Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
PSALM 129:1-8 TEXT: v8 THE BLESSING/LORD BE WITH YOU
Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD
It was the done thing in the time/harvest in Israel that people urged the blessing/Lord upon the reapers
We glean this information from Ruth 2:4
And, behold, Boaz came from
Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they
answered him, The LORD bless thee. How profitable is such speech
and how free it is from anything that will cause regret in that day
when we must give an account even of every idle word spoken. I think
many of us will probably burn with shame in that day. Our tongue is a
little member that can punch away over its weight and we should use it
for the glory of God - but sadly often we use it for all the wrong
reasons
In our passage the Psalmist laments the absence of this fine tradition of wishing for the Lord's Blessing among the people
In the time/harvest, when there ought to have been thankfulness to the One who designates Himself as the "Lord of the Harvest" and when His blessing should have been wished for and sought for others, this great petition had fallen by the well side
That is wickedness
Old proverb that we should not bite the hand that feeds us. Those who
were most unthankful, either with neglect or outright rejection of this
action were reaching out for the harvest which the Lord was sending
them - Remember it was the Lord who could say While the earth
remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22) -- but they
were acknowledging His goodness in the giving of it
We want [today] to take these words and to say to you (Quote)
3 main thoughts:
1) THE GREATEST BLESSING OF ALL IS TO HAVE ALL OUR SINS FORGIVEN US FOR ALL ETERNITY:
A/ While we may draw this from the whole tenor/Scripture, two verses will put it beyond any doubt:
Unto you first God, having raised up
his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you
from his iniquities (Acts 3:26)
Again, such salvation is described as being: blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)
Our thought here cannot be doubted from Scripture
B/ Of course, there are many other great blessings from God, other
than salvation. Context: The mower filling his hands and the binding of
the sheaves to the bosom denoting that there will be food/table for
another year
Some men enjoy bumper harvests and may contemplate the pulling down of smaller barns to build bigger
This is indeed the Lord's doing
We will add health and strength - soundness of body/mind to the list -
the blessing of being free to enjoy many of life's lawful pleasures may
all be traced back to the blessing/God
Jacob confessed himself unworthy even of the least/God's mercies and we
may all echo these words - yet the Lord totally out/proportion to our
deserts, gives us such good things again/again
C/ But none of these things can match the blessing that constitutes
this first point i.e. peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
What can all the other things profit us if we are not right with God?
We are all sinners in His sight and therefore liable, to the righteous
anger/God against our sins - children/wrath even as others
To have cleared the fields of every last particle of corn/wheat etc.,
and yet leave/stains of personal sin on our record is a great calamity
What does it profit a man to gain/whole world and yet lose/soul?
What did it profit that man who planed to pull down his barns to build greater when God said:
Thou fool! This night thy soul/required of thee?
D/ When we desire the blessing of the Lord to be your portion:
[i] We want you to be justified from the charges/Law of God
This means that all charges against you are dropped and the Law of God
has no more indictments to lay at your door - Declared righteous
[ii] We want all your sins (past/present/future) to be forgiven you
[iii] We want you to be cleansed/your sins - moral stains removed
[iv] We want you to be enabled to get victory over your sins - so
that again/again you can resist the Devil and he will flee from you
[vi] We want you to be able to manifest all those evidences of positive
holy living so that (like Enoch/Noah) you might walk with God
[vi] We want you to be born again in God's family
[vii] We want you to be adopted into God's family
[viii] We want you to have assurance/joy unspeakable of salvation
[ix] We want you to be in Heaven/all eternity when you leave earth
This is what we mean when we ask God to bless you
If you only take the earthly blessings, you do quite well (much more
than you deserve) but don't stop short/neglect this real blessing that
lasts for all eternity
2) THIS GREATEST BLESSING OF ALL FLOWS FROM THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST UPON THE CROSS:
A/ Our Psalm has a distinct Messianic flavour to it and that in
relation to the sufferings of the Son/God to secure these blessings
The plowers have plowed upon my back: They made long their furrows (v3)
This is a reference to the severe lashing which the Lord Jesus received at the pragmatic/sinful hands of Pontius Pilate:
And so Pilate, willing to content the
people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had
scourged him, to be crucified.
The Roman method/flogging was of a most brutal/cruel kind
Many men, condemned to be crucified, never made it to the tree, because they perished at the place of scourging
"Look at yonder pillar, black with the blood of murderers/rebels. The iron collar which is attached to it, as well as
the ropes which hang down from its
iron rings, sufficiently point out its cruel subject. Look at the
rude/barbarous beings, who, like bloodthirsty hyenas in human form
busily surround their victim. Observe the brutal vulgarity of their
countenances, and the instruments of torture in their hands. They are
scourges made of hundreds of leather thongs, each armed at the point
with the angular bony hook or a sharp-sided cube. Such are the
instruments of torture prepared for Him who was dear to God as the
apple of His eye." (FW Krummacher )
Krummacher has much more to say but we forbear to quote further
C/ Our Psalm gives us a graphic picture, keeping with: harvest theme
The soil is perhaps virgin soil, knowing no disturbance whatsoever
If so, what a lovely picture of the Holy, harmless, sinless Son/God
Until He set foot on this earth, He knew nothing but absolute calm and
serenity/Father's bosom/Heaven where the angels worshipped Him
But, such peace is soon shattered when the Son/God puts
Himself forth as Surety/His people to secure their salvation
The virgin soil feels the deep tear of the blade of the plough
It digs deep, for a superficial work will not suffice if there is to be
a sufficient harvest - the furrows must indeed be long/deep for the
seed/salvation to bring forth its intended harvest
We have already given a very brief idea the physical sufferings, but words fail us to describe anguish/soul which He undertook
This is when His Father laid on Him the sins/us all, and who, at that
exact moment/transmission, forsook Him upon them upon the Cross leading
Him to cry out in complete anguish: Eli, Eli Lama Sabacthani (Matthew 27:46)
None can ever describe the depths/anguish of such suffering:
None/ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed etc.,
D/ These great blessings come at any awful price
There is nothing shallow about sin and its consequences
An awful ransom must be delivered up if we are hear the Father cry:
Deliver Him from going down into the pit
Nothing less than God delivering up His own Son and laying on Him it
the iniquities of us all can secure this greatest of all blessings
Such a thought ought to rid us of any notions that we are either save ourselves or contribute something towards it
We entertain too low a view both of sin and God's hatred against it
We flatter our own capacity for pleasing God if we so think
Bible declares that in this very matter that we cannot do anything along these lines - that we are lost/helpless/without hope
It took the horrific sufferings of God's Son to secure our salvation
3) THIS GREATEST BLESSING OF ALL SHOULD BE IMPRESSED UPON THOSE WHOM WE MEET:
Suggested in our text
A/ Those who believe these things (to the saving/soul) are likely to give expression to it: It forms the subject of their lips
It may be personal, but it is not private
I sing for I cannot be silent - His love is the theme of my song
It would be morally wrong to keep silent on such a matter as this:
[i] When we consider where such blessing has brought us from
Not merely as candidates for hell fire but as actual brands/burning
Condemned already and only mercy kept the executioner's hand off us
[ii] The price paid/ redemption: too tremendous to keep quiet about it
How can we not speak? Preposterous to suppose silence/maintained
[iii] The blessing itself - a full free salvation and on (for us) so
easy terms i.e. repentance/faith - it really is by grace alone
Again…silence/matter would almost denigrate what we have received
[iv] The danger/others who have not received this greatest/blessings
To be unsaved is to be lost for all eternity: The harvest is past, the
summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)
B/ The Bestower of this gift - the One who submitted Himself not only
to the whip-master's lash, but to the Cross and who bared His bosom to
the fierce anger/God's wrath - He tells us to speak of it:
Mark 16:15/Acts 26:22 Christ wants you to partake of this blessing
And according to Romans 10:13-17 - this involves speaking of it
C/ In the text, those who so spoke were but passing by
Suggestive:
[i] The simplicity/message - Although the words are almost vague enough
and needs be opened up to be specific, yet the message itself is easily
told and even a little child may understand and believe
Nothing should be allowed to complicate the message
[ii] No bad time to introduce the gospel message
Harvest time is a busy time…yet the subject can be raised even then
It is a amazing how few words are needed to awaken a soul/needs
Just one word ("Eternity") can arrest even the most careless
[iii] The passing by of the speaker may denote the brevity/life
Some have passed our doors for the last time
Voices/many preachers now lie silent/grave as far as this world/
concerned - their ministry is over and they will rise up in the last
day and be able to point to many sinners and say: "I implored
him/saved"
For some it is the last time that they hear the preacher's voice
The place that knows them will know them again no more
[iv] In such circumstances, God does not leave us without a witness
Plural is used - fresh voices replace those departed to bring the same
old message: Need to be saved/Can be saved/Can know we are saved
[v] The words themselves go further than the mere bearing/witness
The first phrase (Blessing/Lord be upon you) is actually a petition
The idea is of the speaker first beseeching God for your salvation and
then there is the bearing of witness to the desire for the hearer
God's people are often/prayer that sinners would be saved
Such recognises again the helplessness of the sinner to save himself -
but realises that God uses means to save i.e. the proclamation/gospel
D/ What will you do with Jesus tonight? What will He do with you?
Greatest of all blessing i.e. sins forgiven etc., is tendered once again
Soon the voice/gospel preacher will be silent because you cannot hear it any more - no more else will pass your way
Will you be saved? I invite you to come to Christ to that great end
THE END