Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I invite you to turn with me
this morning to Psalm 146. And our text is going to specifically
be verse 5. We'll look at the whole psalm,
but verse 5 says this, Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob
for his help. The title of this message is
Happy in the God of Jacob. What a wonderful place to be.
Happy in the God of Jacob. Now I want to begin by saying
this. Outside of the God of Jacob, there's nothing to be happy about.
Nothing at all, outside of the God of Jacob. But in the God
of Jacob, we have everything to be happy about. There's nothing
to be sad about. One man said, I haven't heard
any bad news since I heard the good news. Well, verse 1 says,
Praise ye the Lord. What a wonderful way to begin
a psalm. Praise ye the Lord. The translation of those four
words is hallelujah. I love that word, hallelujah. When the Lord brings great joy
and great thankfulness, great happiness, great love to our
hearts, there's only one word that expresses that perfectly,
and it's hallelujah. I love that word. But unfortunately,
many people turn that word into an outward show. They throw their
hands up and they sway back and forth. And when we do that, really,
we're just bringing attention to ourselves. True praise comes
from deep in the heart, deep in the heart. It's not an outward
thing. It's an inward thing. There's
a song that says, We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love,
for the Lord Jesus Christ who died and is now gone above. Hallelujah, Thine the glory. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah,
thine the glory, revive us again. Revive us, Lord. That is a prayer
from the heart. Lord, revive us, all of us, if
it be thy will. Well, verse 1 here in Psalm 146
says, Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. You need to praise the Lord.
That's what this is saying. You need to praise the Lord.
And then it goes on to say, praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. I need
to praise the Lord. We all need to. We all have to. Thanks be to God, if we all want
to, if he's made us willing. If we do, it is he that made
us willing. Otherwise we would not. Verse
two says, while I live, will I praise the Lord? The Lord. There is only one whom
we praise. There is only one whom we give
honor to and glory to, the Lord Jesus Christ. While I live, will
I praise the Lord? But by His grace and by His work,
verse 2 goes on to say, I will sing praises unto my God while
I have any being. He's the God of all. Every knee
must bow. Well, verse 3 says, Put not your
trust in princes, nor in the Son of Man, in whom there is
no help. Let's not put our trust in any
mortal man, because the scripture says all flesh is grass. It's all grass. Let's not put
our trust in any politician. Now there's a few actually like,
but they make promises that they can't keep. That's the problem.
Let's not put our trust in any economic business mogul to help
us keep our jobs. It is God who gives the increase. And let's not put our trust in
any religious leader, any religious leader. The scripture says all
flesh is grass. All flesh is grass, grass that's
gonna be cut down. All men are sinners, starting
right here, right here. This man right here is a sinner. All men, the scripture says,
are liars. Let God be true and every man
a liar. They cannot help. Don't trust
in them. You'll be disappointed. You'll
be disappointed every time. The true God sent religious leader,
the true servant of God points men and women to Jesus Christ. They say, trust him, trust him. They would never say, trust me. You just need to trust me. No,
what they say is, I'm just a man. Just an earthen vessel like you. I'm just a sinner. Don't look
to me. Look to the Lamb of God. Behold
the Lamb of God. That's what God's true servant
said. John the Baptist, the man sent to prepare the way. They
said, what's your name? And he wouldn't answer them.
He said, I'm just a voice. That's all. They said, are you
the Christ? He said, no, I'm not the Christ.
They said, are you that prophet? He said, no, I'm not that prophet. I'm not even worthy to tie his
shoes. He was preaching. Someone's coming.
Someone's coming. And all of the sudden here comes
the Lord of glory. And John said, behold, the lamb
of God. Look to Jesus Christ. That's a true servant. That's
a true servant. Put your trust in Him and not
in any man. Why? Psalm 146 verse 4 says,
His breath goeth forth. Man's breath goeth forth. What that means is, He dies. His breath leaves his body. It says in verse four, he returneth
to his earth. From dust he came, to dust he
goes back. And it says in that very day,
all of his thoughts, it says, his ambition, all of his intentions,
his thoughts perish. Let's not put our trust in anything
That can be so quickly gone. Look down at verse 10 if you
have your Bible open. It says, the Lord shall reign
forever. The Lord shall reign forever. I love Proverbs chapter 3, verses
5 and 6. It says, trust in the Lord with
all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." He's unmovable. He's unshakable. He's immortal. He is our rock. He's our foundation. He's our
fortress. He's our God. And verse 5 in
Psalm 146 says, Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his
help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." You know, it's amazing
to me that the word God and the word Jacob can even be in the
same verse. The high and holy God and the
low and vile sinner. Happy is he who has the God of
sinners for his help. Happy is the person that has
the God that helps sinners. Oh, that's a happy person, because
all are sinners. Look at Psalm 144, verse 15.
It says, happy is that people that is in such a case. Yea,
happy is that people whose God is the Lord. Happy, happy. Now our text in Psalm 146 verse
5, it says, happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his
help. But here's the question. Why? Why? Why are we sinners who have the
God of Jacob happy? Well, Psalm 146 gives us 10 reasons
to be. 10 reasons to be happy in the
God of Jacob. Here's the first one. Verse 6
says, He made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein
is. To get straight to the point,
He is able. Look at everything He's made.
He is able. He can do what he says he will
do. If a sinner needs help, he's
able. He is able to deliver thee. He can take out of us a heart
of stone and create in us a new heart. He is the creator. He created all things. Now here's
something we must know. He can destroy all things. He's
able to do that as well. And he's plainly said, I'm going
to destroy everything and everyone who does not cry out for mercy
and help. If God be for us, who can be
against us? But if God be against us, who
can be for us? Somebody is going to hear that
and say, God's not against anybody. God's not against anybody. Well,
turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 5. If you have your Bibles open,
turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 5. Verse 5 says this, Thus saith
the Lord God, This is Jerusalem. I have set it in the midst of
the nations and countries that are round about her. and she
hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations,
and my statutes more than the countries that are round about
her. For they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they
have not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God, because you multiplied more than the nations that are round
about you, and have not walked in My statutes, neither have
kept My judgments, neither have done according to the judgments
of the nations that are round about you. Therefore thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will
execute judgments in the midst of thee, in the sight of the
nations. against thee." He goes on to
say in verse 11, "'Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God,
surely because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable
things and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish
thee. Neither shall mine eye spare,
neither will I have any pity.' And the Lord goes on to say more
and more judgment to Israel. But look at this. This is mercy. Ezekiel chapter 11, just a few
chapters later, in verse 16, he said, Thus saith the Lord
God, Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and
although I have scattered them among the countries, Yet will
I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall
come. Therefore say, thus saith the Lord God, I will even gather
you from the people and assemble you out of the countries where
you have been scattered. And I will give you the land
of Israel and they shall come thither and they shall take away
all the detestable things thereof. and all the abominations thereof
from thence, and I will give them one heart, and I will put
a new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out
of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh, that they
may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do
them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. He said,
everything I created and gave to you, you defiled it, you destroyed
it, you ruined it. So he says, I'm going to create
all things new. Your heart has been defiled.
So I'm going to give you a new heart. Your spirit has been ruined. So I'm going to create a new
spirit in you. You've gone astray. So I'm going to gather you. And
he says in Isaiah chapter 65, Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come
into mind. But be ye glad. and rejoice forever
in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem
a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 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." Here's what makes
a sinner happy, happy. It's hearing him say, I create
all things new. A sinner says, I've ruined everything. I've sinned against God. I've
destroyed it all. And hearing him say, I'm going
to create all things new. And I've prepared a place for
you. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. Here's the second reason. Psalm
146 verse 6 says, He keepeth truth forever. Our Lord said
unto His Father, Thy word is truth. He keeps His word. He keeps His promise to His people,
to the remnant, to those that God gave to Him. Psalm 119 says,
Thy law is the truth. Thy commandments are truth. He
kept them. He kept all the commandments.
He kept all the laws for his people. His people couldn't,
so he did it for them. And in the gospel of John, he
said, I am the truth and you shall know the truth and the
truth shall set you free. I'm so glad he keepeth truth
forever. Why are we sinners happy? Here's
the third reason. Psalm 146 verse 7 says, He executeth
judgment for the oppressed. An oppressor is someone who rules
in a cruel way. The oppressed are those under
cruel bondage, pressed upon. That word means defrauded. It
means violated, those gotten deceitfully, deceived, helpless. He's the help of the helpless.
He's the savior of sinners. Verse 7 says, his people are
happy because he giveth food to the hungry. David said, I
have been young and now am old and I have never seen the righteous
forsaken or a seed begging bread. But he gives something to the
hungry that's far more important than bread. He said, man cannot
live by bread alone, but by every word, every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God. He said, blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness. the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ, because if they hunger after that spiritual food,
they shall be filled. They shall be filled. He gives
food to the hungry, spiritual food. Now we're asking the question,
why are we happy? Well, let's ask this question.
How can sinners, saved by grace, not be happy? Just look at this
one verse, verse 7. Our Lord God executes judgment
for the oppressed. He gives food to the hungry.
And it says, the Lord looseth the prisoners. He said, the Lord
hath anointed me to proclaim liberty to the captives and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound. How? How can he do this? We're sinners,
we're guilty. How can he do this and still
be just and still be fair and still be right? If we're in prison,
we're there for a reason. If we're prisoners, it's because
we deserve it. How can this be possible and
legal for a guilty man like me? Because God is just. God is holy. God is righteous. It must be
done legally. How can this be? Well, there's
a song that says this. There's a sweet and blessed story
of the Christ who came from glory just to rescue me from sin and
misery. He in loving kindness sought
me and from sin and shame has brought me. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Jesus ransomed
me. That means he bought me. That
means he paid my debt. He paid my price with his own
blood. He owns me now. The song goes
on to say, hallelujah, what a savior who can take a poor lost sinner
lift him from the miry clay, and set him free. By God's grace,
I will ever tell the story, shouting glory, glory, glory. Hallelujah. The Lord Jesus Christ
ransomed me. He ransomed me. This was no jailbreak. He paid my price. He did it out
in the open for all to see. There's another song and it says
this, alas, and did my savior bleed? And did my sovereign die? Now here's the question of amazing
grace. That song goes on to say, would
he devote that sacred head, Christ, for such a worm as I? Oh, that's amazing grace. Psalm 146 verse 8 says, the Lord
openeth the eyes of the blind. That song we were just quoting
continues by saying, at the cross, at the cross where I first saw
the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there
by grace I received my sight and now I am happy. I'm happy, I'm so happy all the
day. The Lord opened the eyes of this
spiritually blind man. I was blind to the truth. I was
blind to God. I was blind to Christ. I was blind to my sin. Everybody knows they're not perfect.
Everybody knows that. But the Lord God has to open
our eyes to see just how vile we really are or we'll never
see it. We will never see it. But if
he does open our eyes, if he does it, and if we see Christ
crucified, Then we're gonna see the hope of glory. We'll see
the way. We'll see the truth. We'll see
life, eternal life. Verse eight says, the Lord raiseth
them that are down. Raiseth them from the grave. He's the giver of life. He quickens
the dead. Ephesians 2 verse 1 says, and
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.
I was dead, he gave me life. I was down, he raised me up. From sinking sand, he lifted
me. With tender hand, he lifted me. from shades of night to planes
of light. Oh, praise His name. Hallelujah. He lifted me. And I'm just so
happy about that. Well, verse 8 goes on to say,
the Lord loveth the righteous. That centurion that was at the
foot of the cross when they hanged the Lord of glory, Probably the
same centurion that pierced his side with a spear. It says, whenever
he saw the Lord give up the ghost. When he watched him die. When he saw Jesus Christ crucified. He said, surely this is a righteous
man. This is a righteous man. There's only one man who is righteous
and that's Jesus Christ. And I'm happy about the fact
that God, the father loves him. He loves him so much. He gave
him a gift. And we sinners are that gift. We are a present from God the
Father to God the Son. And our master, the Lord Jesus
Christ said to his father, all that thou has given me, I've
kept. Father, I love you so much. And I love the gift you gave
me so much because it's you who gave it to me. I'll keep them. I'll keep them. He hasn't lost
one. He hasn't given away one. He hasn't destroyed one. Verse nine says the Lord preserveth
the strangers. He preserveth them. The Lord
said concerning his people, they are not of this world, even as
I'm not of this world. God's people are pilgrims and
strangers in it. And I'm happy to say the Lord
preserveth the strangers. Verse nine says, he relieveth
the fatherless and widow. How does he do that? He gives
the fatherless a father. That man who was sick of the
palsy, his friends lowered him down on a rope right in front
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he said, Son, Son, be of good
cheer. That woman who had an issue of
blood, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort. He gives the
fatherless a father. And he gives the widow a husband. He said, I am my beloved's and
my beloved's is mine. Well, verse nine, he said, the
way of the wicked, he turneth upside down. But verse 10 says,
the Lord shall reign forever. Even thy God, O Zion, unto all
generations, praise ye the Lord. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning at 10.30
a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m. Wednesday
evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.