Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 113. Psalms 113. Having just considered a passage of Scripture that just
sets forth the indescribable sovereignty of Almighty God, and hearing the words of our
Lord and God set forth according to His will and His
purpose, hearing the absolute necessity of having to believe God. I say to anyone in this congregation
or anyone that would hear this message being preached on Sermon
Audio or any other medium, if Almighty God has given you
a heart to cast yourself upon His mercy, do so by grace. It
is the Lord. If God has given you a heart
to come to Him, it is by the grace of God. Now, having looked at John 10
a moment ago, and realizing afresh that if Almighty God gives a
man or woman a heart, It is by His good pleasure. If He did
not leave us in our state of rebellion, oh, what an anthem
of praise is due unto Him. The psalmist sets forth in Psalm
113, And I ask this question, what is the service that is to
be rendered unto the Lord? Psalm 113, verse 1 says, Praise
ye the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. David asks in Psalm 116 verses
12 to 14, What shall I render? What shall I return? Is what
that word means. What shall I render unto the
Lord for all His benefits toward me? Here's what the psalmist
said under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. I will take
the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Pay
my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people." The Scripture sets forth that
men are commanded, Praise ye the Lord. Now the word praise means boast. Boast. Boast ye the Lord. Boast, O ye servants of the Lord. Boast the name of the Lord. Psalm
50 verse 23 says, Whoso offereth praise, hallelujahs, glorifieth
me, and to him that ordereth his conversation a right, will
I show the salvation of God. Praise. I'm going to look in
a moment at that second verse. It says, Blessed be the name
of the Lord. Now, obviously, there's a difference. Obviously, it's two different
words. Praise ye the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord. What is set forth in praising
the Lord? The word praise has an outward
connotation. It has an outward. It's a word
that has to do with an action. Praise ye the Lord. Now, I know, I know what men
by nature... Be somewhere, as I've said before,
men will say, well, let's just praise the Lord. And somehow
that means, you know, lifting of hands, head back a little
bit, close your eyes and sway. What is praising the Lord? I'll tell you exactly what it
is. It is to make much in obedience to our Lord's command of His
Word, of His means of grace. When Almighty God set forth through
the preaching of the gospel, not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is, praising the
Lord, making our boast in the Lord is when in obedience to
His command Much is made of the hearing of the gospel. Praise
the Lord. Here's the action. And when you
pray, praising the Lord is the outward
effect of a work of grace in the heart. We praise the Lord. You can be sitting right here,
and I'll deal with blessing in just a minute, but praising the
Lord is to God's people in obedience to God's command when a believer
is given a new heart. A heart that's longing after
Christ, willing to come to Christ, loving Christ, Almighty God has
set forth that they confess the Lord in baptism. Not an option. That's not an option. We confess Him outwardly. Praising the Lord is the evidence. Hearing His Gospel. Longing after
hearing His gospel, the attending of His gospel, prayer, reading
His Word, praising the Lord, taking His Word and reading His
Word, that is praising the Lord. The outward, the boasting of
Him, the hallelujah unto Jehovah. If Almighty God has commanded
me to praise Him, And He raised up a place where I can hear the
gospel of God's grace, praise the Lord in the attendance of
it, in the faithfulness to it, seeking Him in prayer, making
much of His Word. I praise and honor Almighty God,
believing Him by grace, Believing, I believe, I want to be somewhere
where the Father is honored as the electing God. I want to praise
and make my boast in God Almighty, where the Lord Jesus Christ is
set forth as the redeeming God who procured salvation. I praise the Lord because I desire
to be in that place where the Spirit of God is set forth as
the one who surely will call God's people out, who surely
keeps them. I do not, I cannot praise God
and make my boast in God where the glorious gospel of God's
grace is not set forth. He's worthy to be praised. He's worthy to be honored. I
myself, I've got no good thing in me. I have no confidence in
my flesh. I desire to be where He is set
forth as the Savior of sinners. Praise ye the Lord! Praise, O
ye servants of the Lord! I want to be where God's people
assemble, where bondservants meet together, willingly made
so by grace and power, where all glory is given to Him who
is the potter. I am the clay. I'm a servant
of God. Marvin Stoniker. A servant of
God called to be a pastor. That's God's calling for me.
I praise and bless Him. He's called me to be a pastor.
Be faithful. Be faithful to be a pastor. Brother
Don was teaching this class yesterday. He was talking to a group of
men. Fifteen guys sitting there. And
Don said this, if Almighty God, if you think that God's called
you, if any of you men think God's called you to be a pastor,
then you're not willing to give yourself to the ministry. He said your wives, your kids,
they're second. He said you have one calling. Your first calling is to the
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're not willing to give
yourself to it, go do something else. But don't call yourself
a pastor. Praising Almighty God. Faithful. Faithful to God's calling. Faithful to God's gospel. Faithful
to the assembly. Faithful to prayer. Faithful
obedience. Praise the name of the Lord. When Samson's father Manoah asked
the Lord. We were looking at the faith
of Samson last Wednesday night when Samson's father, Manoah,
met with the angel of the Lord. He asked in Judges 13.7, he says,
What is your name? What is your name? And the Lord
Himself says, Why do you ask me my name? Seeing it is secret. That is wonderful. My name is
wonderful. The name of the Lord sets forth
His position, His authority, His character. Praise Him who
is Almighty God set forth in the glorious person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh, when I consider the service
of praise that's to be rendered, that's what David, what shall
I render? What shall I render unto the
Lord? Well, the Lord gives a heart. I'm telling you, there is a faithfulness. And I know God's people struggle.
They struggle with themselves. They struggle to hear. They'll
sit and you'll listen. And I know, I know, I know. I'm doing the same thing you
are, if my mind will allow it, while I'm speaking. You say,
how? Oh, it does. It does. You know,
where were you just a moment ago? I know you struggle. But
you know what? We're just like Peter. The Lord
asked him. He said, Peter, lovest thou me
more than these? Lord, you know I love thee. The
Lord asked me, Marvin, do you love me? Do you truly love me?
Lord, you know me better than I know
myself. Lord, you know all things. You know I love you. I hate to see the frailty of
this flesh, but Lord, You know all things. Praise You, the Lord. Praise,
O You servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.
Be where God's Word is preached. Be where God Almighty is set
forth as sovereign. Be where the Lord Jesus Christ
is set forth as the Redeemer of His sheep. Where the Spirit
of God is set forth as the quickening God. Salvation of the Lord. Meet with God's people. Assemble
yourselves together. If the Lord has saved you, be
baptized. When His Lord's table is observed,
be there. Observe it in obedience to His
command, in remembrance of Him. Praise. Boast in the Lord. Secondly, blessed be the name
of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Here's my question. How long is He worthy to be praised? While we praise the Lord in the
hearing, believing of Christ through the preaching of His
gospel, we bless the name of the Lord. What we do? Praise because of
what He's given us in heart. We bless the Lord by a heart
that has been given new. Where life is imparted, blessing
is the attitude. That's where the praise comes
from. Why do we pray? Why do we assemble
ourselves together? Why do we seek to love? Why do
I read His Word? Because He is precious to me.
Bless is the attitude of the heart desiring the glory to be
given to Him. I come today To hear, why do
you come? Because He's made me willing
in the day of His power. I desire that His kingdom... I believe that this is the message
of salvation. You know what? I would pray God
save His people today. I pray that God save His people. I want God to save your kids,
Carl, and grandkids. I believe. Gary, mine, Jeff. I want God to save them. And
I know this, if He's pleased to do so, He will. The Lord gave me a heart that bows. Lord, if You save me, it's by
Your grace. And Lord, if you leave me to
myself, it's because you're right. You've done that which is right. I bless your name and bow to
you in heart because you've given me a heart to do so. Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore. There is a time frame that is
going to end. We're in this world right now.
And we're sitting in a world that is fleeting, and it's failing,
and it's going to be gone, and God's going to burn it up. But I'm telling you, the blessing
and the praising of the Lord never ends. In Revelation 5,
the Scriptures set forth that the four and twenty elders, casting
their crowns before Him, said, All honor and glory and praise
be unto Thee forever and ever. Why? Because You redeemed us
out of every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue. We never
So stop blessing the name of the Lord from this time forth
and forevermore, you that know Him. Don't you desire to praise
Him? Lord, I thank You. I thank You that I want to be
here. I thank You that You've given me a heart. I thank You,
Lord, keep me. Keep me thinking. Keep me... Can you imagine? Just imagine. Just think. What
if you had no heart to be here? I just don't want to be here.
I just don't want to be here. What hope? Here's my third question. When
should I praise the Lord? When? Verse 3, from the rising
of the sun until the going down of the same, the Lord's name
is to be praised. There are times when the Lord will awaken you
that know Him. You know what I mean. There are
times that He will awaken you in the night watches. And prayer
is a sweet, Oh, what a sweet, precious privilege. Just to be able to call on Him. To know Him. To have a heart
to know Him. Psalm 121 verse 4 says, Behold,
he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. does a believer bless the name
of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord? In the morning,
in the evening, when you're driving, right now while you're hearing,
praising and blessing Him, why is He to be praised? Verse 4 says, The Lord is high
above all nations, and His glory above the heavens. Here's the
enmity of the natural heart exposed. When Moses came to Pharaoh, and
Moses said to Pharaoh, God has sent me. Let my people go. And Pharaoh said, Who is the
Lord that I should obey His voice? to let Israel go. I know not
the Lord. My question is this. Why is He
to be praised, blessed? Because He is high above all
nations in His glory above the heavens. Though all men know
Him not, saving grace, Though the dead cannot praise, though
the wicked will not praise, I'm telling you, He's still their
ruler. He's God. He's the One with whom
all men are going to dwell, standing before Him. Not eternally
in grace and mercy, but they're going to dwell standing before
Him at that last day. Why is he to be praised? Because he is the boss. He is God. False gods of this
world are no gods at all. They're not to be honored. There
is no God but the sovereign of the universe. The God of man's
imagination, the God that men say wants to save, He's not God. He's nobody. Our God's in the heavens, David
said. He hath done whatsoever He is pleased. The Lord rules. He directs. And His glorious
character is not limited to this earth. All of the heavens visible,
invisible are His, no boundaries to His presence, no boundaries
to His power. Who can comprehend Him? Psalm 81, O Lord, our Lord, how
excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who has set Thy glory
above the heavens? Number five, to what or to whom
is He compared? Verse 5, "...who is like unto
the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high." There's no comparison
to Him. Who do you compare when you say,
well, the Lord is like? No, no, no, no. No. Wherever you're going, don't
even go there. Psalm 89.6, the Scripture says, "...who in heaven
can be compared unto the Lord?" Who among the sons of the mighty
can be likened unto the Lord? Men may try to describe the Lord. They may try to make an attempt
at trying to state who He is or something. We don't even know
how to describe Him. Who is declared? Who can declare
who He is without parallel? No creature, no thought, nothing
can be compared to Him. Who thinks or does as He? He
said, My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
My ways. Who is like unto the Lord our
God who dwelleth on high? Now I want you to look at this
next verse right here. I read this and I thought. Look
at verse 6. who humbleth himself to behold
the things that are in heaven and in the earth. God Almighty who humbles Himself just to look. God Almighty who humbles Himself
to behold heavenly things God Almighty who humbles Himself
to even look upon the stars that are not pure in His sight. How much less man who drinks
iniquity like water. Almighty God who humbled Himself. Oh, what must be His condescension. to behold creatures such as we
in mercy. I don't even know what to think. The only thing that I know is,
Lord, You're God. If You save me, Lord, I shall
be saved. Lord, if You show mercy, I'll
have mercy. Lord, if You leave me to myself,
I have nothing I have nothing but eternal condemnation. God have mercy on me. Lord, I
don't even know how to talk to You. I don't know what to say. That's what the Scripture says.
We don't know what to pray. What do we know? Lord, You're God. Lord, You're holy. You're blessed. who humbleth himself to behold
the things that are in heaven and earth." Verse 7, He raises
up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of
the dunghill. What condescension! What humility! He humbled himself, made himself
of no reputation, God who had to humble Himself to just to
look on the heavens and on the things of the earth. God who
humbled Himself in beholding of man's lowest state. I don't know anything about that
kind of humility. My humility is pride. I try to
make men think I'm humble, and I'm just proud of it. But for
Almighty God to humble Himself, to take upon Himself the form
of sinful flesh, God Almighty, who had to humble Himself to
look, made sin. God that dealt with God. God dealing with Himself. Brother
Scott used to say, God had to do something for Himself before
He could do anything for a sinner. God who humbled Himself raiseth
up the poor out of the dust. Humbled Himself to show mercy. Humbled Himself to save a sinner. Dealt with Himself. in putting
away the guilt of his people. Lifteth the needy out of the
dunghill, out of the pigsty, out of the slop of rebellion
and arrogance. God's people screaming out blasphemies
before God Almighty. We were all children of wrath,
even as others. When all were born with that
attitude as Paul, Saul, or Tarsus, you know, letters of authority,
ready to take them, all of us screaming out before Him, I'll
not have you to rule over me! I will not come to you! I hate you! I hate you! But God, who is rich in mercy, reaches down in omnipotence and
takes out a heart of stone and gives a new heart and lifts his
people out of the dunghill of rebellion and says, You're mine. You're mine. And I will have
you. I'll have you in regeneration. I'll have you with me eternally.
And God's people In regenerating grace and mercy, behold something
of His love. You say, God, oh, how merciful
You are to me. Deserving of this mercy? No. He raiseth up the poor. Poor. They have nothing in themselves. Nothing. Lifteth the needy out
of the dunghill. Why? Verse 8, that he may set
him with princes, even with the princes of his people. All of his people, you know who
they are? By the mercy of God, they are
heirs of God. joint heirs with Christ, they
shall all be seated with Him. They shall all behold His mercy. They shall all behold His glory. And they're going to know there
was not one thing that I did to deserve this. I did not do
one thing that God Almighty looked upon me and saw any good in me. There was nothing in me. He showed
mercy to me. He saved me by His grace. He
had given me a heart to bless Him. And now, by the grace of
God, I praise Him and shall praise him who shall keep me according
to his word forever and ever. He maketh, verse 9, the barren
woman to keep her house and to be a joyful mother of children.
Praise ye the Lord. He makes that which could not
bear of itself, the barren woman, God has a people. It's His bride. It's the bride
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's His bride. Betrothed Himself
eternally to her. You're mine. You're mine. I'm going to have you. I'm going
to robe you in my righteousness. I'll pay your debt of sin. Make
sin for you. But she cannot bear of herself. He maketh the bearing woman to
keep house, to be a joyful mother of children, the church, the
bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to that eternal covenant
of grace, All of the children, all of his bride shall be with
him. Praise you the Lord. Praise the
Lord for His infinite mercy and grace. Bless His holy name.