SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). God’s Powerful Voice (vs 1-2):
(2). God’s Power in Action (vs 3-9):
(3). God’s Power Enthroned (vs 10-11)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• An elderly gentlemen went in for his annual physical exam.
• The doctor said, "You're in incredible shape. How old are you again?"
• The man replied, "I am 84."
• The doctor exclaimed,
• "Wow, 84. How do you stay so healthy? You look like a 60 year old."
• So the man explained, "Well, my wife and I made a pact when we got married;
• That whenever she got mad she would go into the kitchen and cool off;
• And I would go outside and take a walk round the block!”
• So the doctor asked: "What does that have to do with it?"
• The man sighed, "Well, I guess I've lived an outdoor life."
• TRANSITION: David the writer of this Psalm;
• Was a man who “lived an outdoor life!"
• He was an outdoorsman who appreciated nature;
• And the open-air lifestyle he lived helped him to appreciate his creator.
• It may well be that David was out in the countryside;
• When he was caught up in a ferocious storm.
Ill:
• Thunderstorms are among nature’s most awesome displays of his power.
• •Thunder is the sound caused by lightning.
• The intense heat from lightning causes the surrounding air to rapidly expand;
• And create a sonic wave that you hear as thunder.
• This huge electrical discharge which results in the fireworks display in the skies;
• Is spectacular and sometimes frightening.
• Many people suffer from ‘Astraphobia’ which is the fear of thunder and lightning.
• Notice that David’s thoughts did not turn to fear… but to faith.
• He looked beyond the thunderstorm and saw it as an illustration of God’s power.
(1). God’s Powerful Voice (vs 1-2):
“Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name;
worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness”.
Ill:
• There is a great Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown says:
• "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ’Where have I gone wrong?’
• Then a voice says to me, ’This is going to take more than one night.’"
• TRANSITION: In this psalm David talks about the voice of the Lord;
• In fact that phrase; “The voice of the Lord” occurs seven times;
• i.e. verse 3: “The voice of the LORD is over the waters”
• i.e. Twice in verse4: “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.”
• i.e. verse 5: “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars”
• i.e. verse 7: “The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning”
• i.e. verse 8: “The voice of the LORD shakes the desert”
• i.e. verse 9: “The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare”
• Now obviously;
• David did not literally believe that the thunder was God speaking.
• Remember this psalm is expressive poetical literature;
• He simply saw the thunder as a picture showing us the power of God’s voice.
Ill:
• Many Bible commentators think this expression “The voice of the Lord”;
• Is David looking back to creation (Genesis chapter 1);
• i.e. In Geneses chapter 1 we read that on ten occasions God speaks;
• (The first 10 commandments of God are not Exodus chapter 20 but Genesis chapter 1!)
• (Genesis chapter 1 verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, & 29)
• God speaks, he instructs, he commands;
• And his power is revealed, it is visibly manifested.
• It may well be that David casts his mind back to the voice of God at work in creation;
• And this helped him to magnify the sovereignty of God and the power of God.
• He looked beyond the thunderstorm and saw it as an illustration of God’s supremacy.
Now this psalm begins with a series of requests:
• Notice in verse 1:
• David encourages all the angelic creatures (“heavenly beings”) to worship God.
Questions:
• Why invoke angels and call upon them to praise God?
• Isn’t that there job, their role in life?
• Aren’t they employed in doing that constantly?
Answer: Quote: James Montgomery Boice:
“Why does David call on the angels then? As soon as we think of this poetically the reason is obvious. It is because he feels that his praise and that of other human beings is not adequate. David is overwhelmed with the majesty of God revealed in the storm that he has witnessed and is now going to describe. He feels that he needs help praising God properly. To praise God adequately the entire created order must join in, and even then sufficient praise will be lacking”.
In verse 1-2 David gives us some insights into worshipping God:
• He gives the angels (and us) various reasons why we should worship God.
• Now giving reasons to worship is always a good idea!
Ill:
• If I said to you; “Everybody laugh!”
• Some of you out of politeness would put on a false laughter to co-operate.
• But actually true laughter cannot be manufactured!
• If I want you to laugh I need to tell you something funny.
• TRANSITION: Worship does not just happen, you don’t just turn it on;
• If you want to help people to worship then show them a reason why!
• One of the reasons we sing hymns & songs is for this very reason:
• They expand our appreciation of who God is and what God has done for us:
• i.e. “Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven who like thee His praise should sing?
David in verses 1-2 gives us some insights on worship:
• FIRST: He demands us to ‘Ascribe’ glory to him;
• He makes that appeal three times in these two verses.
• And in doing this he is drawing our attention to what God is like:
• Verse 1: He is a God of “glory and strength.”
• Verse 2: He is a God of “holiness”.
• David reminds us that God is worthy of praise, not just for what he has done;
• But for who he is - He is our creator – so twice he says:
• Verse 1b: “..ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”
• Verse 2a: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name”
• David is reminding human beings that what the angels do naturally and consistently;
• We must learn to do habitually!
• The angels worship God and obey his will perfectly;
• We too must learn to ‘bow down’ and submit our lives to his will!
• SECOND: David wants us to worship God for he is;
• So in verse 2 he brings to our attention some of God’s characteristics:
• He is a God of “holiness”.
• So he exhorts us to: “Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.”
Note:
• There is no other characteristic of God;
• That gets the emphasis than His holiness does.
• e.g. We are never told in scripture that God is; “Wise, wise, wise”,
• e.g. And we are never told that God is; “Strong, strong, strong”,
• e.g. And we are never told that God is “Faithful, faithful, faithful”,
• e.g. We are not even told that God is: “Love, love, love!”
• There is only one attribute of God that is repeated again and again and again,
• That is his holiness!
e.g. In Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1-3:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.””
e.g. In Revelation chapter 4 verse 8 (describing the throne of heaven):
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”
• In these two passages the holiness of God is repeated three times.
• Now repeating a word in Hebrew is to emphasize something.
• ill: it is kind of like you using a highlighter to give emphasis to something.
• So in verse 2 the psalmist encourages the angelic beings (and us) to:
• Worship God for who he is: “Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.”
Ill:
• Before the days of modern navigational aids;
• Traveller made the Atlantic crossing in boats equipped with two compasses.
• One was fixed to the deck where the man at the wheel could see it.
• The other compass was fastened up on one of the masts,
• And often a sailor would be seen climbing up to inspect it.
• One day a passenger asked the captain:
• “Why do you have two compasses?”
• The captain replied:
• “This is an iron vessel, and the compass on the deck is often affected by its surroundings.
• Such is not the case with the compass at the masthead;
• That one is above the influence. We steer by the compass above.”
• TRANSITION: I think the psalmist is echoing that idea;
• With human eyes tainted by sin our worship is flawed.
• So in verse 2 we are encouraged to join with the angelic beings above;
• And to steer, to look, to worship from that perspective:
• To: “Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.”
(2). God’s Power in Action (vs 3-9):
• The bulk of this psalm illustrates the power of God;
• By describing the movement of a storm.
Ill:
• Nearly 1,800 thunderstorms are happening at any moment around the world.
• That's 16 million a year!
• ill: Scientific studies suggest;
• That the chances of an individual getting struck by lightning is 1 in 600,000.
• ill: A typical thunderstorm is 15 miles in diameter and lasts an average of 30 minutes.
• This storm appears to be much bigger and wider.
Note:
• The bulk of this psalm illustrates the power of God;
• By describing in verse 3-8 the movement of a storm.
• You can mark the movement of the storm as it travels the length of the country;
• In three parts.
• Part 1: verses 3-4: The storm starts somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea.
• Before coming ashore in full fury.
“The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The LORD thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.”
• Part 2: verses 5-7: The storm strikes;
• It moves eastwards to the Lebanon mountain range in the northern part of Israel.
“The voice of the LORD splits the mighty cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with bolts of lightning.”
Ill:
• The Lebanon range was about 10,000 feet above sea level;
• And the Canaanites believed it was the home of their gods.
• It was famous for its cedar forests which were the grandest of forest trees;
• The great cedars of Lebanon were an important symbol of strength in the ancient world.
• But the thunder of God broke even those stalwart trees.
• I like the poetic language he uses;
• These mature strong trees ‘skip like a little calf’ at the sound of thunder.
• Verse 6: the storm continued to move eastward overland to Mount Hermon.
• (‘Sirion’ was the Phoenician name for Mount Hermon)
• Part 3: verses 8-9:
“The voice of the LORD makes the barren wilderness quake;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
• These verses tell us that at Mount Hermon;
• The storm changes direction and moves south;
• It travels two hundred miles down to Kadesh in the southern desert country.
• And there it dispersed.
• But before it disperses it again wreaks its havoc.
• i.e. verse 9: Even the mighty oak tree lays twisted on the ground;
• As if it was a discarded piece of paper.
• i.e. verse 9: When the storm sweeps over the forest;
• The trees are flattened as if they were 10pins in a bowling alley
I like the end of verse 9:
• It is as if David says; you can’t resist it so enjoy!
• Get along to God’s temple and praise him!
• “And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’”
Quote: Chris Tomlin song:
“From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to it's light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
(3). God’s Power Enthroned (vs 10-11)
“The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King for ever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.”
• The earth and the people have been shaken up.
• It has been traumatic on earth;
• All around is the evidence of that in the aftermath of storm damage.
• But in contrast to earth – heaven is calm!
• God has not been shaken up, he has not been fearful or panicking.
• So David draws our attention to a God who is enthroned.
• He is the one in total control;
• Nature is his tool and not his master.
• The psalmist knows that God has more enough power to control the elements;
• Note: 18 times in these 11 verses, the title used for God is “Lord”;
• And that means he is Lord of heaven and earth, Lord of all!
So to this psalm concludes with God blessing his people:
• It is a twofold blessing:
• God gives to us “strength” and he gives to us “peace”.
• Strength to cope in the storms of life;
• His peace is our legacy - when after the storm the calm appears.
Ill:
• A contest a held to determine who could represent peace through painting.
• Three finalist were determined and a crowd of art enthusiasts,
• Were used to declare the winner.
• The first painting was unveiled to reveal a portrait of a peace valley,
• With a quiet sunset in the background.
• Applause rand through the room.
• The second was unveiled to show a portrait of tranquil waters of a seashore,
• With the soft glow of a lighthouse.
• Applause, once again.
• When the final entry was unveiled, there was a collective gasp in the room,
• Because this painting was of a dark, threatening sky.
• Rain poured down upon a sharp cliff with one straggly old tree jutting from.
• However, from an elbow on the branch of that tree,
• Could be seen a mother bird sitting atop her nest,
• Sheltering her baby birds from the storm.
• Once the audience realize this detail in the picture,
• A winner was chosen: this third painting.
Peace in the midst of the storm!
