Psalm 146: Trust The Faithful Orange

Third homily in the Heaven Scent series.

Presented to the Swift Current Corps 12 December 2010.

By Captain Michael Ramsay

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Last week we spoke about the justice that comes with salvation and how it is our responsibility as servants of the Lord to be just (Psalm 72:1-7)[1] and verses 5-10 of Psalm 146, which we read a little bit earlier, tell us how and what this holiness looks like when we do put our trust in the Lord. These verse 5-10 are actually the verses of the psalm that are associated with the third week in advent this year but I was struck by verse 3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” So that is what we will talk about today.

Trust is an interesting thing and it is important. I love wearing my uniform, it is a symbol of trust and as we who are wearing them continue to deal openly and fairly with people, it continues to grow as a symbol of trust in the community. The trust that we wearing the uniform garner for it comes in direct proportion to our service to the Lord while wearing it. God has been able to use me to help diffuse many varied and difficult situations involving armed people, disgruntled people, intoxicated people, and violent people, through the trust embodied in this uniform of one who serves the Lord in His army. In one community in which I served, our soldiers were doing such a solid job of living up to that trust that was placed in our uniforms that other evangelical clergy lamented to me that they did not have a uniform to wear. At times it can be like a Superhero costume.

I did not always have my Superhero costume though. I was not always an Officer. I was not always a soldier. I remember once when I was in elementary school. We were at a Christian camp. They were teaching us this very important value of trust and reflecting the truth and the trustworthiness of God. We did a number of these trust exercises, some of them involving blindfolds. We were to take turns being blindfolded and being led around. When it was my turn to be blindfolded – well, I peeked. Trust took a little while to develop for me but my partner – he passed with flying colours. This guy was the epitome of trust and trustworthiness. I led him everywhere and he never once peaked. How do I know he never peeked? Well, I led him into a building and we walked through a door and when he took off his blindfold I wasn’t there and he happened to be in the middle of the girls change room – he was quite surprised when he took the blindfold off. He was more than a little embarrassed but this person really did pass the trust test. He trusted me in those days. He passed the trust test not only in letting me lead him into this spot without even peeking; but after I did this I said to him, “Okay, okay, let’s do this properly this time” and he put the blindfold on and he didn’t peek this time either. How do I know that he didn’t peek this time either? Because… When we were back outside, I walked right behind my trusting blindfolded friend climbing ever higher and higher on the steps in the centre of the camp and out on this platform when all of a sudden one of the leaders called out ‘get off of that diving board…’

Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” Actually I don’t think I got right to the diving board; I don’t remember getting any closer than the pool deck in reality but the idea is the same. My partner passed the trust test with glowing colours – I, however, did not. Praise the Lord that I changed - not only because of my life and my job nowadays but because there is absolutely nothing worse than an untrustworthy person. A person, who misrepresents the truth for whatever self-righteous reason, is a person that you can never give any responsibility to. That being said the lesson for today that is technically outside of the Advent reading (one has to love the freedom of being an evangelical at times) is from Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

Last week we spoke about King Solomon. There were these great blessings that were available to him and his reign, provided that he was just faithful in serving YHWH by providing justice and salvation to the poor (Psalm 72). One who reflects the love and life of the Lord, our text tells us today will uphold the cause of the oppressed and give food to the hungry (Psalm 146:7; cf. Psalm 9:9, 10:18, 103:6 and Psalm 17:14, 34:10, 107:9, Isaiah 49:10). The LORD will set the prisoners free (Psalm 146:7; cf. Psalm 68:6, 79:11, 102:20, 107:10-14; Isaiah 42:7), give sight to the blind (Psalm 146:8; cf. Isaiah 29:18, 35:5, 42:7, 43:8), watch over the marginalized and frustrate the ways of the wicked (Psalm 146:9; cf. Psalm 104:35, 145:20 and Deuteronomy 10:18; Isaiah 1:17, 9:17; Jeremiah 22:16; James 1:17). None of Solomon’s successors did this (until Jesus! See Matthew 11:4-6) Solomon did not do this. Solomon failed. Instead of setting the captives free, he actually enslaved his own people (1 Kings 5:13, cf. 4:6, 9:15, 12:1-4). In the end this political leader from 1000 BCE, was remembered by the author of 1 Kings as one who did evil in the eyes of the Lord (1 Kings 11). Not an epitaph that any leader should want. And a good reminder for us: Psalm 146:3, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

Speaking of (evil?) political leaders, in my home province of British Colombia something interesting has happened in the last couple of months. They had an election not too long ago. The governing party was returned to power. Almost immediately afterward they won, they rid themselves of the person who had just led them to victory in that election – they pushed the premier to resign. Now this political turmoil is not uncommon in western democracies; I think we can all name off the tops of our heads politicians who have been metaphorically stabbed in the back and politically purged in Canada: Stephane Dion, Jean Cretien, Joe Clark, ... Backroom dealings and underhandedness – at least since the 1950s - sometimes seem to be inherent to Canadian politics and many politicians. The interesting thing in BC right now is that this week, after the government had purged itself of its leader there was a successful revolt in the opposition party too and they also sacrificed their leader. Usually in Canada when one party decides to kill itself by falling on the sword of party revolt, the other one just watches and rejoices in its good position. In BC this past week, the opposition party decided otherwise: they thought, I guess, if the government is going to implode with internal decent, maybe we should too. Politics. Democracy.[2] These comments are all somewhat tongue-in-cheek of course, and I haven’t lived in BC in quite a while so I really don’t know what has been happening there or why these revolts are taking place but it struck me as interesting that the two parties with seats there would ditch their leaders at exactly the same time. I think some of this is because we put our leaders on pedestals and have unreasonable expectations, forgetting the advice of Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

Every election in the western world many of us who bother to vote seem to continually forget the wisdom of Psalm 146:3. The recent myth of Obama is a great example of this. Leading up to the previous US presidential election, reading their press, it sounded like they thought he was the second coming of the Messiah. The world too seemed to buy into this: you remember that they gave Obama, who is the leader of the world’s most expensive and most active armed forces; they gave Obama, who in one of his very first acts of office bombed a foreign country – they gave Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. What were they thinking? We’re they thinking that the tiger of a Superpower would change its stripes as fast as it changes its president. Obama is no Prince of Peace. He is no Messiah. In the last election his party was trounced. This is no knock against him personally; he is just a mortal man. Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” Lest you think I am partisan, I have another example of people becoming disillusioned with leaders after putting a false hope in them. After George Bush Senior invaded Iraq in the first Iraq War he, I seem to recall, had the highest popularity rating ever to that point in US history, many people put their faith in him; he lost the next election. Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

In King Solomon’s reign as King of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah his responsibilities and his failures are compounded by the fact that he is not just a political leader; more importantly he is also supposed to be a spiritual leader just like the Queen of the UK is given the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ (cf. Deuteronomy 17:18-20).[3] The English monarch is traditionally in charge of the military, the government, and the Church of England: even more so with Solomon. People had high expectations of Solomon and his reign and he did not measure up (cf. Psalm 72, 1 Kings 11).

In our world today we see this all the time. We see people wrongly believing that if a certain person is elected as leader of one of the world’s superpowers that overnight the nature of that superpower will change from a profit-seeking, war-making machine to a God-fearing, peacemaking regime that looks after the poor. It is just not true.[4] Likewise in Saskatchewan and in Canada, as good as our local MPs and MLAs may or may not be, they will not significantly change the course of history and save us all from poverty, sin, and the evils of society. They will not heal the lame and give sight to the blind (cf. Matthew 11:4-6) therefore, Psalm 146:3, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

Likewise we can’t put any spiritual leaders on a pedestal. I cannot save anyone. Your favourite author cannot save anyone. Your favourite televangelist cannot save anyone. When we look to political leaders or spiritual leaders for our salvation, we will be disappointed. They cannot save us. I have heard many stories of people who have wrongly put their faith in their pastors instead of in Christ and when their pastor sins, they become disillusion and fall away (cf. TSA Doctrines 2,6,9). Can anything be more sad than that? Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

In The Salvation Army soon and very soon we have a High Council meeting in London, England; where we will attempt to discern God’s choice for the next General of The Salvation Army. While trusting that God will raise up the right person for this role and that our leaders will acknowledge God’s choice in this we must not forget the warning of Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” We must put our faith in God, not in men and women.

This brings us to our ‘heaven scent’ for today. First let’s review. What was our ‘heaven scent’ last week? (Gingerbread) And what did that represent? (Justice and Salvation). The first week of Advent, what was our ‘heaven scent’? (The Evergreen) And what id that represent for us? (Everlasting Life) This week I have a little quiz for us – sort of a word association, rhyming quiz. I will say a word and we will see which side of the congregation can come up with a rhyming word first:

1) Fruit
2) Heat
3) Monkey
4) Grape
5) Orange

There isn’t an English word that rhymes with Orange. Just like, as Psalm 146:3 says, there isn’t a person who can save us. Only God can save us and He does this through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord for whose return we are eagerly waiting and this waiting is what Advent is all about. The scent today in our ‘heaven scent’ series today is oranges. Oranges, we are going to associate with the faithfulness of God (Psalm 146:3, 6). We cannot put our trust in people for they cannot save us. We must put our faith in God who is faithful even when we are faithless (Psalm 146:6; Romans 3:3,4). He is the Orange – the one for whom there is no rhyme. He is the Orange – the one for whom there is no match. He is the Orange – the one for whom there is no equal. He is the Orange. His faithfulness stands alone and Salvation comes from no one other than from God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no other name by which (hu)man(kind) can be saved (Acts 4:12; cf. Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). So then, this week and forever more let us not put our faith in princes, in mortal men and women who cannot save but instead let us put us faith in Christ and in Christ alone.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Psalm 72:1-7: Gingerbread Cookies of Justice and Salvation’, presented to the Swift Current Corps, 05 December 2010. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/12/psalm-721-7-gingerbread-cookies-of.html
[2] God’s country is to be ruled as a theocracy (rule by God) not as the people-centered rule of the other nations (i.e. democracy ‘rule [by] people’). Cf. Isaac Watts, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK II: Psalms 42-72/Psalm 72: The Glory of the Davidic Kingdom/I. Prayer for Davidic Kingship (72:1), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] cf. Isaac Watts, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK II: Psalms 42-72/Psalm 72: The Glory of the Davidic Kingdom/I. Prayer for Davidic Kingship (72:1), Book Version: 4.0.2
[4] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Vote for Jesus’ in the Journal of Aggressive Christianity. Available on-line at http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_JAC.htm#Vote for Jesus

Psalm 72:1-7: Gingerbread Cookies of Justice and Salvation

Second homily in the Heaven Scent series.
Presented to the Swift Current Corps 05 December 2010.
By Captain Michael Ramsay

We are looking at Psalm 72:1-7 today: This is Canada’s psalm. When I next preach on Canada Day (Dominion Day) I will most likely preach on this Psalm:

Canada’s motto, “A Mari usque ad Mare” is Latin for “from sea to sea.” It comes from Psalm 72. Where, in verse 8, it declares, “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea.” That is a key underpinning of our society and of our founding identity, the idea that God himself, through the Canadian government, shall have dominion from sea to sea.
This is neat. It is not some accident or coincident. It is intentional. Our country is intentionally founded on the Word of God. And another interesting thing - Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, the father of Confederation that proposed the name for our country and that that name - the Dominion of Canada - be based on this Scripture would have made a great Salvationist.
He wasn’t one but he would have made a good one. Tilley was a Sunday-school teacher and lifelong temperance advocate; he was one of the so-called "Smashers", who tried to introduce prohibition to New Brunswick in the 1850s.[1]

This is an important, relatively recent historical application of this psalm but we can speak more about that on Canada Day. Today is the second Sunday of Advent, so we will be looking at this passage through a slightly different lens: that of waiting for the Messiah to come and of waiting for the Messiah to come again.

This passage of scripture, Psalm 72, refers to the Messianic Hope. It speaks about Justice and Salvation for the poor and needy. It is the hope of the nations. It is about the unconditional promise: the inevitability of Christ’s return, what his kingdom looks like now and what it will look like when he come back. This is what we will concentrate on shortly but Psalm 72 is also about a conditional promise to King Solomon (cf. Leviticus 25,26; Deuteronomy 6:1-5, 20-25; 8:1, 19-20; 2 Chronicles 36:20-21; cf. also Amos 3,4).[2]

This psalm is attributed by some to Solomon and by other scholars to Solomon’s father. Either King Solomon or King David could be the author of this psalm – if you look in your Bibles you may notice that some translations will say at the beginning of this psalm, the words ‘of Solomon’ but looking at the bottom, in verse 20, it reads, ‘this concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse’[3] (Psalm 72:20) - the language around authorship is actually inconclusive.[4] The psalm was probably composed as Solomon’s father, King David, lay dying and was in the process of rejecting his older son (Adonijah), his High Priest (Abiathar), and his nephew who has been the commander of his armed forces since he was young (Joab). King David in the time this psalm was written was rejecting his older son, Adonijah, and his supporters’ claims to the throne and in the process securing the kingdom for Solomon, his younger son (­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­1 Kings 1).

If David is the author of this psalm, it is here that David pours out his heart as to what he hopes for in his chosen son’s, Solomon’s, reign. Solomon, as a king of God’s people, must live in accordance with the revelation from God. To this end Solomon as the Israelite king would receive a copy of the Law of God at his coronation (cf. Deuteronomy 17:18-20). This is important because God’s country is to be ruled as a theocracy (rule by God) not as the people-centered rule of the other nations (i.e. democracy ‘rule [by] people’).[5] Because of this, if you look at the first seven verses of Psalm 72 – especially verses 2-4, you will note that there must be Justice and Salvation for the poor and needy. We know that sadly Solomon failed in this commission to provide Justice and Salvation for the poor and needy as laid out for us in Psalm 72. He was not an YHWH-based theocrat who provided for the disenfranchised. Instead he made forced-labourers of his countrymen (1 Kings 5:13, cf. 4:6, 9:15, 12:1-4) and religious pluralism and syncretism were prevalent during his reign (1 Kings 11:1-13). There was even idol-worship in his own household (1 Kings 11:1-9). In the end, Solomon’s wives eventually led the king himself astray (1 Kings 11:4). He followed other gods and he did evil in the eyes of the LORD (1 Kings 11:5-6). The country did not live up to its holy designation and as a result the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah died with Solomon as the tribes of Israel were torn from his family line (1 Kings 11:11).

But there is more to contemplate in this psalm of promise than simply the failure to provide justice and salvation for the poor and needy and final disappointment of Solomon’s reign. There is still the promise of Christ, which was to come when this was written and is still to come again (prolepsis). John Wesley remarks in his commentary on the commission of Psalm 72, that the mentioned “…blessed fruit of this righteous government… together with peace, true religion [that] shall be established… throughout all generations, …[was] not fully accomplished ‘till Christ came.” [6] The assignment of a Kingdom of Righteousness was given to Solomon to start – he failed to finish it - but it is successfully completed by Christ (cf. Psalm 118:6,7; Hebrews 13:5) penultimately at his first coming and ultimately at his second. Psalm 72 finds its fulfilment not in the failings of Solomon but in the victory and triumph of Jesus the Messiah.

That being said, it is interesting that the New Testament nowhere specifically quotes Psalm 72 as Messianic though the picture painted here of the king and his realm is so close to the messianic prophecies of Isaiah (that we are very familiar with at this time of year; Isaiah 9, 11, 60–62) that if those passages are Messianic, so too must be this one. As a royal psalm, Psalm 72 prays for the reigning king but yet it is so far beyond the what was attained and seemingly even beyond what is humanly attainable that it suggest its fulfilment can be found only in Jesus, the Christ himself.[7]

This is important. Solomon, for whom this psalm was originaly composed, failed miserably in its commission to provide justice and salvation for the poor and needy (1 Kings 11:1-12). Canada, who at our foundation claimed for itself this same commission of Psalm 72 -judging by the poverty, crime, pride, greed, immorality and selfishness in our nation today (if not our province which by comparison is doing remarkably well)- is apparently likewise failing but where we are faithless still Christ is faithful and this is an important aspect of advent and of our waiting for the arrival and the return of Christ (Psalm 118:6,7, Romans 3:3,4, Hebrews 13:5; but cf. Hebrews 6:6). The familiar hymn ‘Jesus Shall Reign’ by Isaac Watts says:

Jesus shall reign wheree'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.[8]

What implication does the fact that this psalm is Messianic (as attested to also by the inclusion of this text in the liturgical churches lectionaries) have for us on this second Sunday of Advent today? I think the key application for us is as follows – I think Canada’s Founding Fathers had the right interpretation of it when they chose this psalm as our foundation rather than the atheistic/deistic principles of the American Revolution. Advent is about waiting and the idea relating to this psalm is for us emulate Christ while we are waiting for his return by providing justice and salvation for the poor and needy. Indeed in ordering our lives and our society after the will of God, we are preparing the world for Jesus’ return. As followers of Christ, this is our responsibility (cf. for ex. Matthew 21:23-32, 25:14-30, 31-46; Mark 3:33, Luke 12, 19:11-27, etc.).[9] We are the church and we should build our church so as to be a suitable home for Christ. We, as the Church, are also the ‘Bride of Christ’ and if we are going to remain married to Christ we should really spend some time with him growing in his love (TSA d.9). As we do this we will fulfill the promises of Psalm 72.

As we prepare our countries, our churches, and our lives for Christ’s return, this is what they will look like. There will be justice for the poor, Psalm 72:2, salvation –rescue and defence- for the needy, Verse 4, (cf. Exodus 23:6,11, Leviticus 19:10,15, 23:22, 27:8, Deuteronomy 15:4, 15:7, 15:11, 24:12-15, 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalms. 22:26, 34:6, 35:10, 82:3, Jeremiah 22:15–17, Isaiah 11:4, 61:1, Ezekiel 16:49, 18:12, 22:29, Amos 2:7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6, Zechariah 7:10,Matthew 25:35ff, Luke 6:24-26...). Peace –Shalom- for God’s people, Verses 3 and 7 (cf. Isaiah 9:6);[10] there will then naturally be righteousness throughout our nation, Verses 1, 2, 3, and 7 (cf. Isaiah 9:5-7); and then Christ’s everlasting realm in the spirit of the evergreen, that we spoke about last week, will have begun (Psalm 72:5; cf. Psalm 122:1). This is important and this brings us to our scent today. This advent we are matching certain psalms and certain promises of God with certain scents or aromas. Last week what was the scent we concentrated on? The evergreen. What does the evergreen symbolise? Everlasting life.

Today our ‘heaven scent’ is gingerbread. Christmas gingerbread cookies are a connection to Christmas past. Did you know that the word for cookie came to English through Dutch settlers in North America? ‘Koek’ is Dutch for cake, so ‘koekje’ or cookie came to English, meaning ‘little cake’. Christmas cookies continue a long custom of serving winter-baked treats started by the Romans, Germanic tribes, and other civilizations even before they were Christianised. So this is interesting then: much like Booth said about music composed for non-Christian, secular society, “Why should the devil have all the best tunes?”[11] And “Secular music, do you say, belongs to the devil? Does it? Well, if it did I would plunder him for it, for he has no right to a single note of the whole seven...Every note, and every strain, and every harmony is divine, and belongs to us.”[12] Just as the music, so too the baking. Just as Salvationists had popular music claimed and reclaimed for Christ, Christians back as far as Roman days claimed and reclaimed cookies. The had cakes and cookies sanctified as symbols of worship of Lord and made this known by adding a ‘J’ to the top of the baking symbolizing that these are offerings to Jesus Christ. These cakes and cookies then were taken from the devil long ago and given to God.[13]

Gingerbread is our ‘heaven scent’ for today and in my own life, when I think of gingerbread cookies, my mind often goes to ginger snap cookies. I always associate ginger snap cookies with my Grandma. I can still to this day picture the house that my Papa (my grandfather) built on Shelbourne Street in Victoria, their kitchen and their cookie jar. The fact that I remember some of my grandmother’s baking fondly is really quite something. How should I put it? Let’s just say that the food was not the reason we went over to Grandma’s house at dinnertime – she could turn anything into a jellied salad: fruit and vegetables, ham, a casserole, an old tire, you name it, I’m sure it was there, jellied and on our plate at some point…but I do remember the gingersnap cookies fondly – maybe because they were almost the only thing not jellied at Grandma’s. These cookies really were something to look forward to at Grandma’s house and this is the heaven scent that I would like to leave us with this week.

Psalm 72 promises justice for the poor, salvation for the needy, peace (Shalom) for God’s people, and righteousness throughout our nation. Solomon’s attempt to produce this resulted in no better than a jellied salad appetizer; Canada’s claim to this seems to be at present nothing more than a jellied ham salad main course; but when Jesus first came to the world those ginger snap cookies were put in the oven, and as we in obedience to him providing justice for the poor and salvation for the needy (as we certainly have the opportunity to do around here at The Salvation Army at Christmas time!), this pleasing aroma of these cookies of justice and salvation fills the air. And still Jesus is coming back and when he does come back, he promises that we –his faithful followers- we shall all partake of these ginger snap cookies of justice and salvation for our eternal dessert (TSA d. 7-11). Advent is all about waiting and these ginger snap cookies of justice and salvation that we will savour for eternity with our Lord and Saviour are indeed worth waiting for.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Psalm 72: the Credit Card of Justice and Righteousness', presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 01 July 2007. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/08/psalm-72-credit-card-of-justice-and.html
[2] Cf. Willy Schottroff, “To Perceive, To Know,” in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 3 eds. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), p. 516 and Thomas E. McComiskey, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Amos/Introduction to Amos/Theological Values of Amos/The doctrine of election in Amos, Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] Cf. John H. Stek, ‘Psalms’ in NIB Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan Publishing, 2002) Note on 72:20, page 866.
[4] Cf. Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1973 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 15), S. 48
[5]Isaac Watts, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK II: Psalms 42-72/Psalm 72: The Glory of the Davidic Kingdom/I. Prayer for Davidic Kingship (72:1), Book Version: 4.0.2
[6]John Wesley, Notes on Psalm 72, Available on-line at http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=19&c=72&com=wes
[7] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1973 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 15), S. 273
[8] Isaac Watts, "Jesus Shall Reign" cited in Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK II: Psalms 42-72/Psalm 72: The Glory of the Davidic Kingdom, Book Version: 4.0.2
[9] Cf. Andrew R. Morton, ‘Worship Resources, 6th of January: Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 721-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12’ in The Expository Times , Volume 119 Number 3 Pages 122-123.
[10] Andrew R. Morton, ‘Worship Resources, 6th of January: Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 721-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12’ in The Expository Times , Volume 119 Number 3, page 123
[11] The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre, “Why should the devil have all the best tunes?”, available on-line at http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/36c107e27b0ba7a98025692e0032abaa/42d53ced9ec1583080256954004bff3e!OpenDocument
[12] From a War Cry article in 1880. Available on-line at http://www.ourchurch.com/view/?pageID=12281
[13] A Dash of Cinnamon, A Pinch of the Past, A Smidgen of the Future
By Kristin Johnson. Available on-line at http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Dash-of-Cinnamon,-A-Pinch-of-the-Past,-A-Smidgen-of-the-Future&id=16568

Psalm 122:1: Let us go to the house of the LORD (where green is the colour)

First homily in the Heaven Scent series.
Presented to Swift Current Corps 28 November 2010
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and in Advent we have the Advent wreath, of course. I don’t know if you know some of the significance of the Advent wreath. One key point is that it is traditionally made from evergreens. I thought the idea of forever green is very appropriate for today. I think that the province at large this year is really getting into the Advent celebrations with the whole ever-green idea. I’ve heard of whole towns painted green this Sunday and look at the number of people wearing green here today; building up to Advent, I have even heard that great ever-green hymn a lot recently: ‘Green is the colour….’ We’ll talk a little more about the evergreen and Advent, a little less tongue in cheek, in a little bit.

First we will talk specifically about Psalm 122, a psalm of David. Psalm 122 is the psalm associated with the first week of advent this year and this is the Psalm that we will be looking at today. Psalm 122:1 records- I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go up to the house of the LORD.”

Let us go up to the house of the LORD: It is always exciting when people wish to go up to the house of the LORD, to go to church, to come to the corps - either new friends from out-of-town visiting with their family at Christmastime or when we have visitors from other churches to do Advent Reader Exchanges and that sort of thing. It is good too when people haven’t been in church for a while decide to come to the house of the Lord again and it is nice too to see people who are just showing up in the morning of the Grey Cup rematch to put in a request: it is good to see them and I am sure many people in the province have that same request. (In staff meeting this week we actually discussed whether or not it was theologically appropriate to pray for the Riders.) It is even just good from week to week when we come here to the house of the Lord, to church (the corps) and have a chance to see our long-term or old friends.[1] Especially great is when people come to the house of the LORD to give their lives to the LORD for the first time. Can anything be better than that? [2] No, so, Let us all go up to the house of the LORD whenever we can. It’s always great to be in the LORD’s house!

Now we know that in the New Testament when they talk about the Lord’s house, we know when we talk about the Church, the Church we are referring to is not a building but rather it’s another name for Christians. We Christians are the Church (we were not even called Christians until at Antioch, Acts 11:26). In the New Testament the church is the believers, not a building. We know this but we also know that in the common vernacular of today, the house of the Lord is simply a euphemism, a synonym, or just another name for the church building: any cathedral, temple, citadel, any church building in this day and age is known as God’s house. But this psalm that we are looking at today was not written in this day and age nor was it written in the New Testament era, it was written well before then by King David, the second king of Israel and he wrote Psalm 122 about 3000 years ago.

Today when we hear the ‘house of the Lord’ we often think of the church building but in the time that David wrote this psalm, does anyone know what was meant by the ‘House of the LORD’? What was by the ‘House of the LORD’ in David’s time? (Home of the Ark of the Covenant; cf. Numbers 7:89; 1 Samuel 4:4; cf. also Exodus 25-27, 40:21; Deuteronomy 10:8; 1 Kings 8; 1 Chronicles 22:19, 28:2). Remember who built the Temple of the LORD? Solomon: Solomon was David’s successor; he was made king after his father David, just before King David died. Solomon’s Temple hadn’t been built yet when this psalm was written. The temple hadn’t been built when David wrote this psalm; so what is David talking about when he writes in the opening line of this psalm, “Let us go to the house of the LORD” if the Temple of the LORD had not been built yet? In this case the house of the LORD probably refers to the whole city of Jerusalem. [3]
We know about the ancient city of Jerusalem don’t we? It is the city that David made his capital and he moved the Ark of the Covenant to it - after taking the city from its original inhabitants (2 Samuel 5:5-6, 6:1; 1 Chronicles 13, 15). I’ve got a couple of questions for you about Jerusalem and this ‘House of the LORD’ that we are talking about today. These may be a little bit difficult but let’s see how we do on this the first Sunday of Advent?

1) The people of Judah/Israel were not the original inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were? The Jebusites (cf. Joshua 15:63, Judges 1:21)

2) In Genesis, Jerusalem is often referred to by another name, do you know what that name is? Salem (Genesis 14, Psalm 76, Hebrews 7). This is not to be confused with that famous place in the United States where they had those violent witch-hunts. It is not the same place. Salem Mass. was ironically named after Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also called Jebus elsewhere in the Old Testament (Judges 19:10-11, 1 Chronicles 11:4).

3) Who is the first king of Salem / Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible, in Genesis 14 (also in Hebrews 7) at the time of Abraham – Abraham actually gives his tithe to this Canaanite priest-king, who is that King of Jerusalem? Jesus is referred to as a High Priest in the order of this fellow (Melchizedek). Adoni-Zedek is also mentioned as a king of Jerusalem in Judges 10. He isn’t remembered quite as fondly…

4) Who designated Jerusalem as the capital of Judah and Israel? (David; 2 Samuel 5:5-6)

5) What Holy item did King David have brought to Jerusalem after he made Jerusalem the capital of the United Kingdom of Judah and Israel? (The Ark of the Covenant; 2 Samuel 6, 15; 1 Chronicles 13, 15)

6) What was the top of this Ark of the Covenant called? (The Mercy Seat Atonement Cover) Exodus 26:25 in the AV says, “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel” (cf. also Numbers 7:89; 1 Samuel 4:4). The mercy seat is where God will meet them and where He will commune with them. Now, of course, we in The Salvation Army have a Mercy Seat whose named is derived from the Mercy Seat on the Ark. It is this pew up front here and at anytime if someone feels like approaching God they are more than welcome to use our mercy seat for that very purpose: like the Mercy Seat on the Ark, it is meant to be a place where we can commune with God.

Now, the whole city of Jerusalem is set apart as holy during the time of the psalm that we are looking at today because the Mercy Seat on this Ark of the Covenant – where one meets God - is here. Charles Spurgeon says, “It was most natural that they should sing of Jerusalem itself, and invoke peace and prosperity upon the Holy City, for it was the centre of their worship, and the place where the Lord revealed himself above the mercy seat.”[4] The Ark of the Covenant and its Mercy Seat, where we can meet God, is kept in the House of the LORD (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17, 22:19; 2 Chronicles 5-6; cf. also Exodus 25-27, 40:21; Deuteronomy 10:8; 1 Kings 8; 1 Chronicles 22:19, 28:2). The House of the LORD then, in essence, simply refers to where the LORD is. We know that the LORD is not contained by walls (as did most people in Old Testament times). In the time of David’s writing this psalm, Psalm 122, people would expect to see God at the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant which was in the Holy City of Jerusalem and today when we come here to the building that contains the church (remember that the church is us Christians, the bride of Christ), we should also come here expecting to see God. And Christmas is especially a time when we celebrate the coming of Jesus, Immanuel, who is ‘God with us’.

Today, we are here in the house of God surrounded by the fragrant aroma of the evergreens of Advent: these evergreens we remember what they represent, right? These evergreens and Christmas intentionally and officially represent eternal life. We are surrounded by these evergreens of everlasting life and we are surrounded here by Immanuel who is God-with-us. And this brings us to the other piece that I want us to look at today.

Susan has decided that this advent as well as going through the psalms we are going to link each Sunday to a different smell, a different aroma. The aroma that we are concentrating on this week is that of the evergreen and the evergreen –like we just said - stands for everlasting life! The Advent wreath, which we have before us today, is an old Germanic tradition and it is a circle of evergreens. The circle itself is a symbol of eternity and a reminder that God has neither a beginning nor an end. The evergreen wreath is a symbol of eternal life and it is a reminder to us that God is immutable and unchangeable.[5]

This is very important when we are considering Psalm 122 today here in the house of God. We spoke earlier about Psalm 122:1 that records “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’” We also spoke about how much we can rejoice whenever we see people coming here to the Lord’s house.[6] It is always exciting to see the number of people here and this year as a congregation we pledged to concentrate on each of us trying to invite one friend at least to join us here on a regular basis. That way by the time a year is up, we should have double our numbers. And even more important than just coming to the church and inviting our friends into the church, is when we invite people here in the spirit of the evergreen, which is the spirit of eternal life. As exciting as it is to see all of us here, how much more exciting it is when people come up to the house of the Lord, seeking eternal life (cf. TSA doc's 6,7,10,11).

Now, I don’t want to embarrass anyone – so I won’t mention any names until they tell you – just this week someone came into the church and told me that their daughter was coming up to the church, the house of the LORD, to give their life to the LORD. She came here and Susan led her in a prayer of repentance and joined here in the expectation or acknowledgement, as the case may be, of the Holy Spirit’s regeneration. In the spirit of the evergreen, she grasped the wreath of eternal life. Can there be anything better than that? In that spirit, I think we can all say with King David, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’” And indeed when we are wearing our green today at our Grey Cup parties and around town, let us not forget this time of year, the true symbolism of the evergreen and let us all be reminded of the joys of eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us pray.

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[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK V: Psalms 107-150/Psalm 122: May There Be Peace in Zion!/I. The Pilgrim's Joy (122:1-2), Book Version: 4.0.2: The choice of verbs is significant, as the psalmist is reflecting on the many times that he has heard the call to go to the house of the Lord. Verse 1 may well be translated as "I rejoice whenever they say to me." At this point he is standing in Jerusalem and rejoicing—with the thousands of other pilgrims—that he has arrived at the goal of his pilgrimage. His feet are standing in Jerusalem!”
[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1975 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 16), S. 469: “The Christian’s equivalent to this progress and arrival is finely expressed in the doxology of Jude 24, offered to ‘him who is able to keep you from falling’ (cf. Ps. 121) ‘and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing’ (cf. Ps. 122).”
[3] Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Psalms/Exposition of Psalms/BOOK V: Psalms 107-150/Psalm 122: May There Be Peace in Zion!/I. The Pilgrim's Joy (122:1-2), Book Version: 4.0.2.
[4] Charles H. Spurgeon, ‘The Treasury of David Vol. 2’, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, page (Overview): available on-line at http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/treasury-of-david/psalms-122-1.html
[5]Cf. ‘Advent Wreath — Background and How To Make Your Own Wreath’ Catholic Culture.org, http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=954
[6] cf. for a discussion of this, Charles H. Spurgeon, ‘The Treasury of David Vol. 2’, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers: available on-line at www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/treasury-of-david/psalms-122-1.html