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Psalm 111
111:1 1 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
[1] 111:1
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Hey, everybody. You all doing alright? Tired from Thanksgiving and family, traveling, and all of those things. Excellent. That's the kind of, captive audience I want.
Jeffrey Heine:So, yeah. Well, like Joel said, this is the first Sunday in Advent. And, I want to say a couple of things about the season of Advent, kind of the aim of Advent and what we're what we're striving for, what we're seeking after during this time as a church family. And then we're gonna look together at Psalm 111. So Advent started, around the 4th century when there is this effort to kind of for the church to find this rhythm, this rhythm of of how we would walk through the scriptures, how we walk through the life of Jesus, how we would walk through God and his people, and how we would better understand and and walk through the truth of the scriptures, and ultimately the aim of worshiping God.
Jeffrey Heine:And so this actually marks the beginning of the church calendar. The church year begins the 1st week of Advent. So happy New Year. Go ahead and make some, some, New Year's resolutions that you you will surely break before the actual New Year and then you can get like a really good start on them then. But what we're going to enter into this season together as a church and try and and slow ourselves down, to try and and walk in a season of anticipation, a season of waiting.
Jeffrey Heine:Dietrich Bonhoeffer, when he was, in prison, he wrote a letter to his fiancee. I think they had they had been engaged for about 2 years at point and he was in prison in Nazi Germany and and he he wrote this letter and and in it he he talks about how he he makes comparisons to to their waiting. Waiting for him to be released from prison, waiting to get married, and this waiting for God during the season of Advent. And he says this, waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten. Waiting is an art.
Jeffrey Heine:It it takes intentionality. We have to be urged and and encouraged to wait. It's not something that we really like to take on our own. And at Advent, we we wait in 2 different manners. 1, we we wait with those, who heard the prophecies of the coming Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:And we stand today waiting for the 2nd advent, the 2nd coming of Christ. We stand in both of these places. In Advent, some people like when you hear that and when you hear, like, you you wait until Christmas and Christmas Eve, that's when you you all the culmination comes and and then you celebrate celebrate Christmas and and that can seem like we're we're we're wanting you to to do less somehow. That it's inhibiting that it's it's you're abstaining from celebrating the birth of Christ until until Christmas day. And really that's that's not the case with Advent.
Jeffrey Heine:It's it's not about abstaining from something, it's about adding something. Rarely in the Christian faith do we actually get to the heart of worshiping God just by merely abstaining from anything. Contrary to maybe what some of you think about the Christian faith. We we get closer to the heart of actually worshiping God when we make much of him, not just less of other things. Although for some of us, it will require less of some things.
Jeffrey Heine:Now, when it comes to the church calendar, when it comes to Advent, there there's a really good quote by John Britton. He said this, we need to keep everything in view all the time. The past, the present, and the future. See, it's not we're we're not neglecting and and pretending as though Jesus hasn't been born yet. We're not going to pretend like Easter will not come when we are celebrating Advent.
Jeffrey Heine:Now we we keep in full view all that God has done, is doing, and will do. But at Advent, we slow down and we study. We ponder certain things about God. Now the, the 4 different candles, the 4 different weeks of advent have traditionally had different, emphases, hope, peace, joy, love. And this week, we emphasize the hope.
Jeffrey Heine:The hope prophesized throughout the Old Testament and then fulfilled in the New. And Psalm 111, teaches us. It it declares for us why we have this hope. And I I believe it is this, declared throughout all 10 verses of this psalm. That we have hope because of the work of God.
Jeffrey Heine:So that's that's the premise that we're gonna go off of tonight as we study, as we ponder, as we think on these things. And there's so much vying for our attention and this is why we have to be so deliberate. Right? Be because we we have lots of things competing for our attention and our affections. One of the worst ones lately has been, like, just defending Christmas things.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, like that, I got I saw a list of places I shouldn't shop because they say happy holidays. Like that that's taking up, like, part of my brain now. And I can't get that back. I can't unsee that list as as much as I'd like to. I mean, these these things, these foolish things.
Jeffrey Heine:And so we we have this war on Christmas, and we have those we have we have us against the secular world, and then we have us against one another as we plan more and more things and we build up expectations for one another, family members, friends, throughout the Christmas season. And then we have ourselves. Probably the most vicious enemy in the war on Christmas, ourselves where we just waste time. And not wasting time with God, but wasting time on other things. And so there's this call, this invitation of Advent to ponder, to study God.
Jeffrey Heine:And in this Psalm, Psalm 111, we we will study some particular things about our God. And so if you would, turn with me to Psalm 111. Yeah. Yeah. Beginning with verse 1, it begins with begins with the word hallelujah.
Jeffrey Heine:Praise the Lord. Praise Yahweh. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart and the company of the upright, and the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord. Studied by all who delight in them.
Jeffrey Heine:Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered. The gracious lord, he is merciful. He provides food for those who fear him. He remembers his covenant forever.
Jeffrey Heine:He has shown his people the power of his works and giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just. All his precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people.
Jeffrey Heine:He has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
Jeffrey Heine:The word of the lord. Thanks be to God. Let's pray. Oh, god, stir up our hearts to worship you. And spirit, teach us in this time.
Jeffrey Heine:Lead us to truth, not error. Turn our attention and our affections to you. May you be glorified in this time, and and lord, may we may we gain from this, a desire to know you, to worship you, to obey you. We dedicate this time. Lord, we we listen for you because we long to hear from you.
Jeffrey Heine:Or we don't just come in here for for busy work, Just Christian activity where we come to meet with you. And we ask, Lord, we beg that you would meet us here. But when we have you, we have all that we are waiting for. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Jeffrey Heine:So in this Psalm, you can kind of see some different movements that are happening. In verses 1 through 4, you have this declaration that I will worship. I will worship the Lord for he is great. I will worship corporately. I will worship with others with my whole heart.
Jeffrey Heine:Everything that I am, all of my being, I will worship the lord. Great are the works of the lord, studied by all who delight in them. And then it moves on. And and in 5 through 8, the psalmist breaks down some some really particular ways in which the Lord has been great in his work. You see, as the people of Israel were were worshiping, utilizing this Psalm, they are remembering particular things.
Jeffrey Heine:He gives food. We see that in verse 5. He gives land, verse 6, and he gives his law, verse 7. See what he's walking through are these covenant fulfillments of of of God giving food as they were rescued out of Egypt. As the as the people of Israel were were rescued out and they were in the wilderness, God provided food, sustenance.
Jeffrey Heine:He sustained them in the wilderness. And I say, he is great. He he gave us food when we had nothing. He sustained us. And then and then he gave us the promised land.
Jeffrey Heine:He gave us land. He gave us a place to dwell, and he gave us his law, his precepts. He he gave he gave us a way that we would walk with him. A way we would obey him. A way that we would worship him and know him.
Jeffrey Heine:And so the people, they they would sing this remembering this great work of god, bringing them out of slavery, sending redemption to them. And we see that summarized in verse 9. He sent redemption to his people. He has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.
Jeffrey Heine:Five times in the psalm, we see the word great. I mean, I'm sorry. We we see the word work, and it's described as great and wondrous and beautiful, and majestic, and faithful, and just. This work of God, 5 different times as it goes through in describing the great work of god. And then in the end, verse 10, there's the result.
Jeffrey Heine:The result of all of these things. The result of God's work and God's doing. His covenant keeping. Verse 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Jeffrey Heine:All those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever. Obedience is a result. Walking with God and adoring him, fearing him, reverent worship follows. And so as this psalm declares the great work of God, the wondrous work of God, the beautiful work of God, the majestic work of God.
Jeffrey Heine:They're remembering what God has done. In full view of the past, the way in which the people of Israel, they sang this song praising the Lord. They they remembered his work of bringing them out of Egypt, giving them food and land and the law. We also see how this Psalm points us today to Jesus. The words in verse 9 are echoed, almost exactly, the father of John the Baptist, when he's filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesies about the coming birth of Jesus, he says this, it's recorded in Luke chapter 1 verse 67 and 68.
Jeffrey Heine:He says this, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has come and redeemed his people. He has come. He has come because, as we see in verse 9 of the Psalm tonight, he was sent. The great work of God studied and delighted in is ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus. The great work of God, the great hope is God himself.
Jeffrey Heine:And the work that's being described here of the sent redemption, which in the first context is about the redemption out of Egypt is fulfilled in the redemption that we find in Christ. So this is the work. The father sent his son, the word of God, through which all things were created and for whom all things exist. He sent him into the world to dwell among man, full of grace and truth. Not only did he condescend and dwell with man, but he was sent for the will of the father, which was the redemption of many.
Jeffrey Heine:This redemption, purchased through the son's death and resurrection, not only reconciled sons and daughters to the father, but defeated the enemy of sin and death, and ushered in the beginnings of the eternal kingdom of God. Whereby citizens have been sealed by the indwelling of the spirit of God, who points to the riches of the sun and grows life and faith and grace in the hearts of the children of God. Your life in Jesus, your faith, which is not your own work, but the work of God testifies that all the works of God are wondrous and majestic and worthy of praise forever. The work of God in your transformation, it testifies to an unbelieving world that God is faithful to his promises, and that his name is holy and deserving of reverence. Ultimately, the work of God, this revelation of God is the display of his glory, which redeems and restores and renews and reconciles and resurrects and recreates.
Jeffrey Heine:Great are the works of the lord. Holy and awesome is his name. Are you still stunned by this? Does it still grip you that God became flesh and dwelt among us? A couple of years ago, I I went to Ireland for the first time.
Jeffrey Heine:And, and I and I kind of I started on the the East Coast, and I I made my way to the West Coast. And on the West Coast, I got to see something called the Cliffs of Moher. I know some of you have been there. It's it's quite the sight to behold. I took a lot of pictures and also communicated, with a guy that did not speak English.
Jeffrey Heine:And he took a couple of pictures of me standing, right next to the to the cliffs where it said, don't stand here because you will probably die. It said that in multiple languages. And and I stood there, and he and he and they we took all these photos, and I came back. And I remember showing people And, and I'd I'd show them a couple of photos of the landscape and they well, that's that's pretty. That grass is really green.
Jeffrey Heine:And and then, I'd grown a beard, because I was by myself and no one could tell me, how terrible it looked. They told me when I got back. But but, I I stood there and so then they would comment comment on the beard, they would comment on, the clothes that I had on. But but but they couldn't see how amazing the cliffs were. And and I would get so frustrated as they as they look through the I could just I couldn't I couldn't express.
Jeffrey Heine:I couldn't describe just how amazing it was. And I'd say, you see that that tiny rock next to the huge rock? The tiny one's the size of, like, 4 school buses. I'd be like, oh, that that's a big rock. And and and really, unless unless they went there, unless they took the trains and then the bus and then and then walked out to it and saw it for themselves, it it it couldn't be expressed.
Jeffrey Heine:You know, it's that that Plato's cave phenomenon. Like, unless you unless you see it, you're not gonna get it. And so when we have trivial discussions over, well, Walgreens is really not saying Merry Christmas this year, it makes us seem like this Christmas thing doesn't matter that much. Because we just want trees and presents and people to greet us the right way. But when we are stunned that god became flesh, that he entered into our darkness, like we sang about earlier.
Jeffrey Heine:He entered into our darkness and he brought us hope, that he brought light. See, if we are not stunned by this, let me urge you to study the work of God. In verse 2 where where it said that we his works are studied by all who delight in them. Them. We can we can strike that and reverse it.
Jeffrey Heine:And we can say that those who delight in him are those who study his work. Now that doesn't mean go to seminary or sign up for more Bible studies or or buy a bunch of books. It might. It very well might. But go to his word.
Jeffrey Heine:Go to him in prayer. Ask the spirit of God who leads us to all truth. Ask him to teach you to ponder the work of God. And it might not look like everybody else. You know, it it might not be something that that can just be manufactured and sold in a Christian bookstore.
Jeffrey Heine:It it it might not look like that. But if you go to him, if you go to his word and and and you go to him in prayer, taking in the fullness of his work, the past, the present, the future, seeing his greatness and his mercy, being filled with awe and reverence, then it will be real worship and deep praise. This is the work of God. He sent redemption. He sent his son.
Jeffrey Heine:It's the incarnation, which means the enfleshing of god. He sent redemption to his people. A theologian that I've started reading, more and more of his works, his name is TF Torrance, and and he says he says this, and, bear with me as I read it, and and I'll I'll try and take it slowly. I know being read to, it's like you you could read this yourself. And and so but but just bear with me as we we make it through just this brief paragraph.
Jeffrey Heine:And and hear it and and take it take it to yourself. Okay? Hear these words being declared to you. God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ, his beloved son, And has thereby pledged his very being as god for your salvation. In Jesus Christ, god has actualized his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the incarnation and the cross, and thereby denying himself.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own, before and apart your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go. Therefore, repent. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your lord and your savior. In the flesh of Christ, this work of the incarnation, god manifests his covenant promise.
Jeffrey Heine:His covenant love, he becomes it, and therefore pledges in the flesh and blood of Jesus, the blood in the veins, the breath in the lungs, the physical embodiment of god in flesh. He pledges his fulfillment of his love. And as Torrance puts it, he cannot go back on this. He cannot go back on this without undoing his own incarnation, his own flesh. This promise of his love is so true and real, that it's as true and real as your bone, your flesh, your blood.
Jeffrey Heine:He declared, just like in verse 5, he remembers his covenant forever. And he will forever display his faithfulness. His faithfulness to his own word is declared in that Jesus is flesh and bone and blood. The sending of redemption is the fulfillment of the promises of God. And there are 2 important aspects, I think, that that are pointed out, in in this Psalm, in in verse 5.
Jeffrey Heine:The work of God is remembered forever. At Advent, we worship the lord because he remembers his covenant. We have hope because he remembers his covenant. We look back at that. We look back to the manger.
Jeffrey Heine:God in the manger. And it's a helpful reminder as we look back, how he called the people to himself, how he took on flesh and dwelt among men and women. He walked on the earth he created, and he ransomed his people through the cross and through the resurrection. And we remember how he ascended and promised to return. We remember that.
Jeffrey Heine:Just like God remembers his covenant forever. And the second thing, at Advent, we remember that the work of God is commanded forever. Verse 9. He commands his covenant promise into the future. This is the hope that we join in looking towards the return of Christ, the second advent.
Jeffrey Heine:We can have confidence. We can have hope because he commands his covenant. Now the same word for commands is used again in Psalm 33 in verse 9, Concerning creation, verse 9 reads like like this. For he spoke, and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm.
Jeffrey Heine:It's used to describe how God commanded creation into being. And just as surely as creation came into existence, tangible, unmistakable reality, so is his covenant forever. A hope that is not temporary. A covenant that is not temporary, but eternal. And just as he remembers and he commands as we look into the future, as he remembers and commands his covenant forever.
Jeffrey Heine:Look at verse 10, the, the last statement there in verse 10. His praise will endure forever. You see, this is the outcome of God remembering his covenant forever. God commanding his covenant forever is his forever praise. And Advent is an invitation to ponder, to study the work of God.
Jeffrey Heine:And the outcome of that, the aim of Advent is worship. There are lots of songs and Christmas movies and things like that, that that bring up the feeling of Christmas. You know, the feeling of Christmas, either the the presence of that feeling of Christmas or the absence of that feeling of Christmas. And and and I would say this, I would suggest or encourage this, that the feeling of Christmas should feel like praise. And unless it feels like praise, unless it feels like worship, it's probably worshiping something else other than the coming king.
Jeffrey Heine:And no doubt some of you long for the way that Christmas felt in the past. Perhaps that's because you've lost a family member or lost a friend and you miss how things were. This past, week when I went up to Kentucky and I was at my grandmother's house, the first time since my grandfather passed away this past spring, I realized it was quieter. And for a bit, I didn't know why. You see, sometimes we can long for that feeling of how things used to be.
Jeffrey Heine:And maybe some of you long for how things used to be because you've lost family members or friends and not, not as a result of death, but perhaps as a result of sin, divorce. And family isn't the same, and you long for how things were. And I would encourage this, long for how things will be. That doesn't mean that we ignore the past. Absolutely not.
Jeffrey Heine:We long in full view of the past and the present and the future. And we long for how things will be. We need to keep everything in view, as Britain says. Past, present, and future. God's truth and God's mercy.
Jeffrey Heine:Old prophecy and ultimate fulfillment. Christ's birth and the cross. And we look at the 1st advent and the second. Britton encourages this. He says, he cautions in these words, when we see things too much in isolation, it's easy to forget where we are, and then we can lose track of whether or not we're headed in the right direction.
Jeffrey Heine:So we worship, we ponder in full view. And Advent invites us to hold this full view and to study the details of the great work of God. The incarnation, the atonement, the resurrection, the ascension, the promise of a return. And we take time, and we consider the wondrous, the great, the beautiful, the splendor of the work of God, We will hope and we will worship truly and deeply. And may that be where he leads us, this advent season together.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's pray. Oh, Spirit, teach us to wait. Teach us what it means to long for you. And as we wait, teach us what it means to ponder your great work. The great work in Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:Oh God, that you came. You came to us. Emmanuel, God with us, you came to us. You came to the earth that you created. Lord, you you breathe the air that you created.
Jeffrey Heine:And, Lord, you suffered at the hands of men that you created out of the dust. And Lord, when when Isaiah cried out, oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down. You did. And, lord, in this second advent, we join with Isaiah, and we say, oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down. Lord, as we look at sin in the world, sin in ourselves, as we look at the brokenness in the world and brokenness in ourselves.
Jeffrey Heine:We look to your work, your work of redemption. Lord, teach us and help us to be teachable. That we would long for you, and that we would take heart knowing that you satisfy. Because you remember your covenant, you command your covenant, and you are due praise forever. We pray these things in the name of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus who came and is coming again. Amen.