There we go, turn to Psalms 146
if you wanna follow along. The 146th Psalm. I still wanna say chapter 146. Verse one, praise ye the Lord,
praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live, will I praise the
Lord. I will sing praises unto my God
while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes,
nor in the Son of Man, in whom there is no help. His breath
goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his
thoughts perish. 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 executeth 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 that are bowed down. The Lord loveth the righteous. The Lord preserveth the strangers. He relieveth 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 ye the Lord. I like that psalm. I like that
psalm. If you want to look, you don't
have to do it now, of course. The last five psalms from 146
to 150 start with the same four words, and they end with the
same four words. And those four words are here,
praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. That's the
first and the last statement in these last five Psalms. It's
important to praise God. It's more important than we know.
And it's definitely more important than the world will ever know.
Let everything, in the last verse of Psalms 150, before it says
praise ye the Lord, It says let everything that has breath praise
the Lord. That's lost and saved. That's unrepentant and repentant. Everyone should praise the Lord. They do not, but everyone should. In our preaching of Jesus Christ,
that is what we are endeavoring to do, praise the Lord Jesus
Christ. Preach the Lord Jesus Christ. When we preach his person and
his work, it is for the purposes of praising him. And if we miss
that, we've kind of missed it. But here I want to bring towards
you, if I can, a little exposition on verses seven and verses eight. And I want to praise the Lord
Jesus Christ while I do it. Because what I see here in these
two verses, well actually at the end, verse six and into verse
nine, but I'm gonna basically talk about verses seven and eight,
you'll see the work of the Lord. That's what you see. Understand? The psalmist is very plain. It
doesn't say who wrote this. It doesn't say who wrote the
last five. But the psalmist is very plain. This is the work
of the Lord. It's not the work of men. It's
not the work of a man, and it never has been the work of a
man. And it's still not the work of
a man. Verse seven, I'm trying not to
keep you too long. Oh Paul, the title of this is
The Lord Loves the Righteous. The Lord Loves the Righteous.
That's where I'm headed. But he starts with the Lord executes
judgment for the oppressed. Now I don't know any better example
of this to look to than the Israelites. the congregation of Israel in
Egypt. Folks, they were oppressed. They
were literally, literally slaves to the Egyptians who oppressed
them beyond measure. And when God sent Moses to talk
to Pharaoh and say, hey, let my people go and worship. That's
all they asked for. One of the things Pharaoh told
him, he says, Well, if you've got enough time to worship, I
think you're going to have to make bricks without straw. That's
a prime ingredient of bricks. I've never made them, but I understand
the principle. I watch the History Channel.
I've seen people make bricks. You're going to make bricks without
straw? These people were oppressed. They were beaten down. They had
no freedom. They had no rights. And there
in that land of Egypt, they had absolutely no power. But the Lord executed judgment
against Egypt for Israel. The Lord executed judgment against
Egypt and against Pharaoh. You know, one of those houses
where one of the first born died was Pharaoh's own house. He executed judgment against
the Egyptians because the Lord removed the oppression from his
chosen people. And the Lord Jesus Christ, like
Paul wrote it in the place, led captivity captive. and gave gifts to men. Gave gifts to men. And when did
he do that? Wrote, when he ascended, he led
captivity captive. And he gave gifts to men. The
Lord executes judgment for the oppressed. Second, the Lord gives
food to the hungry. Now you understand, Walter had
been talking about it, He fed the Israelites in the wilderness. What was it, Walter? Quails,
at one time. Quails, and just a few quails,
not one for everybody. Quails covered the camp. You
understand? There were quails as far as the
eye could see a day's walk away, in whatever direction you went.
And it said something about two cubits high. You had to clean out around your
tent so you could walk around. Quails as far as the eye could
see, and also manna from heaven every day. Every day, except
the Sabbath day. But you got twice as much on
Friday for Saturday. Every day, except the Sabbath
day, what? For 40 years. while they were in the wilderness.
He fed them. The Lord feeds the hungry. So what did Jesus Christ say? Talking about manna from heaven.
This is John six, verse 49. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness and are dead, are dead. This is the bread which
cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not
die. I, Jesus Christ said these words,
I am the living bread. The living bread. What? Which came down from heaven.
That a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven, and if any man eat of this bread, not only
will he not die, he's gonna live forever. He's gonna live forever. Now he goes on over to verse
56, verse 55. No, I better not, don't jump,
I'm sorry about that. Verse 53, then Jesus said unto
them, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, for
I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood, here's the point, dwelleth in me. dwelleth in me, and I,
more importantly, I in him. Understand, folks, I know what
it read like, and I know what the Jews thought. This man's
gonna give us his flesh to eat? No, it's not what he's talking
about. He's talking about dwelling in you. Dwelling in you. What is it Paul wrote in Colossians
1 and verse 27? To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. Which is, here's the mystery,
Christ in you. Christ in you. He's our food. He is our life. He has given
us life. and he continues to be our sustenance. By him all things consist. Which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory. He is our food, the Lord feeds
the hungry. What's he say? He that hungers
and thirsts after righteousness? What's gonna happen to him? They're
going to be filled. They're going to be filled. Well,
I said it a few weeks ago. God fills empty vessels. God
fills empty vessels. And it doesn't matter what was
in that vessel before it was empty. He's going to put in you
what he wants in you. And you will no longer hunger
and thirst after righteousness. You're going to be filled. You're
going to be filled. The next thing he says, the psalmist
writes, the Lord looses the prisoners. There's no bondage too strong
for the Lord. Period. Just put a period right
there. Doesn't matter what the bondage
is. There's no bondage too strong for the Lord. Why? Because Jesus Christ, the Lord
Jesus Christ, makes you free. He makes you free. Who's he make
free? All that the Father gave him.
Every single one. What in them? I'll raise up at
the last day. What about the bondage of sin?
What about it? What about it? He came, the angel
told Joseph, call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from what? Their sins. Their sin. And their
sins. What about death from sin? Oh,
don't worry about death, beloved. He's got the keys to hell and
death. He's got the keys. You understand? Nobody dies. Not a sparrow falls. Not one
sparrow falls without my father. You think a person dies without
God knowing it? And precious in the sight of
the Lord is the death of his saints. He's got the keys to
hell and death. He's got the keys. Oh my. And what's it say about sin and
death? Romans 8 too says this, for the
law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free
from the law of sin and death. He that liveth and believeth
in me, Christ said, shall never die. And if the Son makes you free,
you are free indeed, indeed. Because there's no chains he
can't break. And there's no will of man that can stop his divine
will and purpose and power and work. Verse eight starts this way.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. And if you want to leave
that phrase out that's in italics, you just go right ahead and it
says the Lord openeth the blind. I kind of like that a little
better. Because you understand, he doesn't
just open your eyes. He opens your ears and he gives
you a new heart. He opens the blind. Now while he was on this earth,
preaching and teaching, he opened blind eyes. A little bit everywhere. More
than once. And actually there's one account
given where he opened the eyes of a man blind from birth. And they said at that time, when
they were talking about it, it's never been done before. There's
nothing in the scriptures about anybody healing a man who had
been blind from birth and being opened. Oh, I know,
I know. But the Lord Jesus Christ did.
And the Lord Jesus Christ still does. He opens the blind. What's it say? But if our gospel
be hid, it's hid to them that are lost. What? In whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. Oh my. Lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. See, it's not only our eyes that
are blinded naturally as we are born. It's our mind that's blinded. It's our whole being. Depravity
is total. You understand? Depravity is
total. We are dead in trespasses and
sins. We come forth from the womb speaking
lies. Now I know some people want to
argue with that, that their baby doesn't lie. They're wrong, okay? Now they can be wrong through
ignorance, they can be wrong through self-deceit, And they
can be wrong through just lying. But it doesn't matter. The scripture's
true and every man's a liar. We were brought forth speaking
lies. You never have to teach a child normally to lie. You
usually have to teach them to tell the truth. Now, I'm not telling you that
Jesus Christ will open every blind person. every blind eye,
because he told us sometimes he didn't. You know why he spoke
in parables, right? That seeing they see not, and
hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. He spoke in parables so that
some would not understand. Now that's a hard thing for some
people to swallow, don't believe it. But he said it. And he actually meant what he
said. He always meant what he said. I have a hard time talking with
people about the scriptures in times past. And they'd say, well,
he didn't actually mean that. No, he said it. And when he said
it, he meant it. The Lord opens the eyes of the
blind. Because at the end of that thing about parables, you
know what he said? But, blessed are your eyes, for
they see. And your ears, that they hear.
Not everyone does, not everyone does. And here's the point. No
one will see until Jesus Christ, the Lord, opens the blind. No one. If our gospel be hid,
it's hid to who? Those that are lost. I can't
open your eyes. I can't open anything other than
a jar of pickles for my wife. I have no power. I have no power. You know, I wanna see sinners
saved, but I have no power to save sinners. You understand? This is the Lord's work. This
is the Lord's work. It's not my work, it's His work. He opens the blind. And here's
the other thing. When He opens the blind, they
see. They see, they see. You understand, if Christ opens
your eyes, opens your ears, opens your heart, you will see him,
him. What happened to that man who
was blind from birth? Christ met him again after he came out
from the Pharisees and the rulers of the tabernacle. And he said,
what happened? Well, you know, the guy said,
well, they kicked me out. And he asked him, do you believe
on the son of God? And he says, I don't know who
he is. Jesus Christ said, it's me. The
one that stands before you. The one that opened you is the
one that reveals himself to you. Oh, there is no salvation without
the Lord Jesus Christ. And you will, you will. You may not do it all the time,
you may not do it very well, but you will give him the glory.
Why? Because it's his. It's the Lord's
work. He opens the eyes of the blind,
he opens the blind, and they see. Guaranteed, they see. Blessed are your eyes for they
see. Why? He opened, he opened. Next thing it says, the Lord
raises them that are bowed down. He raises the poor from the dust to sit with princes and feed
at his table. He feeds the hungry. He raises the beggar from the
dunghill. Why? To sit with princes and
feed at his table. Isn't that nice? Isn't that glorious? Isn't that grace? Grace. Because you understand, it doesn't
say anything about the poor or the beggar petitioning him for
anything. He didn't say they was asking
him, can I sit at your table? No, he just says he lifts the
poor out of the dust. He lifts the beggar from the
downhill to sit them at his table. Just like Mephibosheth. He wasn't
looking to eat at David's table. David, the king, was looking
for him to sit him at his table. And you know what? The king ordered
Mephibosheth to sit at his table and to eat, and don't complain
about it. Mephibosheth said, I am not worthy. And David the
king says, I know that. We're not worthy either. And
believe me, folks, Christ knows it. But he wants us at his table. Why? Because the Lord feeds the
hungry. And if you hunger and thirst
after righteousness, if you hunger for the word of God, he'll see
to it somehow, some way, you get filled. Here's the last thing. The Lord
loves the righteous. The Lord loves the righteous.
And somebody might say, wait a minute. You guys, myself included,
keep saying we're unrighteous. That there's none righteous.
No, not one. Aren't you glad when people do
pay attention to what you say sometimes? Because that is exactly
true. There is none righteous. No,
not one. God loves the righteous. That's
also true. That's also true. But I didn't say God loves you.
I said God loves the righteous. I didn't say God loves man. I
said God loves the righteous. Who is the righteous? Who is
the righteous? My little children, these things
I write unto you, these things write I unto you, that ye sin
not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
what's his name? Jesus Christ, the righteous. The righteous. Wait a minute.
God loves the righteous. There's the righteous right there.
There's the righteous Jesus Christ the righteous has given his sheep
his robe of righteousness Yes, God does love believers
in Christ in Christ why in Christ we are a righteous Remember God
will by no means acquit the wicked he will know me by no means acquit
Forget Passover the guilty But in Jesus Christ we are not guilty
we are righteous as his son And in his son God does love us We're
not righteous in and of ourselves no Never have been. Because here's the thing. In
and of yourselves, you are not righteous. And if you believe,
you are righteous in Christ Jesus at the same time. There is an old man and there
is a new man. The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord loves his son. This is my well-beloved son,
in whom I am well-pleased. And hear ye him. The Lord loves his son, and the
Lord loves those that are in his son. He Jesus Christ is made unto
us by God Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
Now you understand what that means? that means that you have
in you wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
in the Sun in Jesus Christ We have the righteousness of God's
well-beloved Son. And as such, He has given us the best robe.
The best robe. Why? Because it's the Son's robe. It's the robe of His righteousness,
not the robe of my own. We are righteous in Jesus Christ,
the righteous. and the Lord loves the righteous. So what's the conclusion here?
Well, look at verse 10. The Lord shall reign forever. That's the conclusion. What is
it? Verse six, he keepeth truth forever. Verse seven, he executes judgment,
giveth food, looseth the prisoners. Verse eight, he opens, he raises,
and he loves. How much of that is up to the
sinner there? How much of that is up to you?
It is all the work of the Lord. Now, because of this, You will
walk, you will work, and you will do many things. You can
look at Hebrews chapter 11. By faith, Abraham moved, Noah
moved, Abel offered a sacrifice. By faith, people do many things. The Lord loveth the righteous.
The Lord shall reign forever. What is it? Verse five, happy
is he that hath the God of Jacob, for his help, for his help, whose
hope is in the Lord his God. Now my question here is, to whom
is this psalm written? Well this psalm is written to
the oppressed, to the prisoner, to the hungry, to the blind,
to the bowed down, and the righteous. Who does the Lord save? The oppressed,
the prisoner, the hungry, the blind, the bowed down, and the
repentant. That's a gift too. Understand Sinners saved by the grace of
God is who this psalm is written to That's the only ones that
will understand it That's the only ones that will get it Sinners
saved by his grace Know that the Lord Executes judgment for
the oppressed feeds the hungry Opens the blind raises up the
bow down, and he loves the righteous one his son his son John Newton wrote this song and
we end with this Salvation what a glorious plan How suited to
our need? The grace that raises fallen
man from is wonderful indeed. Twas wisdom formed the vast design
to ransom us when lost, and love's unfathomable mine provided all
the cost. Strict justice with a proving
look, the holy covenant sealed. And truth and power undertook,
the whole should be fulfilled. Truth, wisdom, justice, power,
and love in all their glory shown when Jesus left the courts above
and died to save his own. Truth, wisdom, justice, power,
and love are equally displayed. Now Jesus reigns enthroned above
our advocate and head. I like that, I do. Praise ye
the Lord. Everything that has breath, praise
ye the Lord. All right? The Lord shall reign
forever. And he is saving his people from
their sins. Right now, he's calling out his
children. He's bringing them in. Just like
he brought us in. He saved us and called us. Heavenly Father, thank you for
your salvation. Full and free to us. Our Lord Jesus Christ paid the
price. And our Lord Jesus Christ opens
the blind. Feeds the hungry Unbinds the bound And makes us free Be with Paul
and Walter as they come to preach your word Lord help us to understand
Your word your gospel your will and your way in this world as
we go on Help us, Lord. Be with those who couldn't be
here. Bless them with your presence and your word also. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.