Go with me, if you would, back
to 1st Chronicles 16. 1st Chronicles 16, this is a
beautiful portion of Scripture. Just a beautiful chapter. I've
enjoyed this chapter for a long time. The heading at the top
of my page says, David's Festival Sacrifice and Psalm of Thanksgiving. I told you this morning, the
theme of the whole day is praise and thanksgiving. This is when
David finally brought the Ark of the Covenant back home to
Jerusalem. That's what happened here. He
went to get it from a place called Kirjath-Jerim. And when they were coming back,
you know the story of a man named Uzzah. They put the Ark of the Covenant
on a cart and the ox that was pulling it stumbled, and the
ark shifted, and Uzzah put his hand on the ark to steady it,
and God smote him immediately, and he died. And that's a message
from God that you don't mix man's works with God's grace. You don't
mix man's work with God's work. You don't mix man's works with
God's covenant, with his promise. Man does not add his sinful hand
to it. It's God's work alone. It's God's
covenant alone. Salvation is God's salvation
alone. Now that happened, that story
is in 1st Chronicles 13. So turn with me just a few pages
over to 1st Chronicles 13. Verse seven says, and they carried the ark of God
in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahioh
drove the cart, Verse nine says, and when they came unto the threshing
floor of Chidon, Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark for
the oxen stumbled and the anger of the Lord was kindled against
Uzzah and he smote him because he put his hand to the ark and
there he died before God. Verse 12 says, and David was
afraid of God that day. Afraid of God, oh the holiness
of God, the wrath, the punishment of God. It's a fearful thing.
Verse 12 says, David was afraid of God that day, saying, how
shall I bring the ark of God home to me? So David brought
not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried
it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. And the ark of God
remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months, And
the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had."
You think about that. The Ark of the Covenant was in
that man's house for three months. And because it was, because the
Ark was in his house, God blessed his house and everything he had. Now, Christ is our Ark. Christ is our ark. And if he
is with us, we are a blessed people. And if he is in this
house, this is a blessed house. Well, David heard that the Lord
had blessed the house of Obed-Edom. So he thought it's time for me
to go get the ark and bring it home. So he went and got it. And if you look in chapter 15,
First Chronicles 15 verse 25 says, So David and the elders of Israel
and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the
covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy.
And it came to pass when God helped the Levites that bear
the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven
bullets and seven rams. The first time they put it on
a cart, they weren't supposed to carry it on a cart. They were
supposed to drive these staves through rings and the Levites
were supposed to carry it. Well, the Levites are carrying
it this time. And this same account is, we're not going to turn over
there, but it's in second Samuel six. And there it says that these
Levites took six paces. and slew these sacrifices." Seven
bullocks and seven rams. Six paces and slew these sacrifices. Six paces and slew these sacrifices. This was holy. They were fearful. They were fearful. This was holy.
This was fearful. This was reverent. This was God's
ark. Now look at chapter 16, verse
one. So they brought the ark of God
and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for
it. And they offered burnt sacrifices
and peace offerings before God. And when David had made an end
of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed
the people in the name of the Lord. He prayed on behalf of
all the people. Verse three, and he dealt to
every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf
of bread and a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine. And he appointed certain of the
Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and to record
and to thank and to praise the Lord God of Israel. Asaph, the
chief, he was the song leader, the chief musician. Next to him,
Zechariah, Jehiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and
Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom. and Gael with psalteries and
with harps, but Asaph made a sound with cymbals, Benaiah also, and
Jehaziel the priest with trumpets continually before the ark of
the covenant of God. So David organized all these
musicians to praise and worship and thank the Lord. Verse seven
says, then on that day, David delivered first this psalm to
thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. On the day that the ark of God
came back to Jerusalem, David wrote this psalm, the one we
just read a moment ago for our scripture reading. And he put
it in the hands of Asaph, the song leader. And he said, I want
you to sing this to all the people. Now, as we just read verses eight
to 36 is the Psalm. And it's a long Psalm. Some of
them are long. Some of them are very, very short.
This one is a little bit longer for the sake of time. I just
want to focus on the end of it. But before we do, I want to show
you, I believe this will be interesting to you, and I believe you'll
enjoy knowing this, but this entire Psalm is what David wrote
in the moment. This is re-recorded in the Psalms. This is also placed in the Canon
of the Psalms, but it's broken up into multiple Psalms. Verses
eight to 22, That's the first 15 verses of
Psalm 105. If you look at verse eight, it
says, give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known
his deeds unto the people, sing unto him, sing psalms unto him,
talk ye of all his wondrous works. And then verse 22 says, saying,
touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm. Hold your
place right here and turn over to Psalm 105. Psalm 105 verse 1 says, Oh, give
thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds
among the people, sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye
of all His wondrous works. Same verses. If you look at verse
15, it says, saying, touch not mine anointed and do my prophets
no harm. After that, the verses change,
but those First 15 verses are the first 15 verses that he wrote
the day he brought the Ark back. Now hold your place here in the
Psalms and flip back to 1 Chronicles 16. Verses 23 right here to 33, these are Psalm 96. All right, verse 23 says, sing
unto the Lord, all the earth show forth from day to day his
salvation. And then verse 32 says, let the
sea roar and the fullness thereof, let the fields rejoice and all
that is therein. Then shall the trees of the woods
sing out at the presence of the Lord because he cometh to judge
the earth. Hold your place here again and
go to Psalm 96. Verse 1 says, Sing unto the Lord
a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the
Lord, bless His name, show forth His salvation from day to day.
Verse 11 says, let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad,
let the sea roar in the fullness thereof, let the field be joyful
in all that is therein, then shall all the trees of the wood
rejoice before the Lord, for he cometh, for he cometh to judge
the earth, he shall judge the world with righteousness and
the people with his truth. Hold your place here one more
time. Flip back to 1 Chronicles 16. Verse 34 to 36, that is the end
of Psalm 106 and the beginning of Psalm 107. Verse 34 says,
oh, give thanks unto the Lord for he's good, for his mercy
endureth forever. And say ye, save us, oh God of
our salvation and gather us together and deliver us from the heathen
that we may give thanks to thy holy name and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever and all the people said amen and praise the
Lord. Turn over to Psalm 106. Verse 47. Save us, O Lord our God, and
gather us from among the heathen to give thanks unto thy holy
name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say amen.
Praise ye the Lord. And then Psalm 107 says, O give
thanks unto the Lord, for he's good, for his mercy endureth
forever. I love seeing and understanding
what was going on with David and what was going on with Israel
when he wrote these things. And David was so thankful to
the Lord, realizing what had just happened and where he came
from, and he tried to go get that ark, and Uzzah died in the
process, and he was afraid of God. And when they brought that
ark in, he was so thankful to God for not killing them. He was just so thankful for that.
He was so thankful to God for sparing their lives that he was
relieved. You know, he was so relieved
when that ark made it back into Jerusalem and they set it in
the tent that he had prepared for it. He was just so overjoyed. He gave gifts to everybody. Everybody
gets a loaf of bread and a huge piece of flesh and a flag and
a wine. Overjoyed for the fact that God
allowed the Ark of the Covenant to come back to Jerusalem. That Ark had the mercy seat on
it. That Ark, that's where God said,
I will meet with sinful man right there. That's where I'll meet
with man, on the mercy seat, through the blood that's sprinkled
on it. Again, that ark is a picture
of Christ, our ark. Christ, our savior. He is where
God will meet with sinful man in his blood. God said, I'll
meet with sinful man right there in him. in the blood that He
shed. He is the mercy seat that covers
that covenant of His promise to us, the ark of the covenant,
the ark of promise. So knowing that, understanding
that story, let's look at these last few verses. And let's see
if the Lord will let us sing this song with David. David was
singing this song and writing this song. And let's see if we'll
be able to enter into this with David. First Chronicles 16, let's begin in verse 28. It says, give unto the Lord ye
kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory, and strength. Give means ascribe to. It means acknowledge. It means
give all the credit to. Give all the credit to the Lord. Ye kindreds of the people, give
unto the Lord glory and strength. Glory means honor. and reverence. Strength means ability. David is saying ascribe unto
him reverence and give him the credit for his ability. Ascribe
unto him all honor and all glory and all reverence and give him
the credit for his ability. What is he able to do? What is our God able to do? Daniel
3 says, he is able to deliver thee. They were going into the
fiery furnace and they said, oh king, we're not gonna bow
down. Our God is able to deliver us
from this. And he did, didn't he? Acts 20
verse 32 says, he is able to build you up and to give you
an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. He's able
to include you into the glorious inheritance. Second Corinthians
nine verse eight says, he is able to make all grace abound
toward you. Hebrews 7.25 says, he is able
to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's able to save to
the uttermost, even if the uttermost is in the pew here. That gives me such comfort. Our
flesh just so ignorantly says, I don't know if God could save
that person. Like John Newton said, I'll never
despair of anybody since God saved me. He's able to save to
the uttermost. Nebuchadnezzar warned in Daniel
4, he said, those who walk in pride, he's able to abase. Abraham
believed that what the Lord God had promised, he was able also
to perform everything he has promised. He's able to perform. Paul told the Philippians, he
is able to subdue all things to himself. He's able to bring
everything down to his feet. He told Timothy, I know whom
I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day. Hebrews 2.18
says he's able to succor. That means to comfort them that
are tempted, those that are going through trials. He really is
able. Verse 28 says, give unto the Lord ye kindreds of the earth,
give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord
the glory due unto His name. Give the honor, give the reverence
that's due unto His name. His name is wonderful. His name is Counselor. His name
is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
His name is Savior. Savior. He came to save His people
and that's what He did. He did what He came to do. There
is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.
The Lord, our righteousness. That's what His name shall be
called. The Lord, our righteousness. Verse 29 says, give unto the
Lord the glory due unto His name, bring an offering, come before
Him, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The only
offering we can bring is the offering of thanksgiving. That's
the only thing we have to give to Him. Christ made the only
offering for sin that could be made, Himself. The only offering
that now can be brought is our thanksgiving. And that's what
David is doing. He's thanking, he's worshiping,
he's reverence. You know, that's what worship
is. We're here to worship. And this is what worship is.
We're here to acknowledge Him, thank Him, glory in Him, talk
about Him. That's what David said, talk
about Him. Talk about His deeds. That is the reverence and the
fear that he's talking about here in verse 30. He said, fear
before him. All the earth, the world also
shall be stable that it be not moved. Fear him and everything will
be stable. That song that we sing is so true. Stayed upon
Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed. Finding as he promised, perfect
peace and rest. Verse 30 says, fear before him
all the earth. The world also shall be stable
that it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad and let
the earth rejoice. And let men say among the nations,
the Lord reigneth. He said, let everything say,
God is sovereign. The last half of that word, sovereign,
is reign. Reigneth, the Lord reigneth. God is sovereign. That word is hard to spell. Everybody asks me, how do you
spell that? It's for Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church. Well,
how do you spell sovereign? That word is hard to spell. But I am so glad it's in our
name. I'm so glad it's on our side because that's what our
God is. Sovereign, all reigning, the
highest. The greatest, that's what Lord
means. Sovereign. It means the owner,
the controller, the ruler of all. The ruler of all. Sometimes our flesh, our heart
believes it, our mind thinks it, it comes out of our mouth,
but sometimes our flesh struggles with that, but it's still so.
Whether we struggle with it or not, he's still the ruler of
all. And whenever we get to grab hold
of that every now and then, it just is wonderful. It's relaxing,
so relaxing. Hold your place right here and
look at Isaiah 52. Isaiah 52 verse 7 says, How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth. That is such a beautiful thing.
That is so beautiful. How beautiful the gospel is. How beautiful. Thy God reigneth. Go back over to First Chronicles
16. Verse 31 says, Let the heavens be glad and let
the earth rejoice. And let men say among the nations,
the Lord reigneth. Let the sea roar and the fullness
thereof. He's the one who raises it. He's
the one who calms it. Let the sea do whatever he wants
it to do. It goes on to say, let the fields
rejoice and all that is there in. Then shall the trees of the
woods sing out at the presence of the Lord because he cometh
to judge the earth. Now I love this so much. I hope
the Lord will let you enter into this like I have entered into
this before And I have again now, this is just so glorious
to me. I can't wait. I'm so excited,
I can't wait. This verse says, verse 33, then
shall the trees of the wood sing out, you see where it says, at
the presence of the Lord, because He cometh to judge the earth. That's His return. At the presence
of the Lord, because He cometh to judge the earth. Turn over
to Isaiah 55. This is the moment that the Lord
returns. This is what's gonna happen when
He comes to gather His people to Himself and to judge the earth
for its sin. As all of the saints are caught
up into the air to meet Him and to be with Him forever, this
is what will happen in that moment. Verse 12, Isaiah 55, verse 12,
it says, for you shall go out with joy. You think we'll have
any joy in our hearts the moment that happens? You shall go out
with joy and be led forth with peace. Peace is gonna be in front
of you, leading the way. And the mountains and the hills
shall break forth before you into singing. Whenever our Lord
was headed to the cross and they were just laying their coats
in the way, crying, Hosanna to the Son of God. And the Pharisee
said, shut them up. He said, it won't do any good.
If I shut them up, the rocks will cry out. Glory to God. Well, in that moment, it says
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Everything
here will be applauding and clapping as God carries it all on. Verse
13 says, at that moment, no more sin. Instead of the thorn shall
come up the fir tree. Instead of the briar shall come
up the myrtle tree. And it shall be to the Lord for
a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be but all. I'm excited. Can't help it, I'm
excited. Go with me back to First Chronicles
16. Verse 34 says, oh, give thanks
unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Aren't you so glad that his mercy
is not just for a little while? His goodness to us is not just
for a little while. You get this many chances. After that many chances, it's
done. It's forever. It endureth forever. David said,
do two things. He said, give thanks. and say this." This is David's
resolve to everybody. The song he wrote, he sang it,
he's given it to the people and he said, this is what I'm telling
you, do two things. Give thanks and say this. Verse 34 says, oh, give thanks
unto the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever
and say ye, David said, say this, and I'm telling us to say this
from the heart, say this. Verse 35, save us, oh God of
our salvation and gather us together and deliver us from the heathen
that we may give thanks to thy holy name and glory in thy praise. "'Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel forever and ever.'" He said, say this, give thanks and
say this, say, save us, oh God of our salvation and gather us
together. I want everybody to be there. Everybody here, I want everybody
here. You know, they write in the sand,
S-O-S, save our souls. Say this, I pray this for us. Save all of us, save us, oh God
of our salvation, and gather us together. When he comes back,
may he leave none of us behind. None of us. Gather us together
and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy
holy name and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. That's the end of the song that
David wrote and gave to Asaph. And Asaph sang it. He sang it
to everybody. And when he was finished singing
it and all the people heard it, and it sunk into their hearts.
The end of verse 36 says, and all the people said amen and
praised the Lord. That was their response. By God's
grace, that's our response. That's what we say to these things. Amen and praise the Lord. Give unto the Lord the glory
due unto His name. Alright, let's all stand together.