I can't quite picture the man who wrote this morning's psalm. I want to be like him, I wish I were, but that's not me and that's not many people I know. I may never achieve that level of trust in God. Did you notice the psalmist's trust and confidence? "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will sustain me. Tarry and await the Lord's pleasure, be strong and he shall comfort your heart, wait patiently for the Lord." (Ps 27: 14,18) Maybe I do have some trust, and some faith. I guess its that patience part I don't have, the serene acceptance that one must "wait patiently for the Lord." I wish that described me and my trust in God, but it doesn't. At least, not always, maybe sometimes, but not often. Now Abraham's trust, in that Old Testament Lesson (Genesis 15:1-18), is somehow familiar. That resonates with me. I trust like that. God has showered Abraham with promises and Abraham is grateful. So am I. And Abraham and I wait patiently for the fulfillment of the glorious promises of God. And then Abraham and I get a little impatient. We start to wonder. I know God intends only the best things for me, the Church has been telling me that since I was baptized. And I do believe that--yes, absolutely, no question. But then a couple of days later, a few crises later, a few tears and an occasional heartbreak later and I'm saying: "Yeah, well, God this is Bill. I'm waiting. Still. Patiently." God has spoken directly to Abraham and promises that he will be the father of many nations, that all nations, in fact, will bless themselves in him and call him blessed., Those descendants of his shall be numberless. Today's bit of Scripture catches Abraham at that moment we have all experienced, that time we wonder aloud or in our hearts: "OK ... God ... When?" Abraham takes a pretty bold approach--pretty gutsy when you are dealing with God Almighty. God says: "Fear not Abraham, I am your shield, your reward will be great. But Abraham said, O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless." I still don't have this son you've been talking about. Going to be the father of descendants more numerous than the sands on the seashore you say? Sounds great ... but ... I don't have even one child, not one, which would seem to me to be where I would have to start for all of these promises to come true. (This is GOD he is addressing in this fashion. Whoa!) And God takes him by the hand and draws him out into the middle of the night and says: "Look at the stars." (remember God has made these things and he's understandably proud.) Abraham has been openly inquiring of God saying, in effect: "Can you do what you say, can you deliver, do you have the power to follow through?" and God says--take a look, open your eyes, consider the evidence. Do I have the wherewithal to do what I have promised you? Let me tell you once again, just as gently and sweetly as before: Fear not--look at the stars, number them if you can, that's how many descendants you will have. And this time Abraham believed. Frankly, I'm not sure why. It's just another promise, one more reassurance in a series that had not convinced Abram before. But now does. What has happened, what has changed? Why now? I guess it was just time, time for Abraham to believe at last, and to put his trust in God. Abraham wouldn't have expressed it this way, but we do out of our Christian theology: we recognize and name that time of transition, that split-second of change, we call it the moment of grace -- when God finally gets through to us after trying for so long. Finally we get it, and believe, and trust with that kind of super-trust that Abraham finally felt, that super-trust the Psalmist is describing. And Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. That moment of grace in our lives, the moment of finally trusting God and believing him and his promises is where righteousness begins. In that faith and trust and there alone. There is nothing we can do, say, accomplish, fix, change, dream-up that will make us righteous. The moment of grace to which we respond when we begin to trust God, that is what saves us, makes us good, and decent, and righteous. For me Martin Luther's finest insight and greatest quote was: "Faith is simply trust in a trust-worthy God." We may often trust, sort of trust, want to trust that everything in our lives and the lives of those around me are under the control of an all-powerful, all loving God who has a perfect plan, full of promises which will all come true. And yet ... don't we all say "and yet" from time to time? There will be those times when doubt, question, wonder, times we were worry or may be certain it can only get worse. We may find ourselves unable to imagine how we would or could carry on, or get through, or even just manage. And then something, someone, somehow brought us through. We did not hope in vain, our trust was not misplaced. And then for us, as for Abraham, we stop fretting and grousing or squaring our shoulders and soldiering sadly on. We stop all of that and say quietly to the quiet, tender voice beside us, I believe, I trust, indeed my heart rejoices for I have put my trust in you, I do wait patiently for you, O Lord, and I know no matter who forsakes me, you will not. We do well to keep that beautiful image from today's Old Testament Lesson in our minds eye. The OT gets such a bad rap from people who have not read much of the Bible. They say it's so bloodthirsty, that it just shows a vengeful God full of judgment and severity and nastiness. I guess they have never seen this passage. It is one of the most unimaginably tender and sweet images of a divine being in any religion anywhere. God takes this old and tired and discouraged man by the hand, leads him outside, and together they look up at the velvet nighttime sky sprinkled and spangled with God's stars. And this supposed God of vengeance, this thundering Jehovah murmurs: "Look, Abraham, just look at that. I did that. If I can do that, and I can give you a son, I have created the universe by my might and I sustain it through my love. And I can help you ... with your all your problems, your fears, your worries and heartaches and disappointments. If the moment has not happened to you yet it will happen someday. The day you are taken by the hand and led outside to see the firmament of heaven. There always does come the mystical moment when we finally trust and know it will all be all right, that the promises are true and will be fulfilled, that all is well and we can, and do, trust in a trustworthy God. And we believe, and have faith, and that is what counts as righteousness. That is what saves us.