Christ in the Psalms, God our Help - SERMON NOTES

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study.

Intro: (1) advent intro (2) Psalm 124 — thinking about how God helps us, sometimes in ways we don’t even think about (guy who packed the parachute) (3) four ways to experience
God’s help

Confessing our dependence (1-2): (1) first half of an “if-then” statement that David is encouraging Israel to say (2) why would he have to encourage them to say this? — perhaps they have forgotten or perhaps it hasn’t felt like he is with them or perhaps they have drifted back into self-sufficiency (3) other “if” examples  Jacob in Gen. 31:42, Moses in Deut. 32:29 (4) sometimes we need “if” situations to be reminded of our dependence (cf. Bobby unclogging sink with leaf blower) (5) what “if” situation are you going through right now — whatever it may be, remember the “if” of Romans 8:31

Naming our fears (3-5): (1) second half the “if-then” statement — three-fold “then” (2) two images — angry ravenous beasts and uncontrollable flooding water (cf. elk, rafting) (3) the result of these situations without God would have been death (i.e. “swallowed up, swept away, gone over”) (4) these images reference real dangers experienced at the hands of a fallen creation — we are not immune from these even if our faith is in Christ (5) naming our fears — family, health, job, money, having friends, feeling stuck (6) Peterson — hazardous work

Remembering our close calls (6-7): (1) blessing the Lord here is a term of enrichment — pointing to how the Lord has been a help “enriches” his name/reputation (2) reference is made to the previous wild animal imagery, and how David was spared (3) the picture of escape is like that of a bird escaping a net (cf. Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18-19) (4) app #1 — bolstering our faith and faith of others with stories of God’s faithfulness (need example) (5) app #2 — provides a grid for coming into corporate worship (6) app #3 —also provides a grid for sharing our faith (need example)

Declaring our trust (8): (1) first line = sermon title — second line gives reason (cf. 121:1-2) (2) “name” = all of the Lord’s attributes (3) all of the trials/struggles we encounter are subject to God’s ultimate rule (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16-17, Mt. 10:28, David and Goliath) (4) victory language applied to Christ (cf. Col. 2:15) intended to shape our experience of him daily (cf. Psalm 63:1) (5) this kind of trust declaration only comes after round and round of v.1-7 (cf. Grady during my first big people situation)

Conclusion: Scottish church singing this song after minister’s imprisonment