We do, don't we? Gladly, for
yay and amen. We adore him. Turn with me if
you would now to Psalm 107. Psalm 107. I truly am glad to be back here
worshiping with you. Pray the Lord will let us worship
him for just a minute this morning. I would like to bring a message
of thanks and praise and rejoicing for salvation from sin. I was listening to our brother's
Bible study. It was so similar to this, just
in every way. But we cannot enter into this
statement right here. But we have been saved from our
sin. That's what he just very clearly
set forth to us. We cannot enter into it. We can't
grasp it. We are dead. He talked about
everything being ruined. That's what we are. We're dead.
We are dead. We're lifeless. We're dead in
this flesh. And we don't like it, do we?
We're ready to be alive. I want to be alive. I want my
spirit and my heart and my soul to be alive. And it is in Christ,
but I want to I want to know it. I want to experience it.
But we have so much to be thankful for and so much to rejoice in
and so much to praise him for. Salvation from sin. Salvation
from sin, deliverance from sin, redemption from sin. I believe this is a happy message.
I really believe this is such a happy message. Look with me
here at Psalm 107 verse 1. It says, O give thanks unto the
Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks. O give thanks. Oh, give thanks. You know, His
mercy is brand new every morning. That means we have reason every
morning to give thanks. Every morning, give thanks. On
Monday, give thanks. On Tuesday, give thanks. Give
thanks. Give thanks. Look at verse 8. It says, Oh, that men would praise
the Lord for His goodness. I wish this man would really
do that. Praise the Lord for His goodness
and for His wonderful works to the children of men. What is
man that God would be mindful of us? Praise Him. Give thanks to Him. Praise Him. Praise Him. Look
at verse 22. It says, let them sacrifice the
sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. Let's do it with rejoicing. May
God give us as we declare his works from the pulpit out of
the pulpit. May God give us the ability to
do it with rejoicing. Thanks. Praise rejoicing. Verse 32 says, let them exalt
him. Let them exalt him also in the
congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of
the elders. Who, who is the them? Let them
exalt him. Who's he talking about? We'll look at verse two, Psalm
107 verse two. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Whom he hath redeemed from the
hand of the enemy. I'm the enemy. I'm the enemy. He redeemed me from me. He redeemed
me from everything that I am. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Who is saying this? Who is truly
saying this? The redeemed of the Lord. This
world in general does not acknowledge the goodness and the grace and
the mercy and the salvation that is only alone in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This world in general does not,
but I'll tell you this, the redeemed of the Lord do by his grace. This world in general may not. Man by nature may not. Man by
nature cannot. Man by nature will not. But I'll
tell you this, honestly, the redeemed of the Lord do. The redeemed of the Lord say
so. We say so by His grace. Oh, with
great joy and happiness, we say so. Look with me at Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verse one says, bless
the Lord. Oh my soul. That's us talking
to ourselves. That's us begging God. If I bless the Lord, that's not
my doing. That's his doing in us, in me.
That's my prayer. That's my. Demand to myself,
if God will enable it, bless the Lord, oh my soul, no matter
who else does. If no one else does, Lord, make
me to. Make it so that I have to. Make
it so that I've been caused to. Verse one says, bless the Lord,
oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Thank
God I believe we have been made to. I believe we have. I believe we've been caused to. Thank God we get to. Thank God we get to. I think
about how many places gather together on Sunday morning thinking
that they are blessing the Lord, but they're not. They don't get to because they're
so consumed with their own flesh, so consumed with their own selves.
Thank God we get to. God's people have been caused
to. God's people have been made to. God's people are reminded to. Thank God He keeps a remembrance
in us that won't let us forget what He's done for us. He brings
us back, and He brings us back, and He reminds us again. He won't let us forget what He's
done for us. Look right here at Psalm 103,
verse 2. It says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all
His benefits. Forget not all His benefits.
who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Our brother brought up, I mentioned
it when we started this morning, our brother brought up Dee Parks'
funeral. That was a, that's the happiest
funeral I've ever been to in my life. That was as happy as
a conference, wasn't it? That was as happy as a conference.
I was, I mean, I knew, you know, God's people We sorrow, but not
as others who have no hope, but there is sorrow involved, but
it was hard to find. It was a celebration of healing. That's what it was. And it was
absolutely wonderful. I went up to Dee's father, Daniel
Parks, affectionately known as Moose Parks, and I said to him,
How you doing? I hugged him. I said, how you
doing? He said, not as well as my son, but I'm doing pretty
good. I thought, what an answer. What a way to look at it. What
a way to look at it. You know, he's saying my son
has attained the prize. My son reached the goal. It was told to me that Moose
woke up Tuesday morning. He said, well, this is the first
morning of my son waking up in glory, looking at his Savior,
Jesus Christ, face to face. What a way to look at it. Verse three, who forgiveth all
thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. That's what
happens when the Lord calls one of his own home healed. Totally healed. Verse four, who
redeemeth thy life from destruction, pulled out, who crowneth thee
with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth
with good so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. The
redeemed of the Lord who have been caused to know their redemption,
they don't have a choice in the matter. They just don't have
a choice in the matter. There is no way they could refrain
and stop themselves from blessing the Lord and thanking the Lord
and praising the Lord. He did a work they couldn't do. He paid a price they could not
pay. That's what redemption is. It's
a price paid. It's a price paid in full. If the price has not been paid
in full, redemption has not been made. And there's nothing to rejoice
in yet. If redemption is not made, there's nothing to rejoice
in yet. Turn with me over to Hebrews
9. Hebrews chapter 9. I have the fondest memories of
my mother. It's just another reason why
that Bible study was so closely related to this. Luke brought
up his mother. I have the fondest memories of
my mother. Our Lord called her home almost 23 years ago. But she was so cute. She was
so cute. When we were young kids, you
know, a young family growing up, my dad made an honest man's
living and he provided well for us, but we weren't rolling in
it by any means. Four kids. And we had plenty,
but we lived on a budget like we all do. And I remember You
know, hearing them talk from time to time. It was tight. Things
were tight. You know, we can't do this and
we're gonna have to buckle. We all understand that. We're
all there. Most of us are, you know, children
and we're there. We understand that. Well, because
of that, my mom was always putting stuff on layaway. I heard that word layaway more
times than you could possibly imagine. She was always talking
about layaway. We were constantly going to some
store to either put something on layaway or to make a payment
on that layaway. I thought about this. Most of
these kids have no idea what layaway is. Back in the good
old days, they used to try to help you not get yourself in
trouble by making you actually pay for something before you
brought it home. It was a strange concept. You got to pay for it first.
And if you couldn't afford to buy it, you put it on layaway
and then they would set it in the back for you. And you had
to come in every month and make a payment until that final payment
was made. It wasn't redeemed until the final
payment was made. You couldn't take it home. You
couldn't take it home. And I have so many memories of
my mom going to a store to make one of those middle payments.
You know, she'd always say, I just have to run into pennies or wherever
it was. Real quick, I got to make a payment on my layaway.
And I remember standing there at the customer service counter,
counter taller than me. I have visual memories of watching
her. All about business, you know,
here's my payment, you know, there's your receipt. All right,
let's go. You know, it's another thing
off the to-do list. Let's get back in the car. Business
as usual. But on the day that redemption
came, she was so cute. On the day that redemption came,
she was such a happy person. She had the best smile and she
had the best laugh. She was a person who got excited
about things. She would really get excited
about things. And I have memories of her excitement as she was
headed to the place that was holding her desired possession,
bondage, captive. And she would lay that last payment
on the counter and they'd say, paid in full. And they would hand her what
she desired and she would take it to herself. And it was now
hers. And she could take it home. Because
it was bought with a price. And it was paid in full. Total redemption. Total redemption. It's yours. Well, look here at
Hebrews 9 verse 11. It says, But Christ being come
and high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by His own blood, He entered in once. into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. Bought, paid, delivered from
bondage, from captivity with one payment. That means he was
able. One payment, no need for layaway
here. That's what most people believe Christ did. Most people
believe Christ put his people on layaway and payments still
have to be made. That's not so. That is not so. God's people are not on layaway.
We are bought with a price, paid in full. We were bought with
a payment so valuable One payment obtained eternal redemption forever. Eternal forever. I think it's
okay to be redundant on this. Eternal forever. Forever. One payment. What was it? The most valuable substance in
heaven. The most valuable substance in
heaven. First Peter one says, you know,
you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. Oh, give thanks to the Lord.
Praise the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Exalt the
Lord. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Redeemed
how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed
through his infinite mercy, his child and forever I am. Up Calvary's
mountain, one dreadful morn, Walked Christ my Savior weary
and worn, Facing for sinners death on the cross, That He might
save them from endless loss. Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer,
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree, Wounded and bleeding for
sinners pleading, Sinners who were blind and unheeding. Come to me. No. Thank God he died for this blind,
unheeding sinner. Thank God in spite of my no,
he said, yes, you're coming. Now are we free? There's no condemnation. The Lord Jesus provides a perfect
salvation. Come unto me. Oh, hear his sweet
call. Come and he saves us. His grace
hath redeemed us once for all. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Go back with me to our text. Now I'm aware of how long I have
been. And I'm not gonna take too much longer, I'm gonna be
brief. But this whole Psalm is a picture of redemption. The
whole Psalm. This shows us what Christ redeemed
His people from. The bondage, the trouble, the
sorrow of sin. This shows us how the Lord causes
His people to realize that they cannot redeem and deliver themselves. That's what God causes His people
to see. This shows us the place that
all of God's people are brought to where all they can do is cry
out to Him for mercy. And that's the evidence of a
soul that has received mercy. That soul will cry out for mercy. And I love how it says throughout
this Psalm, every time His people do cry out to Him for mercy,
He delivers them out of their distresses. Every single time. Every time God's people need
mercy and cry out to Him for it, They find that there's a
brand new faithful portion waiting on them. Look at the last verse
of this Psalm, verse 43. It says, who so is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness
of the Lord. That's what this is. This is
the loving kindness of the Lord to his people. Let's just read
down through this together, okay? Look at verse one. It says, Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. If he has chosen
to show grace and mercy to us, his grace and mercy will last
forever. If he's given it, he has given
it forever. Verse two, let the redeemed of
the Lord say so. Let every particular soul that
He chose before the foundation of the world to redeem in the
blood of Christ, say so. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Verse two says, whom He hath
redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered them out of
the lands from the east and from the west, from the north and
from the south. Thank God. He has a particular
chosen people out of every tribe, nation, kindred, tongue on this
earth. Generation. Thank God. Thank
God. I'm so glad it says that. Thank
God. It's a people who were ruined
by a fall into sin. It's a people who were lost in
sin, wandering in sin, prone to wander. Prone to wander. Look at verse 4. They wandered
in the wilderness in a solitary way, alone. They found no city
to dwell in. That's where we were when our
Lord found us. All we like sheep had gone astray.
Verse 5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Empty. They were empty. That's what God's people are
in themselves. It takes the Spirit of God to reveal to a sinner
that he or she is empty. It takes the Spirit of God to
create in a sinner a hunger and a thirst for Christ and for His
righteousness. It takes the work of the Spirit
of God to cause a sinner to cry out to the Lord for mercy and
grace to help in time of need. And that's what God's Spirit
does for the redeemed. Verse 6, it says, Then they cried
unto the Lord in their trouble. and he delivered them out of
their distresses. Our Lord said, if you ask, you'll
receive. If you're made to ask, you will be made to receive.
It's God who works in us to will and do this, but we do it. Verse
six, then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he
delivered them out of their distresses. He led them forth by the right
way. that they might go to a city
of habitation. He did it. He led them forth
by Christ the right way. He led them forth by the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He leads his people in paths
of righteousness for his namesake. Verse eight says, oh, that men
would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful
works to the children of men. Oh, that men and women would
give him the glory alone. for his finished work of salvation.
Verse 9 says, For he satisfies the longing soul and filleth
the hungry soul with goodness. He's the one who does that. Now,
beginning in verse 10, there are three illustrations here
of our absolute inability and God's Spirit revealing that to
us and causing us to cry out to Christ our Savior for help.
Verse 10, such as sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, being
bound in affliction and iron, because they rebelled against
the words of God and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
Therefore He brought down their heart with labor. They fell down
and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and break
their bands in sunder. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children
of men, for He hath broken the gates of brass and cut the bars
of iron in sunder." We got ourselves in trouble. We rebelled against
Him. And He brought us down in mercy and made us cry out. And the moment we cried out,
He broke all the bands and delivered us. We did the sinning, He did the
saving. Oh, that we would praise Him. Verse 17. Fools, because
of their transgression and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner
of meat, and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they
cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their
distresses. I love verse 20. He sent His
Word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.
That's how He does it, through His Word. Oh, that men would
praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to
the children of men and let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare his works with rejoicing. Not only is he able to save,
he is willing to save. Not only is it in his power to
show mercy, he delights to show mercy. Verse 23, they that go down to
the sea in ships that do business in great waters, these see the
works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He commandeth
and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven.
They go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wits end. Then they cry
unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their
distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof
are still. Then are they glad, because they
be quiet. So He bringeth them unto their
desired haven. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children
of men, no matter how deep the trouble is. And this is what
we just heard. No matter how deep the trouble
is, no matter how far a soul seems to be gone, he is able
to save to the uttermost. And he will save his people to
the uttermost that come unto God by him. Verse 32 says, let them. exalt him also in the congregation
of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
He turneth rivers into a wilderness and the water springs into dry
ground. He dries everything up a fruitful
land into barrenness. for the wickedness of them that
dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness into
a standing water, and dry ground into water springs. And there
he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city
for habitation. And sow the fields, and plant
vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. He blesseth them
also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth not their
cattle to decrease. Again they are menaced and brought
low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He poureth contempt
upon princes and causeth them to wander in the wilderness where
there is no way. Yet setteth he the poor on high
from affliction and maketh him families like a flock. The righteous
shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth."
What that means is those who have been caused to see Christ
as He is, they will exalt Him in everything that He does. They
will know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
Whether He raises up or tears down, God's people will cry,
amen, and they will praise Him in all of His judgments. He said,
He will bring to nothing the proud and the self-righteous,
and He will exalt and lift up the poor and needy, even so,
amen. Our Lord is the doer of everything,
and everything that He does is good and right. Verse 43 says,
who so is wise? And a soul that is wise, that's
a soul that is in Christ. He is made unto us wisdom. He's
our wisdom. Verse 43, who so is wise and
will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord. Everything that he has done concerning
us is loving kindness. All of it is loving kindness
from election to redemption, to regeneration, to glorification. All of it is loving kindness. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. And we do, don't we? We do.