September 21 2025
Psalm 115
The twenty-ninth of August, 2025, marked the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in New Orleans. Most of us still remember how Katrina had first slammed into the Florida coast but then jumped over Florida to land in the Gulf. There Katrina quickly picked up strength from the warm waters. At one point Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane but fortunately it slowed down to only a Category 3 level when it made landfall. Despite it’s power, the biggest issue was not so much sheer destruction but rather the incredible storm surges Katrina created. Some areas had surges over twenty feet high. These surges caused the levee system that protected New Orleans to fail so that over eighty percent of New Orleans was quickly flooded. Over 1300 people in the Delta region died from the affects of this deadly storm. There was also an estimated 125 and 200 billion dollars in damages. This made Katrina one of the deadliest and costliest storm to ever hit the United States.
Now it should come as no surprise that with a storm creating this much havoc that the government was soon overwhelmed in their ability to bring the substantial relief that the thousands of displaced people sorely needed at this time. Yet all was not lost because it was not long after Katrina subsided that there began a groundswell of activity pouring out, headed south to bring more life to a place where so much life had been lost. In the years that followed the onslaught of Katrina it was estimated that the Salvation Army assisted over a million people who had been displaced. The United Methodist church, for example, mobilized almost 60,000 people to go and aid in the restoration efforts. They fixed and repaired over 20,000 homes destroyed by Katrina. In the United Methodist church alone there was 66 million dollars pledged to bring assistance and relief to those who had experienced such devastating losses. Yet, this was but one denomination’s efforts. There were thousands more churches large and small who packed up there gear and headed south to help the rebuild. My Dad and his friends went to help several times and they even got to experience what Mardi Gras was like in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Now, when we look back on that horrendous storm it is easy to focus on the death and destruction. Yet, we must not forget that in response to a broken world which brings forth such destruction there is a force which moves those not directly affected to go and to serve in times of need. We should be, I believe, be just as in awe of this force as we are when we stand in awe of the power that we witness in a hurricane. This force which moves people to respond to those who find themselves in the worst is called worship. You see, my worship of God is supposed is to have an affect on you when you find yourself in your worst. And, likewise, your worship is to affect me in my worst. It is in our worst that we are to discover that we do not have to suffer alone because someone, somewhere, has worshiped God. When your worship moves you to serve me in my worst then I find that even there in my worst I too am able to join in the worship of our God, praising him for sending people to serve others in their worst.
This worshipping with others in their worst is what was witnessed in the aftermath of Katrina. This is also the same truth that we find in a song sung by Jesus and his followers. This song is what we know as being the one-hundred and fifteenth Psalm. In this series of messages, called, “Worship in our Worst”, we are looking at the songs sung by Jesus the night before he was to face the worst day of his life. That night before his crucifixion Jesus and his friends were celebrating a Jewish festival called Passover. This was a night to remember how these once former slaves down in Egypt had become Israel, the people of God. As part of the celebration the people of God sang six songs, what we now call the one-hundred and thirteenth Psalm through the one-hundred and eighteenth Psalm. It was these songs that I believe strengthened Jesus as he faced the worst this world had to offer. So we can follow the lead of Jesus and discover in these songs truths that assist us to worship when we face the worst this world throws at us. Today we come to the third song sung that evening as Jesus and his disciples sat around the table.
The one-hundred and fifteenth Psalm begins with a phrase that has been strangely missing from the earlier Psalms sung that evening. This phrase is this, “…steadfast love and faithfulness”. The song writer exclaims that it is not our name which is to receive the glory for only the name of God is worthy of being exalted. The name of God is his very character, this is what we are called to consider as having the utmost worth to us. The reason why the name or character of God is to be worth everything is that our God is a God of, “…steadfast love and faithfulness”. Now the reason why this phrase is so important is that steadfast love and faithfulness is God’s unchanging way of being with us. If you were to read through this entire book called Psalms, you would discover that this way of speaking about God is found everywhere in these songs. We even find this phrase in the first chapter of the gospel of John where we find that grace and truth, the same as steadfast love and faithfulness, this is ours through Jesus the Messiah.
It is important for us to realize that when this Psalm now sings of the name of God, it does so because of what was sung about in the previous two songs. We are to ask, just what has happened that we are now absolutely certain that the nature of our God is steadfast love and faithfulness. Well, in the previous song we heard about how God brought forth water from a rock. You see, it was here at this rock that the people of God questioned whether God was with them anymore. They had run out of water, things were getting desperate, the circumstances were yelling in their ear that God was nowhere to be found. Perhaps this God had brought these poor former slaves out into the wilderness in order to kill them all. These are rather disparaging thoughts about the God who had freed them from their slavery, don’t you think? Well, God was not pleased when the worry of his people drowned out their worship. Yet even though they did not find God worthy of their service, he nonetheless caused the rock to spring forth a river of water. Once again, the living God brought forth more life because this is just what a living God does. Jesus tells us this very same truth at the end of the fifth chapter of the gospel of Matthew when he says that our Heavenly Father makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and he also sends the rain on the just and the unjust. This life we are living is given to us by God regardless of whether we find him worthy to serve or not. This care of every life regardless of a persons relationship with God is what defines the very character of God. We can know God as being a God of steadfast love because he gives life when life is needed. This more life that is given by God is given in the hopes people might find God worthy of their service, willing to give their life to a God who is worthy of serving. Yet even when we refuse to give our lives to him, God still remains faithful in giving life to us. You see, it is only in our failure to be faithful, only in those moments where we question the very faithfulness of God, this is when God shows up and proves us wrong. It is only when we realize that God gives us life regardless of our faithfulness, only then does the name of God becomes known as being steadfast love and faithfulness. This is why the name of God should be worth everything to us, because the name of God is our very lifeline in every sense of the word.
The importance of knowing the incomparable worth found in the name of God is vital when we compare the worship of our living God and the worship of the dead, so called gods. These gods, are as the songwriter tells us, the works of human hands. These dead and lifeless works of our hands cannot speak to us as they do not have a mouth, nor can they watch over us as they have no eyes. These works of our hands have no ears to hear us when we cry and they they have no hands to give us a gentle touch. They can neither walk with us nor talk with us as we go about our day. These are fairly obvious observations. Yet, here is the point the song writer is trying to make: Those who worship these works of their hands will become just like those very works. You see, the danger of not finding God worthy to serve is not that God will stop giving you more life. No, the danger of not finding God worthy to serve is that you will become like whatever you find worthy of your service. If the works of your hands are what you choose to serve then you will be come as dead as those lifeless works. You may have a mouth but you will be unable to speak up on someone else’s behalf. You may indeed have eyes but you will be unable to see someone who stands in need right in front of you. You might have ears yet you will never hear the cry of the hurting who are right beside you. So your hands will not touch another’s hand nor will your feet walk with another through the trials they are facing.They may be cry out in desperation but your voice will be strangely silent.
Now, this may seem to be a bit much, yet we must ask, could this really be the way of those who refuse to find God worthy of serving? Well, Jesus gives us a parable which indeed proves this point. This story is found at the end of the sixteenth chapter of Luke. There we are told about an extremely wealthy man who dressed in glorious finery and who ate of the finest gourmet food. In contrast to this man, there was at his very front gate, one called Lazarus, who was covered with sores. This man could only get whiffs of the delicious food being consumed right inside this gate while just outside he found himself hungry and alone. Jesus goes on to tell us that even the dogs came and licked this poor mans sores. Think about this; here was a man called Lazarus who was invisible to the eyes of the rich man. The cries of Lazarus were never heard by the ears of the rich man because he had long ago quit listening to what lay outside his gate. No, it was only the dogs who came and cared for Lazarus him as best they could. Just what does it say when a pack of dogs is more aware of a person needs than you are? It says, obviously, that this very wealthy man had found that only the works of his hands, his wealth, was worthy to be served. Over time he became one who was just as dead as the wealth that he had for so long found worthy of serving. So, it should come as no surprise, I guess, that in the end, this rich man found himself in a place where he was the one who could not be heard or seen as he suffered eternally.
So, yes, Jesus’s does give us an image which conveys the very truth found here in the one-hundred and fifteenth Psalm. Those who find the works of their hands worthy of their service will in the end, become just as dull and lifeless as those objects they worship. Yet, the song writer does not leave us there for he calls Israel, the very people of God, to come and place their trust in God. As Israel places her trust in God then, just as the idol worshippers eventually discover, the people of Israel will become like the God that they worship.Now, the next two stanzas of this song center around the strange term, the, “house of Aaron”, and the theme of blessing. Here is a good time for us to pause and sing, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, found on page 11 of your hymnals. As we sing, let us consider what it means for God to be for us a fount of blessings.
As you sang, were you able to hear the song remind us that God blesses us through his grace, by his streams of mercy, through his redeeming love that we are fixed upon and by rescuing us from danger through the giving of his own precious blood. If this is how God blesses us then we should not be surprised that these same blessings are heard in the wilderness experience where Israel was blessed by Aaron. This story is found at the end of the sixth chapter of the book of Numbers. There we find God instructing Moses to speak to Aaron, the high priest along with his house, his sons, that they were to bless the people of Israel by saying to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord’s face will light up at the sight of you and he will give you peace.” Then God tells Moses this, ‘In this way so shall they place my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” After we hear this blessing, doesn’t it become clear that the one-hundred and fifteenth Psalm is singing about this wilderness experience? The Psalm sings of the God who is our help and shield, the one who keeps us and rescues us from danger; such is the blessing of God. The Psalm sings that the Lord remembers us when we are weak and broken and in need of grace. So yes, we can proclaim that our God indeed offers us streams of mercy which never ceases and he saves us by his redeeming love; all of this is God’s blessing to us.
Once we experience the blessing of God then the name of God is said to have been placed upon us. In other words, it should be obvious that we now carry with us the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.You see, we are set free to love because we now trust in God alone to keep us safe. We are to know God as being our shield, the very who covers over our life so that death will not harm us. We also find that we have faith because our Lord is faithful to remember us, always aware that we are fragile beings, easily broken, terribly in need of grace. As the Psalm sings to us, we are to stand in awe of being given the very favor of God. It is this fear of the Lord that casts out all other fears so a perfect love can now live in us. As we go forth to live out his steadfast love and faithfulness we do so before the very face of God, a face that overflows with joy anytime we show up. Here in the presence of the God who rejoices over us, we cease our striving and discover a peace, a contentment that is ours as we live out the love of God before the face of God. So through this whole experience of God’s blessing, his being our shield, his gracious dealing with us, his rejoicing over us and the peace that is found in his presence, we are transformed into people who have upon them the very name of God, people abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. You see, as we find God worthy of give our very life to serve him alone, we will discover that we are known as being those who bring steadfast love and faithfulness to any person, in any situation, even in the worst this world has to offer like in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. Our worship will be found to be exactly what is needed in the worst that others face. So we go to the hurting of this world so they might know that the living God has not changed, his steadfast love and faithfulness remain, this is who our God is forever and ever,Amen! Yes, the name of our God does indeed deserve the highest glory even in the lowest of circumstances. So let us go forth in the power of this name so that all people might praise the Lord! Amen!
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