Becoming Nothing to Become Something

June 25, 2019

Worship in WORD

Psalm 29                          A psalm of David. 29 Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The v-oice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. 11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. NIV (’84)

Psalm 29                              A psalm of David. 29 1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings*; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. 2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 3 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. 5 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. 8 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!" 10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters. The Lord reigns as king forever. 11 The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace. , New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved_.

Psalm 29                              A Psalm of David. 29 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. 11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. KJV

Psalm 29                   Ascribe to the Lord  Glory                                              A Psalm of David. 29 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, "Glory!" 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! ESV

I. Splendor – vv. 1-2

II. Storm – vv. 3-9

III. Sovereignty – v. 10

IV. Stillness – v. 11

SPLENDOR

I began the study of this Psalm by pointing out the greatness of the One in whose presence we all must seek. I identified a weakness in the word “ascribe” to express the glory David is trying to convey. I identified my failure to feel the weight of the majesty portrayed.  In the last study, I “identified” the actual audience addressed in verses 1 & 2. I put that in quotes because I never came to a definite conclusion as to who they were. I said,

To me, it matters not who is addressed. In the end, whether it be angels or rulers of men, the god’s (demons) of the world or heroes, Goliaths or shepherd boys, all must bow before the LORD who alone is worthy of the highest praise and recognition as almighty and glorious.

Most likely, David is addressing the heavenly host with a backhanded swipe at Baal, whom the surrounding pagans worshipped as the storm god. But again, it doesn’t follow that this is the only application or audience David had in mind. For if the highest created beings in terms of glory and strength must fall down before the One who is infinitely more glorious and powerful than they, then indeed so should all of humanity do so as well. The prince and the pauper, the powerful and the powerless, the prodigious and the plain – all that is finite – stand on equal ground in the presence of the infinite, or better yet, bow. His presence is the great equalizer. We are all laid low. We will all one day appear before the throne, and every knee will bow, whether by choice or compulsion (see Phil. 2:10-11; Rom. 14:10-11).

And yet in another sense, the presence of God is the great exalter. For all who are humble before Him – who recognize their infinite unworthiness – will, in the end, be exalted. But the proud and arrogant will be humbled.

This is what Jesus teaches us:

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke 14:11 NIV

And so the Apostles taught:

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10 NIV

⁵ Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proudbut gives grace to the humble."
 ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:5-7 NIV

Mary praises:

⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
Luke 1:51-52 NIV

David sings:

Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly,but the proud he knows from afar.
Ps 138:6 NIV

The Prophets say:

For the Lord of hosts has a dayagainst all that is proud and lofty,against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;Isa 2:12 ESV

¹ FOR BEHOLD, the day comes that shall burn like an oven, and all the proud and arrogant, yes, and all that do wickedly and are lawless, shall be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
² But unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and you shall go forth and gambol like calves [released] from the stall and leap for joy.
Mal 4:1-2 AMP

The heathen confess:

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.Dan 4:37 NIV

Our Savior not only taught it, but He also lived it out flawlessly and sacrificially! And the Apostle Paul uses Christ our Lord as the ultimate example we should follow on the pathway of humility and exaltation:

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ,to the glory of God the Father.
¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ¹⁶ as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

         Phil 2:3-16 NIV

Therefore, coming full circle, I again quote Luke 14:11 (see also Matt. 18:4; Luke 18:14)

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke 14:11 NIV

It’s all about taking the words of John the Baptizer upon our lips and into our lives:

He must become greater; I must become less.
John 3:30 NIV

We must become nothing and He everything. Paradoxically, when we become nothing, we will ultimately become something – though we may lose our heads before our life here is over.

For everyone who sets himself up as somebody will become a nobody, and the man who makes himself nobody will become somebody."

Luke 18:9b PHILLIPS

I end this portion with these penetrating comments:

Luke 14:7-11

Scripture is full of similar testimonies, that God is an enemy to all who desire to exalt themselves, as all who claim for themselves any merit must of necessity make war with Him. It is a manifestation of pride to boast of the gifts of God, as if there were any excellence in ourselves, that would exalt us on the ground of our own merit. Humility, on the other hand, must be not only an unfeigned abasement, but a real annihilation of ourselves, proceeding from a thorough knowledge of our own weakness, the entire absence of lofty pretensions, and a conviction that whatever excellence we possess comes from the grace of God alone.

(from Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Luke 14:7-11

Humility is a fundamental grace in the Christian life, and yet it is elusive; if you know you have it, you have lost it! It has well been said that humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves; it is simply not thinking of ourselves at all. Jesus is the greatest example of humility, and we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to imitate Him (Phil 2:1-16).

(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

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Worship in Witness

The other day I fell down on my knees at the sofa in my living room. I confessed that after over 4 years of my wife being gone, it still weighed heavily on my heart. My thoughts still were encumbered with imaginary conversations with her. This unresolved issue had impeded my walk with the Lord. I confessed that it frequently quelled my pursuit of satisfaction and joy. I realized that it often quenched the fire of my zeal. And if I continued to allow this, I wondered if it might just quash my faith.

The letter to the Hebrews contains these appropriate verses. The author was writing to a group of believers who were considering giving up in light of the suffering they were facing. In chapter 12, the author makes this exhortation in light of the faith exhibited by many Old Testament saints who lived and died for their beliefs, and ultimately, in the supreme example found in our Lord.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Heb 12:1-3 NIV

So Lord,

             let Your word do its work in me...

¹⁰ For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

¹¹ so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isa 55:10-11 ASV

**************

¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Heb 4:12-13 ESV

Lord, let Your word do its perfect work

Reveal the hidden faults that in me lurk

That by Your sword it may be destroyed

You said Your word will not return void

Bring to light all the things that hinder me

So I may cast them off and run fully free

And may I constantly fix my eyes on You

Always keeping Your example in view

Persevering in faith until my final breath

And cross the finish line with joy at death

Amen

***********

Oh sword of God come pierce my soul

Make it willing by Thy marvelous grace

To listen not in part, but in the whole

And run with certainty this glorious race

Straining forward towards the finish line

And though I may stumble and fall down

I will get up and declare Your will, not mine

That I may run the race to receive the crown

Amen

Worship in Song: Shadows of the Dawn by The Gray Havens

A world away and still not far

Like fabric woven into ours

The dawn, it shot out through the night

And day is coming soon

The kingdom of the morning star

Can pierce a cold and stony heart

Its grace went through me like a sword

And came out like a song

Now I'm just waiting for the day

In the shadows of the dawn

But I won't wait, resting my bones

I'll take these foolishness roads of grace

And run toward the dawn

And when I rise, and dawn turns to day

I'll shine as bright as the sun

And these roads that I've run, will be wise

It's veiled and stands behind the shroud

The final day when trumpets sound

Sometimes I glimpse into the fog

And listen for the song

Til then I'm waiting for the day

In the shadows of the dawn

But I won't wait, resting my bones

I'll take these foolishness roads of grace

And run toward the dawn

And when I rise, and dawn turns to day

I'll shine as bright as the sun

And these roads that I've run

No, I won't wait, resting my bones

I'll take these foolishness roads of grace

And run toward the dawn

And when I rise, and dawn turns to day

I'll shine as bright as the sun

And these roads that I've run, will be wise

Video: https://youtu.be/rPrp6yi6ejo

Lyrics: https://www.last.fm/music/The+Gray+Havens/_/Shadows+Of+The+Dawn/+lyrics