Go with me, if you would, back
to Psalm 103. Psalm 103. Thanks and praise
are going to be the theme of the whole day today. I got excited, I know I did,
at the thought of everybody coming back together. And a couple of
scriptures popped into my mind and I just couldn't get them
out. Solomon said, he penned this,
he said, to everything there is a season and a time to every
purpose under heaven. He said, there's a time to be
born and a time to die. He said there's a time to break
down and a time to build up. He said there's a time to weep
and a time to laugh. He said there's a time to embrace
and a time to refrain from embracing. But as we just saw just a minute
ago in our Bible study, In all of those times, no matter what
time it is, it is always the time to give thanks to our Lord. Always. And to give praise and
to give honor and to give glory to our Lord. That's what time
it is right now. That's what time it is right
now. And I can't think of a better scripture for us to do that with
than Psalm 103. This is a glorious, glorious
scripture. We're gonna let this Psalm speak
for our hearts to God. For every soul here who has been
given a desire by God the Father, if we have a desire, it was given
to us by God the Father, And for every soul who has that desire
to cry out to Him, for every soul who was ordained to cry
out to Him, this will be our cry to our God today. His own
word will be our cry to Him. Now let's see if our hearts can
identify with this. Verse one says, bless the Lord, oh my soul, And
all that is within me bless His holy name." That word bless means
kneel before. It means adore. That's what it
means. David said to his own soul, and
as we go through this, David is speaking to his own soul.
And he said to his own self, he said, kneel before and adore
the Lord, oh my soul. And all that is within me, kneel
before and adore his holy name. Kneel before him, adore him. David is speaking to his inner
man. That's what true worship is. True kneeling before, true adoration
is an inner thing. It comes from the soul. There
is a difference and we all know what it is. See if you can enter
into this. Okay. There is a difference that
we have all experienced every one of us in just an outer show
of worship in the flesh. You know, we talk about those
who don't worship the true and living God. That's just an outer
show of worship in the flesh. Well, we have experienced it
too. Just an outer show of worship in the flesh and the difference
in an inner worship in the soul. We know when we're just going
through the motions, and I beg God, Lord, please don't let me
stand in this pulpit and go through the motions. And I beg God, please don't let
any of us sit in the pew and go through the motions. We understand
this, don't we? True worship. True kneeling before. True adoration. That moment whenever
everything goes away but Him. Everything. The Spirit of God
gives us a tunnel vision on Him. That's an inner worship in the
soul. The depths of the soul. In verse
1, David said, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within
me. My heart is within me. My mind
is within me. My desire, my love, my thanks,
my praise. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me. Bless His Holy Name, His Holy
Name. Turn back a page with me to Psalm
99. Psalm 99 verse 1, it says, The
Lord reigneth. Let the people tremble. He sitteth
between the cherubims, let the earth be moved. The Lord is great
in Zion, and He is high above all the people. Let them praise
Thy great and terrible name, for it is holy." It's holy. When God reveals Himself to a
sinner, The first thing that sinner sees is God's holiness,
God's holiness. And the second thing that he
sees, and it all comes at the same moment in time, but he sees
God's holiness against sin, his judgment against sin. And then
he sees his own sin and it strikes fear in him. And that's such a glorious thing
when God does that, when he strikes fear in a sinner over his holiness. And that sinner sees that it's
a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
It's a fearful thing to see that I'm in his hands. He's not in
mine. That's what a person sees. And
it's the light bulb goes off. The light comes on, the light
shines. And they realize, oh, this is so different from what
I thought. But it's a fearful thing. It
strikes fear. And then God, in grace and in
mercy, He reveals to that soul that the fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom. It's the beginning of comfort.
It's the beginning of peace. Every soul who fears Him and
reverences Him Because once a sinner sees the holiness of God poured
out on Christ, once a sinner sees God's holy
judgment against his own sin, satisfied in the punishment of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that not, you remember the
moment the Lord started opening your eyes to that? I grew up under this message,
but I hadn't got a hold of it until the Lord revealed it to
me. And I used to wonder, well, how can he just sweep my sin
under the rug? That's what I thought. And then
God revealed to me, he didn't. No, he didn't. All of the judgment against my
sin was satisfied in the punishment of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
was satisfied because the Lord Jesus Christ stood in my place
as me. When Gabe Stoniker was called
forth, he said, here I am. And then wrath fell. Once a sinner sees the holiness
of God and sees that it is the holiness of God and the judgment
of God that has removed all the reason to fear, because it has removed all the
sin in the person of Christ. Once a sinner sees that, he no
longer fears the holiness of God. He thanks God for His holiness. He still reverences God and fears
Him in that way, but he loves God's holiness. He worships God's
holiness, and this is what he cries, Bless the Lord, O my soul. and all that is within me, bless
His holy name. Bless His holy name. Right here
in Psalm 99 verse 5 says, exalt ye the Lord our God and worship
at His footstool for He is holy. And verse 9 says, Exalt the Lord
our God and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is
holy. He's holy. Back in our text in
Psalm 103, verse 1 says, Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. That means don't forget all that
the Lord has done for you. Don't forget all that the Lord
has done for you. What has the Lord done for us? What has the Lord done for all
of the chosen people that God the Father gave to Him? Well,
verse 3 says, who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Do we really need any other benefits
than that? He said, don't forget all his
benefits. Do we really need any other benefit than that? This
is what David said, talking to himself. He said, so he has forgiven all your sin. He's forgiven all your sin. Soul,
He said, get a hold of that. Enter into that. Dwell on that. Soul, you know what you are and
you know what you've done. You know what you've done in
this flesh. But He said, Soul, get a hold
of this. He has forgiven everything that you are and everything that
you've done and everything that you will do. That'll make a soul say, bless
the Lord. Oh, my soul. How did the Lord
Jesus Christ forgive all of our inequities? Revelation 1 verse 5 says, unto
him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. That's how he did it. He loved
us and he washed us from our sins in his own blood. In that
blood he shed, it's gone. That's so hard for us to enter
into because we haven't lived it all out yet. But every sin
from every moment of our life is gone. It's gone. Even though we commit
it and we cry, I'm sorry, it's gone. It's paid for, it's gone.
Bless the Lord. Verse three says, who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. If he heals
our physical sickness, he is the healer. He is the great physician. But in this flesh, we're going
to be prone to sickness and prone to sickness and prone to sickness
until the day that He heals all our diseases. That great day. There's coming
a day in glory with Him, there's going to be no more sickness,
no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more germs. no more viruses, no more diseases. The disease of sin is what has
brought all these other diseases on us, all these other things.
But because of what Christ accomplished for us eternally on that cross,
when he healed us eternally from the root of the disease, He healed
us eternally from all the effects and all the evidences. They're
gonna be gone. He delivered us from all our
diseases. Verse three says, who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. Verse four
says, who redeemeth thy life from destruction. Oh, how thankful
we are to know that He has eternally delivered us from disease. sickness, pain, sorrow, all that. We're so grateful for that. But
how much more thankful are we to know that the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ has delivered us from a place called hell. Eternal destruction. Eternal
damnation. He received everything that was
supposed to come to us. Christ did. He delivered us from
everything that was supposed to come to us by enduring it
Himself. And this is what Psalm 16 says. He cried to His Father from the
grave. He said, I know that you will
not leave my soul in hell. He said that. My soul in hell. I cannot expound on that. Somebody
will say expound on that. I cannot and I don't want to.
I wouldn't add one word to that. I wouldn't take one word from
it. It's just too holy. Let's just suffice it to say
that by the sacrifice of Himself, He redeemed our lives from eternal
destruction. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. Verse four goes on to say, who
crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies. That word
crowneth means to surround. It means to encircle. David said,
so the Lord has surrounded you with his loving kindness and
his tender mercy. What is the loving kindness and
the tender mercy of God? It's not a what, it's a who. It's the person of Christ himself.
He is God's loving kindness and God's tender mercy. All of it
is in him. This is a favorite two verses
of scripture for me. Look with me at Psalm 125. Psalm 125 verse 1 says, They
that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot
be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth
even forever. David said, So He has surrounded
you from henceforth even forever. Back in Psalm 103, verse 5 says, Who satisfieth thy mouth with
good, That word things is in italics, it was added. He satisfied
your mouth with good so that thy youth is renewed like the
eagles. David said, soul, God has strengthened
you and encouraged you by giving you faith in Him. And he said,
soul, you know it too. Out of your mouth comes good.
He has satisfied your mouth with good. Out of the heart, the mouth
will speak. And for a child of God, it's
good. When all of you started to get
sick, I know it went in stages. But when everybody first started
getting sick, I called or texted Those who I knew were sick at
that moment in time. And. Me being in the flesh and as
I stand up here telling everybody, don't be scared, don't be worried,
you know. I was scared and worried and. I didn't know if I wanted
to hear how you were doing. I wanted to hear how you were
doing, but I wanted it to be good. But I called or texted
in every person I called or every person I texted, you have no
idea how much you encouraged me. You have no idea. It went something like this. I said, how are you doing? You said, Well, I've got a fever,
or I feel like I have the flu, or I'm weak, or I'm this, or
I'm that. But God is sovereign. And He's still seated on His
throne. And this is all in His hands. One brother told me this is his
virus, and he'll do with it whatever he wants to do with it. And he's good. And I'm fine." And everyone said, if this is
His will for me to be in this condition, then bless the Lord, O my soul. Every time I got off the phone,
every time saying amen. You know, I was calling to try
to encourage you. And every time I got off the
phone feeling so encouraged. If you want to be encouraged,
call a brother or a sister going through a trial. I'm serious. If you could use a little encouragement,
call a brother or a sister going through a trial and they will
preach to you. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. That's what God satisfies the
mouth of His people with. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. Verse 6, The
Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are
oppressed. David said, So remember this,
the Lord has earned a righteousness for you. He's earned a perfection for
you before God and before the law, and He's given that righteousness
to you. So remember this, Christ is your
end of the law for righteousness. Verse seven says, He made known
His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.
What were those ways? What are His acts? Verse 8 says,
the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in
mercy. Isn't that wonderful? Turn quickly
with me over to Lamentations 3. I don't ever get tired of
reading this. Just after Jeremiah, Lamentations
3. Verse 21, Lamentations 3, 21,
it says, This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. Therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketh him. It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. Is that what our soul says? I
may not have anything else in this life, but if I have Him,
I have all I need. That's all I need. The Lord is my portion. David
said, soul, the Lord has had mercy on you. He's not given
you what you deserved, which was that wrath and that punishment
that He gave to Christ. And He has given you what you
didn't deserve. He's been gracious to you. giving
you salvation, eternal life. And he said, so God has dealt
patiently with you and He always will. He always will. Great is His mercy and great
is His faithfulness. Back in Psalm 103, verse 8 says,
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in
mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward
them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us."
What reason we have to bless the Lord. What reason we have
with all that is within us. He gives us reason after reason
after reason. And this reason right here to
me, this is so sweet. This is this is as sweet a reason
as we could possibly have to bless the Lord. Verse 13. Like as a father pitieth his
children, So the Lord pitieth them that fear him." That word
pitieth means to love. It means to love deeply. David said, so in the blood of
Christ, that's what the Lord feels for you. Like as a father
loves his children, so the Lord loves them that fear him deeply. He loves them deeply. Pity means
to be compassionate. It means to have tender affection. Verse 14 says, for he knoweth
our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. I pray the Lord
will let me remember that concerning myself. And I pray the Lord will
let you remember that concerning myself. I'm dust. I'm sorry. That's all I am. Be merciful to me. I'm just dust. Be gracious to me. Be compassionate
toward me. Forgive me. I'm just dust. That's
all I am. Thank God. He knows our brain. He remembers, he pities, he loves,
he forgives. Verse 15 says, "...As for man,
his days or his grass is a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place
thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him and His
righteousness unto children's children. To such as keep His
covenant and to those that remember His commandments to do them."
David said, Life on this earth is a vapor. Here one minute, gone the next. But he said, the mercy of the
Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to all those who remember his
commandments to do them. What are his commandments to
us? What are his commandments to his people? Bow the knee to
Christ. Hear Him. Kiss the feet of the
Son of God. Believe on Him. Follow Him. Look to Him. Trust Him. Stop
working and rest in Him. Verse 19 says, The Lord hath
prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. That deserves a message all by
itself. If anybody's looking for a message, verse 19 says, The Lord has prepared
His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. I like that. I really do. How do we respond to that? Verse
20, Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, ye His angels
that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of His Word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His
hosts, ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord
all His works in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord,
O my soul. We're about to close this service
by singing, Bless the Lord and sing His praises. Bless the Lord
now, O my soul. And what I want to point out
is, Somebody, somewhere is having the privilege of blessing the
Lord in their soul today. Somebody is. God is blessing
somebody with that privilege. Even me, even me, let thy blessing
fall on me. Let me bless you too. I'm serious. Lord, let me bless you. Let me
sing praises. The song we're about to sing
says, join the song all heaven raises. All heaven is singing
this song. Can you imagine heaven singing
this song? Let the anthem loudly roll. Bless the Lord for love victorious,
love that conquered on the tree. for His grace so great and glorious
flowing out from Calvary. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Bless
the Lord, O my soul. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me. Bless His holy name. We have
so much reason to bless the Lord, don't we? All right, let's all
sing this together. Stand with me.