“Because they do not regard the works of the LORD Nor the deeds of His hands…” (Psalm 28:5 NASB).
Embedded in this psalm, in verse 5, is a phrase I would like to draw your attention to. David is complaining about his enemies, and he says that they do not regard the Lord’s works. They do not understand the Lord’s actions. That is what struck me when I was reading this psalm a few days ago. I have to admit that the first thing that came to mind when I read those words about the Lord’s works was something totally outside of the context of Psalm 28. I thought about peek tramping: hiking to the top of a mountain, and looking out on the landscape, and seeing something terrific and unimaginable, and just knowing “This is what the LORD did.” It’s sort of like art appreciation, only the artist is God, and not humans. I know why we have to take classes in art appreciation, because there is so much art that I don’t automatically appreciate. But I always appreciate God’s amazing landscapes in nature.
Many of the interpreters of this passage in Psalm 28 think of it in those terms. But others are a bit closer to David’s idea when they interpret it not in terms of creation but in terms of providence. When you think about David, you think about the work that God did in preserving him, in rescuing him from his enemies. David, after all, is the one who fought the big, hairy, scary dude, Goliath. God’s work was preserving David and bringing him victory over his enemies. David was not always a skinny kid with rocks, he grew up a warrior, and fought battles, and God’s work was preserving him in those battles.
I want to invite you to regard another of the LORD’s works this morning. We do that on a regular basis here at Takanini Community Church. We come together regularly and think about the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ when we partake of the elements of what we call the communion meal, or the Lord’s Supper. Most of the world does not regard this. They don’t think about the fact that this is the Lord’s work. These symbols remind us of what the Lord did for us.
God has a long standing history of reminding his people of himself, and what he did for them. We think about the Passover, and how every year the people of Israel have a dinner and think about it. For us, nearly every week we get together and use this time to think about what the Lord did for us, and that is truly what it is. By virtue of our coming together and eating a bit of bread and drinking grape juice, we are not accomplishing anything. We are not carrying on any sacrifice, and there’s nothing magical happening on our end here. The emblems that we are taking do not become anything magical. But as we regard what God did for us, we are making a statement of faith.
Jefferson Vann
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Takanini Community Church
Auckland, New Zealand
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