You may be seated. Go with me if you would back
to Psalm 92. Psalm 92. The heading just under Psalm
92 says, a psalm or song for the Sabbath day. A psalm or a song. These psalms
are songs. These are all songs. David was
a musician and he wrote songs. He enjoyed
music and he wrote his love to the Lord in songs. And he said,
this is a song for the Sabbath day. You know what the Sabbath
day is? It's the day of rest. That's what it is. The day of
rest. David said, this is a song to
acknowledge our rest. Rest is so good. I'm a huge fan of rest. It's so, don't you love rest?
Don't you love it? Peaceful rest is so good. Rest from working is so needful. If, if you work and I know you
do. Rest from hard manual labor is
so sweet. It is so sweet, but that's not
the rest David's talking about. Look with me if you would at
Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4 verse 9 says, There
remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God. For he
that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his
own works as God did from his." Christ, our Sabbath, has provided
a heavenly rest. A heavenly rest. He's provided
a spiritual rest, a saving rest to the people of God, a true
rest, a true rest. And we enter into that while
we're here. We don't enter into it generally
out in the world because we're too busy working. But we come
into this place, we take a break from that work, we come into
this place, and we open up God's Word, and we are reminded of
the fact that Christ has secured an eternal, saving, heavenly
rest. And it's so sweet. It's such
a good thing. Our Lord said in John 17, I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
As our Lord hung there on the cross, He was redeeming His people,
settling their debt. What love! What love! that he would come settle our
debt, this huge debt we incurred, I'll pay it all, earning our
acceptance. It says in John 19 verse 30,
when our Lord therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and he
gave up the ghost. And he did that for us to secure
our rest. David said, I am singing this
song. He said, that's worthy of a song. That makes me want to write a
song. And he said, I'm singing this song to Christ my rest. Christ my Sabbath. Go with me
back to our text, Psalm 92. Verse 1 says, It is a good thing
to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy
name, O Most High. It is a good thing to sing. That's what David said. That's
the title of this message. It's a good thing to sing. It's
a good thing. It is a good thing to give thanks
to the Lord, and to sing praises to his name. That ought to be
the subject of every song we sing. That ought to be the subject
of every song we sing. Every time. Thanks and praise. He has convinced us in our hearts
that our labor before him is over. It's over. We're convinced of that. The
reason we sing is because it is finished. That's the motivation
for the song. That's the entire reason this
heart sings. He's finished. Go with me to
Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65 verse 19 says, And I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and joy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall be no
more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." He said, I will rejoice
and joy in my people. I'll rejoice in them. They rejoice
in me. I rejoice in them. And he said,
the voice of crying is going to be no more heard. The voice
of weeping is going to be no more heard. It's all going to
be over. It's all going to be settled. He said in verse 23,
they shall not labor in vain nor bring forth for trouble for
they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring
with them. I thank God for that last line. Every time I see lines like that,
it gives me such hope. It truly gives me hope. He said, I love them. They're
the seed of the blessed of the Lord. I'm going to bring them
to new Jerusalem. I'm going to put them on this
new earth. I'm going to be with them. I'm going to rejoice in
them. I'm going to joy in them. And not only that, I'm going
to bring their offspring with them. I love that. I pray he
will. I pray he will. Lord save our
children. Verse 24 says and it shall come
to pass that before they call, I will answer. I can't wait to
experience that. Walk up with a question in my
heart and never get the never get it out. He just tells me
what I wanted to hear. Before they even call, I'll answer.
What he's saying is when it comes to asking for things, we're talking
about praise and thanks. And when it comes to asking for
things, he said, before my people ever get their words out, I'm
going to answer. I'm already going to know I'm
already going to answer. I know every single thing they're
going to ask for. I know when they come before
me, there's no need for supplications. I know. Look with me at Matthew
6. Matthew 6 verse 31 says. Therefore, take no thought saying,
what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall
we be clothed? For after all these things, do
the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knoweth that you have
need of all these things. He knows, he knows, he already
knows whatever it is we could ask for. He already knows. The only thing that that leaves
us with is praise and thanks. That's all that he leaves us
with. Praise and thanks. There's nothing we could ask
for that he does not already know. And there's nothing that
we need that he will not provide for us. All that leaves us with
is praise and thanks. David said it is a good thing
to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to his name. He has given us so much reason
to sing praise to his name, hadn't he? So much reason. We just sang, come thou, fount of every blessing, source
of every blessing. You know, don't you love a fountain?
A fountain just keeps on going. Just keeps on pouring. Come thou
fount of every blessing. Tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing. Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet
sung by flaming tongues above. The same song that they're all
singing in glory right now. Would you teach me that? Would
you teach my heart to sing that? Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon
it. Mount of thy redeeming love. That is the heart of my song. That fountain of redeeming love. When this gets, when this heart
gets a hold of the streams of mercy that are never ceasing,
it can't help but sing. It just cannot help but sing.
When it truly gets a hold of it, it calls for songs of loudest
praise. Don't you love songs that are
loud? There's a reason why I love number
2062. I've always loved 206 ever since I heard it. I love singing. I love singing
from the heart. I love singing in a full congregation. It calls for songs of loudest
praise. Lord, don't hold my tongue back.
Don't hold my heart back. It's a good thing, it's such
a good thing to sing. I love in the song Marching to
Zion and tonight we sang, come we that love the Lord, that song
is the same verses as Marching to Zion. Those four verses in
the second song we sang tonight, it just doesn't have the chorus
in a different tune. But the verse two says, let those
refuse to sing who never knew our God. Once a sinner sees God. Once a sinner sees the gospel. The sweetness of the gospel.
Once a sinner sees Christ. Once a sinner's eyes are open
to the difference in Calvinism and Christ. Once a sinner sees forgiveness,
he has to sing. He just has to sing. He has to. Charles Spurgeon said, nature
itself teaches us to express our gratitude to God. He said,
just look around. Nature itself teaches us to express
our gratitude to God. He said, do not the birds sing
and the brooks as they flow. When I read that, it reminded
me of a story that I haven't told in a few years. I told it
a lot, so I stopped telling it. It's been a few years. But he
said, don't the birds sing praises to God? Don't the waterfalls
in the streams sing praises to God? Do you remember the story
of Mr. Burke? Mr. and Miss Burke. Back in the
horse and buggy days a long time ago, everybody got around on
horse and buggy. This man, Mr. and Miss Burke,
she was a believer. And she attended in the assembly
there in their town, their little town. And Mr. Burke was not a believer. And he had no interest in the
gospel. She tried to get him to go and tried to get him to
go and he he wouldn't go. He had no interest. None at all. But the congregation was having
a conference. They were having a meeting Friday
night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. And she asked her husband,
she said, why don't you go to the, Friday night came, you know,
Friday night rolled around. And she asked him, why don't
you go to the services with me tonight? I'm going to have to
ride over there by myself. Why don't you come hear the gospel
preached with me? And he said, Oh, all right. I
don't have anything else to do. So he hooked the buggy up to
the horse and they went to the service and he listened to the
man stand up and preach. And as soon as the service was
over, he hightailed it out of that building. He got up in that
buggy and he sat there. She was doing her talking and
visiting and all that kind of thing. Finally, she comes out,
she gets in the buggy, and all the way home, he is mad as a
hornet at her. Furious with her. He said, what
did you tell that preacher about me? He said, I know you did. I know
you did. How does he know so much about
me? He said, I'll never go back ever
again. Never. That was it. Not doing
it. I'll never listen to that man
ever again. Well, Saturday night came, and
she's getting ready to go to the service. And she was planning
on going by herself. And he said, what time does that
service start tonight? She said, 7 o'clock. Why? He
said, all right, I'm going to go one more time. I'll go one
more time, just once. So they head over to the service,
sit down, same thing. Storm's out of the building,
mad as a hornet. That's it, never again. Not doing
it ever again. That was that preacher's last
chance. Well, that night, Miss Burke
got sick. Sunday morning she was still
sick, too sick to go to the service. But she noticed her husband got
up, got dressed, got ready, and she said, what are you doing?
He said, one more time. I'll go one more time. But that's
it, one more time. So he hooked the buggy up, went
to the service, sat down in the pew. God's servant stood up. God opened his heart. God touched
his soul. He heard the sweetness of the
gospel. He heard Christ. God broke him. He learned who
he was. God picked him back up. He blessed
him. And he said it all started welling
up inside him. And he said he was overtaking
him. And he said, as I was riding
home in the buggy, he said, I heard the trees for the first time
in my life. It sounded like they were all
clapping their hands, saying, glad you're saved, Brother Bert. He said, I heard the birds sing
for the first time in my life. It sounded like they were all
singing, glad you're saved, Brother Bert. He said, I went over that
little bridge coming out of town, and that water flowing under
the bridge sounded like it was saying, glad you're saved, Brother
Bert. He made it all the way home,
and he put his horse in the stall, and he put his buggy up, and
he was walking up his back walk to his house. And his wife was
standing at the top of the steps with her hands on her hips, and
she said, God saved you, didn't he? And he said, well yeah, how'd
you know? She said, I heard you coming
all the way down the driveway singing Amazing Grace, how sweet
the sound, that saved a wretch like me. If a man ever sees God, and ever
sees the gospel, and ever sees Christ, he'll start singing. He'll start singing. Everybody that God saves, sings. Everybody that God saves, sings. Go with me back to Psalm 92. Verse 1 says, It is a good thing
to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy
name, O Most High, to show forth thy loving kindness in the morning
and thy faithfulness every night. We're singing and we're praising
and we're thanking to show forth how loving and how kind you've
been to us. That's why we're singing. And
he said, we do it in the morning. We do it first thing in the morning. It is so good and so profitable
for the inner man. It's so profitable for the day
to start out first thing with praise and thanks. Praise and
thanks. Lord, thank you for another peaceful
night. Thank you for another peaceful
night. Thank you, Lord, for another
night where I didn't get a phone call with terrible news. Lord, thank you for allowing
us to wake up this morning, all of us. Thank you for allowing
all of us to get up. Thank you, Lord, for health.
Thank you for this house. Lord, thank you for this bed.
How many people? I wonder how many people, you
know, you say the world, I wonder how many people in Kingsport,
Tennessee don't have a bed. Just Kingsport. Lord, thank you
for food. All of your provisions in this
life, Lord, thank you. Thank you for your word. Where
would we be if we didn't have this word? Thank you, Lord, for your gospel.
Thank you for a place to meet. Thank you, Lord, for your blood.
Thank you so much. Thank you for remembering me
and not passing me by. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness.
It is so good to thank him first thing in the morning. And David
said it's so good to thank him each and every night. Verse two,
to show forth thy loving kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness
every night. Spurgeon said, clouded or clear,
moonlit or dark, calm or tempestuous, every night is suitable for a
song upon the faithfulness of God since in all seasons and
under all circumstances it abides the same. It's always the same. No matter what the night holds,
it does not change His faithfulness to us. So he said, let's sing
unto the Lord. Let's do it first thing in the
morning, last thing every night. And he said in verse three, let's
sing praises and give thanks upon an instrument of 10 strings
and upon the psaltery upon the harp with a solemn sound. Music is an important part of
worship. I'm starting to realize that
more and more. I've always loved music and I've
always played music in worship, but I'm starting to realize that
more and more. Music is a vital part of worshiping
our God. Our God created music. He created
voices. He created singing. Our Lord
sang. The instruments that our God
has allowed to be made, it's a good thing. Sometimes we wonder,
you know, should this instrument be used in worship? Should that
instrument be used in worship? Turn with me over to Psalm 150. Psalm 150 verse 1 says, Praise
ye the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in the firmament of
His power. Praise Him for His mighty acts. Praise Him according to His excellent
greatness. Praise Him with the sound of
the trumpet. Praise Him with the psaltery
and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and
pipe. That's what dance translates
to, pipe. Praise him with stringed instruments
and organs. I love to hear an organ in a
worship service. I do. Some people don't care
for organs. Some people like them just fine.
I love them. Some congregations have pianos
and organs. I think they sound so beautiful
together. I think the music, I love how it makes everybody
sing louder. I love organs. All of these instruments. Brother
Dan Culver, the pastor in Wheelersburg, he plays a saxophone. And he'll play it in the worship
service. I love to hear him play that
saxophone in the worship service. In Lexington, Brother Rich Byrd
plays a trumpet. Usually they start their conference
with him on trumpet. I love to hear him play that
trumpet in a worship service. Verse 5 says, Praise him upon
the loud symbols. Praise him upon the high sounding
symbols. Let everything that hath breath
praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 33
says, Play skillfully with a loud noise. Whatever your hand finds
to do, do it with all your might. But here is the key to it all. Here is the key to it all. Look
back at Psalm 92. Verse 3 says, Upon an instrument
of ten strings, and upon the psaltery, upon the harp with
a solemn sound. Play from a heart of sincere
worship. Sincere worship. We're not putting
on a show. Play as unto the Lord. If any man play May the Lord
allow him to enter into a place in the heart where he's playing
for the audience of one. If any man play, let him play
unto the Lord. Play as unto the Lord. That has nothing to do with whether
it's fast or slow, whether the music is happy or sad. It has everything to do with
the heart. It's okay to have a Wonderful
grace of Jesus. That's an up song. That's okay. It doesn't matter if we use every
single note in the scale or one note. Either way is okay. It's
okay. As long as it's truly from a
heart of worship. A true desire to worship and
praise and honor. Not me. Not the instrument, not
my ability to play the instrument, the Lord. Let it be unto the
Lord. Please, Lord, let us do everything
as unto you. David said in verse 1, it's a
good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises
unto thy name, O Most High, to show forth thy lovingkindness
in the morning and thy faithfulness every night. upon an instrument
of ten strings, and upon the psaltery, upon the harp with
a solemn sound, for because thou, Lord, hast made me glad through
thy work." You've made me glad. That's why I'm singing. That's
why I'm singing. It's because I'm glad. I'm glad
I'm saved. I'm glad you're saved. Glad you're
saved. So glad. I'm singing because
I'm so thankful for thy work. That's what David said. Thy work,
the work that your hands have wrought for me. I'm so thankful
for that robe of righteousness you've wrought for me. I'm so
thankful for the covering of that blood. I'm singing, verse
four says, for thou, Lord, has made me glad through thy work. I will triumph. in the works
of thy hands. I'll triumph in the works of
thy hands. That's why I'm singing. That's what I'm singing. All
of my triumph is in the works of thy hands. The Apostle Paul
said, thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God, how good it
is just to give thanks. That's wonderful, isn't it? Just
to give thanks. We have so much reason to. May
the Lord cause us to all the time. All right, let's stand
together. Turn with me if you would to
221. 221. Some thank the Lord for friends and home. But I would praise Him for His
grace in prayer I would repeat, Thank You, Lord!