00:00:00.000 - 00:00:24.180

[ Silence ] [MUSIC] ♪ Before His holy name ♪ ♪ Forever and ever ♪

00:00:24.180 - 00:00:41.280

♪ Forever and evermore ♪ ♪ Begging for Him ♪ ♪ Begging for Him ♪ ♪ Begging for His holy name ♪

00:00:41.640 - 00:01:13.180

♪ Forever, forever, forever ♪ ♪ Oh, how wondrous is his name ♪ ♪ The watchdog's ♪ ♪ Is his name ♪

00:01:13.180 - 00:01:37.180

♪ Heaven and earth ♪ ♪ Thy greatness proclaim ♪ ♪ Every knee should bow ♪ ♪ And every tongue confess ♪

00:01:37.180 - 00:02:05.680

♪ That Christ is Lord to all ♪ ♪ Every knee ♪ ♪ Should bow ♪ ♪ And every time ♪

00:02:05.680 - 00:02:26.720

♪ I confess ♪ ♪ That Christ ♪ ♪ Is Lord ♪ ♪ Of all ♪

00:02:27.720 - 00:02:40.200

♪ Let it fire ♪ ♪ Let it fire ♪ ♪ Let it fire ♪ ♪ It's only day forever ♪

00:02:40.200 - 00:02:54.560

♪ Forever ♪ ♪ Forever and evermore ♪ ♪ Let it fire ♪ ♪ Let it fire ♪

00:02:54.560 - 00:03:19.100

♪ And in thy his holy name ♪ ♪ Forever and ever and ever ♪ ♪ Forever and ever ♪ ♪ And in thy his holy name ♪

00:03:19.100 - 00:03:41.440

♪ Forever and ever ♪ ♪ And enjoy his holy day ♪ ♪ And enjoy his holy day ♪ - Amen.

00:03:41.440 - 00:04:11.040

- Amen. - Let's all say amen again. For some time now we have been considering a sermon series based on the book of Psalms. I've been preaching from the book of Psalms now for almost three years, and we are coming to the

00:04:11.040 - 00:04:49.880

close of this sermon series. Today we are to consider the basis of the morning message Psalm 143, Psalm 143. I shall read another translation of this passage earlier in the service for our scripture lesson it was read in the King James version. I shall read the translation of this same hymn. Yahweh hear my prayer,

00:04:49.880 - 00:05:21.520

listen to my plea for aid, in your faithfulness answer me in your consistency, but do not enter into legal proceedings with your servant, since in your sight no living person can ever be in the right. For the enemy has persecuted me, he has crushed my life into the ground, he has made me sit in darkness

00:05:21.520 - 00:06:01.120

like those long dead. My spirit within me has fainted, in my inner being my heart is shot. I remember times long ago I mused on all your activity, on what your hands have done do I meditate. I stretch out my hands to you. I am like parched ground in in my yearning for you.

00:06:01.120 - 00:06:21.000

The subject of the message, my only hope. This is a new year. In this new year, we stand on the threshold of hope.

00:06:23.680 - 00:06:48.020

We are ushered into a new era of hopeful striving. Life on this planet involves striving toward the realization of our hopes. The new year is portrayed as a newborn babe,

00:06:48.020 - 00:07:10.640

a symbol of hope, that which is alive and growing toward fulfillment. Hope is defined as passion for the possible. Another has said, "As long as there is life, there is hope."

00:07:10.640 - 00:07:33.300

Most of us have entertained thoughts concerning possibilities for our future, that which we hope to do in the new year. we may have made promises concerning our goals. Psalm 143 is the experience of a

00:07:33.300 - 00:08:04.220

pilgrim who has waited and watched in the temple for the darkness of the night to change to the dawn of morning light. This song is a prayer so we may call it a prayer hymn just as we sing many prayer hymns in our worship services and it seems to me that there is no better way to begin the new year than with

00:08:04.220 - 00:08:36.980

prayer, a conversation with the Heavenly Father. And so this is a prayer which is a plea made on earth addressed to the Father in heaven. There was a man who in in a certain church, was the leader in the worship service and he always began the service by saying,

00:08:36.980 - 00:08:53.000

let us start with a song. So as we begin anew today, let us start with a song. Let us start with a hymn of praise. Let us start with a prayer hymn to the glory of God.

00:08:54.220 - 00:09:10.300

This song begins with an address. It opens with a plea to the sovereign of the universe. Oh Lord, hear my prayer. The ancient Hebrew people believed that

00:09:10.300 - 00:09:26.460

the new year symbolized dying and birth. And we use those symbols. The old year we describe as an old man that's dying And we speak of the year that is dying.

00:09:26.460 - 00:09:43.100

We express that in our poetry, in our songs. The year is dying as the year passes away. And then we speak of the new year as a new birth. A new birth, a new beginning.

00:09:43.100 - 00:09:55.140

And so what we have here is a symbol of death and resurrection. Born to die to live again. It's a message about the rhythm of the seasons.

00:09:55.140 - 00:10:07.640

It's a message about life. It was believed that at the end of the year, the ancient Hebrews thought of it as a time when every person stood before the great judge

00:10:07.640 - 00:10:27.420

of all the earth, and that all of the deeds that one had done were weighed on the scales, and that if the good outweighs the bad, then you were given a new year.

00:10:27.420 - 00:10:44.600

And they would greet one another by saying, may you be inscribed in the book of life for a new year. Well, each new year is an expression of divine grace. - Amen.

00:10:44.600 - 00:10:57.940

- It reminds us of life and death. It reminds us of hope, new hope for the new year. Now this particular prayer is a plea for aid.

00:10:57.940 - 00:11:07.620

Now every one of us needs aid. We need some help if we're gonna make it through this new year. We need help, help beyond ourselves.

00:11:07.620 - 00:11:17.420

And so the Psalmist recognizes the need for assistance, for assistance in order to meet the challenges of the future. We've gotta have assistance if we're gonna meet

00:11:17.420 - 00:11:30.820

the challenges. There is in the plea an admission of guilt. And everyone who appears before the great judge of all the earth has guilty stains.

00:11:30.820 - 00:11:45.400

We have not done what we ought to have done. There's no question about it. And so when we come before him and stand, the plea is always that of being guilty.

00:11:47.460 - 00:12:04.860

When the question is asked, are you guilty? And we must answer guilty, guilty. The past is stained with our mistakes, with our blunders. It's inspired with our unfaithfulness,

00:12:04.860 - 00:12:21.860

our mistakes, and our fail. We are guilty of having done less than our best. And after having made this address to the Supreme Ruler, after making the admission of guilt,

00:12:21.860 - 00:12:36.000

stating that he does not wish to be treated as a criminal, even though he knows that he has broken the law, he knows that he has not kept the covenant, he begs that he would not be treated as a criminal.

00:12:36.000 - 00:12:50.180

The Psalmist does not make a plea for justice, his plea is for mercy. And every one of us cannot stand making a plea for justice because we have not done as we ought to have done.

00:12:50.180 - 00:13:06.980

If we received justice, our tracks would have been wiped out or blown out by the wind. So here is an admission of guilt. And this admission of failure is a confession

00:13:06.980 - 00:13:15.140

of human weakness. - That's right. All of us are weak. All of us are creatures of clay.

00:13:15.140 - 00:13:38.140

All of us are finite. We have our limitations and we need the infusion of the infinite in order to be able to relate both that which is transitory to that which is eternal. So the admission of guilt is here.

00:13:38.140 - 00:14:03.900

Coupled with the confession of the finite is a cry for the infinite. The cry is not made out of the blue. It's based on the Lord's achievements. It's made according to the past experiences. It's based on what God has done. It's It's based on the Lord's faithfulness.

00:14:03.900 - 00:14:22.100

It's based on the Lord's consistency. It's based on the fact that the God of justice is also rich in mercy. It's based on what God has done during times of crisis.

00:14:22.100 - 00:14:49.500

In other words, the psalmist looks back and he says, "Now, when the enemy has persecuted me, persecuted me, when the enemy has crushed my life to the ground, when the enemy has made me sit in darkness like those long dead, when my spirit within me has fainted,

00:14:49.500 - 00:15:08.360

when my strength has given out, when my inner being, in my inner being, when my My heart has been shot, Lord, I remember all of that. And I remember what you did. In the midst of all of the times when I was upset

00:15:08.360 - 00:15:19.900

and when my enemy thought that I was down and crushed up, when my strength had given out, Lord, I remember that you were there. I remember times, he says, long ago.

00:15:19.900 - 00:15:52.580

It's a good point in our life to look back and remember. Lord what you have done, what mighty deeds you have wrought. Right now I am meditating on your activity in my history. This is a good time brothers and sisters to meditate upon the activity of the eternal in our history. And to think about where God has brought us and to think about what God has done in the midst of all of our waywardness.

00:15:52.580 - 00:16:26.580

In the midst of our shrugging our shoulders with myriad of excuses, God has done great things for us. You know a lot of times we use excuses, we use what somebody else has done in order to justify what we don't do for God. You see, but that's not the way it is. The Psalmist here recognizes that he looks first of all at himself, And he recognizes his own guilt and then he looks back and he thinks about what God has done with all of his mercy

00:16:26.580 - 00:16:45.580

and then he goes on to make his confession. God has done great things for us. I muse, says the psalmist, I meditate on God's past achievements. I remember what God has done and I thank him.

00:16:45.580 - 00:17:14.580

him, what I have received through his goodness, and then after having done that, after looking back and meditating, then the psalmist proceeds to ask God for certain things. He asks God. Now as we meditate, thank God for what he's done. Then in every prayer, we ought to ask God many times, make our petition, particularly when we are at the threshold of a new year.

00:17:14.580 - 00:17:27.500

Now, many times we ask God for the obvious, and we focus on what ought to be secondary concerns. You know, many times we're asking God to give us some material, something,

00:17:27.500 - 00:17:39.640

maybe a new suit or some other gadget, you know, that we may want for our own personal enjoyment. We say, "Lord, give me this, give me that." Yeah, those things are here for us to enjoy,

00:17:39.640 - 00:17:51.500

but really those are secondary concerns. The first thing that we ought to ask God for would be to have a good relationship with Him. That ought to be primary.

00:17:51.500 - 00:18:00.180

We ought to seek that first right now. At the first of the year, the first thing we ought to ask God for is that we ought to have a relationship

00:18:00.180 - 00:18:09.900

where God has priority in our lives. You see, in other words, the scripture says, seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness

00:18:09.900 - 00:18:22.340

and all these other things will be added to you. You want to have a good job, you want to have popularity, you want to have prosperity, you want to have all those things but the first thing is to be rightly related to God.

00:18:22.340 - 00:18:30.100

Seek first the kingdom of heaven. The rule of God in your heart and all these other things are secondary. God knows we need these things.

00:18:30.100 - 00:18:45.100

He knows what we need before we ask. So let me know, he says. In other words, he's asking God for guidance. You ask God for a sense of direction.

00:18:45.100 - 00:18:57.780

I wanna make it through this year. Ask God to guide you. Ask God, which way shall I go? Why they said that the steps of a righteous person

00:18:57.780 - 00:19:05.300

are ordered by the Lord. In other words, he'll guide us into the paths of righteousness. He'll do that.

00:19:05.300 - 00:19:16.420

And what the Psalmist is saying here, direct my desire so that I will desire That which is good, that which is right. So we ask for guidance.

00:19:16.420 - 00:19:34.460

It's a good thing right now for us to ask God for guidance. To guide us, guide our thinking, guide our desires, guide our actions, guide us. Well, he keeps on asking and he asks God for advice.

00:19:34.460 - 00:19:49.180

He says, "Teach me to do thy will." Teach me to do thy will. In other words, God is asked here to teach, to give instructions.

00:19:49.180 - 00:20:03.100

In other words, right here in the vestibule of a new year, we ought to ask God to teach us his way. We know our way, too well do we know it. - That's right.

00:20:03.100 - 00:20:13.820

- What we really don't need, what we really need is to know his way so that he will teach us how to walk in his way, do it his way rather than our way.

00:20:13.820 - 00:20:25.660

That's the trouble with our world, you know. We wanna do it our way rather than his way. And so he asked, so he's really saying, Lord, teach me thy secrets, help me bear

00:20:25.660 - 00:20:38.980

the strain of toil, the load of care. Teach me, teach me. He asked for guidance. He asked for advice.

00:20:38.980 - 00:20:50.580

Then the Psalmist asked for deliverance. He asked for deliverance. We're going to need some deliverance in this year. We're going to get ourselves in some position

00:20:50.580 - 00:21:00.580

that we can't get ourselves out of. And we're going to need a hand that is higher than our hand to deliver us. Deliver us.

00:21:00.580 - 00:21:17.420

So we ask God for deliverance. Lord, free me from my enemies. A lot of things we're up against. Some of us are up against enemies in the flesh.

00:21:17.420 - 00:21:35.300

Human ailments, diseases that contribute to the weaknesses of the flesh, and we need deliverance. Some of us have thoughts that we are up against that are contrary to our success and our well-being

00:21:35.300 - 00:21:48.180

and we need to think good thoughts. As Emma Bombeck says, keep thinking the good thoughts. Sometimes our minds are just filled with bad thoughts, evil thoughts and we need to be delivered

00:21:48.180 - 00:22:04.900

and we need to be freed from the enemies. Then he asked God for shelter from the storm. Oh, brothers and sisters, there's some storms. You can't live in this life without some storms.

00:22:04.900 - 00:22:13.100

You get out there, no matter which way you travel, you're gonna encounter some storms. Driving, you're gonna run into some storms. If you stay on the road long enough,

00:22:13.100 - 00:22:21.060

you're gonna have some storms. If you're in the air, if you keep flying, you're gonna find yourself in some storms. There's turbulence in the air,

00:22:21.060 - 00:22:30.220

but if you're on the sea, you'll find that the waves will be conflurious and the winds will be angry. You'll find yourself in the storms.

00:22:30.220 - 00:22:42.100

has stormed there. And he says, I won't shelter. In other words, he doesn't ask God to take the storm away. He asks that God would shelter him in the storm.

00:22:42.100 - 00:22:54.860

Shelter him in the storm. So what God can do for us, he can give us that inner peace. That inner peace within. In this new year, he can give us that inner peace.

00:22:54.860 - 00:23:11.860

Though the storm is raging all around us, we can have peace. we can have calm in the storm. Ask God for shelter from the storm. So, ask that God's spirit may lead him.

00:23:11.860 - 00:23:28.760

He does, oh master, let me walk with thee in lowly paths of service free. Oh master, let me walk with thee far down the future's broadening way.

00:23:28.760 - 00:23:49.760

In other words, he said, "Now Lord, these are the things I'd like for you to do." But then he concludes his prayer by saying, "Lord, my soul cries for you." Because I can't make it without you. My soul cries for you.

00:23:49.760 - 00:24:02.640

It's like parched ground that cries out for rain. It's crying for you. So my only hope is in you. And so our only hope is by throwing ourselves

00:24:02.640 - 00:24:14.220

upon God's mercy, our hope for the future is that we have a covenant relationship with God. That's our hope. - Amen.

00:24:14.220 - 00:24:26.420

- We're gonna have storms, we're gonna have enemies to contend with, but our only hope is that we have an abiding relationship with God. And so Lord, our hope is in you, that you're our only hope.

00:24:26.420 - 00:24:37.420

You're faithful, we know you're faithful. We waver and we stumble and we blunder and we fail, but Lord, you're faithful. You're faithful.

00:24:37.420 - 00:24:54.420

Cry out, Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly. While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is nigh, leave, oh leave me not alone. still support and comfort me.

00:24:54.420 - 00:25:07.380

Lord, you are my only hope. And so this is the song. First of all, we address God. That's a good way to start.

00:25:07.380 - 00:25:17.420

We address God in our prayer. Secondly, we admit our guilt. Lord, we haven't been what we should have been. We haven't done what we should have done.

00:25:17.420 - 00:25:32.840

And then we proceed to ask God for his help, for his guidance, for his presence with us as we make this journey. And so we can say, oh God, our help in ages past,

00:25:32.840 - 00:25:45.860

our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. Well, that's why we are here today as God's family,

00:25:46.220 - 00:26:01.340

because we are creatures of the flesh that are engaged in hopeful striving. Reinhold Lieber puts it this way, he says, that the Christian faith builds a citadel of hope

00:26:01.340 - 00:26:13.340

on the threshold of despair. No matter how dark may be the scene, there is unrest in South Africa where people are crying out for freedom.

00:26:13.340 - 00:26:25.260

There is civil war in Afghanistan, there are hostages in the Middle East that are being kept there because of the differences we have, one government with the other.

00:26:25.260 - 00:26:38.100

And yet in the midst of all of the turmoil, our only hope is in Jesus Christ. My hope, we sang just a few moments ago, my hope is built on nothing less

00:26:38.100 - 00:26:52.660

than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest rain, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, on Christ, on Christ, on Christ,

00:26:52.660 - 00:27:05.340

the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. We come now for those who would put their trust in him, as we begin anew, come forward.

00:27:05.340 - 00:27:16.220

Father, I stretch my hands to thee. Let us all join in singing that old hymn. Father, I stretch my hands to thee. No other help I know.

00:27:16.220 - 00:27:26.920

You're my only hope for this new year. Let's join in singing that as we extend the pivots of the church. (piano music)

00:27:26.920 - 00:28:17.780

(chanting) [ Music ] Oh, I've had my share. I'll have to leave.

00:28:17.780 - 00:28:40.320

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ I have ♪ ♪ I know ♪ ♪ In God ♪

00:28:40.320 - 00:28:57.860

♪ In God ♪ ♪ I stand ♪ ♪ On me ♪ ♪ Open ♪

00:28:57.860 - 00:29:23.600

♪ The truth ♪ ♪ I know ♪ (singing) [MUSIC]

00:29:23.600 - 00:29:38.600

♪ With you ♪ ♪ Before ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ I do ♪

00:29:38.600 - 00:29:54.600

(laughing) ♪ ♪ One day ♪ ♪ In one layer ♪

00:29:54.600 - 00:30:14.840

♪ Born to save you ♪ ♪ I saw ♪ ♪ From him ♪ ♪ His face ♪

00:30:14.840 - 00:30:24.700

[Music] [ Silence ]