We finished our study through
Psalm 116 last Wednesday night. And after the service, a sister
came up to me and said, why don't you just go into Psalm 117? So
turn with me to Psalm 117. This is the shortest Psalm in
all of the Psalms. And this is the shortest chapter
in all of the Bible. But all the fullness of the gospel
dwells in these two verses right here. Psalm 117, verse one says, Oh,
praise the Lord. All ye nations. Praise him, all
ye people, for his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth
of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord. Are you tired of praising the
Lord yet? We've been praising the Lord.
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I'm not. I'm not. Are we ready to move
on from praising him and thanking him for saving our wretched souls? Do God's people ever get ready
to move on from that? Really? How often could you hear
praise the Lord? Have we praised him enough for
his mercy and for his kindness and for his truth, the gospel
of his grace, his free and sovereign grace? I love that statement that says,
we can't preach God high enough, man low enough, or grace free
enough. We just can't do it. Cannot do it. Verse one says,
oh, praise the Lord. All ye nations. And how thankful
we are. That's in there because we're
a different nation than the nation who wrote this. We're that heathen, we're those
heathen outcast. Gentiles in the flesh. Praise
the Lord, all ye nations. Praise him, all ye people. For
his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the
Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord. I've titled
this message Mercy, Kindness, and Truth. That's what we have received
from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I pray, after looking
at this tonight, we will have a deeper understanding of what
our Lord did for us in providing mercy, kindness, and truth. I believe there's something in
here. I really do. This is helpful.
This is so helpful. I remember the first time I really
started getting a hold of what we're gonna talk about, and I
even really got a hold of it this week in studying this. I've
told you a true story, and I'm gonna use this story to get our
message across, but I've told you before this true story of a man who had committed a
crime, and he was gonna have to go to prison for it. And while he was standing before
the judge after he had received his guilty sentence, his father,
who was in the courtroom watching, raised his hand and asked if
he could speak to the judge. And the judge allowed it. And
the man's father said, your honor, Is there any room for mercy?
This young man had been convicted and he's about to be taken away. And his father said, your honor,
is there any room for mercy? Is there any room for mercy here? And the judge said, based on
what your son has done, he doesn't deserve mercy. And the man's father said, that's
true, your honor. That's true. But if he deserved
it, it wouldn't be mercy. Mercy is for the undeserving. Mercy is for the guilty. Mercy
is for those who need it. Mercy is for those who need it. But there's something that we
must understand about mercy. This is very important. This right here is very important.
There's something we must understand about God's mercy. We're always
talking about mercy. We preach mercy. We praise him
for his great mercy. But there's something we need
to understand about God's mercy, and it's this. It cannot be given
at the expense of justice. This is important. This is really
important. It cannot be given if God's holy
law is going to be compromised, if it's going to be broken. God cannot show forgiveness to
somebody who has broken his law by way of him breaking his own
law. He can't do it. He just cannot
do it. And I'm going to use that judge
as the example. The man's father said, your honor,
is there any room for mercy? The judge said, your son doesn't
deserve mercy. Okay. That's what he said. We,
all the facts have been presented. We've looked at the whole case
and here's the conclusion of the matter. Your son doesn't
deserve mercy because of what he's done because of the law
he has broken. That judge was not saying, I
don't feel like giving mercy to him. He wasn't saying that. What he was saying was my hands
are tied. My hands are tied. It's not that
the judge was being mean. It's that he was bound to the
law. He was bound to the law. He had
a greater responsibility to uphold the law than he did to show forgiveness
to someone who didn't deserve it. Had that judge let his feelings
get the best of him, and had he felt sorry for that law-breaking
man, and had he just ignored the demands of justice and just
set the criminal free, opened the prison doors and just set
the prisoners free, had he done that, the judge then would have
committed a crime of his own. He took an oath. He did. In order to be a judge, he took
an oath. He made a covenant to uphold
the law. And had he just dismissed all
charges and all punishments, he would not have been a just
judge. And he would not have been a
justifier of that man. Now, let me, let me really, really,
this is really important to understand. If we want to understand God
and know God and understand his ways, this is so important. Because, you know, we think,
well, there's forgiveness with him. He's a, you know, he's a
softy. And when we first come to hear
the truth, you know, people try to figure out, well, why is it
that he has an elect people that it's okay to just sweep all their
sins under the rug and not everybody else. All right. Had that judge just dismissed
all the charges and all the punishments, he would not have been a just
judge. And I don't know if it's more
important or equally as important. He would not have justified that
man. He would not have justified that
man. That man would have walked out
of that courtroom guilty. He would have walked out of that
courtroom unjustified, just out there walking around, still guilty
before the law. That is not how God operated
in showing his people mercy. Thank God. Understanding this will make
us all want to praise the Lord. That is not at all how we received
mercy from him. Turn with me over to Romans chapter
three. Romans 3 verse 23. It says, For all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. All. Everybody. Everybody
has sinned and come short of the glory of God. Verse 24. Being
justified freely. He's talking about God's elect
people here. Every soul the Father chose to
save. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ. I got a hold of this more today
than I've ever gotten a hold of this. Being justified freely. All have sinned, but God's people
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ. Verse 25 says, Whom God hath
set forth, that means foreordained, to be a propitiation, a bloody
victim, a sacrifice, an offering, a covering, an atonement. Whom God hath set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness
that, now watch this, that He might be just. and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus. He did all of that. We preach
the cross. We talk about the cross. Everything
that Christ did, everything he came to do, everything he accomplished,
everything that he did, he did all of that that he might be
just. That he might be just. He did
every bit of that so he could be just. Before he could justify
anybody, he had to be just. How did he do that? How did he
cause the transaction of redeeming and setting free to be just? Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. And all things are of God who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation. to know that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing, that means not
acknowledging, not seeing because they're not
there, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin. that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. What does that mean? Verse 21,
he hath made him to be sin for us. Those two words to be are
in italics. They were added by the translators.
He hath made him sin. for us who knew no sin, he never
committed sin himself, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. What does that mean? What does that mean? How did
he do this? How did he make this transaction
just? He made him to be sin, who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
What does that mean? Turn with me to Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7 verse 19. For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw
nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an
oath, he was made priest. For those priests were made without
an oath, but this with an oath, by him that said unto him, The
Lord swear and will not repent, thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. And they truly were many priests,
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood,
wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them, Such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.
What does it mean that Christ was made sin? It means he became
us. That's what it means. He became
us. In our true story, That father,
that man's father, he tried to make intercession on his son's behalf. That's what
he was trying to do. When he asked if he could speak
to the judge, he was trying to make intercession for his son,
but he couldn't because justice was not going to be upheld. Therefore,
that son, that young man, went on to prison. And his father
walked out of that courtroom, the same free man that he walked
into the courtroom as, a free man. Had that father said, judge,
I'll go in his place. You send me in his place. The
judge couldn't do that either. Because the father wasn't the
convicted one. The son was. And the judge would have committed
two crimes. Number one, he would have punished
an innocent man. And number two, he still would
have been setting the guilty man free. But here's the thing. If that
judge had the ability to actually make the father to become the
son, if he had that ability, If it was the father's desire,
your honor, may I please intercede for my son? If it was that father's
desire and if that father was willing to enter into this transaction. And if that judge had the power,
if he had the authority, if he had the sovereignty to actually
make the father to be the son. If that father was actually made
to be the condemned one, the one who was charged with
the offense in the eyes of the victims, in the eyes of the law,
in the eyes of the judge, if that father could have become
the son and the son could have become the father, then the father
would have rightfully, according to the law, According to the
crime that was charged to him, he could have rightfully been
led away to prison and the son bearing no condemnation because
nothing was charged to him, could have walked out of that courtroom
a free man. For God's people, there is now no condemnation
in Christ Jesus. You know why? Nothing is charged
to him. Nothing is charged to them. That
is how God was able to be just and the justifier of his people
in showing mercy to them. Christ was the one who was making
the intercession. Judge, if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He
was the one making the intercession for his sin convicted people. And Christ was the one who was
willing to enter into that saving transaction of substitution with
us. So in power, in authority, in
sovereignty, in right, God the Father made Christ to be us. He was made us. He was made sin. Hebrews 7.26 right here says,
For such an high priest became us. And when he became us, we
became him. At the courtroom of the cross,
Christ received the prison sentence of death. And every soul he was
the substitute for walked out of there a free man. That's how
mercy and truth met together. Mercy and truth. That's how righteousness and
peace kissed each other. It was all in the legal, lawful
transaction of the substitute of Christ. Our text says, oh,
praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord. I have this often. This is probably
the most common conversation I have with people and the most
common conversation I have within my own mind, in my own heart.
If it be so, why am I thus? If I am saved, why am I still
such a sinner? If Christ has redeemed me, how
come I am no better than I used to be? Well, sin is what we are in this
flesh and it's all we're ever gonna be. Do I excuse sin? No, I condemn sin. I'm gonna
be a sinner for the rest of this day today. I'm gonna be a sinner
tomorrow. I'm gonna be a sinner the rest of my days. And that
makes me worthy of condemnation, worthy of judgment, worthy of
death. But the thing that keeps me going
is knowing that Christ became me. You know, we're constantly saying,
how, look at what I'm doing. How is God going to be happy
with me? Look at how I am. Look at what
I'm thinking. Look at what I'm saying. Look
at how I'm treating my brethren. Look at this. Look at that. How
here's how God, the father is going to look
at Jesus Christ for all of my record of doings before him. That's how everything, look at
how he is. Look at what he thinks. Listen to the words coming out
of his mouth. Look at how he treats his brethren. That's the
record we get. What sent him to the cross was
what we're doing. What we're doing. Oh, praise
the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord. Wasn't it
so kind of him to do that for us? Wasn't that great kindness? That is the understatement of
the century. That's the greatest understatement that could have
ever been said. Go over to Isaiah 54. A dear sister sent this scripture
to me as an encouragement. I was already studying Psalm
117, but I read it and it said, I thought, man, what a perfect
scripture to go along with this. Isaiah 54, Isaiah 53, we know
very well this is the substitution of the cross. This is the transaction
of the cross. Verse four, he bore our griefs. He carried our sorrows, the end
of verse 12, says he bared the sin of many and made intercession
for them. He was the intercessor who actually bore the sin. So
Isaiah 54 says, sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear. You didn't bear it, he bore it.
He bore it for you. Break forth into singing and
cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child, for more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent,
and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitation. Spare
not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. For thou
shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy
seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities
to be inhabited. Fear not, for thou shalt not
be ashamed. Neither be thou confounded, for
thou shalt not be put to shame. For thou shalt forget the shame
of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood
any more. For thy maker is thine husband.
The Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel. The God of the whole earth shall
he be called. For the Lord hath called thee
as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth
when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have
I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In
a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord
thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of
Noah unto me, For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should
no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not
be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall
depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart
from thee. Neither shall the covenant of
my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. Oh, the mercy, oh, the kindness. Oh, praise the Lord. Praise the
Lord. Go back to Psalm 117. Verse one, oh, praise the Lord,
all ye nations. Praise him, all ye people. For
his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the
Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is the truth of the Lord. He is the way, the
truth, and the life. And everything that he is, everything
he's done, he has been that, he has done that for us. His
merciful kindness is great toward us. And if the truth, this is
where I'm gonna leave you, okay, I'm done. If the truth of His merciful
kindness has been so great toward us, if we can really enter into
what He's done for us, that He would do that for us. If the
truth of His merciful kindness has been so great toward us,
then I really sincerely want to encourage our merciful kindness
to be great toward each other. I really do. I really do. I don't
want us to grow cold toward each other or grow indifferent toward
each other or grow insensitive toward each other. I want to encourage our merciful
kindness to be great toward each other. And this is the reason
why. I know this is an interesting way to end this message. Seems
like I'm veering off on a whole different subject here. This
is what started the message. I finally just realized it wasn't
the bulk of the message. But this is the reason why I'm
saying this, okay? If you look at the margin in
verse one for praise, oh, praise. If you have a center margin in
your Bible, it says Romans 15, verse 11, Romans 15, verse 11. Turn over there to Romans 15,
11. I'm going to leave us with this. The Apostle Paul here is encouraging
us to be patient with each other, to love each other, to receive
each other, to forgive each other, as God for Christ's sake has
forgiven us because of everything Christ has done for us. And Paul
quoted a few scriptures here to support what he was saying,
and Psalm 117 is one of them. Look at verse one, Romans, hold
on, I'm not there, Romans 15. Verse one, we then that are strong
ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please
ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself. All we have to do is enter into
the truth of His merciful kindness, and we can see that to be so.
Even Christ pleased not Himself, but as it is written, the reproaches
of them that reproached Thee fell on me. The reproaches fell
on me. Whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience
and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God
of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward
another according to Christ Jesus. That means after the example
of Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify
God. Oh, praise the Lord. Glorify
God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, receive
ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was
a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm
the promises made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glory
God for his mercy. As it is written, for this cause
I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy
name. He's quoting scripture here.
He said that his mercy was gonna go to us, heathen Gentiles. Verse
10, and again, he said, rejoice ye Gentiles with his people. You rejoice with Israel. Verse
11, and again, and he's quoting Psalm 117. Praise the Lord, all
ye Gentiles, all ye nations. And laud him, all ye people. And again, Isaiah said, there
shall be a root of Jesse in he that shall rise to reign over
the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may
abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Rejoice, Lord,
trust, believe. Oh, praise the Lord. All you
nations praise him. All you people for his merciful
kindness is great toward us. And the truth of the Lord endureth
forever. Praise you the Lord. Amen.