Alright, continuing our series in the Book of Psalms. Psalms abound with praise because of deliverance. This is Lesson 8, The Lord Our Help and Shield. The text of Psalms 114-120 with a focus on Psalm 115. The key verse is 115.9, O Israel, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. In the application, a student will learn to trust in the Lord, who is his help and shield. Just a few words about this section of Psalm 114 to 120. It generally follows the pattern in the previous Psalms that we've just been through. which we're ready to draw our attention to God with the purpose of encouraging us in an attitude of worship and praise, and we can never give too much honor to God. So it's appropriate for these to continue on in meeting that need for encouraging us, challenging us to have an attitude of worship, praise to our Lord. The next is seeking the context. Idolatry was a big problem in the Old Testament for Israel. In fact, they suffered many years of being captive to foreign nations. because of their turning away from God and turning to idols. And if we move on to New Testament times, idolatry was still an issue. Remember the recurring problem or controversy of eating meat offered to idols. Paul in the book of Corinthians tells 1 Corinthians 10, 14, he said he commands us to flee, or them to flee from idolatry. And then in 1 John, the last verse of 1 John, it says, little children, keep yourselves from idols. So it was a big problem. Now God in his new, warned us about that. Sadly though, we have idolatry in our world today. Money and possessions can become idols to us. Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 call covetousness, wanting the possessions or money or fame or whatever of other people. Those books call covetousness idolatry. Some people make celebrities or politicians sports heroes as idols. But the biggest idol, excuse me, of all is the idol of self, thinking me first, me before everything, in fact, me before God. Years ago, we wouldn't have thought of other religions in the world being here in our country. But now we see Muslim temples or buildings or Hindu temples. I haven't heard of Hindu temples, at least in our immediate area, but the second largest Hindu temple in the world, opened in 2023 in New Jersey. It has 10,000 idol statues, statues that the Hindu people or congregation are expected to worship. So, idolatry is still a problem in our world today. Psalm 115, And verse eight tells us, which we'll look at in a little more depth later, but tells us that we become like the idols we worship. I don't know if you, I've never thought about that, but. In fact, a man, G.K. Beale wrote a book on this theme entitled, We Become What We Worship, A Biblical Theology of Idolatry. His conclusion was, worship is such a powerful and a life-transforming practice that we take on the characteristics of whatever we worship. So if we worship money, possessions, things of the world, then we become like the world. But the same is true that if we worship the One and only God, we become like Him. So, The question posed then in seeking the context is, are you becoming like what you worship? Maybe you've never thought about that, but pose the question for us to kind of examine ourselves. So searching the text, our outline is, give God the glory, verses one through three, do not worship idols, verses four through eight, and entrust the Lord to bless you. introduction to this Psalm 115, just a few things about it. We don't know, the book itself, the psalm itself doesn't give us, tell us anything about when it was written. But if we look at the concern that the psalmist has about the attitude of the neighboring nations around Israel, that would indicate that it was a time when Israel was not in the best situation. The conditions for the nation of Israel were not in the best situation. So some commentators think it was written when Israel returned from captivity in Babylon and rebuilt the temple. Remember there was Solomon's temple and then there was, when they came back from captivity, they rebuilt the temple. not to the grandeur that Solomon's Temple was, but still it was rebuilt because it needed a place to worship. It was not the ornate, fancy building that Solomon had built, but still it was dedicated to worship, and that's what they wanted to do, needed to do. So the people of the neighboring nations around them did not see any images there in this second temple, and so they might have wondered where their gods were, because their neighboring nations, their concept of god was idols. And then the people of Israel were only allowed to return. They were in captivity prior to this. They were only allowed to return because Cyrus, king of Persia, allowed them to leave this country. And so the neighboring nations may have thought, well, what's so special about these people that a king, a foreign king, would allow them to leave this country to go back to Israel? But this gave the psalmist an opportunity in this psalm to explain to them who God was and how he compared to the false gods and the idols of their nations. So this is a psalm of praise which also describes the blessings of God on his people when they trust him. Some commentators think that it may have been sung at the dedication of the second temple. So that's a little background on the psalm. So our first point is give God the glory. Look at verse one, I'll read it into it entirely and then we'll come back and break it down. not unto us, so he repeats it. When God repeats for his, inspires his writers to repeat something, it's there for reinforcement, but it's also there to get our attention that this is something important. So he says, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. So the wording of this is a little bit unique. Rather than stating how honor was due to the Lord, initially, he declared no person or no thing had the right to be honored. He says, not unto us, before he ever gives what the subject is, not unto us, not unto us. It was possible, I guess, that the neighboring nations may have wanted to honor themselves for their position or their power. And the psalmist declares that the reason only God should receive glory is because He's the only one that's deserving of it. Now, what things has God done to to make Him deserving of it. Well, first of all, He's the Creator, the Creator of heaven and earth. Secondly, He's been gracious and He's been merciful. Because of that, He's deserving of it. of all praise. He's gracious, or He sheds His grace on us. Well, first is mercy. He gives us mercy. He doesn't give us what we do deserve. And that's what we call mercy. He gives us grace. Grace is giving us what we don't deserve, which is salvation. And He's the one who accomplished salvation by sending His own Son to go to the cross and pay for our sins. And then He's the standard of truth, because John 17, 17 says His Word is truth. So no one had the right to step in and claim that glory and take it away from God. Verse two, it says, wherefore should the heathen say, so this is the people of these neighboring nations who are idol worshipers. Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God? The heathen nations, their concept of God was idols. They look around and they don't see any idols that the Jews are worshiping. And this was really a taunt, the Gentiles taunting the Jews. They were saying, our gods are in our temple. We go there and we worship them. You know, where are your gods? And that taunt, and the Jews just despised that taunting. Verse three said, they respond to what the heathens say, the question they ask, and they say, but our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. And that's kind of the same as saying, God is God, the Jews saying to the heathen, God is God and you are not. Notice what Isaiah said, Isaiah 55, nine. It says, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. So Isaiah reminds us God ways are far superior to ours. And this verse also is another reason why God alone is to be worshipped and to receive all the glory. He's the sovereign ruler of the universe. And we have no right to tell Him what to do. He does what He pleases, this verse says, all the time. And no one can stop Him. As Ken Ham likes to say, God makes the rules. Second point is, do not worship idols. Verses four through eight. Verse four says, their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. So in contrast to God, these idols were nothing. They were made of precious metals, expensive metals, gold and silver, but still they were the work of men's hands. This contrasted to God in that God was not created by man's hands or by man's imagination. Idols have the appearance of being able to act, but that's just a farce. Look at verse 5. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not. So their mouths couldn't speak. This indicates that they couldn't give information or directions to their people. All of these have a relationship between God or between a God and their people. So first we're looking at the idols and the people who worship them. So their mouths can't speak and they can't give directions or information to their people. Secondly, their eyes could not see. So their eyes couldn't see the trouble that their people were having. Verse six says, they have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell not. So they couldn't hear the pleas of their people asking for help. They couldn't smell. So if they offered sacrifices to their idols, they couldn't smell that aroma that was lofting up. Verse 7 says they have hands but they handle not, feet have they but they walk not, neither speak they through their throat. So their man-made hands couldn't hold anything or didn't have the strength to do anything or to help anyone. They had to be carried around by their worshippers because they had no ability to walk these idol statues. So they had all the physical attributes of people, but they were only battle images. They had no ability to act, to see, to hear, to smell, to walk, any of those things. But the saddest thing, let's look at verse eight. They that make them are like unto them. This is the verse we referred to in the beginning, in the introduction. So the saddest thing about adultery is that those who worship them become like them. Not that they turn into a statue out of silver or gold, but their senses become dulled like the idols they worship. They speak contrary to God and His Word. They cannot see who the true God is or what He desires for them. They cannot hear and will not listen to what God commands of them. They use their hands for sinful purposes instead of serving God with them. and they walk contrary to God's way instead of having a walk that pleases God. All these things are negative. But to sum it up with a positive, their senses are dulled to the fact that God is real and God has a purpose for their lives. And he goes on in verse 8, so is everyone that trusts in them. These idol worshippers trust in their idol gods, but we look through the Old Testament, Israel learned the hard way how many times that idol gods can't, and the way that idol gods cannot be trusted. How many times have our money and possessions failed us? And it's trusting in them and then us being let down. They failed us. We only have to look, just kind of on a regular basis, people trust their money or they trust someone to handle their money and they find out the person has been completing a, or been doing what's called a Ponzi scheme where he takes the money and then trying to pay someone else, and there's a shortage of money, but he just keeps circulating it, and keep people thinking they're making money, and we think of Bernie Madoff, who's in prison now for the rest of his life, but the people trusted in him, they trusted in their possessions, and now many of them lost everything. Only God is trustworthy and never fails us. Prophet Isaiah said in 44 verses 10 to 11, who has formed a God or molten and graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed. And the workmen, they are men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. Yet they shall fear and they shall be ashamed together. But when we put our trust in, when we put our trust in idols, we're gonna end up being ashamed also. Here's a question for some thought. Can you describe a time when your idols failed you? When you put too much importance on something and found out that it was not important at all, especially not important as God is. And then lastly, trust the Lord to bless you. So here the psalmist turns his attention toward the God who could do something for his people, as opposed to those idols who fail to do anything for their people. I'm going to read verses 9 to 11 together. It says, O ye that fear the Lord, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. So it looks at three different groups of people. One is the nation Israel. Secondly, the legal priests that are at the house of Aaron. And then the proselytes to Judaism, those who are God-fearing. It says, ye that fear the Lord, those who convert to being Jews or following Judaism, who were given credit, they were God-fearers. They were looking for answers. They didn't have the complete answer because they didn't believe in the Messiah, but they were God-fearers. And he's saying to all of them, Trust in the Lord. Trust in the true and real God. The message was, He is your help. Trust in the Lord. He's your help and your shield. He's the one who will help you. He's the one who will defend you. Psalm 118.8 says, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. So the best thing we can do in time and in any circumstances of life is to trust the Lord. It may not seem like what he's saying is the right answer to whatever choice we have to make, but then that's when we have to trust him the most. I found working with teenagers that just get them to I know what you think, I know what it seems like, but trust the Lord. If He says it's a bad idea, it's a bad idea. Just trust and go with what God says, listen to God. Verses 12 and 13. The Lord had been mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord of small and great. So these verses say, when we trust the Lord, we can be certain He'll bless us. And He goes through these same three groups that we looked at in verses 9 through 11, where He calls on them to trust the Lord. In verses 12 and 13, those same three groups, He says to each one of them, trust the Lord and you will be blessed. Verse 12 says, the Lord had been mindful of us. The Lord knows us. Unlike the mindless idols, Matthew 10.30 says, He's so mindful of us, He can number the hairs on our head. If God knows those minute details in our life, He's one that we can trust. He knows us inside and out. We can trust Him to supply our needs. There will never be a time when we trust the Lord and it turns out to be a bad decision. Verse 14, the Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Saying the Lord will bless your family if you trust Him. There are many blessings that come from the Lord. is one, you are blessed in the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Even the heavens are the Lord's, but the earth he'd given to the children of men. So God created the heavens and the earth and he made us caretakers or put us in dominion on the earth. So that's a blessing to us. I'm gonna read a few verses now just to tabulate some of the blessings God gives us. Proverbs 16, 20 says, he that handles the matter wisely shall find good, and whoso trusts in the Lord, happy is he. So God promises a happy life if we'll trust in him. Psalm 32, 10 says, he that handles the matter, Okay, I got two verses, probably the same. Anyway, 32.10 has to do with experiencing, when we trust God, we experience his mercy. We've also seen that in an earlier verse there. Proverbs 29.25, the fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. So he promises us safety when we trust him. Isaiah 26.3 says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind will stay on thee, because he trusteth in thee. So he promises us perfect peace if we'll trust him. Psalm 125.1 says, They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. So He promises us strength and stability when we trust in Him. And then in Jeremiah 17, verses 7 and 8, it says, Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see, when heat cometh, that her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. So the Lord, this verse says, provides nourishment and refreshing. Refreshing from the heat, nourishment even in times of drought. And in Psalm 37, verses 3 through 5, it says, trust in the Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. So somehow those verses, the Lord will make our way prosperous when we trust him. The last of verse 40 of this same psalm says, and the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him. So we will be delivered from the wicked if we trust in the Lord. So every one of those verses has the word trust or a derivative of trust, trusteth. in it, emphasizing how important it is for us to trust in the Lord. And these are not the only verses, but it's many of them. So what are some blessings you have received from trusting the Lord? What would you add to this list? It's general blessings, specific blessings. Anyone have something come to mind? Salvation? Probably the top of the list. Okay, I'm gonna interject that question in there before we get to verse 17 and 18. So verse 17 and 18. "'Cause the dead, praise not the Lord, "'neither any that go down into silence, "'but we will bless the Lord from this time forth "'and forevermore.'" Praise the Lord. So these songs of praise that we're looking at, those who were dead couldn't join in those songs to praise for obvious reasons, but the living should bless the Lord as forevermore, verse 18 says, or as long as we have breath. The word bless here has the idea of bowing down before God as an act of adoration. We think of the formula for our prayer life, our devotional prayer, ACTS. A stands for adoration. Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. The word blessed here is used in a way to mean vowing before God, vowing before God to show our adoration for Him. And if God has blessed us, we definitely need to be showing Him adoration, honor, and glory. And the writer closes off this verse of praise, or this psalm of praise, by saying, praise the Lord. One other thing I wanted to note here. We spoke about becoming like the thing we worship, and that's what we see here. Just as these idol worshipers became deadened, like dead idols that they worshiped, Worshippers of God become full of life like the life-giving God that they worship. Let me repeat that one more time. Just as the idolaters become dead like the dead idols that they worship, worshipers of God become full of life like the life-giving God that they worship. So we become what we worship. So we need to trust in the Lord and worship the Lord. So one take-home question here, something to think about. What are some blessings you've received from trusting the Lord? It's not always material blessings either. Many times it's spiritual blessings. The fruit of the Spirit. Pardon me? The fruit of the Spirit. Good. We're all looking to grow, to walk in the Spirit, and to grow in the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit, exhibit those qualities that our scriptures give us for the fruit of the Spirit. Okay, I'm going to close right here, off a little bit of our work. Father, thank you for this lesson, thank you for this psalm, and the importance of trusting you, and not trusting your own understanding, but to trust your word and what the scriptures tell us. We pray that you would help us to do that day to day, week to week, month to month, and so on. Thank you for Your blessings in our lives, thank you for your blessings in our church. We thank you for a time that we can set aside today as Textual Appreciation Day. We pray you'll bless from heaven and earth two barriers that lead, and we pray that you will supply their needs and just bless their outreach as they preach the word. We pray that you would use it. In our lives, we might be more conformed to your son and his new son. Let us pray for this worship service. May God bless all of you there. Let us sing and pray. Amen. th th