Readings; Psalm 51:1-12, John 6:24-35,Romans 10:5-13, Psalm 62:1-8
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, August 4, 2024
This morning as we come to the communion table I want to talk about two simple themes. 'Trusting' and 'Telling'. I would like us to focus on verse 8 of Psalm 62 which reads “Trust in God at all times , my people, tell God all your troubles, for God is our refuge”.
The Psalm speaks of three things;
• Trusting in God
• Telling God what troubles us, and then gives us the reason why we should do that,
• God is our refuge.
Why talk about this verse? Well please keep in mind as I minister this morning, I'm not trying to sell you anything, I'm not trying to entertain you, all that I desire this morning is that by looking at this Psalm we can open up our lives a little bit more to the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He can come today, in the power of His Spirit's love and can do something special for us. Of course, if that is to happen, then we must trust in God. As this verse says;
1. Trust in God at all times, my people.
All times, includes the present moment. It is what is happening here and now in our heart relationship with God that is the vital thing. We can say to ourselves, 'Lord, I'll trust You for tomorrow, but, well, today things are not as they should be”. We can think back on past experiences and say, 'Lord, I placed my trust in You, last week, or last month or last year or in that service or 'the hour when I first believed”. But those moments are either yet to come or have already passed into history.
We are here because God has invited us. We are here because God has made it possible for us to be here. We are here, at this place, at this hour, for a purpose and a reason. Our purposes and reasons may not be all the same, but we are, nevertheless, all here. In a similar way, God is here. This is God's meeting place, God's touching place, with our lives and the question the Psalmist has placed on God's lips is 'Do you trust me?' 'Trust in God at all times, my people.'
Notice God is not asking us if we are hoping that God can help us out. God is inviting us to place our trust in Him. Trust and hope are not the same thing. Maybe I’ve told before the story of the tightrope walker and Niagara Falls It’s a favorite illustration of mine, so I don’t mind using it again.
A particular entertainer had a show, which featured a tightrope stretched across the Niagara Falls, across which he walked, pushing a wheelbarrow. Before he set off, he said to an onlooker, 'Do you believe I can do it?'. 'Yes, of course I do'! said the spectator. 'Right' said the entertainer, 'Then jump in the wheelbarrow and I'll push you across!'
Now not one of us would jump into the wheelbarrow of a tightrope walker if we only 'hoped' they would make it across. We would have to genuinely 'trust' they could do what they said they could do.
God does not want us just to 'hope' in Him. It doesn't seem to work when we come to God with an attitude of 'Well; I sure hope You can do something about my life, and this world that we live in and it's problems and all that stuff'. That is not a commitment. That's an evasion. That's not faith. That's just expressing an interest.
Jesus was quite clear. Simply being interested in the things He was up to was not a qualification for discipleship. The commitment he asked for was plain. 'Follow Me!' Only a fool would leave everything to follow somebody they 'hoped' might turn out to be a decent sort of chap. The foolishness of the gospel is the power of God for those who are being saved. Paul writes in Romans 10:11 'The Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
Trust in the things that this world offers, and we easily reach a barrier of disappointment. Money can buy a lot of things, but life is more than things. We can surround ourselves with earthly security, financial plans, people to care for us and all of that, but at the end of all things it is just going to be us and God, and then where will our security be?
How would the Psalmist answer that question? Verse 7 'My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong Protector, He is my Shelter.' Let us search our hearts this morning. Who are we trusting? Who are we depending on? The psalmist encourages us to take this message on board. ‘Trust in God at all times'. Then we are invited;
2. 'Tell God all your troubles'
What a gem of a verse to focus on as we come to a table laid with bread and wine! Here is God saying “What's on your mind? What's bothering you this morning? C'mon, tell me about it!' What a great statement 'Tell God all your troubles'.
So let us use our God given imaginations for a moment. Instead of being here in church, imagine that we are sitting alone, on a bench, on a beautiful summers morning, right by the banks of a clear, cool, flowing stream. It's a perfect day. There is nobody else around. You are alone with your thoughts.
You start to think things through. Some worries and concerns start to surface. Some regrets. Some doubts. Some deep-down hurts that you thought you were over. It all starts to build up. You are a little tensed up right now.
Then along comes Jesus and He sits down on the bench right next to you. It doesn't feel strange. It just feels right. He smiles, looks you in the eye and says, “Hey, What's wrong? What's troubling you? How can I help?”
What would we say? We couldn't hide the truth from Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We know He wants only the absolute best for us. I think some of us would have tears. We'd have things to share we are afraid to share with anybody else. Experiences for the past that we have bottled up and sometimes been ashamed of.
We'd share things we are going through right now. For one it might be a money problem. For another it might be anger. For another it might be a relationship. For some it might be a habit we can't let go of, or a sickness that won't let go of us. Maybe we'd just tell Him how tired we are or lonely we are or frustrated we are by life right now. For sure each one of us would have something different to say. Yet He would deal with each one of us.
That picture, in our minds, it is not just an image. It's a way of thinking our way into the Bibles teaching. Whenever we gather in His name, Jesus is among us. The Risen Christ is in our midst and by His Holy Spirit, as we lay our lives before Him, He longs to help, He comes alongside us and says, 'Tell me all your troubles.'
He invites us to come to His table so that we remember Him, not as a dead prophet, but as our Living Lord, whose love went to the depth of the Cross. That we remember He wants to be involved with the whole of our lives. That He is the healer, the restorer, the bringer of peace, the joy bearer, the One who offers truth and justice and dignity and light.
Trust in God. Tell God all your troubles. Then thirdly think on that last part of the verse;
3. God is our refuge.
A refuge is a place of shelter from pursuit or danger or trouble. Many times, in his life, David, the person who receives the credit for collecting together all of these Psalms, had to escape from King Saul, who wanted him dead. Though David had to find a literal hiding place, the source of his strength was not in the depths of some dark cave, but in the light of trust in God. He expresses his complete confidence on God to protect him and save him. In the words of one of our hymns 'Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee'.
Here at the table of the Lord are emblems and symbols of our faith. Here is our shelter, our refuge. We can know the security of Christ's love, if only we allow His Holy Spirit to break through to our hardened hearts.
I recall some years ago, when I served a church in inner city Liverpool, I went on study leave to a place called Waverley Abbey, in Southern England. As the course went on, I regretted my choice. I was serving a struggling congregation. We were plagued by local crime. The drug abusers in the area used to shoot up on our church steps. We had put barbed wire around the roof because vandals would steal the slates and the lead that held the slates in place.
It seemed everybody else on the course was serving thriving congregations, with budgets that overflowed and growth like that of the day of Pentecost. The more the week went along, the more discouraged I became. I almost left early as it was a long drive back to the north. But I decided to stay for the final communion service.
I couldn't tell you what the preacher said. I couldn't tell you what the hymns we sang were. I couldn't tell you if we had communion by intinction or in little cups or how it was served.
What I remember from that service was a lady Baptist minister who sat down and sang a solo at the piano. I can't tell you her name, I can't even tell you what the song was, but as she sang, suddenly and unexpectedly, a warmth started to flow from the top of my head, to the tips of my toes. It was as though Jesus had come and sat on that bench next to me and said, “Tell me all your troubles.”
And I left that course with a goofy smile on my face, a burden lifted from my shoulders and went back into ministry in the city with a renewed hope and trust in God. What happened? God did what only God can do. Overflowed with grace that gave me a new perspective on my situation and changed my heart from within.
Before that time and since that time there have been other occasions when God has broken through. Always unexpected. Always memorable. Always with grace and truth and peace. God is our refuge.
So come to this place of refuge, this table, this day. Remember Jesus Christ in such a way that you know... He remembers you! He died for you. He was raised for you. His Holy Spirit can guide you and lead you and heal you and feed you!
As the Psalmist says; “Trust in God at all times , my people, tell God all your troubles, for God is our refuge.”
To God's name be all glory. Amen!
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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