When I started preaching for you, nearly a year ago, we started in Colossians because I am convinced that the most important thing for a church to understand is who Christ is, what Christ has done, who we are in Christ, and what that means for our lives. We then moved to 1 Peter because it seemed clear to me that the church needed to understand how to deal with suffering. We needed to think about what it means to be elect exiles, sojourners, whose strength comes from being citizens of a heavenly kingdom. We have spent the last few weeks in the Psalms, learning Christ from the Psalter.

Today we are starting a new series, but for the moment, we shall remain in the Psalms. I have always preached through books of the bible, and while I generally prefer to do so, there are times when topical series are appropriate.

For the next few months we will be following the order of the Shorter Catechism, hearing what the Word of God has to say about the basics of the Christian faith. Why am I doing this? Some people might think, "the last thing we need is a series on doctrine!" The Princeton theologian B. B. Warfield once told the story of an old man who was visiting a rough and tumble town on the western frontier. He saw a young man walking down Main Street who had a confident demeanor. The brawls in the street didn't seem to trouble him- and he carried himself with a simple grace that belied his youthful appearance. Intrigued, the older man stopped him, and without introduction, asked, "What is the chief end of man?" Without batting an eyelash, the younger man replied, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." The old man said, "Ah, I thought as much. You can always recognize a Shorter Catechism man!" 

This series is not about the here and now. This series is about our children. The concept of "elder training" is a relatively new one. After all, if you were reared in the Presbyterian church, you probably knew the Shorter Catechism by heart by the time you were eight years old. After spending thirty to forty years sitting under the preaching of the Word, being catechized, and catechizing your own children, you knew the doctrines of the church inside and out. And since you had regularly had elders visiting your home, (and since the doings of presbytery, synod and general assembly were all published in the weekly newspaper) you had every opportunity of knowing what elders did before you became one yourself. In such a context, a series on the Shorter Catechism would have been unnecessary. 

But all that has changed. Probably not more than four or five of you learned the Shorter Catechism as a child. Most of you--like me--have come from other backgrounds, and have grown to appreciate the Reformed faith. But we tend to think in terms of our own immediate situation. We forget that, by the grace of God, Michiana Covenant Church will be here fifty years from now. And in the providence of God, He has placed us here to lay the foundations for our children, and for our children's children. We will generally cover one or two questions a week, so I would encourage you and your family to memorize the catechism answers as a part of your family worship. Remember that your children are the future of the church. Prepare your sons for the eldership. Train your daughters to be the wise women of Titus 2. And live before them as a model of what the church should be. Whatever you want them to do someday--do it yourself!

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

It is worth pointing out that the catechism does not say that we have two purposes: 1) to glorify God, and 2) to enjoy him forever. No, the catechism declares that we have one purpose, one chief end. You cannot glorify God without enjoying him forever, and you cannot enjoy God forever without glorifying him. You enjoy God forever by glorifying him, and you glorify God by enjoying him forever. If we said that your chief end is to glorify God--well, that is the chief end of all created things. The chief end of that chair is to glorify God, but the chair gets no enjoyment out of glorifying God! But if we said that your chief end is to enjoy God forever, that would sound rather hedonistic and self-centered. No, the two concepts of glorifying God and enjoying him forever are indissoluble. We were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever. God did not create us simply that he might enjoy us, but also that we might enjoy him.

Psalm 86 is the prayer of the man who desires to glorify God. It is the song of Israel, and it is the prayer of the Son of God. While Psalm 86 is first about David and Israel, the Son of God in his Old Testament state, it nonetheless gives us an eschatological glimpse of the universal scope of the new humanity. It is also the prayer of Christ and his church.

"Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; Save your servant, who trusts in you; you are my God."

David acknowledges that he is helpless before God. And all Israel with him declares that they are poor and needy. You do not come before the great King and declare that you don't need anything!

This is a Psalm that Christ could have sung during the whole of his ministry. It is the song of the covenant mediator who identifies with the weakness of his people. Jesus was like us in all ways, except sin. This means that he shared our weak and frail humanity. He, like us, was poor and needy. Birds have nests, and foxes have dens, but the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. And in Christ we too sing "Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy." We come to God in the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our weakness, asking for help in our trials. But while poor and needy, we do not come to God as beggars on their circuit. David goes on to say, "Preserve my life, for I am godly" (or "devout, pious"). And, expanding on this, pleads, "Save your servant, who trusts in you; you are my God." We come before God as those who are poor and needy, but we also come as those who belong to him. We are his servants, and the servant has a claim upon the master for protection. David, as the Son of God (and Israel with him), comes in humility, but also with confidence. We may come to God as his children, because we have been adopted through our union with Christ. Therefore we come as those who have the confidence that our God will hear, and will answer.

Verses three and four continue to this plea: "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." Sometimes, as we've seen, the Psalmist pleads for justice. But here he pleads for grace. Do you cry out to the Lord "all the day"? This is what Paul refers to when he says "pray without ceasing" (Col 4:2). The implication is both that we should be constant in prayer, but also that we should be exclusive in prayer. To whom do you cry when you are in need? Your wife? Your husband? Your best friend? Your parents? I'm not talking about going to these people for advice. I'm asking, to whom do you cry for help? Is your first thought, "Have mercy on me, O Lord!" "Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you!" It is this sort of whole-souled devotion to God that truly glorifies God. And notice how this sort of devotion to God is connected with enjoying him. "Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." David lifts up his soul to God, and asks that God would grant him joy. What sort of joy are we talking about here? Is he saying, "Make me feel good, God!"? Well, look at verse 5, which is the heart of this first section: "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you." Gladden my soul, O God, by forgiving my sins and delivering me from my enemies. Remember your steadfast love (hesed-covenant faithfulness/mercy/lovingkindness). The idea is that God has bound himself by his own promise. And he is faithful to his own covenant. He has promised to forgive your sins. Now in Jesus Christ he has accomplished our salvation, therefore we may come boldly to our God, knowing that what he has promised, he WILL DO.

Verses 6-7 then conclude with the same confidence. "Give ear, O Yahweh, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me."

Verses 8-10 show us that it is not merely Israel's chief end to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Indeed, it is all nations. Yahweh is not merely the local deity of Israel. "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God." Even here in the Old Testament, it is clear that the new humanity includes "all nations." All nations will glorify God and worship him. All the other gods are, in fact, local deities. That may sound odd. When you think of Baal, a Canaanite god, or Kali, a Hindu goddess, do you think of them as gods, or as imaginations of the human heart? The scripture never doubts the existence of others gods. The first commandment does not declare that there are no other gods; only that you shall have no other gods beside Yahweh. Likewise, when the apostle Paul speaks of sacrifices to idols, he initially suggests that an idol is nothing (1 Cor 10:19), but goes on the next verse to say that food sacrificed to idols is actually sacrificed to demons (1 Cor 10:20). Idolatry is always demonic. You will either glorify the God of heaven, or you will glorify a demon. You will either enjoy the triune God, or you will "enjoy" an idol. But of course, since we were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever, if we seek to glorify other "gods" and enjoy them, we invariably discover that they make us miserable. This is why the Psalmist declares in verse 10, "For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God." Interesting. "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord" (v8). "You alone are God" (v10). Sure, there are other "gods"--there are idols that seek our worship--but in the end, there is only one God. All others are merely demonic pretenders.

Verses 11-13 show us how we may attain our chief end. In the end, all nations will glorify God. But how do I glorify God? It starts by asking God to teach us his way. How do we glorify God? By loving him and doing what he commands. This answer from the Children's Catechism is okay, but it misses the heart of what the Shorter Catechism is saying. Glorifying God and enjoying him forever are bound up together, as verse 12 puts it, "I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, And I will glorify your name forever." Love and obedience are indeed the proper response, but it may neglect the central focus of gratitude that the Psalmist conveys. As he continues in verse 13: "For great is your steadfast love (there we have hesed again-covenant faithfulness) toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Finally in the conclusion (verses 14-17) we see the occasion for the Psalm. "A band of ruthless men seek my life, and they do not set you before them." My enemies are trying to destroy me. Have mercy O God! And once again David returns to theme of God's covenant faithfulness, his steadfast love, his hesed. "But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."

Children, I'd like to draw your attention to the way that David speaks in verse 16: "Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant." Children of believers may speak like this. You belong to God, so you may say "give strength to your servant," But you also may remind God, "Remember your promises to my parents!" You promised to be a God to my parents and to me. Therefore, deliver me from the power of sin and death. Thank you God that you loved my parents, and thank you that you now love me too!

Jesus Christ is the faithful son who prayed this prayer. As the son of Mary, and as the son of God, he earnestly sought deliverance from the grave. And God did to Jesus what he had promised to his ancestors. God raised this Jesus from the dead, delivering him from the power of death, because death could not hold him. This is the final sign (note verse 17) of God's favor. There is no greater sign than this. After all, this was the promise that had been made to Adam, that Adam would have eternal life. Now Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, and all of his enemies now tremble, because the Lord has helped him and comforted him.

And now we, who are in Christ, may sing Psalm 86 as those who are the firstfruits of the new creation. We may glorify God and enjoy him forever as we have been created to do.

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace