The name of the message is the
day the Lord has made. The day the Lord has made. Turn
if you would to Psalm 118. Psalm 118. Now this is a wonderful
psalm. It's so rich with Christ. It speaks of the believer's one
confidence. The believer's one confidence.
Which is Jehovah. And how his steadfast love and
mercy towards his people It endures forever. It's unchanging. It's unchanging, because God
never changes. So His steadfast love to His
people never changes. Never changes, endures forever.
And the great scope of this psalm, as Hawker brings forth, is to
manifest what confidence there is to trust in Jehovah at all
times. at all times and upon all occasions,
Hawker says. And so we see then that this
applies to all believers. To all believers. As our trust
and our rest is Christ. And Christ alone, who again is
God manifested in the flesh. So let's read the first four
verses with this in our minds. O give thanks unto the Lord,
For he is good, because his mercy endureth forever. Let Israel now say that his mercy
endureth forever. He repeats it twice. And here we go. And let the house of Aaron now
say that his mercy endureth forever. Let them now that fear the Lord
say that his mercy endureth forever. So the psalmist brings forth
here four times that God's mercy endures forever, forever. And we who are his people, we
know this to be true, don't we? We know this to be true in good
times, and we know this to be true in bad times. We know this
to be true in times of joy, and we know this to be true in times
of sorrow. We know this to be true, that
God's mercy towards his people endures forever. Again, it's unchanging because
our great God never changes. And every born again man and
woman may find in the history of our own lives enough to demand
the unceasing tribute of praise to our great God. For as the
psalmist brings forth here, God's mercy endureth forever. Each
one of us who are born again can look in our lives and say,
God's mercy endureth forever. Forever. Oh my. He's had such mercy upon us.
And His mercy is eternal mercy. Because He's the Eternal One.
His love and His grace is also eternal. And it's been said upon His people
for eternity. For eternity. Now mercy is part
of God's goodness and God's mercy is something that concerns his
people because we're sinners. And what do we have great need
of? Mercy. I have great need of mercy. Do you? I do. Oh my. And so when I read these verses
that God's mercy endureth forever and no one not speaking about
his people. And knowing that His mercy endureth
forever towards me and towards you who are His blood-bought
people in Christ, oh, does it not lift our hearts in joy? It
fills our lips with praise too, doesn't it? Glory to His name. The elect angels may say that
God is good, but they don't need His mercy. They cannot delight
in His mercy as the blood-washed saints of God can. We delight
in His mercy because we're sinners, saved by the grace of God. And
as Paul wrote, we have obtained what? Mercy. Mercy. God's people have obtained mercy.
So we've tasted this mercy. And look at this, this mercy
endures forever. Forever. We delight in God's
goodness. We delight in God's mercy because
we've been graciously forgiven all our sins in Christ, in Christ. So divine mercy, when we read
about divine mercy and when we see it brought forth in scripture,
again, it fills our souls and our lips with praise to our great
God. Now, earthly joys may pass away.
Earthly joys may pass away, but this joy is enduring. because this mercy's enduring.
It's eternal. And I'll tell you what, when
we get the glory, we'll be singing his praises. We'll be singing
his praises for that mercy that we've received in Christ, just
like we sing right now on this earth about the mercy that we've
received in Christ. But then we're singing it without
sin. Won't that be glorious? What a glorious day that'll be.
So think of this, you who are the beloved of God, there is
absolutely no change to God's mercy towards you. No change. His mercy towards
his people endureth forever. Forever. God's not gonna say,
well, you blew it over here. I'm not gonna show you mercy
anymore. Oh, their sins and iniquities
I will remember no more. That's mercy. Isn't that mercy? That's wonderful. That's mercy.
And all that mercy comes to us in and through Christ and Christ
alone. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. Oh my. Think of this too. God was faithful
to his elect in ages past. He was merciful to his people
in ages past. And he's merciful today to we
who are his people. He's merciful today. Just like
he was merciful to the elect in the past, he's merciful to
the elect today who are on this earth. And you know what? Now
we're called the sons of God. That's mercy. Now we're adopted
by God. That's mercy. Now we're redeemed
by the precious blood of Christ. That's mercy. Paul again said, I've obtained
mercy. And we're singing God's mercy in eternity, beloved. Worthy
is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. He gets all
the glory, as Brother Tim said. He gets all the honor. He gets
all the praise. We come here to hear about Christ
and to glorify Him. He gets it all. He gets it all.
He's done everything. He saved our souls. Now think
about this, too, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the grand incarnation
of mercy. He's the grand incarnation of
mercy. Like I said, He's truth incarnate. He's mercy incarnate
too, beloved. He is. He came here to what? To save His people from their
sins. He came here willingly. Is that not mercy for we who
are sinners? Oh my. We who are redeemed, we
who are born again, who've been saved, we call upon Him with
our lips, don't we? We praise Him, and it's brought
to remembrance what He's done for us, and we say, praise God
for your mercy towards us. Praise God for your mercy towards
us. And we say, He's good. God's good. All the time, isn't
He? Like Brother Norman and I were
talking one time, and I said, oh, God's so good. He goes, all the time,
brother. Yeah, all the time. all the time. He's good. He's good. Look at this now. Let's read
verses 5 to 20, but let's keep our eyes looking to Christ and
take note of the instruction in these verses for the believer.
Verses 5 to 20. I called upon the Lord in distress.
The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord
is on my side. I will not fear what man can
do unto me. The Lord taketh my part with
them. That help me, therefore shall
I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust
in the Lord than to put confidence in man. There's a key verse right
there, beloved. See, I mentioned this in Sunday
school, the saying that God has no confidence in the flesh, do
we? No confidence in ourselves. And look what the scripture says
here. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence
in man. It's better to trust in the Lord
than to put confidence in princes and leaders. All nations can
pass me about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
They can pass me about, yea, they can pass me about, but in
the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They can pass me about
like bees, they are quenched as the fire. of thorns, for in
the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Thou hast thrust sore at
me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my
strength and my song and has become my salvation." Every believer
can say that, hey. The Lord is my strength, He's
my song, He's my salvation! Oh, and again think of this,
His mercy endures forever. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous. The right hand of
the Lord, do it valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is
exalted. The right hand of the Lord, do it valiantly. I shall
not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord
hath chastened me sore, but he hath not given me over unto death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go into them. I will praise
the Lord, this gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall
enter. Now the gate of the Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
Christ's beloved, the Messiah, the Messiah. In verse 22, he's
spoken of as the stone rejected by the builders and made the
head of the corner. It's Christ and Christ alone
who is the salvation of his people. He's the only salvation we have.
He's the only way of access to God the Father. He's the door
into the church or the sheepfold. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. He's the straight gate that leads
to eternal life. And none are righteous outside
of Christ. Have you ever thought of that?
None are righteous outside of Christ. Because all outside of
Christ are clothed in their own filthy righteousness. But in
Christ, the believer is clothed in the perfect spotless righteousness
of Christ. John chapter 10. God's people. God's people are
made righteous by Christ. And then again we have access
to God through Christ. And the only way we can get into
heaven is by Christ. He's the way, the truth and the
life. And God's people are made righteous.
How? by having the righteousness of
Christ imputed to us. Our sins were laid upon Christ,
imputed to Him, and His perfect, spotless righteousness is imputed
to us. Wonder of wonders! Look at this,
though, in John 10, verse 1. The Lord says, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,
but cometh up the other way, the same as a thief and a robber.
There is only one way into the sheepfold, There's only one way. This truth is bought forth in
verses 7 to 9. Look at this. Then said Jesus
unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door
of the sheep. Now how many doors in a day do we walk through? We have a picture of the gospel
right before us. We walk through so many doors, don't we? So if
we want to get outside, we've got to walk through two doors.
But there's only one door to heaven. Just like there was only
one door in the ark. And all who were in the ark were
safe. Well, there's only one door into this sheepfold. Into
God's sheepfold. And He says, I am the door of
the sheep. All that ever came after Me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not hear Him. Look at verse 9. I am the door.
By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. There. Salvation is in Christ and Christ
alone. Nowhere else. And look at that. Look how sure
that is. He shall be saved. Any man or woman who puts their
trust in Christ shall be saved. Shall be saved. And shall go
in and out and find pasture. And all the green pastures of
this Word, beloved. This is sheep food. And it tells
us all about Christ, doesn't it? All about Him. Let's go back
to our Psalm. Psalm 118, we'll read verses
21 to 29. Psalm 118, we'll read verses
21 to 29. I will praise Thee, for Thou
hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders
refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvelous in His eyes,
or in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord
hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech
thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which has showed
us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords,
even under the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise
thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt
thee. O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good. For his mercy endureth. Forever! Closes with those wonderful
words again. Today we'll look at verses 22
and 29. And we see this phrase, this
is the day that the Lord hath made. Now this is not speaking
of today. We'll see as we study these words,
these scriptures, which magnify the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not
speaking of when someone gets up in the morning and says, this
is the day which the Lord hath made, we'll be glad and rejoice
in it. It's not a bad thing to say that, though, is it? Not
a bad thing to say, but it's not speaking of that. It's true that every day is a
day the Lord made, and it's true that we should rejoice in that.
But some people in religious circles use this phrase, to show
their supposed piety when trouble or misfortune comes and then
they forget about it. Well, this is how we should be
all the time, really. We should give praise to God
all the time for each day we have. But let's read the verses
21 to 24 again. I will praise thee for thou hast
heard me and become my salvation. The stone which the builders
refused has become The headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and
be glad in it. Now, this day spoken of in the
verse is the day of the Lord's coming. Also the day of his rejection,
his sacrifice, his resurrection, and his exaltation. It speaks
of the Lord. It speaks of what he did. It speaks of what he did. And God's people rejoice and
are glad in it. Do we not rejoice at his incarnation? Yes. Do we not rejoice at him
being the great substitute for our sins? Absolutely. Do we not
rejoice at his resurrection and exaltation into heaven? Absolutely. Are we not glad of that? Absolutely,
we are, aren't we? Fills our hearts with joy. Fills
our hearts with joy. Oh my. Turn to Acts chapter 4,
if you would. Acts chapter 4. And then put
your finger in Romans chapter 4. Acts chapter 4 and Romans
chapter 4. And look what Peter says here,
what he proclaims in Acts chapter 4 and verses 10 and 11. And we
know that this is by, again, inspiration of the Holy Spirit
of God. Acts chapter 4 verses 10 and
11. Be it known unto you all, and all the people of Israel,
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand
before you whole. This is the stone, being Christ,
which was set at nought of you builders, which has become the
head of the corner. Now turn to Romans. Now turn
to Romans. Now Abraham, by God, was given
faith to first see Christ, to look to Christ coming into the
world. And dying on the cross for sinners. And he saw it by divine revelation,
beloved. With the eye of faith, though.
He saw, believed, rejoiced, and was glad. I was talking to someone
this week, and they said, well, the Old Testament saints didn't
have the Holy Spirit. I said, well, then how were they
saved? You must be born again. Did you
know the Holy Spirit regenerated the Old Testament saints like
he regenerates us? They were given faith to believe,
weren't they? What comes first, faith or regeneration? Well,
regeneration. You must be born again. They
looked by faith to Christ. And that faith was given to them
by God. By God. Look at this in Romans
chapter 4. Look at verses 17 to 22, as it
is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before
him, whom he believed, even God, who quickened the dead, and calleth
those things which be not as they were. God quickens the dead.
They're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. We were dead spiritually,
physically alive, but dead spiritually. Who against hope believed in
hope. that he might become the father of many nations, according
to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. This is speaking
of Abraham. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was about a
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith. Beloved, he looked to Christ. Giving glory to God. What does
God's blood brought people do? Well, we look to Christ, and
what do we do? We give glory to God, don't we? We give Him
all the glory. And being fully persuaded that
which He had promised, He was able also to perform. We believe
God. We trust Him. And therefore it
was imputed to Him for righteousness. The same righteousness that was
imputed to us is imputed to Abraham. Every single one of God's blood-bought
people are clothed in the perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ,
and they are called the elect of God. The elect of God. And
they all glorify God, and they all give Him the glory and honor
and praise. Every one of them. So Abraham saw Christ's day by
faith. by faith, in type, and by special
revelation. Now listen to what the Lord said
of Abraham in the book of John. When the Lord says, my day, he's
speaking of Abraham looking by faith to the day of Christ's
incarnation. In the day of his death upon
the cross, he said, Lord said this, the master said this, your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He looked to Christ. And he saw it and was glad. And
was glad. So the first point I'd like us
to consider in light of this day spoken of in verse 24 is
the day of Christ's incarnation, the day of his coming into this
world. The day of his coming into this world. Look at verse
26 of Psalm 118. Speaks of our Lord coming into
this world. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. What a glorious day. What a glorious
day that was when God himself came into this world. What a
glorious day. Fully God and yet fully man. Born a king. Not made a king by men. but born
a king. He was a king in glory. He's a king while he's on this
earth. And beloved, he's a king right now. Ruling in majesty
and power and glory right this second. And each second it'll
come until he tarries. He rules and reigns, beloved.
Can you and I understand this? Can you and I fathom this wonderful
truth, this great mystery? Listen to what the scriptures
put. Actually, let's turn there. 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy. And then
put your finger in Luke chapter 2. I know I've got us doubling
up here today. 1 Timothy in Luke chapter 2. Listen to that. We
try to understand with our finite minds, don't we? And we know
with what little light the Lord's given us. And it absolutely fills
us with awe that God himself became a man to redeem me, to
purchase my eternal soul, to pay for my sins and for yours
on Calvary's cross. That just leaves us in awe. Look
at this, 1 Timothy 3.16. 1 Timothy 3.16. And without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness. God The Word of God, the second
person in the Trinity, was manifest in the flesh. This is a statement. Men may mock and men may say
what they want, but the truth is proclaimed here in the Scripture.
God was manifest in the flesh. Great is the mystery of God.
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up the glory.
Received up the glory. Now by faith, you and I who are
God's people, we behold our great king's incarnation with wonder
and awe. Turn if you would to Luke chapter
two. Luke chapter two. And listen to the words of our
dear brother Simeon about Christ's incarnation. We know that Christ was promised
in the Old Testament, that he was prophesized to be coming
in the Old Testament. He was pictured, he was pictured
in types and shadows all through the Old Testament. Christ himself we saw on Sunday
school proclaim that the law and the prophets, they testified
of him, of him. In wonder of wonders, the day
came when God was manifest in the flesh. That day that was
appointed by God. That day that was appointed by
God. And what a day this was. And truly, the born-again, blood-washed
believer can say, this is the day that the Lord hath made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Are you glad about Christ's
incarnation? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. That's when
my Savior was born into this world. That's when God was manifest
in the flesh and great is the mystery of godliness. Look at this in Luke chapter
2 verses 29 to 32. Lord, now let us thy servant
depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes, mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. Now we look by faith, don't we?
Our eyes see Christ by faith. He saw him face to face. Mine
eyes have seen Thy salvation, singular, Thy salvation, which
Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel."
Oh my. And God's preachers, we proclaim
that our Lord came here to save His people from their sins. And
praise be to God, He did it. He did it. And He will come again. He will come again. He'll come
again. Oh, and what a hope we have.
Rejoice, saints of God. Rejoice. What a hope we have
in Christ. Rejoice in the fact that He's
given you an interest in Him. Rejoice that you can say His
mercy unto earth forever. Forever. Oh, my. And so in light of the incarnation
of Christ, let's read the psalmist words again, in light of the
incarnation of Christ. Let's read Psalm 118, verse 23,
in light of the incarnation of Christ. This is the Lord's doing.
It is marvelous in our eyes. Is not the incarnation of Christ
marvelous in your eyes? Absolutely marvelous. Words can't express it, can they?
Now let us consider the day of Christ's rejection. Look at verse
22 in Psalm 118. The stone which the builders
refused has become the head, stone of the corner. Now we saw
in the book of Acts how Peter brought forth that this speaks
of Christ. Turn, if you would, to John chapter 8. John chapter
8. This speaks of Christ. Peter brought that forth in the
book of Acts in chapter 4. He was rejected by the builders,
which is the Jews, or the leaders of the nation of Israel. And
listen to what falls when our Lord proclaimed to the Jews that
Abraham rejoiced to see his day. I read part of this earlier,
but I want to read us, look at John 8, 57 to 59. Then said the
Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou
seen Abraham? Jesus saith unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Oh my, I love
this portion. I love this. He just laid it
right out there, didn't he? He proclaimed that he's the great
I am. Before Abraham was, I am. And what's their reaction? Well,
they hate him, don't they? They reject him. Look what they
do. Then they upped stones to cast
at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going
through the midst of them and so passed by. Oh my. And they persistently refused
Him. Turn, if you would, over one more chapter to John chapter
7. They persistently refused Him. They sought to take Him,
but no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet
come. And that's what we just saw there
in John chapter 8 too. His hour has not yet come. Look
at John 7 verse 31 and 32. And many of the people believed
on him and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles
than these which this man hath done? The Pharisees heard that,
and the people murmured such things concerning him. And the
Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him." And
remember, our text said, the stone which the builders refused
has become the headstone of the corner. Look at verses 33 and
34, then said Jesus unto them. Look at his response. Yet a little
while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye
shall seek me and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye
cannot come. Oh my. So the rejection of Christ was
violent rejection. They were not satisfied just
to reject him. They wanted to kill him. They
wanted to kill him. And this rejection was unreasonable.
Because he's perfect. He's sinless. His works are all
good. Are all good. Our Lord said this
in John 10. He said, I and my Father are
one. And then what did the Jews, what's the reaction of the Jews?
Well it says in verse 31, then the Jews took up stones again
to stone him. Oh my. My. And then our Lord asked him a
question. Listen to what he asked him in
verse 32 of John chapter 10. He says this, many good works
have I showed you from my father, for which of these works do you
stone me? This hatred is unreasonable in
the sense that he's absolutely perfect, he's sinless, he's spotless,
he's going about doing the Father's work. But you see, natural man
hates Christ. Natural man hates the things
of Christ. And these men, as we looked at
in Sunday school, are the blind leading the blind. He was hated without a cause,
beloved. He was hated without a cause. He's God incarnate in
the flesh. He's one with the Father. And they had absolutely no clue
who he was. Look at verse 33 of John 10.
It says, then the Jews answered him, saying, for a good work
we stone thee not. Well, they couldn't find any
fault in the works that he'd done. But for blasphemy and for because
thou being a man, makeest thou thyself God. He's God incarnate
in the flesh. and they have absolutely no idea. He's speaking truth to them. And these men who search the
scriptures, they had no idea who He was. Oh my, how blind, how dark is
the darkness that we're in, in our natural state, beloved. It just shows you the depravity
of man. And we were in that state. But we've tasted that God's mercy
endureth forever, haven't we? He took us out of that state.
Praise His name. Praise His name. And we believe what the Scriptures
declare. The Lord was a tried stone, beloved. He's a precious
stone. And He's the great foundation
stone in which we rest and trust. The Scripture says this in Isaiah
28, verse 16. It says, Thus saith the Lord God, behold,
I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone." This is God's doing. He says, behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation, a stone. A tried stone. And our Lord was
tried, wasn't He? Tried and tested and tempted,
yet without sin. Perfect, spotless, perfect. A precious cornerstone, and oh,
is he not precious to us who are his people? Is he not precious? A sure foundation. Child of God,
your hope in Christ rests on a sure foundation. A sure foundation. God himself. Our hope, our eternal
souls, we rest our eternal souls on a sure foundation. Christ. Oh, what a foundation, a sure
foundation. He that believeth. He that believeth
shall not make haste, thy people shall be willing in a day of
thy power, and we flee to Christ, don't we? Our sure hope and our
rest, beloved. Now let us consider the day of
sacrifice. The day of sacrifice. Look at
Psalm 118 verse 27. I had Brother Tim read that story
about Abraham with Isaac. Oh my, what a picture of Christ.
God shall himself provide a lamb, and he did, and his name is the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's his name. Oh, look at
this in Psalm 118, verse 27. God is the Lord which has showed
us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords,
even unto the horns of the altar. Bind the sacrifice. Our Lord,
He went willingly to the cross, beloved. He went willingly to
the cross. He went willingly to redeem His
people from their sins. He came into this world willingly.
And He lived the perfect life before God willingly as our substitute,
and He willingly went to that cross, beloved. John said, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Now
look at verse 27. God is the Lord which has showed
us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords,
even unto the horns of the altar. Bind with cords, O beloved. Our
Lord was bound with the cord of the justice of God, satisfying
God's justice in our place at Calvary's cross. And our Lord
was bound with the cord of the holiness of God. With the cord
of the truth of God, with the cord of the immutability of God,
he, the sinless one dies in the place of his people. In the place
of his people, we, we who are sinners, we who are in desperate
need of salvation. And our Lord dies in our place. And our Lord again was a willing
sacrifice bound with the cords of the mercy of God. Bound with
the cords of the mercy of God and the grace of God and the
love of God. As the great substitute dies
in the place of his people, the sinless one dies for sinners. dies for his bride, dies for
all who were given to him by the Father in eternity. And mark this, the wrath of God is poured out
upon him. That which was justly deserving
us is poured out upon him. Our Lord told his disciples from
that time forth beginning, began Jesus to show his disciples how
he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders
and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again
the third day. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew what awaited. And he did that to the demons.
Turn, if you would, to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. Marvel over these words before
us. The words of the Master. Marvel over the voice from heaven. John chapter 12, verses 23 to
28. Look at this. And Jesus answered him. John 12, 23, And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corner of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. And when Christ died, he redeemed
a people that no man can number, beloved. He that loveth his life shall
lose it. And he that ate of his life in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me. And where I am, there shall also
my servant be. If any man serve me, him will
my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled. And
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. from this hour, but for this
cause came I unto this hour." Look at that. Willing. Father, glorify thy name. Then
came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified
it and will glorify it again. See, the Father was glorified
in the death of Christ because He redeemed His people from their
sins. And again, I'll say this and
I'll just keep saying this, the greatest manifestation of love
was manifested at Calvary's Cross when Christ died for His people,
sent there by the Father. marvel at this. He's a willing
sacrifice. He who is the author and the
finisher of our faith. He who planned and purposed this came to die in our place. Looking
unto Jesus, the author and the finisher. of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before Him, look at that, listen to that,
for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God, Hebrews 12. So in light of the sacrifice
of Christ, listen to the psalmist's words then, in light of the day
of the sacrifice of Christ, This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous
in our eyes. Now let us consider the day of
our Lord's resurrection. Let's go back to Psalm 118. The day of our Lord's resurrection
and exaltation. Look at verse 22 again. The stone
which the builders refused is what? Become the headstone of
the corner. All the day of our Lord's resurrection
and exaltation, He's become the headstone. The very one they
refused has become the headstone of the corner. The stone which the builders
refused has now become the headstone. Christ is the foundation stone
of the church. It is He who we are built upon,
a holy temple. We are living stones fitly framed
in Him. Scripture declares, for other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is
Christ Jesus, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3.11. Peter says this, Blessed be the
Father and God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy, there's the mercy again of God,
hath begotten us again into a lively hope, that means a living hope,
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our foundation stone is a living
stone. Christ Jesus, our Lord. And then look at verse 23 again
in Psalm 118. This is the Lord's doing. It
is marvelous in our eyes. I ask you who are redeemed. Is not this work of the Lord
marvelous in your eyes? Is not this work that Christ
done for you and for me, if you're His people, is it not marvelous
in your eyes? It's marvelous. It's marvelous
because we know we don't merit this grace, this mercy which
we've received in Christ. And it's absolutely marvelous
to know that Christ did this willingly for me and for you. What a Savior. What a God. What a Redeemer. And remember,
He's a sure foundation. He's a sure foundation. I'll read that verse in Isaiah
again. If you want to turn there, you can. Isaiah, let's turn there. Isaiah 28, 16. Look at this.
Oh my. And think of this. The rejected
one, the rejected one is now the resurrected one. Mine. The rejected one is now
the cornerstone, the foundation of all the church, of all the
elect, of all the ages. He was bought low, but now he's
exalted. Now he's exalted. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation
stone, A stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Isaiah 28, 16. Therefore thus
saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone,
a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth
shall not make haste. Beloved, the one who hung on
the cross now sits on the throne of majesty, ruling and reigning. Ruling and reigning. And let
we who are redeemed marvel in the fact that our God has revealed
Christ to us. That we have an interest in Christ.
A saving interest. Not just an interest, but a saving
interest. We look to Him by faith, don't
we? Let's go back to Psalm 118. And this faith is a gift from God. Read verse 23 in light of this.
Knowing that our faith is a gift of God, knowing that we are born
again by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, knowing that salvation
is of the Lord. Look at verse 23. This is the
Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. And then look at verse 27. God
is the Lord which has showed us what? Light. He's revealed
Christ to us, beloved. He's revealed Christ to us. And
oh, what a day of rejoicing it was when Christ was revealed
to us, wasn't it? What a day of rejoicing it was
when Christ revealed himself to us. Oh, my. And what do we continue to do?
Now as the blood-bought people of God, well we rejoice still,
don't we? Even now, we continue to rejoice. Oh my. We continue to rejoice. Look at verses 24, 26 and 28.
This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and
be glad in it. We rejoice in the day of Christ's
incarnation. We rejoice in the day of Christ's
sacrifice. And we rejoice in the day of
His exaltation. Being risen from the grave for
our justification. Then look at verse 26, blessed
be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, we have blessed
you out of the house of the Lord. And then look at verse 28, thou
art my God, I will praise thee. He's our God, isn't he? And God's
people proclaim that he's our God. Thou art my God, I will
exalt thee. We give him all the glory. We
give him all the glory. So each day for the blood-washed
born-again believer is a day of thanksgiving, isn't it? Day
of Thanksgiving. Consider the last verse in light
of that. Look at verse 29. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Forever. Give thanks to the God, the Father.
Give thanks to God, the Holy Spirit, and give thanks to God,
the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to the great three
in one. Why? Because his mercy endureth forever. Forever. Let's turn to Psalm
100 and we're close reading this. These five verses were closed
with this. In light of giving thanks unto our Lord. In light
of giving thanks unto our Lord. Psalm 100. Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord,
he is God. He's God. It is he that hath
made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep
of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him. Oh, God's
people, we have much to be thankful for, don't we? Unto our great
God. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name. And we say, praise
His holy name. For the Lord is good. His mercy
is everlasting. And His truth endureth to all
generations. This gospel is still being proclaimed
and it will keep being proclaimed until the day our Lord comes
back, beloved. Glory to His name. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for allowing us to gather together and allowing
us to look into thy word. And Lord, oh, we praise thee
for the day of thy incarnation, knowing that you came to save
us from our sins. And we praise thee for the day
of thy sacrifice, knowing that you died for our sins, fully
paying all that was demanded and cried, it is finished. And
we praise thee, oh Lord, for the day of thy exaltation, the
day that you rose for our justification from the grave. Let we who are
your people be a thankful people, O Lord. Fill our hearts and lips
with praise, O Lord. And in times of sorrow and trouble
and trial, Lord, manifest your presence with us. Let us know
that you are ever with us, ever with us. Even though we may be
weeping or we may be sad or we may be going through a tough
time, Lord, you are ever with your people. You never leave
us nor forsake us. And we praise your mighty name
for that. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's sing 110, Alas and Did
My Savior Bleed. 110. Let's stand up and sing.
110. Alas and Did My Savior Bleed. ? In heav'n the sovereign Lord
is born ?