Sermon -- Mid-week Advent, Week 2 (December 13, 2023)

PSALM 14:7

OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES OF THE MESSIAH:

ADVENT AWAITED.

In the name + of Jesus.

     King David wrote a number of Psalms which corresponded to events in his life.  Psalms 32 and 51 were both written after he was absolved of his sin of the adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murderous plot against her husband, Uriah.  David praised God for the comfort that came from divine mercy and forgiveness.  Other Psalms include the event in the heading.  For example, the heading of Psalm 18 states that David “addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.”  Although Psalm 14 was written by King David, he did not indicate what events led up to him writing it. 

     David’s plea was spoken in the final verse: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7).  This plea suggests that something was wrong among God’s people.  Someone or something was oppressing them and making life miserable.

     Zion is synonymous with Jerusalem and, particularly, with God’s temple.  This is where David wanted to see someone come forward to restore the fortunes of Israel.  However, David was the King.  If someone out of Zion were going to rescue Israel from oppression, it was to be him.  He was the Lord’s anointed.  He was the leader of God’s people.  As King, David was entrusted with the oversight and protection of the people.

     But if you know David’s story, you also know that the city of David was the source of trouble as much as it was a source of hope.  There was trouble in David’s household.  Having multiple wives resulted in having sons act as heated rivals.  They plotted against each other as they vied for the throne.  Most notably, there was David’s son, Absalom.  Absalom not only sought the throne, he staged a coup against his own father.  There was no salvation out of Zion as David and his royal house fled for their lives.  At another time, David took a census of the people so he could know what kind of army was at his disposal.  The Lord had forbidden this census.  Israel was to trust in God’s promise and protection, not in military might.  David’s pride resulted in the angel of the Lord striking Israel with a plague which killed tens of thousands.  King David did not restore the fortunes of his people; rather, he was the cause of their troubles.

     Although David had established Jerusalem as the city of David, and although David had purchased Mt. Zion for the future site of the temple, David did not bring salvation for God’s people.  The fortunes of Israel may have improved under David, but they did not endure.  David’s prayer confessed as much: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7). 

     Neither a tumultuous life nor daily problems are unique to King David.  Everyone suffers from troubles.  Your problems don’t rise to the level of national security issues.  Your problems are not that big, but they are plenty big when they are yours and you are forced to struggle with them.  Maybe your prayer mirrors King David’s—that the Lord would restore your fortunes, that he would recalibrate your circumstances so that you do not have to contend with failing health, aching joints, endless debt, a fractured family, or anxiety and the pressures of deadlines and quotas.  When all our problems mount up—whether struggles in our heads, in our homes, or in the world around us—we long for God to step in and do something about it.  The lament arises from Christians, agnostics, and is said in derision by atheists: “Why doesn’t God put a stop to tragedies?  Why won’t God strike down those who cause trouble for others?”  Atheists don’t believe there is a God who saves; we often wonder if he will.  Either way, everyone longs for deliverance from problems. 

     All the problems we know happen because we are sinners living in a sinful world.  We long for rescue from both conditions—both our sinfulness and from this broken world.  But neither we nor the world can produce the rescue we want.  This is why David cries out, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion” (Psalm 14:7)! 

     Advent was awaited by the Old Testament people.  The prayers were answered when Jesus came.  He comes from Zion, the presence of God.  Zion is the Lord’s temple.  It is where God dwells with his people.  Jesus is the true temple of God.  He is God who dwells with his people—not in a building, but in the flesh.  Jesus has come to deliver us out of our wretched condition.  There is salvation from Zion.  There is peace from God.  The fortunes of God’s people will be restored.

     Jesus left the glories of heaven to come to this broken world.  The Bible says, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  Jesus came into our world to seek his fortune.  The fortune that Jesus sought and found is you.  You are the prize that Jesus came to win.  He did not despise you in your sinful condition, but embraced you and spent everything to obtain you.  To restore your fortune, Jesus exchanged his righteousness for your wickedness, his innocence for your guilt.  In doing so, he also exchanged his life for your death.  He exchanged God’s favor for your curse—dying the sinner’s death for you.  Jesus has rescued you from the squalor of your sinful condition.  He has enriched you with divine favor and enduring peace. 

     David uttered his plea: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7).  Not those exact words, but that sentiment was expressed by God’s people throughout the Old Testament.  Advent was announced in the Garden of Eden.  And then Advent was awaited for centuries.  The people trusted that the Messiah would come because God had promised it, and God does not lie.  But the waiting went on, and on, and on.   Who could have guessed that from David’s prayer in Psalm 14 there would be another 1,000 years before salvation would come?  God’s people would remember the promises, and God’s people would repeat David’s prayer while they waited. 

     Advent was awaited for so long, but God proved true to his word.  Advent arrived with Jesus, and the promises were fulfilled by Jesus’ sufferings, death, and resurrection.  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  So the fortunes of God’s people have been restored.  The sinful condition has been rectified.  We are pardoned of all guilt and free from all the charges.

     Yet, we still live in that broken world.  The troubles still mount up.  The sorrows continue.  Health still fails.  Joints still ache.  Debts mount.  Families are fractured.  Wickedness still abounds.  Therefore, David’s prayer is still prayed, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7).  Or, that prayer may come out as we had suggested earlier:  Why doesn’t God put a stop to tragedies?  Why won’t God strike down those who cause trouble for others? 

     We are still awaiting an Advent.  Jesus is coming again, and he will rescue us from every evil there is.  Rather than leave us to dwell in a broke-down world, Jesus will deliver us to heavenly mansions.  Jesus promises to restore all things and to return the world to its perfect condition.  As St. John described it in Revelation: “(The Lord) will wipe away every tear from (our) eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).  There will be nothing to go to ruin, nothing to cause frustration, nothing to inflict pain.  All the wickedness that we pray God would stop will cease to exist.  So, the Lord will indeed answer our prayer, even better than we can imagine it. 

     David prayed for salvation out of Zion and for the fortunes of the people to be restored.  The plea was earnest because the wait had been so long.  And yet, he did not know how much longer he or his people would have to wait.  So also, we have been waiting for about 2,000 years for our Lord to return.  The Church still yearns for his coming so that we will be forever free from sorrow, grief, and sadness.  Who knows how much longer we will have to wait for our Lord’s return?

     Just as God’s people in the Old Testament patiently waited for the Advent of the Messiah, so also we will wait patiently.  And just as God was faithful in sending the Messiah as he had promised, so we can be sure that God will faithfully his promise to return, to gather up his people, and to bestow upon us the fortunes of Paradise.

     Jacob rejoiced at Jesus’ first coming.  Israel was glad to receive her Savior.  We do, too.  And we look forward to singing endless praises when he comes again in glory to deliver us to glory.  The Lord is faithful, and he will do it.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.