Pentecost 10                                                                                       August 13, 2006

 

“The LORD Surrounds Us – We Will Not Be Shaken”

Psalm 125

 

            1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.  3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil.  4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. 5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers.  Peace be upon Israel.

 

Something happened this last week that shook us up a little bit.  Suicidal terrorists making bombs out of everyday-looking canisters like shaving cream or hair gel…Evil men plotting to destroy themselves as they are destroying planes…Terrorists hoping to take out thousands of people in one fell swoop.  That is scary stuff.  The fact that an organized group out there would work so fervently and carefully together to be that devious and mean-spirited - you think about that and you don’t feel so secure.  You feel a little shaky.

 

And feeling shaky is not just happening because of some airplane plot thousands of miles from here.  How about your future, right here and right now?  Can you be sure your health will hold up?  What if you have a personal catastrophe and insurance won’t cover it for some reason and you have no choice but to spend more money than you are earning?  What if you lose your job?  What if a mammoth hurricane aims at Galveston/Katy and doesn’t veer to the east this time?  Or what if a lightning strikes a few feet closer to your house the next time?  You could lose your whole house in a matter of moments.  You think about those things and you don’t feel so secure.  You feel a little shaky.

 

This world is a shaky place to live.  It’s shaky and unsafe overseas.  It’s shaky because our routines could change at any given moment.  It’s shaky because we cannot control the world out there.  And it isn’t just the world out there that is shaky.  The world in here (point to your heart) is shaky too.  Our sins shake us.  Think about this last week…have you been a gentle husband or a loving wife?  Have you been a patient parent?  Have you honored and built others up with your tongue?  Have you been lazy, selfish deceptive or disagreeable?  Have you allowed indecent thoughts to make a home in your heart?  The things that go on inside our hearts make us cringe.  My heart is sinful and corrupted and selfish and stubborn and so is yours.  We have sinned against people who are close to us and made them feel awful.  We have been the victim when people who are close to us have sinned against us and made us feel awful.  All of this sin makes us feel insecure and shaky.

 

And then hear what God has to say about our sins.  He vows, “I promise you this – I WILL punish every bit of your sin and rebellion.”  That doesn’t help to calm us down.  That only makes us more afraid and shaky.  Even non-Christians, when they are honest, must admit that they are confused and afraid and shaky.  They can easily see that things in the world are not right.  As a non-Christian friend told me recently, “Human beings want power and control and it has always been like that.  The whole human race is like one big experiment gone bad.  If there is a God, he should just do away with us and start over from scratch.” 

 

If God was fair, he would have done just that.  After Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s clear command not to desire or eat the forbidden fruit, if God was fair, he would have said, “I told them they would die if they disobeyed me.”  And God would have come to Adam and Eve, wiped them off of the face of the earth and started over from scratch.  When God came to find Adam and Eve, they were shaking.  They ran and hid from God, doing everything they possibly could to avoid facing up to what they had done. They knew they had sinned and they knew that God had vowed to punish sin.  They expected God to wipe them off the earth in total destruction.

 

What they didn’t know was what God was going to do for them.  God surprised them with his grace.  He still promised, “I vow I will punish every bit of your sin and rebellion” but instead of punishing the sinful humans he promised that the punishment would fall upon the head of a Substitute.  God offered his very own Son as a Replacement –someone to take the full force of the wrath of God.  He promised that anyone who trusts in his Son, as their substitute will not bear any wrath from God’s hand for their sins but instead will be spared. 

 

Real forgiveness for real sins stops our shaking.  Real forgiveness for real sins makes us confident to stand in God’s presence.  It is only because of forgiveness that the psalmist could write, “Those who trust in the LORD cannot be shaken.”  That is not a typo.  That is not a mistake.  The Word of God doesn’t say, “Those who trust in the LORD have a shot at not being shaken in this shaky world.” No, God’s inerrant truth proclaims, “Those who trust in the LORD cannot be shaken.”  Even with all the shakiness in the world, even though others have sinned against us, even though we are in turmoil because of our sins, those who trust in the LORD cannot be shaken.  It simply is not possible. “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.”

 

That verse describes how we become a part of God’s family.  The next verse describes how we remain a part of God’s family.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.  Isn’t that a beautiful picture?  Jerusalem was a city surrounded by mountains.  The mountains offered protection and calm – since they were there, it more difficult for someone to attack the city.  It would be hard to chop them down and remove them.  And as the mountains surrounded Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.  The mountains offer protection, but the LORD offers more protection.  The mountains seem unmovable, but the LORD will remain even if the mountains should fall into the heart of the sea.

 

So are you afraid of a terrorist attack?  You cannot be shaken and you are surrounded by the LORD.  He will limit their evil and even if you would lose your life at their hands you’d go to heaven instantly.  Are you worried about the hurricane season?  You cannot be shaken and you are surrounded by the LORD.  The LORD promises he will use even something like a hurricane for good.  Are you concerned about your health?  You cannot be shaken and you are surrounded by the LORD.  He will guard you and keep you from all harm.  Are you reeling emotionally because someone close to you has hurt you?  You cannot be shaken and you are surrounded by the LORD.  He will give you the love to forgive them and help you to see them as Jesus sees them – that they are a hurting soul in need of Christ’s love and that they don’t know what they are doing.  Are you bothered by a sin?  You cannot be shaken and you are surrounded by the LORD.  He will point you again and again to the cross where he finished the payment for your sin. 

 

When you trust in the LORD’s forgiveness, you can be unshakable in a shaky world.  You can have the confidence that the LORD surrounds you now and forever.  You can worship him in peace.  You can serve him in love.  You have secure hope for a glorious inheritance.  Amen.