Okay. Psalm 107 this morning,
if you would please join me there. I'm going to read the first, the
first two verses to start with. It says, Oh, give thanks unto
the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth forever. Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so whom he hath redeemed from the hand
of the enemy. And I think one of the things
that we can see from this plainly, and we're going to look in several
passages this morning along the same line and kind of supporting
this or amening this, I guess, is that where it says, let the
redeemed of the Lord say so. And we're going to look at it
as if we have been redeemed by the Lord, we will say that's
how we have been redeemed. It's going to be a confession
of how we are redeemed and who has redeemed us. That, obviously,
is not of ourselves. It is totally of God's doing for us. We don't have time for all of
this. things to touch in the Psalms 107 today, but we're going
to look at a number of places that deal with, that the redeemed
of the Lord will give testimony to who has saved them and who
has given them eyes to see and ears to hear if we have them.
It does go down several times and outline. If we're allowed
to over time to look at this psalm again, it says in verse
8, looking at verse 8 and just kind of a teaser on what the
rest of the psalm is like, it says, Oh, that men would praise
the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the
children of men. And there's five sections that
have this and then what the Lord has done for his people afterwards.
It would have to be one of those Puritan five hour times to cover
it. But we're going to look at the
first couple of verses and that is an introduction or a lead
in to those that men would praise the Lord and God's people will
indeed do that and praise him for what he has done. Before we get to the references we're going to look
at in a little bit of detail, turn to the book of Ephesians
to start with, and I'd like to read just a couple of verses
from Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. Paul is speaking in several chapters
here about the old life and the new life and there's a difference
between the two and what God has done in his people and has
put a different spirit in them and put a different mind in them.
And it talks about that we have renewed in the mind and actually
we have the mind of Christ as far as our view of God and ourselves. and sin and salvation and those
things are what God has given to us and shown to us and not
of ourselves. And in chapter 5 I'd like to
look at starting with verse 8, Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8 it
says, For you were sometimes darkness But now are ye light
in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for
the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And then down,
starting with verse 15 and reading a few verses, it says, See then
that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming
the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk
with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving
thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. And it goes on. here it says
we're to be circumspectly or not as fools but as wise and giving thanks to God it says
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in all things and that
he has made a difference in us, changed what we are from what
we were and spiritually and given us a spiritual life and has changed
our outlook on all things because of that. And so I'd like to look
at several passages this morning,
several spots, but we're going to be in one book, the book of
Psalms, the book of the Psalms. And, um, We did have a speaker
one time, Brother Lance, that was in the book of Colossians.
His message was in the book of Colossians. He used the book
for its itself and for explaining itself and for those things that
he gave to us from that Book of Colossians. So we're going
to look at the Book of Psalms some in relation to 107. Being familiar with the Book
of Psalms, you know that it's a pretty good-sized book and there's a
lot there. I had to go through the ones
that I thought would pertain to what we're looking at, and
then I underline some of them, and then I put a star by some
of them, and two stars by some of them. It's pretty hard to
say, well, this one's important and this one is not important.
So we may not touch every psalm that I have a note for here,
but we're going to look at several of them. Starting with Psalm
3, please. And this is just picking some
of the highlights out of some of these places, not expounding
that whole Psalm. It's just taking up a bit of
it. And verse 8 of Psalm 3 says,
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy
people, Selah. Salvation belongeth to the Lord.
And God's people, one thing that we can readily discern God's
people from religious people is who they attribute salvation
to. If it's a combination or a partnership between us and
God, there's probably a problem there. The scriptures are very
plain that salvation is of the Lord totally, and we are made
to conform to His thinking on these things. It's not of us at all. It is
totally of God that he does this. In Psalm 8, verse 3, it says, When I consider
the heavens, the work of thy fingers, and the moon, and the
stars which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful
of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? And verse
9, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth."
Here he is speaking that he does deal with men and did come down
to men and is mindful of men. Any dealing that we have with
God is on God's part. instills, starts, finishes things. And as it says, he is the alpha
and omega of all things, and especially of our spiritual life
and spiritual salvation that he has brought about. Psalm 13. Psalm 13, starting with verse
3. Consider and hear me, O Lord
my God. Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. lest mine enemies say I have
prevailed against him, and those that trouble me rejoice when
I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy,
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the
Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." He has dealt bountifully
with us. not necessarily physically, but
spiritually, is dealt bountifully with his people. As we look through
these, there's a lot that I'm not stopping at. I'm not covering
every spot that is pertinent to what we're looking at today,
but there are so much, and I just wanted to hit some of the spots. In Psalm 17, Psalm 17 and verse 15 says, As
for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be
satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. That above speaks about that the works
of men and the works of men's lips are not to be relied upon,
are not trustworthy, are not safe even, and only God. And he is the one that it says
called upon God and he hears us. Only because he causes us
to call upon him do we call upon him. And then because of that He hears us. His desire is put in us for him
and we're not so wise other than men will be scared at times in
foxholes or whatever and call upon God and that type of thing. But that's not calling upon God,
that's looking for an out from a bad situation and that's all
that that is. Now, can God use that to to bring
someone to himself, sure he can. But men are pretty easy to do
that. And then when we escape the tight
spot, say, well, I dodged that one, and then go our way. And then he's not thought of
again until another tight spot. But when we call upon him, truly
call upon him from a spiritual concern and spiritual thought,
about our souls and our salvation. He hears us because he puts that
desire into us to do that. Psalm 18, first couple verses
of Psalm 18, I will love the old Lord my strength. The Lord
is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength
in whom I will trust, my buckler and the horn of my salvation
and my high tower. Our pastor covered this psalm
some time back and a few places I put a date. This one doesn't
have a date near it, but remember about the high tower and the
buckler, the rock or concealment that is us and our fortress,
the horn of our salvation, as it says. Psalm 20. In Psalm 20, starting with verse
5, and again, not to make light of the other verses in these
Psalms, but just for the thought that we're looking for here.
It says, we will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of
our God, we will set up our banner. The Lord fulfill all thy petitions. Now know I that the Lord saveth
his anointed. He will hear him from his holy
heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust
in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name
of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen,
but we are risen and stand upright. Save, Lord, let the King hear
us when we call." In Psalm 27, over a couple of psalms,
Psalm number 27, Some of these I went back and
even added a spot to them. I had to write small. Psalm 27,
the first verse says, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And
then also the last two verses, 13 and 14. I had fainted unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait
on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord." And up here where it says, I had fainted
unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord, that
belief isn't our strength that we brought
up to think of that, but, but that, uh, cause of the Lord to,
to, uh, even think those things and have those thoughts and have
a, a thought to, to believe that belief is given to us. And, um,
as all aspects of our life physically and spiritually are from God. In Psalm 30, Psalm 30. Starting with the first verse, it says,
I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up and has
not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cried unto
thee and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up
my soul from the grave. Thou has kept me alive that I
should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints
of his, and give thanks at all the remembrance of his holiness. Again, those things that, that
he has done and caused that and puts that in, in us to be thankful
for those things into those things that he has given to us and lifted
us up and not, not from, uh, our wisdom in our, in our, um,
thoughts of him that we come by of ourselves, but those things
that he gives to us again, that strength and that all those things
pertaining to our life are given to us of him. Psalm 34. In Psalm
34, starting with verse 18. The Lord
is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and savest such
as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones, and
not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, and
they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The Lord redeemed
the soul of his servants, and none The Lord redeemeth the soul of
his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Again, the Lord redeems the souls of his servants and he causes
them to approach unto him and again, not of our doing and not
of our keeping or of our good thoughts without him causing
those. The broken and contrite spirit,
broken are caused by His doing and His working
in us. Psalm 35, verses 9 and 10. It says, And my soul shall be
joyful in the Lord, it shall rejoice in His salvation. All
my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee which delivereth
the poor from him that is too strong for him? Yea, the poor
and the needy from him that spoileth him." Again, God's salvation,
His people rejoice in the salvation that only He can provide in that
salvation, and that's not just from a tight spot. He may or may not deliver us
from a tight spot physically as we see it, but that He delivers
us from and the afflictions that we have and the evil and the
strong one is the nature that we come into this world with,
sinful nature. We must be delivered from that
and must be delivered by God from that. Psalm 36. Psalm 36. Start with verse nine. It says, for with
thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light.
O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee, and
thy righteousness to the upright of heart. Let not the foot of
pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove
me. There are the workers of iniquity
fallen. They are cast down and shall
not be able to rise. But up here with thee is the
fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light. open the eyes and cause the light
to shine, we will not see it. There are many that are religious
and read the scripture, but if that's all that there is without
the working of God, the light does not come on. There are many
that that have the scripture and don't understand them. They said to the Pharisees to
search the scriptures for Indian. You think you have eternal life,
but they are they that testify of me. Indeed, without the true
light, we don't come to that realization. We may know some
of the words of religion and salvation. We may know some of
the words of them, but we We can't comprehend him unless his
light has been given to us. Without that light, we shall
not see light. Psalm 37. Starting with verse
23, please, of Psalm 37. It says, The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the
Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am
old. Yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken. nor a seed begging bread. He
is ever merciful and lendeth, and his seed is blessed. Depart
from evil and do good, and dwell forevermore. For the Lord loveth
judgment, and forsaketh not his saints. They are preserved forever,
but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." And then two more
verses. Verse 39. But the salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time
of trouble, and the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He
shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust
in him." And a couple of things on that. Again, salvation is of the righteousness of the Lord,
and it's not as commonly thought. It's not the good ones God takes
care of. It's not the righteousness of
ourselves, it's the righteousness that we have in Christ alone.
And that's the only righteousness that we can lay claim to. Psalm 40. starting with the first verse.
I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard
my cry. He brought me up also out of
an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a
rock, and established my goings, and yet put a new song in my
mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn
aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are thy
wonderful works which thou hast done, and the thoughts which
are to usward, they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, they are more than can be numbered." Again, the condition that by nature
and that God alone could take care of that, could take us from
the pit or the miry clay. Psalm 52. Psalm 52. I did have to skip a few places.
Not that there probably was not many things there to see, but
for We just had to. Psalm 52, starting
with verse 8, it says, but I am like a green olive tree in the
house of God. I trust in the mercy of God forever
and ever. I will praise thee forever because
thou hast done it. And I will wait on thy name for
it is good before thy saints. And it starts out, the first
part of this psalm, it's talking about man that boasts in himself
and and the mischief that they have by nature, and the love
of lying, and those kinds of things. By nature, we all are
part of that. But down here, the righteous that God has made
so, and stand before him as such, so laugh at these things. Then
it says, I am like a green olive tree. I trust the mercy of God
forever and ever. I'll praise you forever, because
thou hast done it. And I will wait on thy name,
for it is good before thy saints. And there's things that the difference
there in that first part of that psalm and in the second or the
last few verses is as it says here, because thou hast done
it, not because we have wised up or we have spent enough time
that we have figured these things out and that we are spiritually
wise now in our own doing. And it says here very plainly,
and God's people will attest to that, that He has done it,
not we have done it. Psalm 62, over a couple more. Psalm 62. Psalm 62, starting with verse
5. My soul, wait thou only upon
God, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my
salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. In God is my salvation and my
glory. The rock of my strength and my
refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, ye
people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. Pretty well says it there, pretty
well says it. That our only expectation, it
says our soul only waits upon God, and our expectation is from
Him. In God, verse 7, is my salvation
and my glory. The rock of my strength and my
refuge is in God. Again, not that we are wise enough
to turn to God and use Him. But we're thankful that he had
a people that he is about delivering and this is the difference that
he causes him to be that to us. He has made those things unto
us and not by our wisdom, not by our wisdom. Psalm 65. Psalm 65. and verse four. Blessed is the
man whom thou choosest and causes to approach unto thee, that he
may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. And here it
says, whom thou choosest and causes to approach unto thee,
that he may dwell in the courts. We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. And here again,
it takes away the, the thought of, here's a choice and you can
make your decision for God and he'll fix you and take care of
business for you. Here it said that God causes
this, any desires that we have towards spiritual things are
by his working and not by any of our own. We're as the first
part of that last Psalm there, two back. that we're, we're nothing,
we're nothing but wickedness by nature. And we have, and we
go about boasting about it. We, we, we like those things
by nature and, and we're, we're not bent towards God by nature. We're not leaning that even leaning
that direction. And as it says here, blessed
is the man who God has chosen. Psalm 66. Starting with verse 16, it says,
come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will declare what
he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me. But verily God hath heard me
and hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God,
which hath not turned away from my prayer. Nor is mercy from
here. And here, this, as we saw in
the psalm before, 65, it's God that causes us to call upon him
or have a desire to. And him that God has put a desire
and has called and caused him to approach, he will hear. He
will hear. Because again, the righteousness
we stand in is not our own and the Lord's righteousness that
he places us in and because of that he does hear us. He does
hear his people that he calls causes to come unto him. In Psalm
68, Psalm 68, verses 19 and 20. It said, blessed be the Lord
who daily loatheth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation,
Selah. He that is our God is the God
of salvation. And unto God the Lord belong
the issues from death. A couple of things here. It said, blessed be the Lord
who daily loadeth us with benefits. Even the God of our salvation
and all the benefits that that entitles us or causes to stand
in him with the Lord himself as heirs of Christ and joint
heirs with him. And the benefits that we have
and it's not the bank account and it's not good health or those type of things. In Psalm 92, skip over a few. Skip over a few to Psalm 92. Psalm 92, starting at verse 12. The righteous shall flourish
like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon. Those that be planted in the
house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They
shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat
and flourishing to show that the Lord is upright. He is my
rock and there is no unrighteousness in him." And those are realizations
that he has caused us to have and to bring about to us. Psalm 130. Psalm 130. Psalm 130, and it says, out of
the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness
with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord,
my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say,
more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope
in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy,
and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities." And here, speaking of the, obviously of
the church, we know that he delivered Israel of a lot of physical things,
but there They, as a whole, he did not deliver them from their
iniquities. There were some that were, just as today, there are
some. And praise God that there are some, that he has them. And
in him, it says, there's mercy and plenteous redemption. And
we, our pastors mentioned that several times about that. And
that plenteous redemption, you could take that phrase and spend
a long time on it, just on that one phrase. And then, Psalm 146. This is one of them that I have
two stars by. Several of them are one star. 146, starting with verse 5. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
which made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein
is, which keepeth truth forever. which executes judgment for the
oppressed, which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth
the prisoners. The Lord openeth the eyes of
the blind. The Lord raises them up that
are bowed down. The Lord loveth the righteous.
The Lord preserveth the strangers. He leaveth the fatherless and
the widow. But the way of the wicked he
turneth upside down. The Lord shall reign forever,
even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise the Lord. But again here, he openeth, he
opened the eyes of the blind, he raises them that are bowed
down. It again is of God and God's people will acknowledge
that. And that is a major difference between religion and God's people
that are delivered by him or they recognize what they have
and who it is from. And back again to In closing
to Psalm 107, the first couple of verses again, it says, O give
thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth
forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. And
again, it calls us to be mindful of who redeemed us. Who did this? And I think it's always on God's
people's minds that where it comes from. And we talk about
our salvation is totally based on Christ's merit, righteousness,
and those things that only he can provide to his people. And
his people will acknowledge that. And I didn't know if we'd cover
that much ground this morning, but thank you for your attention.
And as the other mic says, be free. Same button? There we go. It should go blank in a minute,
shouldn't it?