Difference between revisions of "Sermon for August 4th, 2019"

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Psalm 135:1-21

1 Praise the Lord!
    Praise the name of the Lord;
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 you that stand in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, for he is gracious.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

5 For I know that the Lord is great;
    our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
    he makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both human beings and animals;
9 he sent signs and wonders
    into your midst, O Egypt,
    against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and Og, king of Bashan,
    and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
    your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people,
    and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
    they have eyes, but they do not see;
17 they have ears, but they do not hear,
    and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them
    and all who trust them
    shall become like them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
    O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
    You that fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
    he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psummer of Psalms II - Psalm 135

Psalm 135, like a few Psalms we have encountered earlier this summer belongs to the category known as "Hallel" psalms -- all of which begin and end with the Hebrew phrase "Hallelujah" or "Praise the Lord."

Which reminds me of the story of the woman who bought a female parrot from the pet store, with the assurance that it was a "talking parrot." But the woman quickly learned that her parrot was silent most of the time, except for when she had guests come over to her house, at which point the parrot, in a sexy, seductive voice, would say, "Hey cutie, wanna have some fun?"

Embarassed and dismayed, the woman consulted with her pastor, who happened to be the owner of a talking male parrot. Her pastor reassured her, saying, "My parrot is very religious and spends all of his time praying and reading the bible. Bring your parrot over for a visit, and I'm sure he'll be a good influence on her.

On the day of the arranged visit, sure enough, the pastor's parrot was deeply immersed in reading the Bible and praying. When the female parrot was placed in his cage, he all but ignored her. And then she said, in her most seductive voice, "Hey cutie, wanna have some fun?" At which point the pastor's parrot slammed his little Bible shut, raised his beak to heaven, and said, "Praise the Lord! My prayers have been answered!"

Praise the Lord.

• WONDERERS

• Praising the Lord is pleasant

• The Lord has chosen us, just as he chose Jacob

• We are His treasured possession

• The Lord is greater than all the other things we make into gods