need. And this is the sort of king that is celebrated by the wedding singer. Now, maybe you think to yourself, this king sounds too good to be true. Maybe the wedding singer is only saying these things because he’s paid by the king. You know the saying - he who pays the piper calls the tune. And so it must be the wedding singer’s job to make the king look good. Is this just a bit of spin, some positive PR, at the heart of the government?

You would think so, especially with the way that he continues in verse 6. Remember, he’s speaking to the king, and then he says this: ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.’ Did you get that? He’s singing to the king, and then he calls him God. Is that right?

Well, look at how verse 7 continues. ‘You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’

Put those two verses together, and what do you get? ‘Your throne, O God... Therefore God, your God...’ The king is described as God; who has a ‘God, your God’ So what’s going on here? As the singer sings of the royal wedding happening in front of him, it’s as if he is also seeing beyond those events to their fulfilment.

You sometimes hear of childhood sweethearts who met on the first day of P1, and when children, played at weddings. Then twenty years later, they are getting married for real. And so here, it’s as if the royal wedding he’s attending is just the playing at weddings compared to the real royal wedding - the wedding to end all weddings - the wedding at the end of time; the wedding between the king who is God and his bride.

Here in Psalm 45, as a royal wedding is happening, the wedding singer gets a glimpse of the real royal wedding, the same royal wedding that John is shown in Revelation 20-21. The groom is the king who is God - the Lord Jesus, who is the Messiah (the Christ), the anointed one.

Now, just in case you’re not sure of what I’ve been saying, just in case you think I’ve gone down the garden path, just think of how the New Testament uses Psalm 45. We heard it in our second reading, from Hebrews 1. The whole letter to the Hebrews is about convincing Jewish Christians to not go back to the temple religion; to instead stick with Jesus. And through the letter there are a number of comparisons, showing that Jesus is better than, for example, Moses, or the priesthood, or the sacrificial system.

And in Hebrews 1, Jesus is shown to be better than the angels. And one of the quotations from the Old Testament are these very verses from Psalm 45. And how are they introduced? ‘But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever...”’ (Heb 1:8-9)

Jesus is the conquering king; the one who rides on behalf of truth and humility and righteousness; the one whose throne is for ever and ever. And Jesus, the king, the royal bridegroom stands to receive his bride.

Now, whenever there’s a wedding, there’s always great interest in what the bride is wearing. And if I’ve been to a wedding on my own, I always have to take pictures , because ‘a white dress’ just doesn’t cut it as a description! Here, the bride is in gold of Ophir (9); her gown interwoven with gold (13); in embroidered garments (14).

In verse 10, the wedding singer speaks to the bride, the new queen. Here is the way to come to the king. ‘Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father’s house. The king is enthralled by your beauty; honour him for he is your lord.’

Forget what lies behind; forget your past and focus on your relationship with him. Honour him, or bow to him, as other versions put it. There is joy and gladness at the celebrations, as she enters the palace of the king. He brings her in, and she finds her place beside him. The marriage has begun.

In the last two verses, the focus is back on the king himself. And it’s a future focus - your sons taking the place of your fathers, them becoming princes. But even more than that, the king will be remembered:

‘I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.’ (17)

A few years ago, when we were clearing out my granny’s house, we discovered her old wedding photo in a cupboard. None of us knew it was there. To be able to see granny and granda McMurray on their wedding day in .... was great. Their photo has lasted a long time, recording that special day. But even longer lasting is this psalm. Here is a record of a royal wedding so that thousands of years later we can see what he saw that day.

So how much more, then, the fulfilment of that day? The real royal wedding that that day pointed to; the real royal wedding that EVERY wedding points towards - the royal wedding when Jesus is united fully and finally with his bride, the church.

This best wedding is still to come. And you can be involved in it - not just as a wedding singer; nor even as a guest. You can be involved as the bride, the people of God, the church. The praise of Jesus, our king and our God, will resound for ever and ever. So why not come today, rsvp to the invitation; turn from all that’s past. Forget what’s behind, and bow to Jesus the king.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 12th August 2018.

Sermon: Matthew 25: 31-46 The Sheep and the Goats

People are being divided up into groups all the time. So, you’re either right-handed or left-handed; you’re male or female; you wanted England to win the World Cup or you were happy to see them lose; you’re pro-Brexit or anti-Brexit. All the time, people are seen as part of a bigger group - on one side or the other; with us or against us.

But, in the grand scheme of things, all those divisions are petty and don’t really matter. There is just one division that really does matter. And we hear about it in our reading this evening - the separation of people, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at Matthew 25, listening in as Jesus teaches about the coming of his kingdom. He is preparing to leave the disciples, by way of the cross, resurrection and ascension, and so he is preparing them for life in between his first coming and his second coming. He’s preparing them to be ready for when Jesus returns.

A fortnight ago, the key word was ‘watch’ - the lesson of the parable of the ten virgins. Five were wise, and were watching, ready for the bridegroom’s arrival. Last week, the key word was ‘work’ - the lesson of the parable of the talents. We want to use all that the master has given us, to put it to work, in order to hear the ‘well done, good and faithful servant...’ Both those stories were parables - indeed, that’s what the publisher’s headings tell us.

But tonight’s story is a little bit different. I wonder did you notice that when it was read? It wasn’t introduced like the others - ‘At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like...’ (1) ‘Again, it will be like...’ (14). No, this one is different. Look at verse 31. ‘When...’

Jesus is telling us what is going to happen. It’s a bit like you saying, ‘when I get back from holiday I will...’ or ‘when the hosepipe ban is lifted, I’ll wash the car...’ This isn’t an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, no, this is a real story. Jesus is reporting on something in the future, telling us what is going to happen. This is how it’s going to be.

And ‘when’ will it be? ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.’ (31) Jesus is telling us about the day when he comes again to the earth. The term, ‘The Son of Man’ is Jesus’ favourite way to refer to himself in the gospels. It has its roots in Daniel 7 - the Son of Man is the one given authority, glory and sovereign power; an everlasting kingdom; and worshipped by all.

Jesus is telling us about who he is - the Christ, the Messiah, the King of the universe. And one day he will come in glory. He will sit on his throne. And everyone from every nation will be gathered before him. Look closely at the scene he is painting, and you’ll see yourself. (Isn’t that what we do when we look at a photo that we’re in? We look to see ourselves before we see who else is in it. Well, somewhere, in this scene, you’re there.).

The Son may not know when he will return (see Matt 24:36), but he knows what will happen when he does return. ‘All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.’ (32-33)

So what will the division be based on? In that moment it won’t be based on men and women; he’ll not worry about left-handed and right-handed. The division is sheep and goats. There just these two groups; two categories, and he speaks to each of them in turn.

To those on his right, he says in verse 34: ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world...’ To those on his left, however, he says in verse 41: ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...’

Two different groups, with two different destinies. one is told to come, the other to depart; one of blessing, the other is cursed; one receives inheritance, the kingdom prepared for them; the other receives the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Now, when you see the two destinies side by side, it’s not hard to decide which you would prefer. The question, though, is how do some find themselves on his right and others on his left? And how can we be sure of being on his right?

Jesus gives the reason in verse 35 - to those on his right he says: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...’ In the same way, he tells those on his left: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink...’ (42).

Now, if you were listening closely earlier on, you’ll have noticed that both groups were very surprised when they heard what they had done or not done. They both ask the same question: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry...?’ (37, 44). They can’t remember seeing Jesus hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or needing clothes, or being sick or being in prison.

Now, if that’s so for the righteous, it’s even more the case for the wicked. If they’d seen Jesus in this way, they’re pretty sure they would have done something to help him. But, they never did see Jesus in these positions, so how come they’ve ended up as goats, condemned?

And if our position on that day depends on how we have treated Jesus, how can we do that if we’ve never seen him? Have we got an excuse? Can we get out of doing it if we’ve never seen Jesus in the flesh?

It appears not. You see, Jesus explains it in verse 40. When do we see Jesus in these positions of need? ‘The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”’ How you treat the family of Jesus shows your attitude to Jesus himself.

Think back to your school days. If you had a little brother or sister at the same school as you, did you ever act as a minder for them? If they were being picked on, did you ever try to sort it out? Warn them off? What would you have said? Maybe something like - If you mess with them, then you mess with me. (that sounds a bit like the mafia, I’ll admit).

That’s what Jesus is saying here! The way we treat the family of Jesus, the least of his brothers, is an indication of what you think of Jesus. To help or ignore a brother or sister of Jesus is to help or ignore Jesus himself.

So, who are the brothers and sisters of Jesus? Sometimes people read this, and urge us that it’s everyone and anyone, the whole of humanity. But Jesus has a narrower focus. You see, Jesus has already asked and answered this very question. Back in chapter 12, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers and sisters hear about the crowds flocking to see Jesus. They’re concerned for him, so they go to bring him home. And what does Jesus say, when he’s told they’re outside wanting to see him? ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’ (12:48-50).

And, just to make sure, he says the same thing after his resurrection. So in Matt 28:10, Jesus says to Mary Magdalene and the other women, when she meets them near the empty tomb, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’ He’s speaking about his disciples again.

So how we treat the disciples of Jesus, his brothers, shows us what we think of the Lord Jesus himself. Now, let’s be clear - Jesus here is not saying that we will be saved by our works (and thereby overturning the whole of the rest of the Bible’s teaching on salvation by grace alone by faith alone in Jesus alone...). But our works show whether we are saved or not, by showing what we think of Jesus by how we treat his family.

So how are you treating his family? When you see his brothers and sisters who are hungry, or thirsty, or strangers, or needing clothes, or sick or in prison - how will you respond? Because the way that you respond to them shows what you think of their big brother.

Our entry into eternal life and the eternal inheritance is down to God’s grace. but the test of our words of love for Jesus is in our actions - if we love the family of Jesus, the least of his brothers in sisters.

So let’s resolve to show our love for Jesus in the way we love his family. Let’s see the face of Jesus in the face of Christians facing persecution and hardship. Let’s show our love in practical ways, to his praise and glory. Amen.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 15th July 2018.

Sermon: Psalm 44 Awake, O Lord!

If you’ve been watching any of the World Cup matches, then you’ll probably have heard some familiar phrases. Even if their team weren’t playing, the commentators will have managed to fit in something about 1966; something about ‘Football’s coming home’; and something about the England team. Right up until about 9.30pm on Wednesday evening, when their laments began.

Whether you’re interested in football or not; whether you saw the match or not; whether you wanted them to win or not; the plight of the English football team are an illustration of what’s going on in Psalm 44. You have the retelling of past glories (1966 and all that); you have the reality of present defeat (the players looking distraught); you have the reasoning of the situation, making sense of it (when the commentators watch the replay, to see what went wrong); and the response (what needs to happen now).

The retelling of past glories; The reality of present defeat; The reasoning of the situation; The response. Let’s dive into Psalm 44 on page 568.

First up, we have the retelling of past glories. Remember 1966 and all that. The Psalm looks back to the way things used to be. The stories of the good old days, of when God used to give his people great victories. That’s what verse 1 looks back to: ‘We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. With your hand your drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish.’

The psalm retells the glory days of the past - when the people of Israel came into the promised land. They had escaped from Egypt, wandered in the desert, then came into and conquered the promised land, Canaan. And how did they do it? It wasn’t by their strength (3) - ‘it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.’

God had given them the victory, because he loved them. They were his people, so he gave them the promised land. And that’s what happened in days long ago. But the glory days were also more recent. So in verses 4-8, he’s still retelling past glories. Victories in the current generation. If v1-3 was about God doing it for them, our fathers; v4-8 are about God doing it for ‘us’.

God is ‘my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob’. It’s through God ‘we push back our enemies... trample our foes... [God who] gives us victory... puts our adversaries to shame.’ The retelling of past glories leads to verse 8, the joyful praise of God who gives the victory:

‘In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name for ever.’

Retelling of past glories brings praise for the God of glory. And it would be great to be able to stop the Psalm here. To rejoice in all that God has done - past, present and future. To only ever experience victory at his hands. To never suffer defeat, or to never suffer at all.

But, and there is a but, it’s not like that now. The retelling of past glories almost makes the reality of present defeat even harder to bear. Because in verse 9, we see the reality of present defeat. And it begins with that ‘But now’. It used to be like this - 1966, and hope was high, football’s coming home - but now we lost in the semi-final.

The outline we’re using to look at the Psalm is all about the R’s - retelling, reality, reasoning and response. But in verses 9-16 we see even more R words to describe the reality of the present defeat: ‘you have REJECTED and humbled us’ (9). ‘You made us RETREAT before the enemy’ (10). You have made us a REPROACH to our neighbours’ (13). And the bonus verse 16 with 3 more R words: ‘My disgrace is before me all day long, and my face is covered with shame at the taunts of those who REPROACH and REVILE me, because of the enemy, who is bent on REVENGE’ (15-16).

The reality of the present is so painful because God seems to have rejected them. God used to do all these great things, but now, he has rejected them. He hasn’t helped them. Instead, they are devoured like sheep, scattered, and sold (11-12).

So, what do you do when something like this happens? You’ve heard how great God was, all the amazing things he did long ago. You retell them; but they don’t match up with your reality of present defeat. What are you likely to do when suffering comes? When things aren’t the way you planned or hoped or dreamed?

You’re likely to ask - why is this happening? Why me? Why this? Why now? And so you try to reason it out, try to work it out. So, the other night, the commentators showed the video replays, how the defence was getting tired, and the goals that should have been scored. They were searching for the reasons why the defeat happened.

And that’s what we do as well. Is this because of something I’ve done? Why has this happened? In verses 17-22, the writer looks for reasons. Had the people forgotten God, maybe? Had they been false to God’s covenant? Had they turned away from God, or strayed from his path? Had they begun to follow a foreign small-g god?

If any of those things had happened, then they might have understood why God had seemingly rejected them. There would have been a reason for the rejection; a reason for their reality. But, the psalm is quite emphatic. They haven’t done any of those things. He’s sure of it. Do you see how he puts it?

‘All this happened to us, though we had not forgotten you or been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness.’

We didn’t do any of those things. Yet we’re suffering. And, as verse 20 goes on, if we had have done those things, forgotten the name of God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, well, God would have known about it. ‘Would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?’

God knows the secrets of the heart. He sees below the surface. He knows us deeper than anyone else could possibly know us. And so, the writer appeals to their innocence in this regard. They haven’t turned away from God; they’re still committed to God; so why are they suffering? What’s the reason?

Verse 22 seems to give a bit of a reason for the suffering. ‘Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ It’s for your sake; for God’s sake. Their suffering is because they are God’s people. And that suffering can even include facing death, being considered as sheep for the slaughter.

It’s not what they want. It’s not what they expect - not when they’ve heard of past glories, when God worked the victory for them. Yet now, their present reality is that of suffering, not because they’ve rejected God, but because they are God’s people. And that might be the place where you find yourself today. You’re suffering, not because you’ve done anything wrong, but because you are a child of God.

Isn’t this what was happening on the cross? The Lord Jesus had lived the perfect life. He had definitely never forgotten God, or been false, or followed a foreign god. Yet he suffered and died - the sheep to be slaughtered, the precious Lamb of God.

He suffered so that we could be saved and redeemed. That was the reason for his suffering. And God is at work even in and through our suffering. He is growing our dependence on him. He is growing our Christlikeness. He is using our faithful witness to show others how great our God is. These might be some of the reasons why the faithful suffer.

But that doesn’t stop us from asking God to intervene. In the last verses we see the response. Verses 23-26 are a prayer, calling on God to awake, to rouse yourself! ‘We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.’ It’s a prayer asking God to act, to help, to save. And it’s rooted in God’s unfailing love - the same love that was mentioned in verse 3. God you love us, so please, act. Redeem us. Save us.

It’s a prayer that God will answer. Maybe not immediately, but ultimately, he will act and answer. And we can still be sure of this today. How can we be sure? Because a portion of this Psalm is picked up and quoted in the New Testament. You may have heard it in our second reading.

Verse 22 in Psalm 44 is quoted in Romans 8:36. The apostle Paul is asking, what shall we say in response to the good news of the Lord Jesus, everything that he has written about in Romans up to this point. We’ll do Romans sometime soon, but for now, Paul establishes that God is for us; that God, who gave his Son for us, will give us everything else; that God is the one who justifies us; that no one can condemn us; and then he asks that final question in verse 35: ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?’

He lists a range of possible answers - all the experiences of Christian believers in the first century, and still being experienced today. ‘Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?’ Will any of those things keep us from Christ’s love? Will any of our own experiences of suffering do it? And then he quotes Ps 44:22. He shows that far from being unusual, actually, this is the normal life experience of the Christian believer. ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’

So what is Paul’s response? ‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.’ So much so that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We may retell the past glories; we may struggle through the reality of present defeat; we may look for the reasons why; but our response must be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. We may indeed suffer in all sorts of ways, but it is suffering with Christ, for his sake; not apart from Christ. So do not lose heart. Be assured of his love for you in the gospel. The love that you will never be separated from. His ‘unfailing love.’

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 15th July 2018.

Sermon: Matthew 25: 14-30 The Talents

Did you hear about the Church of Ireland church up in Eglinton, near Londonderry? A few weeks ago, everyone who was in church that morning was given something on the way out. Anyone know what it was? A crisp new £10 note. Now, please don’t be expecting the same thing tonight as you shake my hand at the door!

Some people think that the church is always out for your money, so why were they giving it away to everyone who attended? Was it a scheme to boost the numbers - come to church and make some money? Actually, it’s a fundraising initiative. But how can giving away money be fund - raising? It’s because six weeks later, the parishioners were to return their £10, as well as any profits they had made. Now, the six weeks are up, but I haven’t heard of the end result, how it all turned out.

The rector up there was interviewed by BBC News when the project was launched. And the idea for the scheme came directly from tonight’s Bible reading. Money being entrusted to others, and they’re expected to put it to work.

We’re here in the middle of Matthew 25, and Jesus is preparing his disciples for the time after his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Jesus has been with them for three years, but shortly, he is returning to heaven. One day, he will return, his coming is sure, but what should they be doing in the meantime? How should we live between the ascension and his return?

Last week, the parable of the virgins (bridesmaids) called us to ‘watch’. This week, the parable of the talents calls us to ‘work’. We’re introduced to a man who is going off on a journey, he’ll be absent, and before he does, he puts everything in order, entrusting his property to his servants.

It’s like the arrangements you need to make before you set off on holiday. Someone to water the plants and feed the cat. He entrusts his property to the servants - it’s still his, but they have the charge of it.

Now it’s here that we sometimes run into difficulties. This is the parable of the talents, and as soon as we hear that word, we maybe think of Britain’s Got Talent - a special ability or skill. But the talent here is an amount of money. The footnote says that a talent was worth several hundred pounds. one talent was the equivalent of twenty years’ wages for a labourer. It’s a huge sum of money. And the amounts are given to each of the servants - 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent. ‘Each according to his ability.’

In verses 16-18, we get a montage, just a little update on how each one was getting on. The first two, working hard, putting the money to work and making more. The last one, getting a shovel, digging a hole, and hiding the money in the ground.

When we get to verse 19, the master has returned, and it’s time to settle accounts with them. And these verses remind me of the boardroom scene in The Apprentice. Lord Sugar is trying to find a new colleague, so he sets them business challenges. Then in the boardroom, all is evaluated, explained, argued, and eventually, someone wins the series - having avoided the famous words: ‘You’re Fired.’

Well here, there’s an account. A reckoning. The first servant with five talents, he now has five more. He has doubled his master’s money. And he’s greeted with praise: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.’ (21).

Next up is the second slave. And it’s the same for him. He had received two talents, and now he has two more. The same response, the same welcome, in the exact same words greets him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.’ (23)

The master is delighted with their work. They have been ‘good and faithful.’ They’ve done what he expected, they’ve pleased him, and he welcomes them into his happiness (or, as other versions put it, enter into the joy of your master). You see, it’s not about doing the same as someone else - one had five, the other had two - but they both were commended. They were faithful with what they had been given. They got on with the work they had been entrusted with, big or small, so that faithfulness in small things brings the reward of being entrusted with more.

Small acts of faithfulness are an indicator of being faithful in bigger things as well.

Have you ever had to give a presentation after other people, and as the time goes on, you get more nervous. you see how great theirs is, and you realise yours isn’t as good, and so you’re afraid of what will happen? Well, eventually, it’s the turn of the one talent servant.

Rather than saying what he has done with the money, he rounds on the master. ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ (24-25).

The servant had received this amazing trust, he was given twenty year’s worth of wages to use, and yet he turns on his master. He accuses him of being hard. So he buried the talent, and now he gives it back, untouched, unused, unloved. He thinks he’s being safe, making sure he didn’t lose it or waste it, but he never used it, didn’t put it to work, not even gaining interest from the bank.

Far from being faithful, the master calls him for what he is - ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ What a tragedy - to receive so much from the master, and to bury it. He thought that it didn’t matter how he got on while the master was absent - he didn’t need to worry about working. but that slave loses even the little he has, and is thrown outside, into the darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus is calling us to work faithfully as we look towards his return. So how are you getting on? The summer time is a great time to think about how we’re getting on; how we’re working in the kingdom. So take some time this week, or this month, to ask yourself these questions:

How do I view the master? If we were to ask you, what would you say Jesus is like? The last slave thought the master was hard, someone to be feared. Is your Christian life just a dull and dreary duty? Or are you filled with wonder as you recognise the master’s grace and generosity? Think of how much Jesus has given you, involving you in the task of being his church in this generation and passing on the good news to the next.

Ask yourself - What is the work I’ve been given to do? Just as there were different amounts of talents, so there are different jobs and tasks and opportunities for each of us. If you have children or grandchildren, then you’re seeking to teach them about Jesus - -not just when you read or pray with them, but in every moment. They’re always watching to see if you’re consistent! Maybe you’re on your own through the day - could you spend time in prayer for our church, or for a mission agency?

There are many, many ways you can serve in the church family - too many to mention, but there are always ways to help, and serve.

As we rejoice in the gifts that God has given us, so we’ll work for him with all our heart, seeking to do out best in his service. Look forward, imagine that moment when you hear the ‘well done, good and faithful servant.’ It will all be worth it, to discover his pleasure.

This evening, as you leave the church building, I’m sorry, I don’t have a tenner for each of you. But we each have something better - the grace of the Lord Jesus, the challenge to serve him, and the promise of sharing in his happiness. Better be far. So let’s go, and serve, to his glory, amen.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 8th July 2018.

Sermon: Psalms 42 & 43 Thirsty for God

When was the last time you were thirsty? With all this good weather we’ve been having, you’ve probably felt thirsty at some point recently. You didn’t even need to be doing anything energetic! Even just sitting brought the drouth on you.

When I sat down to write this sermon, and thinking about thirst, I suddenly felt thirsty. So I had to go and get a big glass of water. (Could it be that when you think of being thirsty, and then you are thirsty - in the same way that when you think of yawning, and then all you can do is yawn, even if you aren’t tired? Hopefully you all won’t start yawning now! I’ll be watching!)

So, at the risk of making you all feel dehydrated, think about the last time you were thirsty. Maybe it was after a hard day’s work; or after some gardening; or playing; or shopping. Whatever it was, your thirst told you that you needed some water. You were thirsty for it; desperately needing it.

That’s the picture in verse 1 of Psalm 42. ‘As the deer pants for streams of water...’ The deer is panting for water, needing a drink (maybe it’s being chased, as one of the hymn versions put it). And that picture of the deer panting for water, is like the writer of the Psalm. Except, he’s not thirsty for water. He is thirsty for God. ‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.’ (1-2)

I’m sure you’ve been thirsty for water. Have you ever been thirsty for God?

If thirst for water is because you’re dry and you don’t have it, then thirst for God is because we don’t have him, we aren’t experiencing him. Have you ever had dry times in your faith? have you ever felt that longing for God?

Now, maybe you’re thinking to yourself - this being thirsty for God must only be for people who aren’t Christians. Only non-Christians would have this thirst, because they don’t know God, and so they’re searching, depserate, like a man lost in a desert searching for water.

But Psalms 42 & 43 are the experience of a believer. And even if you can’t get your head around that, even if you think that couldn’t be you - your Christian life is always abounding, everything is always wonderful, you’re always joyful, then listen up! You never know when you might need this word from the Lord. You need know when your circumstances might change and you do feel this way.

Now, if you do feel this way, if you find yourself in this situation, you’re longing, thirsty for God, feeling far from him, then let’s see how we can hold on in hope.

In these opening verses, the thirst is great. ‘When can I go and meet with God?’ (2) He’s thirsty for God, but all he’s drinking are his tears. ‘My tears have been my food day and night.’ It’s as if he sits down for breakfast, and he swallows his tears. What’s on the menu for lunch? More tears. Dinner time? Tears. Supper time? More tears. And it’s made worse as people around him say: ‘Where is your God?’ (3) It’s not once or twice, but all the time.

Now, if that wasn’t bad enough, he remembers when things were different in verse 4: ‘These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to lead the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.’

He looks back and remembers how things used to be. You see, back at the top of the Psalm, the little tiny writing (superscription) tells us this is a maskil (a Psalm) of the Sons of Korah. They were the Levites who had charge of leading worship in the temple. He was a musician, a singer, in the thick of it, leading God’s people in praise. But now, now he’s far away, thirsty, longing for God.

Often, this is how the housebound can feel. They used to be here, part of the services, but now they’re stuck at home or in a nursing home. They wish they could get along to church, but they can’t make it any more.

Perhaps you feel this way too. Maybe you look back to when things were different. You remember a time when you were involved in lots of things, but now you’re on the fringes, or even further away. You felt so near to God, but now, so distant. And you think, where is God? When can I meet with him?

Up to this point, the writer has been speaking to God. But now, he speaks to someone else. Not, to anyone around him... himself. I wonder, do you talk to yourself? Don’t be afraid to say yes, because, whether you realise it or not, we’re always talking to ourselves. There’s always some sort of conversation going on.

It might be worries that are being recycled and repeated on and on; or you’re wondering how you’re feeling; or processing what someone said to you or about you; or what you said to someone else; or psyching yourself up to get out of bed, or make that awkward phonecall.

So here, the writer talks to himself, and asks himself; ‘Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?’ He already knows the reason - he’s mentioned it in the opening verses of the Psalm. But do you see the answer? He gives himself a good talking to:

‘Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.’

He turns the focus from himself and his own problems, and instead turns his focus on God. He’s preaching to himself, reminding himself of the gospel, encouraging himself based on God’s promises. He looks forward to the time when he will again praise God, because he is my Saviour and my God.

Sometimes we might think that if we pray about something once, then it’ll be all sorted and solved instantly. But the Psalm continues. And in this second section, the pain almost seems to get worse.

His soul is downcast within him (6). ‘Therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon - from Mount Mizar.’ Hermon is the mountain where the river Jordan begins - it’s about 120 miles away from Jerusalem. He’s separated from the temple, and from God.

God seems to have forgotten him. His enemies keep oppressing him, taunting him, asking, again, ‘Where is your God?’ You keep talking about him, but where is he? He doesn’t seem to be much use to you. Where is he?

What the writer experiences physically, being so far from Jerusalem, we can also experience spiritually. It seems as if God is distant. And it’s even more painful because of how he describes God. He’s the capital letters LORD, who directs his love by day, the God of his life, whose song is with him at night. (8) God is his Rock. (9), But even these great and glorious things about God can seem like a burden, when God is silent and distant.

So once again, the writer talks to himself. Again he repeats the chorus - asking why he’s downcast; again preaching to gospel to himself - to hope in God, that one day he will praise him, because he is ‘my Saviour and my God.’ (11) Don’t give up, even when prayers seem to go unanswered. Keep talking to yourself. Hold in there!

When we get to the third section, to Psalm 43, the cry becomes even more desperate. Here, the call is for vindication - for God to act and defend his cause. If you were accused of doing something wrong, then someone came forward and showed that you hadn’t done anything wrong, then you would be vindicated. You would be in the clear.

That’s what he wants God to do - to intervene, to show his power. You see, even in his darkest moments, the writer never loses his trust. Even when things are going against him, and God seems distant, he still continues to call out to God.

In verses 3&4, the writer calls for resolution. ‘Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.’

He recognises that God must act; that only God can bring him back and satisfy his thirst. He asks for God’s light and truth to guide him, and bring him to praise. It’s precisely what he needs - light for the path, being so far away; and truth, surrounded by the enemy’s lies.

It’s what we need as well - whether we’re far from God because we’ve never really known him, and we’re still far from him; or whether we’ve been a Christian for a long time, but things have slipped, we’ve found ourselves far away, lost our joy. What we need is for God to send his light and truth - or rather, the one who is the light of the world; the one who is the way, the truth and the life - the Lord Jesus, the one who brings us near to God, brings us into his family and causes us to worship, the one who takes away our thirst by giving us the water of life.

And as these Psalms finish, there comes the chorus again. As he continues to pray, so he continues to talk to himself as well. He repeats the exact same words, but sometimes that’s exactly what we need - we hold on to a promise, to a commitment, like a dog with a bone, not letting go, holding on for dear life.

If you had a friend who was discouraged, you would hopefully draw alongside them and gently remind them of the hope of the gospel in Jesus. So why not do it to yourself? Talk to yourself in the best possible way. Remind yourself of the gospel as you preach to yourself. Encourage yourself to put your hope in God (not in anyone or anything else); because it’s only as we do that that we will praise him, our Saviour and our God.

Our thirst for God is only satisfied when we come to the one who says in John 7 ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’

Jesus gives us the living water to satisfy our thirst for God - he gives us the Holy Spirit, who flows within, and flows out, so that others can share in this life-giving, thirst-quenching water.

Are you thirsty today? Come to Jesus. Drink deeply, and live.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 8th July 2018.

Sermon: Haggai 2: 20-23 The Signet Ring

Did you hear the story about the burglar who was in prison? His dad wrote him a letter, saying that he would find it a struggle on account of his old age, but he was getting ready to dig the back field to plant some spuds. So the son wrote a letter back to him, telling him not to bother digging in the field - that was where he had buried the loot. A few days went by, and the father wrote again to say that the police had come and dug about in the field and found nothing. The son replied and said, it was the only way he could help - and he could now plant his spuds!

The message was for one person, his dad, but he knew it would have a wider audience. That's a bit like our reading from Haggai today. It's a message for one person, but it's not just for him. We're allowed to listen in, to benefit from it as well. It's not like the post that mum and dad would receive to their address, 42 xxxxxx xxxxxx, Dromore - except it was for the same address in Dromore, County Tyrone, and a Mr Mcxxxxxx. Here, we're meant to be receiving it, learning from the message addressed to Zerubbabel.

We're now in the final chunk of Haggai's book, in the series of four messages he delivered in Jerusalem in the year 520BC. After Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his army, the people had been taken away to Babylon for about 70 years. They've now returned to their own land, to Jerusalem, but they were more keen to build their own panelled houses than to build the temple, the house of the LORD. Over a few months, Haggai challenged the people to ‘give careful thought to your ways’ (and build God’s house); he encouraged them to keep working even though the building was small and unimpressive; and he confronted them with their uncleanness, the anti-Midas touch, yet promised that God would bless them regardless.

So now, on the same day as the previous message, Haggai has another word of the LORD, this time for Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel is the governor of Judah, the person in charge of the city and region. This would be like someone calling at 10 Downing Street, with a personal message for Teresa May. And what is it that God is saying to Zerubbabel?

Well, the message breaks into two parts - the shaking and the signet ring. Let's look at them in turn.

Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.’ (21-22)

God says what he is going to do. Did you see that? ‘I will, I will, I will.’ And what is God going to do? He is going to shake the heavens and the earth. So it's not just an earthquake that is in view, but rather a universe quake.

Perhaps you've heard of the question - what if everyone on earth gathered in the same location and we all jumped and landed together - could we shift the earth's orbit? And the answer is... No. You wouldn't even notice... Now, seemingly in Mexico, the celebrations of the football fans when they scored the goal against Germany set off the earthquake sensors, but even then, they couldn’t shake the whole earth. It's impossible for us, but it’s as easy for God as shaking the sand off your feet or shoes after a walk on the beach.

Do you see the purpose of the shaking? 'I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms.' God is going to overthrow and destroy the power of the nations of the world. By this stage, the Babylonian empire had been conquered by the Medo-Persian empire. But God says they too will be overthrown. They won't be able to stand - just like a Jenga tower that collapses when the wrong block is removed; or like a Monopoly board overturned because someone is losing, and the houses and hotels go flying!

God is saying that he is in control of the nations. He can bring ruin whenever he chooses. He can raise up, and he can overturn. And this is good news for the people of Jerusalem. They're fed up with kingdoms coming to conquer; they've seen enough of chariots and riders coming into their land. So no matter how powerful the King might appear; no matter what the chariots come to do, they are not all-powerful. God is in control. And he tells Zerubbabel about a day that is coming. This day of shaking, of overturning, the kingdoms of the world.

Now perhaps when Zerubbabel heard this word of shaking, perhaps he was frightened himself. After all, he was the governor of the city. He was in charge in the region of Judah. What would the shaking mean for him? Perhaps his legs were shaking and his knees were knocking at the thought of it.

But Haggai has a final word - this word for Zerubbabel, which we too can listen in to hear - a word of grace and promise. The final verse of Haggai: ‘On that day, declares the LORD Almighty, I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD Almighty.’ (23)

On that self same day, the day of shaking, Zerubbabel will be made like God’s signet ring. Now, when I read that, I wasn’t entirely sure what a signet ring was. So i had a look into it. The signet ring was the mark of authority. So if the king was sending out a letter, he would get a bit of wax, and then imprint his sign, his signet ring, to show it came from him.

It’s something we still do - normally at the bottom of graduation certificates there’s the seal of the university - although when I pulled out my Trinity certificate, there’s no seal at the bottom. I promise I really did pass my exams to be a minister! But here’s my Institution certificate - and in the red bit there’s the seal of the Archbishop of Armagh.

Do you see what God is saying here? The nations may be in uproar, the kingdoms will be overthrown, but Zerubbabel has been chosen, and will be like a signet ring, the symbol and agent of God’s power in the world. God has his eye on Zerubbabel; his purposes will involve Zerubbabel.

Now, you might be thinking, well, that’s nice for Zerubbabel, but what does that mean for me? Well, remember who Zerubbabel is. We’re told that he’s the son of Shealtiel, and those names might not mean much to us, but the opening chapter of Matthew helps us to see the bigger picture.

Zerubbabel is the son of Shealtiel, who was the son of Jeconiah, who was the great (x12) grandson of King David. And that means that God taking an interest in him is good news for him, and good news for us as well. Despite being born in exile (his name means ‘seed of Babylon’), God had chosen him. Despite the ways the kings from David to Jeconiah had messed up, leading to exile in the first place, God was still fulfilling his promise to David, that one of his sons would rule. God has not finished with his promise. He’s still interested in the line of David, still working to bring the long-awaited Christ from this family line.

Matthew 1 connects the dots, and brings us to Jesus, who is called Christ, the successor of this same Zerubbabel. But what has this to do with us? How does a message for Zerubbabel impact on us? God promises a day of shaking, when the kingdoms opposed to him are overthrown, and his chosen servant king will be his signet ring, his power in the world.

And in Hebrews 12, we find these words:

‘At that time [speaking about the giving of the law at Mount Sinai] his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so taht what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.’ (Heb 12: 26-29)

This day of shaking is still in the future. A day when some will be removed, but the unshakable will remain.

It made me think of a BBC news report after the earthquake in Amatrice back in August of 2016. Almost 300 people died, and the reporter, standing among the rubble of the village said that the Italian government had a choice - deciding whether it was happy with around 300 deaths per earthquake, leaving people’s houses and buildings as they were; or if it would invest millions of euros in making homes safe, making them earthquake proof.

That contrasting image of the shakable and the unshakable; the earthquake prone and the earthquake proof - this is what Haggai’s last message to Zerubbabel is all about. The day is coming when the earth and heavens will be shaken. Kingdoms and people will be overthrown. The only safe place is to be in God’s unshakable kingdom; to shelter in the signet ring, the chosen of the Lord. His name is Jesus.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 1st July 2018.