"It is good to praise the Lord, and to make music to your name, O Most High…The righteous will flourish like a palm tree…" (Psalm 92:1,12).

Have you ever wondered when and where the Psalms were written? Each one had its own beginning; a setting in which it was composed. We don't know the beginning or setting of Psalm 92; nor its first pray-er; nor what circumstances caused it to be sung.

We do know how it was used by the people of Israel as they worshipped together. The Jewish rabbis encouraged their people to use this psalm as a song of thanksgiving and as a Sabbath psalm.

Why would the rabbis connect this psalm to thanksgiving and Sabbath? It does not seem fit at first glance. But consider the following things.

First, in the Exodus 20 version of the 10 Commandments we discover a link between Sabbath and creation. We are told to rest because God rested from creation. We are also told that it is 'a Sabbath to the Lord.' Our attention is to be Godward: to remember and believe that God is the creator.

Now, when the Bible depicts God as creator, it is more than just the initial act of creation. God's creative activity includes his continued care over His creation. Both the Heidelberg Catechism and Our World Belongs to God draw out this connection.

Psalm 92 is a call to praise God, thanksgiving is part of praise, because of His continued care over his creation; especially over His people. This care leads to victory over His enemies and to flourishing for His people. More on this in a moment.

Second, Sabbath, as I have said, is time to remember who is God. As Christians, we believe that the Triune God of the Bible, is, well, is God. But it is not always easy to remember or believe this. It is rarely easy to believe that He is effectively caring for his creation. There is still much chaos and evil in the world. That is why God commands us to rest: to remember that He is God and He will be God forever.

Third, this psalmist caught a glimpse of what is to come. At times in this life we may see the enemies of God scattered and powerless. At times, we may see God's people flourishing. But those are only glimpses. Just as often we see the opposite, the righteous floundering and the unrighteous flourishing. Not until Jesus' work of redemption is complete; not until He returns in glory will we see this fully.

Until that time, we are to keep Sabbath. Sabbath is time to look forward, to anticipate, and to pray for that day. Let us give thanks for Sabbath. Next week is Advent. This year, at Immanuel, we are going to consider some of the results of Jesus birth. But also, some things that we are still waiting for, some of the flourishing of God's people that still awaits us.

Before I finish today, a question: when is the last time you took time for Sabbath Keeping as described here? Our Christian faith doesn't just happen. It takes some effort on our part. Part of that effort is to be quiet, to rest. To consider what is true. When is the last time you made adjustments to your living because you gave God time to correct your way of life?

The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: "Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice." And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. (Psalm 50:1-6)

Psalm 50 tends to get under my skin and arrest me every time I read it. It gives me pause, and makes me uncomfortable. In that sense, it is an apocalyptic psalm. That word "apocalypse," literally meaning "revelation." This is a Psalm that reveals the way things truly are, and in doing so, it leaves me unsettled. But before I go further, a bit of context.

Over the past few Sundays, you may have noticed that Pastor Michael and I glossed over a pretty major piece of our Matthew 25 parables. That piece being God's judgement. Not because it isn't important, it just wasn't the focus of either sermon—the Kingdom of God in the here and now was.

But that doesn't mean we can avoid the topic of judgement altogether. Indeed, across the gospel of Matthew, out of some 148 unique stories, no fewer than 60 talk about or refer to the final judgement (I haven't personally counted, but that was the tally of one of my Matthew commentators).

We don't like talking about judgement though. And I don't mean just Pastor Michael and I. None of us enjoy the topic really. We've seen the language of God's judgement used in really demeaning and weaponized ways to scare, harm, and ostracize people. And that has turned us off. We're also just really not in favour of judging people these days—unless we don't know them and we're on social media.

And yet, we simply cannot avoid the fact that our Bible and our God talk about judgement. So how do we talk about judgement well?

How do we allow the promise of God's judgment to remind us appropriately that we are not a law unto ourselves nor ourselves the judge without becoming disillusioned about the nature of our God who in Christ, will pass judgement that for some leads to a weeping and gnashing of teeth?

There are no simple answers, but perhaps the beginning of an answer is simply to behold our God. To remember that He is God and we are not.

That seems obvious, but when we judge God for his promise to bring judgement upon humanity, are we not, in fact, setting ourselves over him as those who know better?

Perhaps we need to hear again the more ancient witnesses to the justice of God.

In this passage, God is summoning his legal assembly with its witnesses in preparation for judgement. Who are the witnesses that he calls? Well first he summons the earth. As he does, we see God approaching with tempest and fire roaring before Him. The Earth, offering its deference to the coming judge. Then God summons the heavens to his court. And with the Heavens and the Earth assembled as witnesses, God lastly summons his covenant people for judgement.

It is the earth and heaven that God created first—more enduring elements of his creation. It was earth and heaven that God summoned as witnesses when he made his covenant with Israel in the desert in Deuteronomy 4 and 30. It was the heavens and earth who bore witness in the opening verses of Isaiah as God brought his charges of unfaithfulness against his covenant people before their exile to Babylon.

It was the earth that shook and the heavens which grew dark when God Himself took the place of his guilty people in death on the cross. This judgement for us who follow Christ is the decisive one.

The heavens and the earth, these ancient bodies have born faithful, unflinching witness to God's judgement and justice from first to last. And here "the heavens proclaim his righteousness for he is a God of justice."

Will we recognize the witness of the heavens and the earth that God is God and we are not? That he is just and able to judge and we are not? Our Christian humility in approaching the topic of judgement begins with just that submission of ourselves to the Triune God who alone is worthy to judge.

"Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord" (Psalm 117)

I have a memory of Psalm 117 being our weekly memory work. This was grade one. We were so excited. So short. Then one day the preacher read it as the scripture reading. The sermon was very long for so short a psalm.

This psalm reminds us that God does not require long prayers. The issue is not the length or the words, but the intention of our hearts. For this reason, Jesus warned us about elaborate praying, thinking that we are heard for our many words (Matt. 6:7). Brief praise is enough when it expresses where we are with the Lord.

In ancient, Israel this psalm was recited towards the end of the Passover celebration. It was part of the thanksgiving; recited with a goblet of wine in the hand. When we recite, 'Praise the Lord,' we declare our intention to do so. But it is also an invitation for others to join us, in this case, all the nations.

The second verse begins with the preposition 'for'. We praise the Lord 'because'. Of course, the question is 'because why'. And the psalmist answers for us: because of the Lord's love and faithfulness towards us. These are two of God's self-descriptive words to Moses in Exod. 34:6. That's an interesting story. God is quite angry with his people for their idolatry with the golden calf. He has decided not to go with them to the promised land. But Moses challenges God on that. In response to Moses, God declares that he is abounding in love and faithfulness. He continues to lead his people.

There is a story in this psalm. The story is not given. But there is a story. The psalm offers us opportunity to fill in the story. What is our story? If we were asked to tell of God's faithfulness and love towards us, what stories would we tell?

When we think about evangelism, we often think about having to explain things about God or about the Bible or the church. That is sometimes the case. But Jesus tells us to be his witnesses: to tell stories about Him and about us. This is first.

The unique feature of this prayer is that it is focussed on the Gentiles. They too are upon God's heart. They too are to know Him. He is the Creator of all, and He will become the Redeemer of all.

The fulfilment of this promise now stands in the Great Commission. Jesus commands the apostles to make disciples out of all the nations (Matt. 28:18-20). Obedience to this command is essential for the church's life. So maybe we ought to pray this psalm more often.

God wants those from every tongue and tribe and nation before His throne. Our refusal to send missionaries or go ourselves is simply a sign of our disobedience. Only as we evangelize the world can we pray this psalm with integrity. This is a short prayer for a missionary heart.

Today's Wilderness Wandering Devotional is a follow-up to Sunday's Sermon, answering a question about it. It only comes in podcast form today though--no written version (written devotions will begin faithfully again tomorrow and for all the days to follow though!)

So: if you've never clicked the icon above to "listen in" - Today's the day to try it out! Click the icon above, then click the play button when you arrive at the Wilderness Wanderings website.

If you don't have a device that allows you to listen to the podcast version, give Pastor Anthony a call and he'll be happy to fill you in!

Remember, you can also listen in again to Sunday's Sermon on the same, Wilderness Wanderings podcast site. The Dive In question are included there with the sermon.

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Matthew 25:14-30 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN! Questions for further discussion and reflection...

1. Advent is just around the corner, the time when we focus in on our waiting for Christ's second Advent (coming), even as we celebrate his first. How do you (personally) wait for his coming?

2. What have you always thought the bags of gold, or "talents" in this parable to refer to? Any new thoughts on it after this sermon? What might that "bag of gold" refer to in your life?

3. What does faithfulness look like in this parable? What does faithfulness look like in our lives?

4. The first two servants are given rewards. What were those rewards? Are those rewards things to be desired? …do you desire them? How does this notion shape your idea of heaven?

5. What was the sin of the servant who buried the gift? Was the judgement fair? What do you learn about judgement from this parable?

6. This parable is one that Jesus speaks to believers—to insiders, not outsiders. In the end, one of his servants who calls him Lord is cast out. As Reformed Christians who claim to the "perseverance of the saints," what do you make of this? And: what encouragement might come from the knowledge that at the time of judgement we will be called on to give an account?

7. How will you actively and faithfully steward the talents God has entrusted to you this week?

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul in you I trust, O my God (Psalm 25:1-2a)

As I have said before, the psalms of the Old Testament are the church's prayer book. At least, they should be. I don't mean that we should only use these prayers but that we should allow these psalms to teach us how to pray.

They will help us learn how to pray the Lord's Prayer which begins, "Our Father who is in heaven..." I'm convinced this prayer is Jesus summary of the Psalms.

Many psalms come out of the depths of broken, harassed or desperate hearts. They seem to explode out of the psalmist and we can feel their pathos and desperation. Others, like Psalm 25, are more deliberate; they have been brooded over and carefully put together.

This psalm has 22 verses. It is an acrostic which means that each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This prayer is not offered "off the cuff' but through meditation comes into its present form. We often think that praying needs to be spontaneous. That is an illusion. David teaches us that a prayer which is thought out and stylistic is as spiritual and effective as spontaneous expressions of the heart.

This is a prayer that comes out of a time of trouble, thus, it is not prayed with a smile and exuberant joy. In his season of anguish, David explores for himself what it means to lift up his soul to the Lord (1). When I think of 'lifting up my soul to the Lord', I think of joyful singing of God's people in worship. But David teaches me even when I am discouraged, I need and can to lift up my soul to my God.

So, what can we learn about "lifting up our hearts to the Lord" from this prayer? Well, one this is this, we notice that significant parts of the psalm reflect on the "way of the Lord." David believes that the way of the Lord is the right way to live and therefore he wants to be taught how to live it, even in a time of despair.

There are different ways to live and he doesn't necessarily know God's way, so he wants to learn. Of course, he has the law of Moses, as we have the Bible. But many situations arise when there is no clear path. We need to learn through the Scriptures, by the teaching of the Spirit and the help of the Christian community how follow God. Trusting in God and lifting up our souls up to Him means that we desire to walk in His ways.

This of course leads David, and it should lead us, to the recognition that we have not always followed God's ways. It may even be that some of David's current problems have arisen because he did not do what is right. So, what does he do? Does he try to hide this reality? No. He confesses it and asks the Lord to forgive. Forgiveness is possible because in His love, the Lord always forgives.

Trusting in the Lord does not mean instant success. David has staked his life on doing life God's way. If he goes down in defeat, he will experience public shame. He fears that shame even though he knows that in the end God will be proven to be right.

In the long run, God will set His people secure in the land (13). Jesus makes a similar statement: "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). With so many other things in the Bible, we recognize this may not happen until the new heavens and the new earth.

Are we willing to hang in there with God and walk in his ways until that time?

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. (Psalm 115:1)

One of the problems with idolatry is that it pulls our attention, desires, and ambitions away from the One they are supposed to be pointed at: God, and points them at the idol, or ourselves instead.

If our devices, these creations of our own hands—along with the images and words they bring us—if they have become idols in our lives—demanding our attention, claiming our desires, and fueling our ambitions through ever increasing amounts of screen time—then we need to hear these words of the Psalm again.

"Not to us, Lord. Not to us. But to your name be the glory!" It is in your presence we wish to dwell, not our own.

There are elements of our current technological idolatries that are quite ancient, in that we form our idols, and then they form us.

Adam and Eve believed the serpent's lie, that they could become like God if only they would reach for the fruit of disobedience. The builders of the Tower of Babel also reached for the heavens, the place of God, to make it their own. Likewise, in our pursuits of technology, we continue to reach for things that perhaps are not ours to grasp.

We reach for omnipresence, that ability to be "all/everywhere-present." Through the eyes and ears of our technological idols, we can be present anywhere and everywhere in the world at once. Time and space no longer limit us. Digitally, we are free of them.

We reach for omniscience, that ability to be "all knowing." Through those same means of digital omnipresence, we drink in the news of markets, politics, opinions and happenings. We gobble up the images of intimate pornographic content as well. We want to see, hear, and know everything. And digitally, we are promised that we can. Just keep scrolling. Our hunger and thirst for more information becomes insatiable—for what eye has it's fill of seeing? And what ear it's fill of hearing?

We reach for omnipotence, that ability to be "all powerful." With the tap of a finger from the comfort of home, the world answers our call: groceries are delivered to our door, meetings are conducted, our desires are satisfied. Not only that, but we are able to shape the powers of government and bring corporations to their knees through our activist tweets and posts. We are inferior to no one. The power is quite literally in the palm of our hands.

And yet, these devices that we have created in our image (with eyes, ears, voice, etc.) to make us all present, all knowing, and all powerful—that is, to make us like God—have in fact, far from setting us free unto divinity, have enslaved us. The serpent's lie has again turned out to be just that: a lie.

We form our idols and our technology, and then they form us.

Becoming digitally present everywhere, we have actually become uprooted, disconnected, and lonely from the present embodied time and place in which we dwell. Becoming digitally full of knowing, we have actually only become scatterbrained, anxious, and distrustful before the crushing complexity of our world's problems. Becoming digitally powerful, we have, through very real elements of addiction, actually become powerless to put down the device: enslaved again to a technology that is not bringing us life, freedom, or divinity.

These works of our hands are manifestations of our reach to become like God without God. And yet without God, all we find is death.

And so the Psalmist calls us back: "Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."

God also promises that we will become like him. But not without him. Glory comes to his name when we become like him by humbly receiving him and his Spirit-filled work in our lives. His love and faithfulness in Jesus set us free to live fully, peacefully, and meaningfully as we do.

Jesus lovingly reminds us that the only place we really desire to be, is the place where he is. What we really hunger and thirst for is an ever deeper knowledge of him, which is where all wisdom and knowledge begin. The power we really desire to have, is his power at work in us that brings his kingdom in, through, and around us.

So again, I invite you to join in praying this prayer of the Psalmist with me today and every day you confront the lure of idolatry, technology, or any other sort of enslaving addiction. Confront it with these words:

"Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory."

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple (Psalm 27:4)

"Ham, henek met." Nothing is wrong with your hearing or eyesight. The words are spelt correctly, but my pronunciation is likely wrong. But those three words capture for me the essence of Psalm 27. "Ham, henek met." Let me explain.

One day, while Stuart Sacks was serving as a Christian Missionary in Paraguay, a Maka Indian named Rafael came to sit on his porch. Stuart went out to see what he wanted. Rafael responded, "Ham, henek met." Again, Stuart asked what he could do for him, but the answer was the same. Stuart understood what he was saying, "I don't want anything; I have just come near," but not the significance. After a while, Rafael left without further conversation.

Later, Stuart shared the incident with a local veteran missionary, who explained that it was Rafael's way of honouring him. "He really didn't want anything; he just wanted to sit on your porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure just being near you." "Ham, henek met."

This is David's desire in Psalm 27. It is not that he wanted to give up being shepherd or king and become a monk. David knew that no one was allowed inside the holy of holies in the temple. That was the place God dwelt among his people and no one but the high priest was allowed in there, and him, only once a year after significant purifying preparation.

The tabernacle and later the temple stood for God's presence. David wanted the pleasure and protection of unbroken communion with God in His house. He wanted to sit on God's porch. "Ham, henek met."

What is our ambition in life today? Is it to get rich? Is it to make a name for ourselves? Is it even to do some wonderful thing for God? Even though some of these may be good things, the Christian church has long understood that the highest desire that can possess any human heart is a longing to see God; to be near him. "Ham, henek met!"

Jesus taught us that the day would come when we could experience that reality. It came with Him (John 4). God has no address on this earth. The universe is His and He is everywhere. We live in the presence of God all the time, even if we forget. And the thing is, we do forget.

The most challenging words in this psalm are the little three letter ones, "one," and "all." "One thing, only one, I have asked from the Lord," David says. "I am no double minded man. I don't want to love God and love the world too. If the Lord will grant this one request then he may deny me everything else and I will still be happy. I am single minded in my longing."

Rich Mullins left us this prayer: "Save us from those things that might distract us. Please take them away and purify our hearts. We don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing. What will we have when the world is gone, if it isn't for the love that goes on and on with our one thing? You're our one thing. The pure in heart shall see God" ("My One Thing").

Let it be enough that we are near God. May "Ham, henek met" be the desire of our hearts!

Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?"Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:2-8)

Today's devotion is an invitation to think spiritually about our daily lives.

Did you know that your smartphone includes, among over 70 some other elements, the elements on the Periodic Table known as Ag & Au (click this link to see the periodic table of smartphone elements)? In the tongue of us normal people, that would be the elements known as silver and gold.

These smartphones have mouths: we call them speakers. These devices have eyes. We call them cameras. They have ears which we call microphones. I don't think they have noses just yet, hands or feet either. But that doesn't mean they can't grasp the things we desire off of Amazon's shopping shelves or travel back home to turn off the smart lights we left on. How far we've come from the ancient idol makers whose poor statues were mute. Ours our interactive.

Are they really idols though, you might ask? They serve us! Not the other way around!

Maybe.

These devices made by our own human hands, or at least by the hands of our hands which we call assembly line robots, evoke some strange habits from us.

They call us to worship with their vibrations and dings. We obey dutifully, offering our unquestioning attention as a matter of reflex, despite the car driving or conversing with a real flesh-and-blood human that we might have otherwise been engaged in at the time.

We give of our offerings through the app store and in-game purchases. We offer not just our treasures though. We offer our time by the hours. Our talents. Even our trees (just take a peek at that periodic table again at the beginning).

In prayer, we find that we can ask Alexa and Siri nearly anything, and lo and behold—they deliver! No waiting around for answers or material blessings. They can make it happen!

And yet, we who make them are beginning to become like those idols of old. Losing our capacity to hold a conversation through speech with another person. Losing our capacity to see and hear the things occurring in the physical space and time our body is occupying in the present moment as we become immersed in the digital world and experience we're constantly nudged and notified into.

Do our devices serve us? Or do we serve them? Do we trust more in what the perceptions of our devices tell us than we trust in what God tells us of our reality?

Is that thing in our pockets a tool, or an idol?

"You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you… (Psalm 66:12, 13).

As promised last Thursday, I want to spend another day with these verses. Last time, I reflected on the creative tension between of our personal and corporate faith. Some of us swing more to one side than the other, but we need both in order to grow up into our faith.

Today, I want to reflect on another creative tension point in our Christian faith. It's the tension of living in the present. To put it differently, the tension of living between the past and the future. I'm not sure that helps much, but it does set up what's coming. Reformed people have often talked about the already/not yet reality of God's kingdom. That's part of the tension, too, this psalm speaks into.

There is an important truth about the Christian faith that we need to bring up here. It's this: The Bible is to be read as a whole. Even though it has 66 different books, it is one book. It took over a millennium to write. Those who wrote the later material often referred back to things already written. Thus, when we read Psalm 66, the composer wants us to hear echoes of Exodus 15. That is the song of Moses which was sung after God delivered Israel from Egypt.

It begins this way, "I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him" (Ex. 15:1-2).

But here is the thing, in Revelation 15 John hears the creatures of heaven singing Moses' song, "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty" (15:3). It's a paraphrase, to be sure, but John says that this is the song of Moses and of the Lamb, connecting the deliverance of Israel from Egypt with the greater deliverance Jesus accomplished for us all.

Now back to Psalm 66. We don't know what was happening in the life of the Psalmist that inspired this song, but it wasn't good. At the end of the psalm we find these phrases, I cried out to him with my mouth. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has "heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"

As he went through his own valley, the psalmist looked back to God's great acts of redemption. It encouraged him to call out to God to save his people again. The book of Revelation invites us to look forward as well. To believe that God has not yet finished his work of redemption. Jesus will be coming back to renew all things.

Living in the present is rarely easy. We often wonder why God doesn't just send Jesus back to make all things new. Psalm 66 helps us to live with confidence in the turmoil of today, that that day will come.

Like the Psalmist, we look back and see the great acts of God in the Old Testament. Like John, we look back and see the great act of redemption in Jesus Christ: his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven and the pouring out of his Spirit. But we are also invited to see this Lamb upon his throne.

We also look ahead to his return in power and glory.

It is difficult to keep hope alive. That's why we need a song like Psalm 66.

But that is also exactly what the Lord's Supper is about. It looks back to Christ's redemption on the cross. But it also looks forward, to the return of our Saviour and King. It helps us keep hope alive. If this is true, don't you wonder why we don't sit and eat it more often?