March 9, 2018
Worship: We Trust in the Name of The Lord as sung by Steve Green
We Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God
Some trust in chariots
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
Some trust in horses
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
Chorus:
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
His love never fails
His name will always prevail
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
Some trust in the works they do
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
‘Cause by His grace all the work is through
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
Chorus
Oh glory to the name
The name of our salvation
Oh glory to the name above all names
The name of the Lord our God
Some trust in the wealth of things
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
The name worth more than anything
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
Chorus
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
His love never fails
His name will always prevail
We trust in the name of the Lord our
We trust in the name of the Lord our
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
Words and music by Steven Curtis Chapman
Copyright 1994 Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc. and Sparrow Song (a div. of Sparrow Song and, Peach Hill Songs admin. by Careers-BMG Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.
I chose this classic song based on a text my friend Andrew Lubinga from Uganda sent me. This is what he wrote:
Jehovah is your name,
mighty warrior, great in
battle, Jehovah is your
name. Psalm 20:7. Some
trust in chariots, and some
in horses, but we will
remember the name of the
LORD our God. Jesus the
mighty Warrior is on your
side today and always.
Hallelujah.
He wrote this even though he was sick.
Witness:
I was listening to a message the other day about the “strong arm of God.” It was part of a conference that took place back in 2004. The speaker had been assigned to speak about God’s omnipotence. In the message, he also made mention of God’s infinity. As he spoke about the infinite power of our God, the typical age-old question arose in my mind. It’s a snarky sort of question sometimes asked in jest and sometimes in all seriousness by the less pensive among us. It’s the question, “Can God create a rock too heavy for Him to lift?” The answer is no because it does not accord with reality. In fact, the speaker mentioned this question that has been asked by theologians in church history who wanted to sound clever. The speaker’s response was more simple and direct: “That’s just stupid. It’s really not foolish, it’s just stupid.” And of course, he is right. But I meditated on this further and thought of how comforting this was to the believer. Because He cannot, there is nothing in creation including the devil that is greater and mightier than Our God. He will not and cannot be defeated. Therefore, we are safe in His all-powerful arms. Furthermore, He is Truth, so He cannot lie. What He says He will do, He will do, because He cannot lie and He has the power to make it come true. Why God does or doesn’t is wrapped up in His will which is often unknown to us, and we are called on to trust Him. And we can trust Him because He omnipotent and cannot lie and He is also good and loving. And His steadfast love and goodness have been revealed in His acts in the Bible and experienced in our lives. Therefore we are called upon to remember as Psalm 20:7 testifies. And in remembering hope is born. That confident expectation that even in our sufferings, He will bring to pass His promise of “an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Cor. 4:17 NIV)
Ex 3:14
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.
NIV
(And by implication: I will continue to be what I have always been!)
WORD:
Ps 27:4-6
4 One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
NIV (84)
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Ps 27:4-6
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Ps 27:4-6
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
KJV
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Ps 27:4-6
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
ESV
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1. Presence – David earnestly desired to personally experience God’s presence – v. 4
2. Protection – Which led to experiencing God’s protection – vs. 5
3. Promotion – And experiencing exaltation – v. 6
4. Praise – And culminating in God’s praise – v. 6
Verse 6 begins with the phrase, “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me” (ESV). He said this based on the end of verse 5 which spoke of God lifting him up “high upon a rock” (ESV). But David is speaking now about something more than protection from his enemies that surrounded him at the moment. The NLT I believe is wrong and misleading here by translating the Hebrew text here to say, “I will hold my head high.” We all know what this English phrase means:
to be very confident and proud
To be confident or proud:
pride yourself on something,
congratulate yourself,
be a credit to someone...
To walk with confidence and pride,
especially as a way to show that
one is not ashamed of something.
I do not believe David was talking about being proud. We know that God’s Word says,
Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
Prov 16:18 NIV
Nor do I believe that David is speaking of confidence or lack of shame, though those indeed can be some of the resulting benefits of what I think David is saying here.
We can understand what David is saying by looking at how the word “head” is used in Scripture. Nelson’s Bible Dictionary has this helpful synopsis of its use in Scripture:
HEAD
The position of a person's head symbolized various emotions. Wagging the head meant derision; bowing the head showed grief; covering the head with one's hand suggested shame (2 Sam 13:19; Isa 58:5; Mark 15:29). To lift up a person's head was to elevate him to higher rank (Gen 40:20; Jer 52:31). For blood to be on the head of someone meant for that person to bear responsibility and guilt for some specified action (Josh 2:19; Acts 18:6). To heap coals of fire on someone's head meant to make an enemy ashamed by treating him well (Rom 12:20).
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) (emphasis is mine)
In Psalm 3:3 we have a similar expression of protection and promotion:
But you are a shield around me, O Lord;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
Ps 3:3 NIV
Therefore, I believe David is speaking of the exaltation that comes from dwelling in God’s presence and abiding in Him. This takes humility and trust.
Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God's mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:6 NIV
In verses 1-3 we see God’s preserving power. In verses 4-6 His protecting presence. Certainly from these actions of God David could be confident (v. 3), and full of joy (v. 6). Lord let me seek Your glory and accept with humility Your gracious exaltation. I will not seek the glory of man which is fleeting and vain, but evermore Your highest blessings. In Your Son’s Majestic Name which is above all. Amen
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