Think of something that you are excited about going to. Is it a game, is it a vacation, is it a visit with someone special? Think about how as the time comes for this event, you find yourself getting more and more excited, you are filled with anticipation. Sometimes the anticipation can be greater than the event itself. The perfect situation arrives when you have an activity or event that you are eagerly anticipating and then it comes and is everything you were hoping. Unfortunately, this often isn’t what happens.
I remember this anticipation most acutely when I was a kid. I remember counting down the days for certain things, my birthday, the end of school, Christmas, a movie that was coming out. I remember getting really excited about what was coming and then when the time came, it was extra special.
And then I think of the excitement that I’m sure we all have every Sunday morning as we prepare for church. I’m sure we all just cannot wait; what songs are we going to sing; what’s the pastor going to talk about today; what are we going to pray about?
Okay, so I don’t actually think that this is the way we all think on Sunday mornings as we prepare to come to church. I’m sure there are many here who practically have to drag themselves here. I know I was that way as a child. It was an effort to get to church, and I constantly was looking for excuses to not have to go. Sleep seemed much more important to me than worshipping God.
But worship is supposed to be a joyous and exciting thing, something that we should allow ourselves to get excited about. And part of this is what’s going on at church, but another part of it is how we come to church. Are we coming with open hearts to learn what it is that Jesus has to say to us? Are we coming with joyful hearts ready to praise and worship our God? Are we coming with thankful hearts remembering all that God has done for us? We are the ones who make church, who make worship into a time of praise and prayer. So, let us come to God with joy this morning.
I. Entering the Temple
Psalm 118, the scripture that was read this morning, is all about coming into God’s presence. It is all about coming into his temple. It is believed that this Psalm was read by a king as he entered Jerusalem to thank and praise God after winning a mighty battle, after being delivered from his enemies by God. It may also be a psalm that was sung to remember Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Either way, it is about thanking and praising God for the great things that he has done. And it’s also a psalm that shouldn’t just be read but it needs to be acted out. And there are three distinct parties in this little drama of a psalm. There is the king, there are the people and there are the ones in the temple, most likely priests. The Psalm begins with the people thanking and praising God. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Doesn’t this just sound like a song that the people would sing back and forth as they approached the temple.
But what’s even more interesting is that they were worshipping God on their way to the temple. They didn’t wait until they got there. Their trip to church was so exciting that they sang worship and praise songs on that trip.
Then, beginning in verse 5, and going through verse 18, and this is the part we didn’t read, we hear about the specifics of what God did for this king. And so we hear the king himself speak and tell about what God has done for him, “He answered me by setting me free.” “All the nations surrounded me but in the name of the Lord I cut them off.” “I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.” And then, in verse 19, the king stands outside the gates of the temple and calls out for the priests to open those very gates. Now the priests, inside the temple, call out, “This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.” Then the king and the people continue with their praises of God. And the priests then call down in verse 27 for the king to enter and come into the temple in procession with his people. The king ends by praising God again and thanking him. And the people start up their song that they had been singing at the beginning of the Psalm, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Okay, now we’ve got the action blocked out. Boy, they made a big deal about going to worship didn’t they? It was a big thing for them to go and thank God in his temple. This isn’t something they did quietly or softly. Praising God is something to revel in, it is something to make a big deal about. This king allowed the pomp and circumstance to make a big deal about what God had done for him. And he made a big deal about going to church to thank God.
Now Jesus tells us to pray in secret and to hide the fact that we are fasting. Jesus doesn’t want us to do things in our worship that call attention to ourselves. At first this seems incongruent with what is going on with this king making a big deal about going to worship, but it isn’t. The king isn’t making a big deal about himself, he is making a big deal about God. He is praising and worshipping God and doing all he can to make sure that all praise is given to the one who saved him.
So lets look at some of the things that are said about God, and let us see this ancient form of worship and see how in can inform our worship today. Some of the things just don’t seem to apply to today, others apply too well. We don’t have a big gate and make people call out for us to open up our doors for them. We don’t have people singing hymns and praise songs together as they process through the front door. We wait until you get into the sanctuary before we begin singing. Part of this is cultural. Part of this is that it is just too cold outside to begin the worship out there. And part of this is that when Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain was ripped in two and God made it known that there is to be no separation between us and himself, and therefore we are welcome inside his gate, whoever we are and however we are. The priests called out that this is the gate of the Lord and only the righteous may enter. We are all made righteous in God’s eyes by what Jesus has done for us and therefore we are all welcome in God’s house.
II. The Stone the Builders Rejected
So lets look at a couple of the calls that are said in this ancient worship service. In verse 22 we are told that the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is such an important praise, and it is the very center of who God is and what God is capable of. If the person saying this is talking about themselves, they are acknowledging their own unworthiness. I am a stone that was rejected by the builders, they are saying. Builders reject stones, not because there is something wrong with the builders, but because there is something wrong with the stone. It is deemed unworthy by the very people who are supposed to find worth in it. We all feel this at times. We all feel that we are lacking, we feel the rejection and pain coming from those around us and we wonder what, possibly, God could do with us, for we are lacking in skills and in drive. But God doesn’t let it go that simply. God takes the stone that has been rejected by the world and uses it in a place of prominence, he uses it to build the whole structure upon, to hold the structure together. And so God takes us, who the world thinks so little of, and uses us in amazing ways. What an amazing thing God does, what an amazing way that God works. And we know that God is capable and willing to do this very thing, because the New Testament, over and over again applies this verse to Jesus. It looks at Jesus’ circumstances and shows that this verse is describing how it is that God worked through Jesus. It tells us that Jesus is the stone that was rejected by builders. His own people, his own religious leaders turned from him, rejected him. But he was made into the capstone, the cornerstone. Through him the whole church was built.
God does things that are amazing. God takes the things of this world and changes them completely. And we are called to see things with the eyes of God and not of the world. Do not be too hasty to judge. God can take us, God can take those around us, who it seems have no chance, who it seems are unable to make any positive difference, and he can use us and he can change us. God can take the most abhorrent of people and bring them to himself. God can take the weakest of people and give them strength. God can take the ugliest of people and make them beautiful. God can take the shallowest of people and make them deep. Don’t be one of the builders who rejects stones based on first glance. Instead, allow God to work on that stone and make it into a stone that can be used in a great way.
Following this, in verse 24 we hear, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” A common phrase, one that has made it into our current worship. Sometimes it is a part of the call to worship, I first learned it as a song as a child with an echo to it.
But don’t let the fact that this has been made into a children’s song detract from its significance. It is a simple yet powerful statement. Oh there are plenty of things to praise God for, there are many reasons to rejoice, but here we start at the beginning, with the most basic. God has given us this day. This day is special. Each and every day is special and worth rejoicing in, worth praising God for.
Now I have to admit that I don’t always do the best job at remembering this. Not all days feel like gifts from God. Not all days leave me wanting to praise God. But how much of this is the day and how much of this is me? How often do I ruin a day myself by waking up grumpy, or by just failing to notice God’s work in it?
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Each day is special. We all have a limited number of days in our lives. This scripture is a call to make the most of each and every one. Remember that this day, that every day is a gift to you. And celebrate that gift, don’t let it go to waste. Praise God and worship him, but part of that praise and worship is to honor each and every day as a gift from God. Part of that praise and worship is to acknowledge God’s gift to you and do something with it. Part of that praise and worship is to find the joy that is offered in this life and celebrate it. Rejoice and be glad in it.
III. Expectations
Mostly, this Psalm is about thanking and praising God. This is something that we are all about when we come together to worship, when we come together to be God’s people. This is something that I am afraid we sometimes miss. We rush to church and do it out of obligation. Our worship has become another of the many stresses that fill our lives. We allow the cares of our lives, which can be great, to overwhelm us and keep us from truly coming in contact with God. But worship is designed to be a place where we do come in contact with God. It is designed to be a place where we find joy and peace in our lives. It is designed to help strengthen us for the week ahead.
Just like everything else, though, what you put in to an event is going to affect what you get out of it. If you come into it half-hearted you will leave half hearted. If you come into it thinking only of the obligation, you will only fulfill the obligation, nothing more. But if you come in ready to meet your God, if you come in ready to learn something new, if you come in filled with excitement: who knows what God can do.
So let us enter worship each and every Sunday with the gusto of that Jewish King so many years ago. Let us enter with a song on our lips and joy in our hearts. Let us enter knowing that this is the place where we come in contact with our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us enter expecting to come out of worship changed, expecting great things to happen. God is ready to meet all these expectations and more. Amen.
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