I have been preaching from the Book of Psalms this summer. Psalms are our songs, our prayers and our aspirations to the Living Lord whereas the whole Bible is the Word of the Lord to us. The Psalms are songs of the people of the Lord. I was reminded that the Psalms have no musical notes so that every generation can set its own musical notes to them, to make a joyful noise unto our Lord.
Our oldest granddaughter, Micah, spent a part of this week attending a bluegrass Camp in Maine. She is 9 years old. She loves the Lord. She loves to play some of the amazing hymns of the Church. I am preparing from the Psalms for this coming Sunday. We will meet at 11:00 AM for worship. There will be a church-wide fellowship and cook out after church.
C. H. Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers in history, suffered from severe depression. (During his era this condition was known as "melancholy.") What was Spurgeon's remedy? He clung to the Psalms. God's enduring promises were the only true source of comfort for Spurgeon when his world seemed to be falling down around him. When the great preacher didn't have the strength to read them himself, he had someone read them to him. He knew they would bring him comfort and strength. There is no greater extoller of God's greatness than David. As he composed his psalms, David built up his own faith on the ever–increasing knowledge of God's greatness. Consider these famous passages:
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised…. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death" (Psalm 48:1, 14). "Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast declared thy strength among the people" (77:13–14).
"Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works…. Thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone" (86:8, 10).
According to David, all our fears subside in the knowledge of God's greatness. It is why he extols so many dimensions of the greatness of our Lord. It's all meant to build our faith.
David extolled the greatness
of God's wonder–working power. "For the Lord is a
great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of
the earth: the strength of the hills is his also" (Psalm 95:3–4). "To him who alone doeth great wonders… To him that by wisdom made the
heavens… To him that stretched out the earth above the waters… To him that made
great lights… The sun to rule by day… The moon and stars to rule by night"
(136:4–9).
Recently I watched a documentary on the stars and galaxies. Astronomers tell us there are not millions but billions of galaxies in the universe. They are innumerable, and our God created each one. Indeed, he knows every star and named them all: "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names" (147:4). We simply can't take in the many wonders of our God. His greatness is beyond our comprehension!
David also extolled the greatness of
God's power to heal us. God also has
created every human heart. And there is no other power that can truly heal our
hearts. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds" (Psalm
147:3). The
Lord understands our depths of pain more than any human can: "Great is our Lord,
and of great power: his understanding is infinite" (47:5). Only the
Lord who made us knows what our hearts need to see us through our greatest
trials.
David extolled God's greatness of
power over any flood. David reminds
us of God's greatness even in the midst of overwhelming floods. Our current
floods may seem mighty and insurmountable, but God rules over all of nature. He
alone is in control.
In Christ,
Pastor Brown
Psalm 4:8
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