Can't Wait for Christmas

The text this morning on which the message is based is gonna come again from Psalm. So we're gonna go back to the Psalms. This time, Psalm 74. So if you have a Bible handy, we'll be reading from the ESV version, Psalm 74. Interesting.

Yeah. You'd think the first message of the new year that we would be entertaining a complaint, and that's exactly what we're doing. When we identify how it is the psalmist is complaining. And as God's people, we often complain to God, not just once, but three times over in the reading of this particular psalm, Psalm 74.

Let's have a look at it together. Oh God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion where you have dwelt.

Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins. The enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary. Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place, and they set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees, and all its carved wood, they broke down with hatchets and hammers. They set your sanctuary on fire.

They profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. They said to themselves, we'll utterly subdue them. They burned all the meeting places of God in the land. We do not see our signs. There is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.

How long, oh God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them. Yet, God, my king, is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

You divided the sea by your might. You broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of the Leviathan. You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. You split open the springs and brooks.

You dried up ever flowing streams. Yours is the day. Yours also the night. You have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You've fixed all the boundaries of the earth, and you've made summer and winter.

Remember this, oh Lord, how the enemy scoffs and a foolish people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts. Do not forget the life of your poor forever. Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame.

Let the poor and needy praise your name. Arise, oh God, and defend your cause. Remember how the foolish scoff at you all day. Do not forget the clamour of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you which goes up continually. So far the reading from Psalm, Psalm 74.

Well, Christmas is a week old, exactly a week. Many of us were here in church this time last week for the Christmas day service, last Sunday. At that time, we sang carols, some traditional, some new, at least new to me. We heard the Christmas message, the good news of Jesus coming into the world to Bethlehem at Ephratha, to Bethlehem's manger in the most humbling of circumstances. And afterwards, well, chances are you went out to lunch, Christmas lunch, and you caught up with family and friends.

Christmas held out the promise, did it not, to be the most wonderful time of the year. I'm asking the question this morning, was it? How did it go for you and your family? Did Christmas twenty twenty-two meet your own expectations? Did you have any expectations?

What were you genuinely looking forward to at Christmas time? What can you say you're anticipating most about Christmas? I wanna suggest most of us, if not all of us, build into our lives a little bit of excitement at Christmas, something to look forward to. We say, we can't wait for Christmas. I can't wait.

That's what my daughter-in-law said to me on more than one occasion. I'm hoping she wasn't saying that just because of the presents because I'm sure she was to be disappointed. But this morning, I want us to go back and be thinking about God's people in ancient history when God's people were saying the same thing. We can't wait. We can't wait for Christmas.

In the language of the psalm, how long, oh God? How long? How long must we wait, oh God? That's the theme of Psalm 74. What do you suppose they were looking forward to at Christmas and why?

Psalm 74 starts with the need for Emmanuel, God with us. It continues with the victory of Emmanuel, God with us. And it ends with the prayer for Emmanuel, God with us. The need, the victory, and the prayer. Psalm 74, as I mentioned briefly a moment ago, has complaints.

God's people are complaining. And this morning, we'll start at the second complaint. I'm doing that because it's gonna help us understand the context in which the psalm was written. And then that'll help us go back and deal with the first complaint, and then the third complaint. So consider this, verse three, the second complaint.

The psalmist says to God, turn your steps towards these everlasting ruins. All this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. You see, destruction has come about because of an enemy. And he can only be talking about the Babylonians at this point in history. It's a well documented fact. In the year June, the Babylonians from the North invaded Judah in the South, and then took most of them as slaves, exiles, held captive back to Babylon.

This is about the time Daniel and his friends were taken captive as well. What kind of attack was it that the Babylonians waged on the people in Judah? Well, we could say it was a political attack for sure. They made Israel's king, Jehoiakim, their own puppet king. Judah became a vassal state in the huge Babylonian empire.

We can also say this was an economic attack, definitely. Because they plundered the city of Jerusalem and they ravaged the villages in Judah, taking the spoils of war with them. Most of the Jews were taken back captive to act as slaves back in Babylon. But the attack was more. The attack was also religious.

Their religious freedoms were taken from them. What did the Babylonians do? Verse four, they set up their signs as signs. That's or their standard as signs. Standard is a banner, a flag representing a pagan god.

And what they did was go into the temple of God and put their own banner there, their own flag. The temple, which was a sign of God's presence among them, God with us, was in ruins. And now this, in the most sacred place, they set up their own flag, their own banner. You could argue it was the final indignity. Their temple was desecrated and Bel, the god of the Babylonians, was honoured there.

You see, this was so much more than the destruction of a building. This was a serious spiritual problem for Israel as well. Here, Israel's lament to Yahweh, God of Israel. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved panelling with their axes and hatchets.

They burned your sanctuary to the ground and they defiled the dwelling place of your name. And they said in their hearts, we will crush them completely. They burned every place where God was worshipped in the land. We would say they acted like men possessed, like men on a drug fuelled rampage. This is a scene, as one artist depicts it, at least in his mind's eye.

It's a confronting scene. It was malicious. A hate crime directed at God's people. What we're seeing is Babylon's great rage against true religion. And apart from the economic and political fallout, the real fallout was spiritual.

There were consequences for religion in Israel. And I wanna suggest this morning that's best understood by skipping forward about four hundred years and listening in to a conversation that Jesus is having with a woman at a well. You might know this story well from John chapter 4. The Samaritan woman approaches Jesus and says, our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. You see, Jews believe that God must be worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem.

God with us. No temple, no God, no worship, no sacrifice for sin. It was as simple as that. And without sacrifice, no forgiveness, no substitute, no ransom. And for the Jew then to be denied access to the temple was to be denied access to God.

No wonder, as Psalm 137 puts it, by the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. Orthodox Jews still believe this today. They're sad they don't have their temple in Jerusalem. They're earnestly praying for the temple to be established there. For without it, there can be no forgiveness until the temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem.

Now you might be wondering this morning, and it's a fair call, how is this relevant to us? How vulnerable are we to this kind of attack today? Politically, economically, and even spiritually? Are we and the religious freedoms we have in Australia in any way under threat? We're not friends with the world.

Instead, we're salt and light in the world. We're described as a light in the darkness, a city on a hill, but not friends, not partners with the world. In many people's eyes in the world, we've become the enemy. Since 2017, the law defining marriage was changed. And Christians today are being labelled as people who are out of step with mainstream society.

We're even being labelled as homophobic, or extremist, or right wing fundamentalists. During the nineties and the early two thousands, the trend was to be thinking that Christianity is becoming increasingly irrelevant. It has no meaning, no purpose. Now that idea seems to be giving way to the notion that Christianity is bad, that it's evil for society. How thankful then we must be for Christmas, for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us.

Because, you see, before this, when the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem and the Samaritans worshipped at Gerizim, the temple and the institution of the temple was all Israel ever had. And with the destruction of the temple, what hope is there? If it weren't for these words from Jesus, Jesus said, the time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. That's what Jesus said to the woman at the well. Jesus could say that because He came to be with people in a way that they had never experienced before.

He came as God. He came as our Emmanuel. Jesus says that with the coming of Emmanuel, we don't need a sacred place for worship anymore. In fact, any place will do. A school building, a prison chapel, a cave, catacombs, an open paddock, a clearing in the bush, or someone's lounge room.

The only requirement is this, that people worship in spirit and in truth. So what the psalmist wanted, what God's people needed, was this, the coming of the Messiah, the Emmanuel, to know for sure that God was with them. Only then would the tears of Babylon turn into songs of joy in true worship. So no matter what attack is made against Christianity, even in this coming year, 2023, it doesn't matter if there's an attack against the Christian church or the institution of the church or the religious freedoms that we have in Australia even now because we will always have this, Emmanuel, God with us in the word and in His spirit. The point is, those are the worshippers the Father seeks.

They worship in spirit and truth. But that's the second complaint. This leads us to consider their first complaint this morning. Remember, Jerusalem is in ruins. The temple was destroyed.

The prophets were killed. Worship was not possible, and it leads the psalmist to complain to God that God has actually rejected His people. Verse one, why have you rejected us forever, oh God? Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture? Now don't be thinking too poorly of the psalmist here.

Don't be too quick to judge him this morning. In the face of all the pain and destruction, it really does seem as if God is silent. Verse nine, we're given no miraculous signs, no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. The silence of God can be deafening. And many Christians will be thinking about our times, our woke culture, our very modern society.

Why is God silent? Has He left us? Has He abandoned us and our nation? It shakes our faith. And when our faith is shaken, we long for a sign, a new word, a fresh revelation, the appearance of a prophet.

The psalmist does something that we instinctively do too. When times of testing and trouble come, we cry out to God because we believe after all, God is in control. He is sovereign and He's allowed these troubles and He will remain faithful. You see, it's God who allowed Israel to be delivered into the hands of wicked men. It's God who allowed the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

And so their complaining is legitimate. They must complain to God. Why have you rejected us, oh God? Why does your anger smoulder against us, the sheep of your pasture? Notice who Israel is claiming to be.

The sheep of God's pasture. He is and remains the good shepherd of the sheep. The good shepherd never abandons His sheep. To have the shepherd walk away, to not care, or worse still, forsake or condemn His sheep is the absolute worst thing that can happen to sheep. This should be our greatest fear.

Ultimately, it's the fear of permanent separation between God and us. When Jesus preached to large crowds who were following, He warns them, fear Him, that is to say, God, who after the killing of the body has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him. It's the reason why Hebrews reminds us not to be of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. It kinda helps keep perspective on our situation.

It kinda sets us up to cope with adversity and trouble in the world. Persecution even. But now, something Israel needed to realise and something we also need to realise. The people of God must never think that because they are cast down, they are therefore cast off. Cast down, yes.

But cast off, never. Forgotten, neglected, some would say. But not this. Abandoned, rejected, left for dead, literally thrown under the bus. Left to their own devices, made to feel the consequences of sin, yes, but never this.

Forsaken only as Jesus was forsaken, never cast off into hell. Throughout all of history, there's only been one man who was forsaken, cast off into hell by God only to satisfy God, to please God. And only he could cry out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And then come back from the dead to live and live eternally. God said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.

And thank God, Jesus is the reason why. No matter how desperate our own situation in life has become. And we need to realise that back in time, at this point in history, consistently and over countless generations, God's promised a Messiah who was to be our Emmanuel. Someone to be with us forever. Someone who knows the answers to our deepest questions.

And it brings us to the third complaint this morning. The psalmist asking the question, how long? In summary, the second complaint, there is no temple, only destruction. The first complaint, why God? Why God do you allow this?

And now this, how long? How long will the enemy mock you, oh God? Will the foe revile your name forever? Notice the hyperbole here. This feels like forever.

Will it really take forever, God? How long? How long? Can you remember where you've heard those words before? How long?

And then heard those same words in the context of persecution, pain, and suffering. These words echo in heaven's throne room itself from the book of Revelation. When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. And they called out in a loud voice, how long, oh sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood. It's what the saints are saying around the throne of God.

How long? How long must this punishment be endured? How long before we actually see the wicked getting their just deserts? How long before we have justice? How long?

How long can be our own cry even on this earth, in this life, and in this body? We just don't know what 2023 will throw up at us. And we might have occasion on more than one time to be crying out, how long? How long, oh God? How long must we endure the contempt of those who hate you?

Who hate Jesus and His gospel? Who regard us as the enemy? How long must we suffer under those who wish for our own destruction? Who would seek to do us harm politically, economically, and even spiritually? What Israel desperately needed and what we need is this truth in our hearts and in our minds.

Emmanuel, God is with us. More and more, we might feel we are aliens here. People on a journey, strangers really, just passing through. But as we do so, God is our shepherd, forever our shepherd. And He's leading, He's guiding, He's taking us home to be with Him.

Now let's consider Emmanuel, and that's the second point. I know we've had the first point, three complaints, and I can only deal with three this morning, so please don't add your own complaints to the length of the sermon. My longest point in the sermon is finished. These two last points very briefly. We're gonna look briefly at the victory of Emmanuel.

So in all their sorrows and all their tears, the people of God bring to mind the deeds of God, the good works of God. And amazingly, they have the ability to recall, to remember. They remind themselves of what God has done for them in the past. What a powerful thing our memory is, and especially when there's suffering and pain. As God's people begin to remember, their thoughts bring an end to all their complaints and their laments, and two things especially they remember that quiets their hearts and their minds.

First, they cry out, how long? And they remember that God is a saving God. In the next verse, but you, oh God, are my king from of old. You bring salvation on the earth. What did God do?

Well, it was you who split open the sea by your power. Remember what happened at the Red Sea? God divided the sea. Israel walked across the sea on dry ground. And as for Pharaoh and his army, well, you broke the heads of the monster in the waters, and it was you who crushed the heads of the Leviathan.

God provided the victory. Already in Egypt, twelve hundred years before this, they can remember this victory. And the more Israel was afflicted in her slavery, the more she multiplied in number back in Egypt. No one could do this but God. This is the first version of the gospel, something they celebrated, something remembered many, many times over throughout the Psalms.

And similarly, we should do some remembering. In Christ, we should remember the seed of the woman crushing the serpent's head. We should see the cross of Calvary accomplishing a victory. We should see Emmanuel declaring He is with us. We may be cast down for a time.

We may be in a pit, but there's victory. We know and believe that the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. And who is He? He is Jesus Christ who has overcome this world. Our Emmanuel.

And second, these people also remember the almighty God of creation. When they cry out, how long? They remember that He's the one who opens the springs and the streams. He dries up flowing rivers. He establishes the day and the night and the changing seasons.

He's the god of time. He controls forces and the laws of nature. Why bring this up at such a time? What relevance is this? Well, it's amazingly heartening to know that the God who controls the universe is more than able to look after the needs of His own people.

He who orders the sun and the moon, who sets the stars in place, is more than able to keep covenant with Abraham and all his descendants after him. God reveals His power in creation and in salvation. They're the two things Israel remembers. So when you feel discriminated against, marginalised, even regarded as the enemy in this world, remember if you will, God. Remember the God of your salvation and the God of creation.

Think about Him as our Emmanuel. And then last, by no means least, there is this prayer for Emmanuel. In the verses 18 through to 23, the psalmist pleads that God would appear for them, that He would deal with their enemies and put an end to their present troubles. Rise up, oh God, and defend your cause. Is God able to do this?

Well, of course, He is. He saved His people before. He's the almighty, all powerful creator God. Surely, the issue is this, and maybe it's your issue too. How can such a god sit back and watch and remain silent while the world mocks Him and His people?

While our enemies mock Him and crush us and hurt the church and the institution of the church and compromise our religious freedoms. Rise up, oh God, and defend your cause. Well, what is God's cause? It's the gospel, the kingdom of heaven. It's the children of Israel.

God's cause is you and me, His church on earth. Rise up, oh God, and defend your cause. Can you imagine the psalmist praying those words in the face of the enemy? In front of those who mock God in His name? Who've done so much damage to Jerusalem and destroyed the temple?

Who put an end to the sacrifices of God? Maybe you know where the psalmist is coming from. He prays for the people who are part of God's gracious covenant arrangement. Verse 20, have regard for your covenant, oh God. This was God's promise to them, first established with Abraham.

God announced the terms of the covenant when He said, I'll be your God and you'll be my people. The psalmist remembers and pleads with God on the basis of His own promises. And today, in twenty-first century modern Australia, we can deal with our own fears by pleading to God on the basis of His own promises. We can know for sure that God has upheld the terms of His covenant in our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And today, the temple, the place for worship, the sacrifices for sin, and everything these ancient Jews are asking for, they're all fulfilled in Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

He is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, remember? And He's done His work in His body, which He describes as His temple. It's given up for us on the cross. We know that the covenant promise, I will be your God, means exactly that no matter what. And in Jesus, we see the extent to which God goes to love us, to care for us, to provide for us.

Let me put the psalmist prayer in New Testament terms by quoting just a line from one of our church's catechisms. Keep your church strong and add to it. Destroy the devil's work. Destroy every force which revolts against you and every conspiracy against your word. Are you hearing the echo of the psalmist?

Rise up, oh God, and defend your cause. To those living in exile in Babylon, this may seem an impossible dream. In the rubble and the smouldering remains of Jerusalem, this may seem an impossible dream. When babies are being killed, when women are being taken, and men are being slaughtered, this may seem an impossible dream. But the day does come when God does rise up, and God does send His Son, and His Son is crowned as king.

And today, He sits in victory at the right hand of the Father. And the day will come when all His enemies will be condemned to everlasting punishment. In the meantime, we can't wait for Christmas. We wait. We wait for our king to return.

For today, you and I are called to love our enemies, to serve them in the name of Him who served us to the end. We remember at that one time, we too were His enemies. Rise up, oh God, and defend your cause. That's what Israel was waiting for, Emmanuel. It's what we have today and every day in 2023.

It should cause us to have a quiet joy and a real hope even in times of adversity as we celebrate Jesus and remember Him, our Emmanuel. Let's pray. Lord, our world and our lives are filled with darkness and light, of sin and grace. So help us to respond as we should in prayer, both complaining and praising, both lamenting and trusting. But Lord, sweetened with the knowledge that because You've sent Jesus into our world, into our lives, all will end in joy and in glory.

And You will achieve for Yourself perfect justice. Grant, Lord, that we will be ready, eager, willing, and enthusiastic to receive You when You do return as king. Prepare our hearts even today. Soften us, Lord. Make us a people who can look forward with joy to that eternal rest that we have in You.

We thank you for that peace. We thank you for Jesus. And in His name, we pray together. Amen.