Give Thanks to the God of History Psalm 75 112813MTg
My guess is that we say it often: "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever." I wonder if we always think about what we're saying, though. Usually we think of thanking God for stuff: like food, clothing, shelter and all the other physical perks he gives us in life. And well we should thank him for those things. We might even think to thank him for people in our lives, like spouse, children, family, friends, fellow believers at church, good neighbors and the like. We might even think to thank him for the weather, our government, police and fire protection and the like. And then there are his spiritual blessings: forgiveness of sins in Jesus and the eternal life we have in him. But what about thanking God for bringing all of this together: what he does in the material world and how he does that to carry out his saving purposes for us, his church? That's what our psalm today invites us to do.
Give Thanks to the God of History
1. He controls the events of this world.
2. He executes divine justice.
1. Most historians will tell you history is "didactic," that is, it teaches us a lesson. But few will admit that there is a divine author of history. That's why Christians often speak of history as HIStory, that is, God's story. THAT'S why we give thanks go the God of history: He controls the events of this world.
The psalmist makes a big point of the fact that God controls the rise and fall of nations: 6 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. 7 But it is God who judges:He brings one down, he exalts another. That's a summary of history, isn't it? People THINK they're putting one leader or one form of government into power. But ultimately it's God who does it. Egypt, once a world power, but no longer. The same with Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Even in our modern world, with Nazi Germany, Russia and Socialist Communism. Paul says,The authorities that exist have been established by God (Ro 13:2).
To what end and for what purpose does God raise up and bring down these authorities? He does it to glorify his holy Name. The psalmist says, We give thanks to you, O God,we give thanks, for your Name is near;men tell of your wonderful deeds. 2 You say, "I choose the appointed time;it is I who judge uprightly.God's "Name" isn't just "God," nor is it just the other terms that refer to him like "Lord," "Mighty One," "Savior," and the like. God's "Name" is his reputation, everything he is and does as the almighty Savior-God. So he raises up and deposes powers and systems to carry out his saving plan. He used Egypt to incubate his chosen nation Israel. He used Assyria to destroy Israel's rebellious Northern Kingdom, and to chastise those in the South. So with the Babylonians and the captivity God's people endured under them. Persia was the liberator, Greece provided the language for God's New Testament revelation, the Romans and their empire provided the relative peace into which the Savior could arrive and his gospel could be disseminated throughout the world. That's why we're told, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son...." (Ga 4:4). God did all those things at the time he chose for the purpose of his salvation plan.
Even when things in the world seem out of control, God is still at work. Whether it's through natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados and tsunamis, or through terrorist attacks, wars, and moral decline, God "shakes people up," us included. Yet, he is still in control and holds everything together. God himself speaks in our psalm: 3 When the earth and all its people quake,it is I who hold its pillars firm. In God, all things move and have their being until he decides otherwise. He controls everything for his purposes.
God hasn't stopped doing this. Here's the "didactic" part. Our nation, too, exists for a purpose. Surely our freedom is most vital, because it enables us to worship God and proclaim the Savior's gospel without recrimination or restriction. We are a "melting pot" of peoples from all over the world who desire this freedom. This enables us to share the Savior with people we wouldn't otherwise meet, unless we went to foreign lands and climes. God brings them to us. They're our coworkers and our neighbors and the families in our school and around our church. Can we not see the mission field? Isn't this part of God's plan?
And the same is true of us personally. We, too, are here for a purpose. Jesus himself said what it is: Now this is eternal life : that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:3). If we already know him, our purpose in life is to speak and live so that others may know him and be saved as well. He works out everything in our lives for his saving purposes, as he says: We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Ro 8:28). What's our response to this, knowing that God controls everything to the end that we and many others enter heaven? Remember, the psalmist said: We give thanks to you, O God,we give thanks, for your Name is near;men tell of your wonderful deeds. We thank him; we praise him to others so they can also believe in him.
2. So we give thanks to the God of history who guides the events of this world for his saving purposes. But we also thank him because, in doing so, He executes divine justice.
God warns the wicked about their sin and rebellion. He tells them he will put up with them only so long. He does this in his law written in every person's heart, testified to by the voice of their conscience. Yet, because of sin, people do what they want. God warns: 4 To the arrogant I say, 'Boast no more,'and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns. 5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;do not speak with outstretched neck.'" "Horns," of course, are a symbol of strength. Think of the power symbolized by a ten point buck. Think of people shaking their fists at God, craning their neck and telling him off. God says, don't do it! There will be judgment, whether for a nation, a culture, or an individual.
God may carry out that judgment in this world, as in deposing nations, cultures and societies that no longer serve his purposes, as we already heard. His ultimate judgment against those who rebel against him will come at the end of time, on Judgment Day. The psalmist describes it as drinking a cup of poison: 8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices;he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs. Of course, no one will escape God's judgment. Even those long dead and in their graves from eons past will have to face him and his judgment.
What does the psalmist say is the appropriate response to this? 9 As for me, I will declare this forever;I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. 10 I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. We can probably presume the psalmist is praising the God of Jacob, the God of justice and forgiveness, for saying, "I will cut off the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up."
Our first response might be to echo what the psalmist says, "Yea, God, you give it to them. Give 'em what they've got coming to them." Until we remember what we've got coming to us because of our sin. Do we deserve to exist as a nation if we turn aside from God and his will over and over again? Doesn't God have good reason to knock us off of our pedestal when you consider how our wonderful freedom is also a license to sin? For example, are we free to kill unborn life, redefine marriage, tolerate what God says is wrong and sinful? Whether he uses another nation or society, or his wrath on the Last Day, we deserve his judgment. What about us as a church or a Synod if apathy and laziness characterize the way we go about God's work? What about us as individuals when we shake our fists at God and presume to tell him how to run the world and our lives? We deserve his punishment just like every other sinner who roamed this planet.
But remember, we're dealing with the God of Jacob. He DID execute his justice--when Jesus died on the cross. He punished him for a world of sinners, sinful nations and rebellious societies. He credits the world with the righteousness of Jesus, his Son. Those who believe in him he has declared righteous or hold. THEIR horns will be lifted high on the Last Day. And that's you, and that's me, through faith in Jesus. And that's what we have most to be thankful for today. That's why WE can praise the God of Jacob, our Savior.
So, take inventory of your blessings today: the stuff and the people in your life, farms and factories, government andschools, our beautiful world and its environment. God uses all of this in support of his spiritual purpose for us, knowing Jesus as our Savior and following him to the end. Give thanks to the God of history because he controls the events of this world and he executes divine justice.We're part of HIStory. Because of Jesus, we are his and our lives are safe in his hands now and forever. And for that we can say and mean it:
"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endures forever." Amen.
Psalm 75
Give Thanks to the God of History
1. He controls the events of this world.
2. He executes divine justice.
6 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. 7 But it is God who judges:He brings one down, he exalts another.
The authorities that exist have been established by God (Ro 13:2).
We give thanks to you, O God,we give thanks, for your Name is near;men tell of your wonderful deeds. 2 You say, "I choose the appointed time;it is I who judge uprightly.
"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son...." (Ga 4:4).
3 When the earth and all its people quake,it is I who hold its pillars firm.
Now this is eternal life : that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:3).
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Ro 8:28).
We give thanks to you, O God,we give thanks, for your Name is near;men tell of your wonderful deeds.
4 To the arrogant I say, 'Boast no more,'and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns. 5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;do not speak with outstretched neck.'"
8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices;he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.
9 As for me, I will declare this forever;I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. 10 I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.