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Psalms 48-50
Psalm
48:1-14
A
Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in
the city of our God, in the mountain
of his holiness. Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a
refuge. For, lo, the kings were
assembled, they passed by together. They
saw it, and so they marvelled; they
were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as a woman in travail. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an
east wind. As we have heard, so have we
seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God
will establish it for ever. Selah. We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy
temple. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the
earth: thy right hand is full of
righteousness. Let mount Zion rejoice,
let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her
palaces; that ye may tell it to the
generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide unto death.”
Introduction
“Psalm
48 is really the end of a trilogy of Psalms, it fits well with 46, 47 and then
48, and it seems that throughout the context is the angel of the LORD going through the camp of the
Assyrians when Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem in 2nd Kings
19. But all of that becomes a window for
the Psalmist to look forward prophetically to other feats of God that will take
place in the future, and to acknowledge certain attributes of God in those
times of trouble that come to God’s people through the ages. So, there’s some
remarkable things certainly here in Psalm 48, as God is praised, and it seems
the Psalmist looks to the end of the age. It talks about God’s faithfulness. Then in 49 he will begin to talk about worldliness and riches and how
fleeting they are, and how God’s people shouldn’t be consumed with the fact,
much like Psalm 73, that the wicked seem to prosper in all of this, and you
kind of sit and think ‘This isn’t fair,
how come bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people,
what’s the whole deal?’ And those
hard questions are outlined in the 49th Psalm. And at the end of that then, as we go into
Psalm 50, God gives us a view of judgment, and it’s a Psalm of Asaph
there. Ah, looking down, it seems to the
very end of time, telling us what wisdom really is in light of the fact that
God is who he said he is, and he’s going to do what he says he’s going to
do.
Jesus Returns, Sets Up The Kingdom Of God Headquartered In Jerusalem
So,
Psalm 48 is a Psalm for the sons of Korah. Ah, it begins by saying “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in
the city of our God, in the mountain
of his holiness. Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.” (verses 1-3 ) We know this song. Now, “Great is the LORD,
and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful” King
James says “for situation” the
Hebrew word is actually “beautiful for elevation” that’s telling us something, “the joy” not of Israel, “of the whole earth,” it’s telling us something else, “is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” It’s telling us something else. And then it says, as a matter of fact, “God is known in her palaces for a
refuge.” His presence is being
realized there. So it seems the
Psalmist, through the deliverance of God from Sennacherib, has a window to
where he’s looking down through the ages to the day when the Kingdom is established,
and Jerusalem is the center of politics in the world. [And that is not going to be politics like we
see now, it’s going to be righteous politics, righteous government.] I mean, “beautiful
for elevation”, it tells us in the Book of Revelation, at the end of the
battle of Armageddon, it says that Jerusalem, the ancient city is going to be
divided into three parts (via a great earthquake), and it tell us that part of
it is going to be raised, we’re told that in Isaiah chapter 2:1-4, it
says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above all the hills, and all
nations shall flow into it. And many
people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of
Jacob. He will teach us his ways, we
will walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of
the LORD from Jerusalem.” But Isaiah
60, beautiful, it says, it seems to be the end of the Tribulation
period, it says, “Arise, for the light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness
shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his
glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and
the kings to the brightness of thy rising.” So, this beautiful picture,
in the last days, when the entire earth is changed during the Tribulation
period [i.e. World War III]. And
you know, at the very end of that, every ocean and every river is turned to
blood, the skies are darkened, the scene is very discouraging, very dark, very
dark, very terrible. We should pray for Israel, for Jerusalem. And ultimately Zechariah tells us that two
out of every three inhabitants of Jerusalem are yet to be slaughtered. What happened during the holocaust is not to
be compared with what is still ahead. [9/10ths of the world’s population dies during the Tribulation, World
War III. The Bible prophecies this, and
military experts predict this same figure for a 3rd World War.] And the Bible says these will be days such as
the world has never seen, nor never will again (cf. Matthew 24). [see also Psalm 24, at http://www.unityinchrist.com/Psalms/Psalm%2024%201-10.htm for a prophetic description of this rising up that Jerusalem will go
through during earthquake that divides Jerusalem into three parts, and how the
Eastern Gate of Jerusalem will rise up just in time for Jesus Christ to ride
through it on a white horse (and all of us too, by the way). See also http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg4page1.htm for a description of how Jerusalem will be raised up.] And yet here, as this great deliverance from
Sennacherib takes place, no doubt the Psalmist sees past the anti-christ, and
he says “Great is the LORD,
and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.” (verses 1-3) this remarkable picture. Psalm 132 tells
us, Psalm 74 gives the picture of these things.
The Prophecied Foundation Of The Nation Of Israel, The Return Of The Jews To The Promised Land In 1948
And
then the Psalmist kind of reflects, he says, “For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it,
and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took
hold upon them there, and pain, as of
a woman in travail. Thou breakest the
ships of Tarshish with an east wind.” (verses 4-7) So,
possibly, many feel, a picture of birth of the [Israeli] nation in 1948, Isaiah
again says this, it’s an interesting text, ‘Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such a thing? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, or shall a nation be
born at once? For as
soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.’ Is a nation ever going to be born in a
day? Is it possible for that to
happen? Is it possible for a nation to
come forth all at one time? It says ‘The
nations saw this, they were afraid, they moved away from it, and pain took hold
upon them as a woman in travail,’ you know, Jerusalem 1948, declaration
of Israel as a national homeland for the Jews, David Ben Gurion stepping in,
being involved. Then the United Nations
stepping away, Israel being assaulted from many different nations, her Arab
neighbors coming in to wipe them out, and the rest of the civilized world
stepping aside, after the Holocaust and everything they’d gone through, and yet
here, born in a day, this is what had happened, he reflects back, “For, lo, the kings were assembled,” this
is what took place, these are the remarkable things, and the British Mandate,
and at the very end the British were keeping them [the Jews] from going home,
holding them in Cyprus and so forth [watch that movie “Exodus” starring Paul Newman, it gives a complete picture of this
event in easy to watch movie format]. He
says [the Psalmist], “Thou breakest the
ships of Tarshish with an east wind. As
we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God
will establish it for ever. Selah.” (verses 7-8) ‘Selah,
What do you think about that?’ [Comment: very interesting, Tarshish was
the ancient Phoenician-Israelite seaport on the eastern coast of the Iberian
Peninsula, what is now the port of Cadiz on the Atlantic Coast of Spain. Spain is now, coupled with France, turning
into a major shipbuilding center for Europe.] You know what, I think as we watch the news today, that’s a great
question, ‘Selah, what do you think about that?’ Any of you watch Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech
yesterday? Very remarkable, talking
about tensions in the Middle East before the U.N., he went last, he kind of had
the last word, was remarkable, and he just talked about the tension between
Iran and Israel. He said, ‘You have to understand, for four thousand
years we’ve had a relationship with the Persians.’ He said ‘There
was a time when Cyrus gave a decree over a Babylonian mandate that allowed us
to come back to our land, and to establish again our homeland,’ and he
said, ‘it was the Persians that supported
us, and gave way and made this happen.’ And he said, ‘We have always had a
good relationship with the Persians all through the centuries up until about
50, 60 years ago.’ He said, ‘And now, we have
Persia, which is Iran, sitting there threatening to wipe us off the face of the
map.’ And then he read a verse from
Amos in the U.N., which talked about the Jews coming back to their homeland,
and God saying ‘I’m going to establish them there, I’m going to plant them there, they will never be moved again.’ And Netanyahu said ‘That’s
us, we will never be moved again.’ And he told the story about his grandfather
getting beat up in the Holocaust, and different things in his own family, and
he said ‘Now we have a homeland.’ And he said, ‘We can’t have another nation close to us, getting to the point where
they develop nuclear weapons, and that nation saying they’re going to wipe us
off the face of the map.’ He said ‘it’s unacceptable,’ and he said, ‘If Israel has to deal with this alone, we
will. We’re not going to let it
happen. Iran will not have nuclear
weapons.’ And he said, ‘If no nation stands with us, we will do it
alone,’ and he said, ‘and not too
long after that, the rest of the nations will thank us for what we’ve
done.’ And you think, this is
prophecy, this is so prophecied, and is so lined up, prophet after prophet
after prophet in the Old Testament, he [the Psalmist] says, “As we have heard, so have we seen in the
city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God
will establish it for ever. Selah.” (verse 8) ‘And what do you think about that?’ “We
have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the
earth: thy right hand is full of
righteousness. Let mount Zion rejoice,
let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.” (verses 8-11) And
in his judgments is the idea of justice also. And then the Psalmist says, “Walk
about Zion, and go round about her: tell
the towers thereof.” (verse 12) and I know any of you that have been to
Israel with us have done that, what a delight it is to walk around that ancient
city, realizing it is in the center, the epicenter of world tension and world news
again. “Walk about Zion, and go round about her” I’ve done it many times, “tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, [the walls] consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.” (verses 12-13) You
know, it’s interesting, because here, with the battle against the Assyrians
(cf. 2nd Kings 19), it seemed like almost everything was gone [i.e.
the Assyrians had conquered all the northern cities of Judah, and then
surrounded Jerusalem with half their army, 185,000 soldiers]. And sometimes we hold onto our privileges
very lightly, while we’re taking them for granted, and then all of a sudden
when they’re threatened and it seems like they’re going to disappear, we regain
our sense of the value of them. Look,
health is a privilege, and we run and we run and we take it for granted, and
then we get a report from the doctor, and we sit back and we think, and all of
a sudden we embrace it in a different way, we put a different value on it. Or the fact that we have a marriage intact,
or children walking with the Lord [and it’s very painful to have children and
adoptive children who are not walking with Lord, not being able to teach them
about the Lord and the things in his Word], the privileges that are in our
lives. And then somehow, all of a
sudden, sometimes they’re threatened, and we take inventory very differently,
don’t we? And we realize the value of
them again.
‘He Will
Guide Us, Even Unto Dying’
“Mark well her
bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for
ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” (verses 13-14) I like that. That’s a good bumper-sticker. ‘This
God is our God for ever and ever, the God that will do all of these things
with Zion, the God who has always been who he is, this God is our God for ever
and for ever,’ and it says, “he will be our guide even unto death.” The King James says “unto death”, the Hebrew is “he will be our guide even unto dying.” He’s going to be our guide through life, even
to wherever we may lay, hospice or in home, or somewhere in a bad situation
seeing our life flash before our eyes, it says ‘he will be our guide, even
there, even there.’ You know, I
remember a number of years ago, my aunt, 85 I think, passing away, you know,
and she was laying in there in bed, and she said ‘You know, I’m afraid,’ and I said, “You know, we don’t get to practice this,” I said, ‘Instead
of being afraid, don’t be afraid to let go, because this is our Saviour, our
Shepherd, he’s not going to let you fall into the dark, and you’re going to go
‘Ooh!’ and he’s going to catch you.” I’ve been with many people at that point, I’ve heard those who have
heard music, those who see angels, I’ve heard those
who just sit up at the last moments of their lives and say “Jesus” and lay back down again with a smile on their face. He says ‘He’s going to prepare a place for us, and
if he goest to prepare a place, he’ll come again, and he will receive us,’ Not send for us, ‘he
will receive us unto himself.’ He’s
the Good Shepherd, he will make the bridge from his
side. He’s not leaving you to go into
territory you’ve never been in before, without a guide. ‘He will guide us, even unto
dying, even unto dying.’ Because
it’s part of our vocation, we’re to walk worthy of the vocation. Our vocation, the larger part of it, being
sons and daughters of the Most High God, is on the other side of all of
this. That’s where we get the goods, that’s where our inheritance is, that’s where our place is,
that’s where we realize what our eyes are for, because we ain’t seen nothing
yet. That’s where we realize what our
ears are for, because we only think we’ve heard singing. That’s where we realize what we were really
made for, that’s where fulfillment is. So it says wonderfully he’s going to do all these things in the earth,
this is who he is, this is what he promised, this is how he’s moving, these are
his ancient people, this is what he’s going to establish, he’s going to do
it. This God, he’s our God forever. In fact he’s going to guide us even unto
dying. He’s never going to leave us,
even in those last breaths, he’s guiding, he’s still
our Shepherd.
related links:
http://www.unityinchrist.com/Psalms/Psalm%2024%201-10.htm
and http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg4page1.htm
For
foundation of Israel, watch the movie Exodus staring Paul Newman, and also read the book Genesis
1948, by Dan Kurtzman.
Psalm
49:1-20
To
the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah
“Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor,
together. My mouth shall speak of
wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall
be of understanding. I will incline
mine ear to a parable: I will open my
dark saying upon the harp. Wherefore
should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their wealth, and boast
themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a
ransom for him. (For the redemption of
their soul is precious, and it
ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. For he seeth that wise
men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their
wealth to others. Their inward
thought is, that their houses shall
continue for ever, and their
dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in
honour abideth not: he is like the
beasts that perish. This their way is folly: yet their
posterity approve their sayings. Selah. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the
upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty [or
strength] shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of
the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is
increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his
soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
they shall never see light. Man that is in honour, and understandeth
not, is like the beasts that perish.”
Introduction
Now,
he moves on and starts to talk about the wicked in Psalm 49. Now this is to the chief Musician, so it was
to be sung publicly. It’s a song for the
sons of Korah, and what it’s telling us in this Psalm, is look, worldliness is fleeting. Influence and money, and those things in the world, sometimes we can
live miserable, and we live in the whole realm of ‘I ain’t got it. I’m miserable,
because I don’t have this, and I don’t have that, I’m one of the have-nots,’ and you live your whole life there. And
the Psalmist in this Psalm says, ‘Well this is the truth about the ‘have’s. You think
you’re a have-not? Let me tell you the
truth about the have’s, and what they really got, and
what they don’t got, so you can understand.’ Look, he says, “Hear this, all ye people;” not just Israel “give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:” because this problem is not a problem endemic to
Israel, this is a problem that all people through all ages face. You look at people and they’re getting it
over on people, they’re telling you ‘You
need to live like this,’ and they’re living in a mansion, they’re telling
you ‘You need to use this,’ and
they’re using whatever they want, they’re telling you ‘You need to believe this, and you need to do this,’ and then
they’re doing whatever they want to do. You’re working, you’re grubbing out a living, trying to have some
dignity in life, and they’re living in fat somewhere, with something with other
people’s money, taking advantage. You
look around the world, and you see people that are ruthless, you see your
tyrants, you see tyranny and so forth, innocent people suffering. And the Psalmist now, he says, ‘Look,
he’s going to be our guide even unto dying, so hear this, and understand this,
all ye people,’ “give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: both low and
high, rich and poor, together.” (verses 1-2) He’s going to be very clear, these first four
verses, he gives us an introduction. “both low and high” you’re at the bottom of the social
strata, I want you to listen, you think you’re on top, I want you to listen,
both “rich and poor, together.” “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the
meditation of my heart shall be of
understanding. I will incline mine ear
to a parable: I will open my dark saying
upon the harp.” (verses3-4) He’s going to prophecy here. There’s something in this song that is to be
sung, that’s to speak to the people that are sitting under this ancient
song.
The Universal Problem: “They That Trust In Their Wealth, Boast
Themselves In The Multitude Of Their Riches”
Verse 5 and 6 kind of give us the
problem. He says this, “Wherefore should I fear in the days of
evil, when the iniquity of my heels
shall compass me about?” (verse 5) I mean, look what’s coming on the world
today. The government is shut down. What does that mean? How far is that going to go [i.e. they’re
having one of their budget arguments, due to the national debt, and increasing
the national debt limit]? Are they
finally going to have to ration things. Is there going to be marshal law? Where’s it going to go? What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen in the Middle
East? [Right now, the civil war in Syria
(2015, fall) has caused a flow of refugees into Europe not seen since World War
II]. What’s going to happen in North
Korea? “Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?” (verse 5) The King
James says “when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about”, the idea
is, “when
the iniquity of my supplanters compass me about” Jacob was a
heal-catcher, supplanter, that’s the idea, ‘the iniquity of my supplanters, those who
would move me out of my place, they compass me about,’ And then
he tells us, ‘Why should I fear the arrogant, the rich?’ “They that trust in their wealth, and boast
themselves in the multitude of their riches;” (verse 6) he says, here’s the
truth about it. Hey, look, guys, you
turn on the TV, I remember when the
Houses of the Rich and Famous was on, remember
that? And everybody sits home, whether
you’re in poverty or whether you’re making a good living, everybody watches the Houses of the Rich and Famous,
everybody gets the Sears Catalogue, whether you’re poor or whether you’re rich,
everybody kinds of wants the same stuff. Of course, the worst thing is, you have the Houses of the Rich and Famous with a guy named Robin Leech
coming into all of them. [laughter] Always kind of struck me. But we consider how to be a have-not. You know, I used to watch sometime and say ‘Look at that bathroom! There’s marble and palm trees, it’s bigger than my bedroom. There’s two
different kinds of tubs and three different kinds of toilets, and four sinks
and stand up showers, I can’t believe it’s a bathroom! Look at that, I ain’t got nothing, just a
sink and a toilet,’ we can do that. [Watch the movie Afghan Luke,
where it accurately depicts 95 percent of all Afghans as not even having indoor
plumbing, let alone toilets. So if you’ve got a sink and toilet, you’re wealthy by Afghan
standards, and we’re not even looking into parts of India here.] He says “They
that trust in their wealth, boast themselves in the
multitude of their riches;” (verse 6) that’s an important idea, of
“trusting in their wealth”.
The Bottom Line: ‘What Does It Profit A Man, If He Gains The Whole World, And Looses His
Own Soul?’
This
is the truth about them, “None of them can by any means redeem his
brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)” (verses 7-8) None
of them can afford the price of a soul. There isn’t any way they can buy a soul, “That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.” (verse 9) they can’t produce that. No matter how
wealthy they are, no matter what they got, here’s the final analysis. Life, snap! is like a dream and it goes by. [I love
what James says in James 3:14, “Whereas
ye know not what shall be on the
morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth, for a little time, and then
vanisheth away.”] That happens to be
the truth. I’d like to have everybody in
this room above 70-years-old stand up, if they can, and say ‘I was a kid yesterday! I was a kid yesterday!’ Every one of them will tell you
that. Life has gone, snap! by like that. And the truth is, when you get to the end of the journey, no matter what
you’ve saved up, no matter what you’ve got in the bank, you can’t pay for a
single soul. You can’t redeem a single
individual, you ain’t got enough to pay for a life that’s gonna perish, it’s
going to be gone, and so is yours. That’s why Jesus says, you know, ‘Look, what does it profit
a man, if he gains the whole world,’ it’s the “cosmos” there, “the whole universe” ‘and
looses his own soul? What shall a man
give in exchange for his soul?’ What Jesus says is, ‘If you gain the entire universe, that’s all
of the gold, all of the rubies, all of diamonds, all of the all of the that you
ever dreamed of, not just on earth, not just in Philly, not just in the United
States, the entire universe, if you gained the entire universe and lost your
own soul, what profit would there be?’ Jesus is saying, ‘Your individual soul is more valuable than
the entire universe. Because
the universe is going to be wrapped up like an old garment, and discarded.’ (cf. Revelation 21:1) Your soul
is eternal. And long after this universe is gone, you’ll still be alive
somewhere. [Comment: now differing parts of the body of Christ differ on that
interpretation. Proverbs and Ezekiel
both state “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life.” Revelation talks about the 2nd death, not eternal life in torment (cf. Revelation 20:6, 14-15). For another Biblical description of what the
soul is, as the Bible defines it, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm and read one of the opening articles at beginning of this file about the
soul.] And no matter how much somebody
grabs out of this world in 30, 40, 60 years, they can’t even redeem a single
life. And we can sit around and say ‘I wish I had that, I wish I had that, and
I’d be happy if I had that.’ No, you
wouldn’t. Because they
ain’t happy. And they got
it. [I tend to be more happy in giving
than receiving, seems to be some kind of spiritual/moral law there I can’t
quite put my finger on, “more blessed to give than receive” I think it
says.] He says, if you think all of the
money in the world couldn’t do that, then how precious, if all the money in the
world couldn’t pay for one soul, how precious is the blood of Jesus that can
pay for every soul? And you have
the blood of Jesus covering you, you have the most
precious substance in the universe as part of your life. It will carry you beyond this world. He will be your guide even unto the
dying. He says here about the rich who
are without Christ, ‘he’s not going to be able to live forever,’ verse 9, ‘and not see
corruption,’ he’s going to rot in the ground, “For he seeth that wise men
die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to
others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all
generations; they call their lands
after their own names.” (verses 10-11) this is how rich people think, “that their houses shall continue for
ever”, you know, you get that kind of perspective like you’re immortal, ‘Yea, I’ve got it made, this is great, I’m
living high, I’m never going to pass,’ you are. He says they think in their houses, they get situated
and they’re going to continue forever, “and
their dwelling places to all generations;” listen, “they call their lands after their own names.” They name cities after themselves, and
towns, and buildings and universities and coliseums, you know, ‘I’m going to live forever,’ you do this
whole thing, Rockefeller Plaza, it’s just going to
live forever. He says they call their
lands by their own names [Fitchburg, after John Fitch, Cutts Island, after some
guy named Cutts both in the 1600s]. “Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.” (verse 12), Rockefeller Plaza, Smackafeller Plaza, just
Rockefeller Plaza, Rhinoceros Plaza, so he’s like a beast that perishes,
there’s no, the idea is what does all that mean in 70 years, in 80 years? It’s gone. Verse 13 he says, “This their way is their folly: yet their
posterity approve their sayings. Selah.” And yet their posterity, that’s the people that are going to sit when
the lawyer reads the will. ‘Yea, you should do that,’ you want to
stay on their good side, because you’re going to sit there when the lawyer
reads the will. It says, “This their way is folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah” ‘What do you think about that?’ Look, “Like
sheep” It says back in verse 10, they’re going to perish, they’re going to leave their wealth to others. It says here, here’s how it goes, it says “Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and
the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty
shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.” (verse 14) in Sheol, in the unseen realm,
in the grave, in darkness. “Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
death shall feed on them,” that doesn’t sound good, does it? And death don’t care
whether it’s a rhino or a Rockefeller.
What’s Our End? What Are Those Who Have Christ In Their Lives Waiting For?
“death shall feed on them; but the upright shall have
dominion over them in the morning;” that’s what we’re waiting for, the morning. It’s coming. The upright are
going to have dominion in the morning. Isn’t that great? That’s a good
bumper-sticker. “the upright shall have dominion in the
morning” in the Resurrection, when it comes (cf. 1st Corinthians
15:49-54, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/corinthians/cor15-16.htm]. What a day that’s going to be, isn’t it? Everybody wakes up, everybody getting out of
there, sitting down at the Wedding Table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [he’s
describing the 1st resurrection to immortality and the Wedding Feast
of the Lamb. For an interesting
prophetic scenario, whether it happens this way is yet to be seen, but log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/Pentecost-Revetion2.htm ]. Just think what our family, our
forever family is going to look like, in heaven [on the Sea of Glass during
this Wedding Feast] when we wake up when the morning comes. The idea is they’re going, all these rich
guys, they’re going down, down, down. You envy, you’re thinking ‘I don’t
have this, I don’t have that,’ look at their end, look what happens,
they’re going to lay in the grave like an animal, death is going to feed on
them. And yet the upright are going to
have dominion over them in the morning. And the wicked it says, “and their beauty
shall consume in Sheol” which in the Hebrew it says “is
their dwelling.” (verse 14c) that’s where they end up dwelling,
is in Sheol, where everything that was admirable about them, rationally, the
carnal man, is eaten away. “But God will redeem my soul from the power
of the grave: for he shall receive
me. Selah.” (verse 15) Literally, ‘God’s going to redeem my soul
from the hand of Sheol, for he shall receive me. And what do you think about that?’ That’s our safety, he’s going to receive us,
you know, the blood of his Son, he’s going to receive us.
Don’t Be Envious Of The Rich, Don’t Fall Into That Trap
“Be not thou
afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;” (verse
16) don’t sit
around, you know, we are so bathed in media, envying people that have something
you don’t, they’re getting something you don’t, they have a bigger boat, you
know, you have a rubber tube, and they have a big boat, they have a Ferrari and
you have a Hyundai, whatever it is. Don’t let that eat you up, don’t sit around, that’s ridiculous. ‘Don’t be afraid, don’t be eaten up when one
is made rich, when the glory of his house increases,’ “for when he dieth he shall carry nothing
away: his glory shall not descend after
him. Though while he lived he blessed
his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.” (verses 17-18) You know, worldly success, ‘oh
yea, this is a great guy,’ men will praise you, but “He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see
light.” (verse 19) I don’t like the way that sounds. I ain’t taking all the money in the world to go there. “they shall never see light.” I’m reminded when Voltaire died, who hated Christians and hated the
Bible, and he mocked the Bible, and he mocked Christians, and he said “In a hundred years this book will be gone,
it will be obsolete.” A hundred
years later, Voltaire’s home was the distribution center for the Geneva Bible,
and he was gone. And on his deathbed
(and he had said ‘Curse the wretch’ and all these things previously in his life), but when he was taking his last
breath, he screamed three times, “More
light! More light! More light!” The nurse that attended his death said she
would never attend the death of a non-believer again. And he was wealthy, he had everything. “He
shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.” (verse 19) “Man that is in honour, and understandeth
not, is like the beasts that perish.”
(verse 20) ‘Man
that’s in honor, and doesn’t understand what’s going on,’ literally the
Hebrew says, “man that’s in honor and can’t discern, is like a beast that perishes.” You live your life thinking you’re something,
thinking you’ve collected all this stuff, that’s what you think, and you’re not
discerning what life is really about, you don’t understand, he says, this guy
dies like a beast. And again, snap! life goes by, it’s gone, that fast. So he’s saying here, ‘I want all the people in the
world to listen to this song, with a harp, and a parable, it’s the Word of God,
understand, this is where the wealthy that are powerful, but arrogant,
tyrannical, this is where they really are, they aren’t really holding onto
anything, they’re passing by quickly. We’re going to have our day in the morning, when it’s getting-up time.
They’re going down, they’re never going to see
light. And they live with all of this
stuff, all of the stuff in their bank accounts and in their homes, and yet if
they don’t discern what life is really about, they perish like a beast.’ And again, how fast does life go
by? How long ago, when we were Hippies,
you know? What happened? [chuckles] We were non-materialists, we were aggravated
with “the Man,” we were free,
dropping out, turning on, somehow time has gone by, now we have mortgages, we
have a house, we need “the Man” to
protect our stuff now, put alarms on our houses. Now instead of acid we need ant-acids [loud
laughter]. Wasn’t long ago when somebody
talked about a hip joint, that was somewhere you
wanted to go and hang out. Now it’s a
body-part you’re getting. Really, how
fast has it changed? I remember when
funky, when I was in high school, funky was cool, funky was a certain type of
music, funky was good. Now if you’re
funky, it’s not good, you’re bad. That’s
all changed. Right? How fast, what’s it all about? How fast it goes, everything changes. It says when you live your life without
discerning, no matter what you collect to yourself, you die like a beast,
you’re gone. God’s children waiting,
discerning, understanding, the morning’s coming he says, the morning is coming. Those that are ungodly, they’re going to
perish.
related links:
For
more about the gift of God for believers, and the Wedding Feast of the Lamb,
see,
http://www.unityinchrist.com/corinthians/cor15-16.htm
and
http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg4page1.htm
and
http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/Pentecost-Revetion2.htm
What
is the soul? For one interpretation see,
http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm
Since
these Psalms were written before Ezekiel’s time, when God added more prophetic
knowledge to his plan of salvation through Ezekiel, the ideas and Bible
teaching about when a soul goes to Sheol, what happens thereafter has somewhat
changed. This is detailed in the short
article about the Matrix. See,
http://www.unityinchrist.com/Does/TheMatrix.htm
Psalm
50:1-23
A
Psalm of Asaph
“The
mighty God, even the LORD,
hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going
down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God
hath shined. Our God shall come, and
shall not keep silence: a fire shall
devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and
to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with
me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall
declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify
against thee: I am God, even thy
God. I will not reprove thee for thy
sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to
have been continually before me. I
will take no bullock out of thy house, nor goats out of thy folds. For every beast
of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills. I know all the fowls of the
mountains: and the wild beasts of the
field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness
thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto
God thanksgiving: and pay thy vows unto
the most High: and call upon me in the
day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and
thou shalt glorify me. But unto the
wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my
statutes, or that thou shouldest take
my covenant in thy mouth? seeing thou hatest
instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been
partaker with adulterers. Thou givest
thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own
mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I
was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be one to deliver. Whoso offereth praise
glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation [lifestyle] aright will I shew the salvation of
God.”
Jesus Is Coming Back, And Will Summon The Whole World To Himself
And
then Psalm 50 says what judgment looks like. And this is a Psalm of Asaph. Now
this is the first of twelve Psalms of Asaph. This is the only one in the Second Book of the Psalms, I think the rest are in the Third Book of Psalms. But this is God’s courtroom now, and there
are some remarkable things here in this Psalm 50. There’s an introduction in the first six verses,
it says, “The mighty God, even the LORD,
hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going
down thereof. Out of Zion, the
perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall
be very tempestuous round about him. He
shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his
people. Gather my saints together unto
me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his
righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.” (verses 1-6) ‘What do you think about that?’ You know,
that’s a pretty remarkable statement. It’s emphatic, the first set of words are only used one other place in
the Book of Joshua, in all the Old Testament. The King James says “The mighty
God, even the LORD,” the Hebrew says, “El,
Elohim, Yahweh,” “God, the Might God,
Jehovah.” It’s emphatic, there’s
no doubt about who the Psalmist is speaking of here. And it says, King James, “hath spoken, and called”, the Hebrew says, “he speaks, and he summons from
the rising of the sun, from the east to the west, from one end of the heavens
to the other, he does speak.” He’s
going to say, look over in verse 21, he says, “These things” he’s rebuking the wicked, “These things hast thou done,
and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in
order before thine eyes.” ‘That
was because I kept silent.’ He’s
been silent for 2,000 years. He ain’t
going to stay that way. He has been
silent for 2,000 years, but it says he’s going to roar out of Zion. The voice of the LORD is going to be raised. First thing he’s going to do is descend with
a shout, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, he’s not going to
stay quiet, and we’re going to be out of here. ‘The mighty God, even LORD, he speaks, and he summons all
of the earth, from one end of heaven to the other, from the east, from the
rising of the sun, all the way to the going down to the west,’ “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God
hath shined.” (verse 2) We talked a little bit about that before, the
light is going to shine from Jerusalem, out of Zion, his glory is going to go forth. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep
silence: a fire shall devour before him,
and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.” (verse 3) He says ‘You’ve done the things you’ve
done because I did keep silent, but I am coming, I do speak, I do summon, I’m
bringing all the earth before me, from the east to the west,’ and he
says, ‘I’m coming, and I’m not going to keep silent,’ it says, “a fire shall devour before him, and it
shall be very tempestuous round about him.” What an interesting picture [we see a similar picture in Joel
2]. “He
shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his
people.” (verse 4) “Gather my saints together unto me;” “my holy ones” Who are they? “those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (verse 5) That’s
us, that’s us. We’ve made a covenant with him by sacrifice, the blood of his Son, the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it says he’s going to call from the heavens and he’s going to gather
his saints to himself, “Gather my saints
together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his
righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.” (verses 5-6) He’s judge, he’s jury, he’s our
lawyer, he’s everything in the courtroom, he doesn’t
need any help, “for God is judge himself. Selah.” ‘and what do you think about that.’ I’m glad of that, I’m glad of that. Because he’s the God who calls things that
are not as though they were. And because
he sees the end from the beginning, he tells me I’m justified, sanctified and
glorified. Only a God who sees things
that are not as though they were can say that to me. What do I think about that? I think that’s good. I like that.
God Now
Speaks To Two Kinds Of Worshippers
God First
Speaks To The Moralist, The Professing Believer
“Hear, O my
people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or
thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. I will take no
bullock out of thy house, nor he
goats out of thy folds. For every beast
of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills. I know all the fowls of the
mountains: and the wild beasts of the
field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness
thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto
God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: and call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me.” (verses 7-15) Now,
he’s going to speak here, look in verse
7, “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and
I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.” He’s
going to speak to two groups of people here. From verse 7 down to verse 15, he’s speaking to the moralist, the
rationalist, the formalist, the religious person. And then verses 16 to down to 21 he speaks to
the hypocrite, the rebel. So he speaks
first to the religious, then to the rebellious, he speaks to the formalist,
then he speaks to the hypocrite. And
these are worshippers, two kinds of “quote, unquote” worshippers. And he has things to say to them, remarkable,
as we look, these are professing, we see that, professing worshippers, they’re
exposed. He says, “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or
thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.” (verses 7-8) I mean, he
had told them to sacrifice, where they had burnt offerings, “to have been
continually before me”, he said ‘that’s not my problem.’ He says, “I
will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” (verses 9-10) He’s saying, ‘Look,
I don’t need anything, you think that I need something from you? you’re going to give
me something?’ In the beginning
of Isaiah, he said “You’re new moons, your appointed feasts, my soul hateth, they are a
trouble unto me, I am wearied to bear them, when you spread forth your hands I
will hide mine eyes from you, yea, when you make up many prayers, I will not
hear, for your hands are full of blood.” You know, he says, ‘I don’t care that you’re keeping all the
feasts, that’s all religious stuff, where’s your heart?’ He says, ‘I’m not going to reprove you
because you’ve made sacrifices and burnt offerings, that’s prescribed in his Word, and they’re to continue before me.’ He said, ‘But I’m not going to take a bull
out of your house, I don’t need anything from you, nor any he-goats out of your
folds,’ “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills. I know all the fowls of the
mountains: and the wild beasts of the
field are mine.” (verses 10-11) He said, “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.” (verse 12) ‘I wouldn’t tell you, you’re giving me these sacrifices and the
fellowship offerings, you’re doing all this religious stuff, offering to me,
thinking you’re going to appease me, we’re going to share an offering.’ He said, ‘I own all the cattle on the
hills, all the wild birds in the wilderness, I know every wild animal, all of
it is mine, I don’t need anything from you. You think if I was hungry I would come to you, and say ‘I work for food
or something, do you have anything to eat?’ “For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I
eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” (verse 13) ‘You think I’m looking for a steak? What are you thinking?’ “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: and call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me.” (verses 14-15) ‘I want what’s in your heart, I
don’t want all this religious stuff, religious trappings,’ “and call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me.” Look, ok, here’s one side of
the coin. And this is really kind of the
first Table of the Law that deals with our relationship with God. He says, ‘What do you think I want, religious stuff? You think I’m impressed
because you go to church Sunday morning [or on the Sabbath], Sunday might,
Monday night, Tuesday morning, Wednesday night, all this religious stuff, you
think that’s what I want? What’s the
sense of sitting here if I don’t have your heart? I don’t have your life. What’s the sense calling me LORD, and not doing the things that
I say?’ What’s the sense of saying the word Lord, and
serving yourself? He’s talking to
religious people. Not to us, to
religious people. ‘You do all this stuff.’ Hey look, how many aunts, uncles,
grandparents, parents, relatives do we have, and
they’re members of denominations, or they do religious stuff, and they can’t
stand you? They let you say “grace,” on
Thanksgiving, you know, on Christmas, ‘Let
the nut say grace, that’s what they get, fifteen minutes a year.’ And you’re not supposed to be saying grace, ‘Lord, judge the wicked, those who don’t
turn to you Lord, but if we turn to you, even right here around the turkey,
we’re going to be forgiven and go to heaven,’ you know, sometimes we earn
some of that, don’t we. And they can’t
stand the idea, and I remember when I first got saved, ‘Don’t sing those songs around here, stop humming! What are you doing with that
stupid smile, I’m a Christian, what are you doing walking around here smiling
all the time, I’m a Christian too,’ and some of my relatives were so
religious when I got saved, because I was a lunatic before I got saved. ‘Then
you come around here all happy, and you think, what are you trying to tell us?’ Because they knew [before he got saved] I was
taking drugs, ‘You’re telling us you and
all your weirdo friends now, if you turn to Jesus, and now you’re going to
heaven, and we’ve been in the Church for years, put the offering envelopes in,
helped put the carpet in the church, helped put up the stained glass windows,
you’re trying to tell us, when we did all that, you and your weirdo druggy
friends are going to heaven, and we’re not!?’ ‘Ya, ya, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. You got it, you
finally got it, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.’ You know that, right? You know that experience. Here the LORD’s challenging the
religious. Because
they’re not trusting him. You
know, it’s like the last Psalm, he’s challenging the wealthy, because, there
isn’t anything inherently evil about wealth, not in that Psalm and not in the
Scripture, anywhere. It’s trusting
uncertain riches that God condemns. Wealth doesn’t make somebody evil any more than poverty makes them
righteous. But it’s how we relate to the
world around us. And here the LORD, he says, ‘I’m going to speak, I’ve been
quiet for thousands of years, I’m getting ready to let it out. You have to understand something, this is how
I feel about the religious, where there’s religion and no relationship,
religion and no reality.’ He
said, ‘I don’t need your sacrifices, if I was hungry do you think I’d come to
you? Think I want to eat, that’s the
problem here?’ He says, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy
vows unto the most High: and call upon
me in the day of trouble: I will deliver
thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” (verses 15-16) ‘Bring your heart, pay your vows to the most
High, call upon me, he says, in the day of trouble, that’s what I want, I want
reality,’ and he says, “and I
will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
Now God
Speaks To The Hypocrite And The Rebel
And
then he says, “But unto the wicked God
saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant
in thy mouth? (verse 16) This is another kind of worshipper, listen,
he’s saying now to the wicked, ‘Who do you think you are, saying you’re one
of mine?’ Saying, ‘Oh, I’m a believer, I believe in God, I’m
in God’s covenant, I do this, I do that.’ Because, all through the Bible, religion,
belief and morality go hand in hand, you cannot separate them. You can’t say ‘Oh I believe,’ and then live in open sin. Those two things don’t go together anywhere
in the Bible. If you’re living on the
horizontal in sin, it’s because the vertical is wrong in your life. When the vertical gets right, it floods over
into the horizontal. And here he’s going
to deal with that, he’s going to say, he’s saying, ‘What do you have to do with
declaring my statutes? Or that you
should take my covenant in your mouth?’ “Seeing
thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.” (verse 17) ‘You don’t care about my Word.’ How many people do we know like that. Now look, we don’t want to be Pharisees, but
claiming to be a Christian, someone saying ‘I
can be a Christian and live this way,’ we were just talking about a
recording artist, ‘I’m going to live
however I want to live, but I believe in Jesus.’ Well he says here, ‘Why are you talking about my covenant, why’s that coming out of your mouth? seeing you hate instruction, and you cast my words behind
you, you take the Word of God and throw it over your shoulder.’ “When thou sawest a thief, then thou
consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.” (verse 18) ‘You consented with him, you weren’t having any problem with that. You’ve been partaker with adulterers.’ “Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy
tongue frameth deceit.” (verse 19) Where’s the
behaviour consistent with belief? This
is God’s Word. “Thou sittest and speakest
against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.” (verse 20) How
often, when somebody’s living in rebellion, living in hypocrisy, living in sin,
they love to tear at the Church and tear at believers and tear at people that
are walking with Jesus. ‘You
speak against your brother, you slander your own
mother’s son.’ He says, “These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as
thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.” (verse 21) And the silence of God, how often is it
misinterpreted? ‘I’m going to take my covenant, and the things of my Word that you cast behind
your back, I’m going to set them all in order before your eyes.’ You know, it says this in
Ecclesiastes, it helps us understand some of this a bit. It says “Because sentence against and evil work is
not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in
them to do evil.” We’re studying
Romans right now in the school. Romans says “Do
you despise the riches of God’s goodness and his forbearance and his
longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to
repentance? But after thy hardness and
impotent heart, you are treasuring up to yourself wrath against the day of
wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” Peter would say this, “The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2nd Peter 3:9) God says, ‘Look,
this is the mistake that people make when I keep silent. They think that’s approval or endorsement.’ And God says ‘It’s my longsuffering, my
goodness,’ if you’re here tonight, and you’re living in deliberate sin,
that you know that, and you’re telling the story ‘Hey, man, God understands.’ He does understand. I know that,
because I can see his Son nailed to the cross, he understands perfectly, that
we need forgiveness, he does understand. But he doesn’t approve. It says
he’s longsuffering, he waits, he leaves time for repentance, he doesn’t want to move in judgment. But
he’s saying here, ‘Ultimately I’m going to speak. You’ve done the things you’ve done because I’ve kept silent, and you’ve
misinterpreted that. You’ve taken my
Word, and you’ve thrown it behind your back, you’ve pushed my statutes aside,
you don’t care what I’ve said, and then you’re rapping about my covenant like
you’re a religious person,’ he said, ‘this has only happened because
I’ve kept silent, you thought I was one like yourself.’ And when a human being keeps quiet, usually
they don’t have nothing against what you’re doing, ‘But I will reprove thee, I’m
going to set all this in order before your eyes,’ verses 22 and 23 kind
of sum it up, listen, “Now consider
this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” (verse 22) And look, in the Hebrew, understand,
forgetting God is this, it’s not like Sunday you’re going to wake up, ‘You know, it’s strange, I feel like I’m
supposed to be somewhere, I’m supposed to be doing something. I mean, what did we used to do on Sunday
mornings? Church, I think church, tell me again what that was all about.’ No, we don’t forget God like that. ‘No,
ya I forgot God, God, I forgot.’ The
word “forget” in the Hebrew means “to put to the side.” He’s still on the mantle, he’s no longer in
the center, he’s a side issue now. ‘Yea,
I’m a Christian,’ but God’s pushed to the side. That’s what it’s talking about. “Now
consider this, ye that forget God,” and here’s why, “lest” you should circle
that word, “lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” (verse 22) that’s a good reason
to remember. “Consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” and he goes back, really the whole Psalm here, “Whoso
offereth praise glorifieth me: and to
him that ordereth his conversation
[lifestyle, conduct] aright will I
shew the salvation of God.” (verse 23) ‘If
you’re going to be religious, they glorify me,’ that’s the way the
first half of the Law [the Ten Commandments] should work. [Comment: now here’s where this get’s sticky for the greater Body of Christ, an
integral part of the first four of the Ten Commandments is the Sabbath
Command. Has the Sabbath command, the 4th Commandment, been abrogated for Christians? This article goes into that question, which I had to reprove for myself,
so this is not being judgmental toward others. see, http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/Has%20the%20Sabbath%20Been%20Abrogated.htm] “Whoso
offereth praise glorifieth me: and to
him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of
God.” King James “ordereth his conversation” King James says “conversation” ‘his
way,” that’s “behavior” [i.e. lifestyle,
conduct], that’s the second half (of the Ten Commandments), you can’t glorify
God and worship him and not bring your life in line. Don’t let anybody tell you that. Because anybody that does that, has their own god, and their own version of the Bible, it isn’t the God of
heaven, and it isn’t the God who gives us his Word. Because if you honour him
and you worship him, your life falls in line with that. Jesus said ‘Why call me Lord, and do not the
things I say?’ So he says here, “Whoso offereth praise” whoever’s doing
that, God said, ‘is glorifying me.’ “And to him that ordereth his way,” “brings his life
aright,” he says, where it should be, “I will shew the salvation of God.” ‘The person who worships me, and
does that genuinely,’ he says, ‘he’s glorifying me, and the person then
that brings his life aright, the way he or she lives into the right place,’ he says, ‘I will reveal to him or her the salvation of God.’
In
Closing
Great songs (Psalms 48, 49,
50). Jesus is coming, he said it long ago, he’s going to set up his Kingdom. What do you think about that (i.e.
Selah)? Walk around Zion, look at this nation, born in a day. Where did they come from? Two
things that set you and I aside from every generation
that’s ever lived is this, two things. Number one, the rebirth of the nation of Israel. Both the New and Old Testament anticipate the
Jewish people back in the land, a stumblingblock to all of the nations of the
world. And the
anti-christ coming to Jerusalem to seat himself in the temple. The miracle as it were in our lifetime is the
rebirth of a nation that had disappeared for 2,000 years. That sets us aside from every generation
that’s ever lived. The second thing is, weapons of mass-destruction. Man has used every weapon he’s ever
built. This is the first time, and Jesus
said ‘If
I didn’t return when I did, there would be no flesh left alive on the planet.’ This is the first generation [since August 6,
1945] that has that potential. During
the Civil War, muskets, everybody wasn’t going to die, around the whole planet. World War I it wasn’t going to happen. Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed our
world. [To view our history from a
US/Russian Cold War perspective, and the nuclear arms race, see my new
history-research article at: http://www.unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans1.htm] And now for the first time we have the
potential to annihilate ourselves. That
sets us aside from every generation. God’s going to come, he’s going to do what he
said. He don’t want you sitting around
being one of the have-nots, only like Eor, ‘I
can’t believe I don’t have that bathroom, with the palm trees, I can’t believe
I don’t have what they have. I can’t
believe Robin Leech gets to go to the bathroom there and I don’t.’ He’s says that’s not the way, being envious of
the rich, this is all going to disappear, it’s all going to fall apart, people
who live that way are going to die like beasts, it’s all they’re going to
have. And then in Psalm 50 he says ‘Because
judgment’s going to come, I’m going to rise up again, I’ve been quiet for 2,000
years, I’m coming, I’m going to speak, I’m going to shake the world. And people who are false worshippers need to
do this, they need to take note and not kid themselves, I don’t want religious
stuff, I want your heart. I don’t want
you playing church, I want a relationship with you, I want you to know me. And I don’t want
anybody saying that I’m their God, and they’re my disciple or they’re a
believer, and they’re living however they want to live in sin, because that
does not jibe, it doesn’t go together. And you’ve only acted like that because I kept quiet. When I start to speak, and the world shakes,
you’re going to fall right in line.’ Now look, how many prodigals are there, how many guys I hear saying, ‘Pornography, I can’t get victory, I can’t
get victory, oh I can’t get victory.’ If a nuclear bomb goes off in New York City, you’re going to get victory
in one day. ‘I’m back, I got victory now,’ and the world starts shaking. Because when
there’s a fear of God, and there’s a reverence, and there’s a reality, our
hearts get in line. It’s going to
happen. The world starts to fall apart,
wonderfully, I believe we’re going to see a multitude of prodigals come back,
and our arms need to be open, there shouldn’t be a
judgmental attitude when they return. Let’s embrace them, let’s welcome them, let’s bring them all, let them
bring all their unsaved friends with them and load the church up. Because when there’s too many of them out
there, and they know too much, we pray for them on Sunday nights, when the
world starts to fall apart they’re not going to become Buddhists, they’re not
going to become Harikrishna’s, they didn’t forget God, they pushed him to the
side. These conditions are going to
bring him right back to the middle again, right back to where he belongs. He’s coming, it’s going to happen. [Comment: the innumerable multitude that gets saved during the Tribulation is a
prime example of what the end result of all our evangelistic efforts will
bring, that haven’t done much up to this time. That information is being sown into their minds, and when they see these
things come to pass, they’ll come to Jesus as well. Log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation4-10.html and read about the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude that get
saved. Those people are a direct result
of what we sow in evangelism now, right now. So how important are our evangelistic efforts, folks?] This evening, he wants our hearts. He wants us to be in covenant with him
through sacrifice, not through behaviour, through sacrifice. Everything is born out of that place. Let’s stand. Let’s pray…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Psalms
48:1-14, Psalm 49:1-20 and Psalm 50:1-23, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary
Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]
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