The name of the message is, Great
are the Lord's Works. Great are the Lord's Works. Last
week we looked at Psalm 112, and Spurgeon brought out how
111 and 112 are actually companion Psalms. So tonight we'll look
at Psalm 111. Praise ye the Lord. I will praise
the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright
and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great,
sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is
honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endureth forever. He hath made His wonderful works
to be remembered, The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He hath given meat unto them
that fear him. He will ever be mindful of his
covenant. He has showed his people the
power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the
heathen. The works of his hands are verity
and judgment. All his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever
and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, a good understanding, have all they that do His commandments,
His praise endureth forever." What a psalm. As I said last
week, we looked at Psalm 112, and that psalm and this psalm
are companion psalms according to most commentators. Now, praise
ye Jehovah there is actually rendered, praise ye the Lord.
It's praise ye Jehovah. It stands at the beginning of
10 Psalms. And they are called the Hallelujah
Psalms because where it says praise ye is actually Hallelujah
in Hebrew. Hallelujah, Jehovah, praise ye
Jehovah, praise ye the Lord. So hence they're called the Hallelujah
Psalms. It's Psalm 106, Psalm 111 to
13, Psalm 135, and Psalm 146 to 150. They're known as the
Hallelujah Psalms because they begin with, Praise ye the Lord. Now this psalm, this psalm is
a heartfelt psalm of praise. And the writer, while stirring
himself up to praise God, also calls upon others calls upon
others to join in as well, for the redeemed to join in as well,
singing praises to our great God and to unite in adoring Jehovah
and His people adore Him. We adore our great God and King.
We love Him. And we are to unite in praising
Him whose works are glorious. His works are glorious. And we
are to do so heartily and from a grateful heart. And this is
what the redeemed do. We praise our God from a grateful
heart for what he's done for us. So let we who are the redeemed
praise God, not only with our lips, but also with our lives. Also with our lives, let our
lives be that which which falls along with what we profess. Even if others refuse to do so. Let us praise. Let us praise
and there's many others who refuse to do so, but it doesn't stop
God's people from praising our great God. When you just think
of what he's done for. It'll lead you to praise his
name. Now, this song will bring forth
the great works of the Lord. And it also will bring forth
how he is worthy to be praised and he is worthy to be exalted
by the saints of God. Now, this song was especially
sung at the Passover. This and other hallelujah songs
were sung at both the Passover and other solemn feasts in praise
of God. in praise of God for his manifold
mercies to Israel. And also in praise of God for
his mighty works. And these were sung to bring
to remembrance And remember, we've always, through a lot of
the messages, we've been looking, look back at what the Lord has
done for you. Not just for us, though. Look
back at what the Lord has done for the church. Look back at
what the Lord has done for Israel. And that's what we're seeing
here. These Psalms are to bring remembrances to the saints of
God in the here and now of the great things that God has done.
The great things that God has done. And it gives us joy and comfort
in contemplating the mighty power of Jehovah. The mighty power
of Jehovah. So let us look at this hymn of
praise, because it's a hymn. It's a song, a hymn, this song
of praise and thanksgiving. And let us tonight contemplate
the mighty works of Jehovah. The mighty works of Jehovah.
So let's consider verse one. which proclaims hallelujah or
praise ye Jehovah, which is translated in our text, praise ye the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Now, who is the object of the
psalmist praise? Jehovah. Jehovah. The self-existent being. The
self-existent one. One commentator said, the bean
of beans. The author of our physical life
and the author of our spiritual life. And this is the one who the psalmist
gives praise to. The one who gives all things
breath. The object of his praise is the
one who sustains all life. And that being all things visible
and invisible. Jehovah, again, the self-existent
one, the one who needs no one or nothing. The one who will do what he has
said he will do. The one who not only has the
power to make what he said come to pass, but the one who has
the ability to make it come to pass. We lack neither ability
to save ourselves or power to save ourselves. But we trust
in the one who has both ability and power to save us, to save
us. And the psalmist exhorts the
people of God, the saints of God, the blood bought ones to
praise the God of their mercies. And every believer says he's
the God of my mercies. Oh, my. And those mercies may
be temporal or spiritual, but he's the he's the God of our
mercies. And we know we have all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus, our Lord. My, and he alone is worthy
of this praise. When it says, praise ye the Lord,
he's the only one worthy. He's the only one worthy. And
that praise goes to Jehovah the Father, Son, and the Spirit.
But one commentator said, brings forth especially Jehovah the
Messiah for the mighty works which he has done for we who
are redeemed. And the psalmist exhorts us to
praise the Lord. to praise Jehovah by His example. Praise ye the Lord. I will praise
the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright
and in the congregation. I remember a long time ago hearing
someone saying of the text that we're to love the Lord our God
with our heart, mind and strength. I remember someone at one time
saying, well, we've got the heart and the strength down, but not
the soul. And I'll be honest with you, I couldn't believe
what I was hearing. What? He was saying he loves the Lord
all the time with his heart, mind and soul. I only know one
who did that. Jesus Christ, the God. And we did it in him. Now that
doesn't mean that we aren't to praise our Lord. And when he
says, with my whole heart, Brother Mahan says, that's not mere lip
service. That's a heartfelt praise. But
there's only one, beloved. Because I ask you this, do you
know any human being other than Christ, who is the God man, who
has loved the Lord, our God, with all their heart, with all
their soul, with all their strength, and with all their might? There's
no one but Christ who's done this. There's no one but Christ
has done. But let not our praise be mere
lip service. Let us praise the Lord from a
grateful, redeemed heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ loved God
and praise God with all his heart. all his soul and all his might
and he fulfilled the demands of the law because in Deuteronomy
It says this and thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine
heart with all thy soul with all thy might So the law says
you have to do this Christ did it for us Christ What a Savior what a Redeemer
we have and So with that in mind, let us note then, again, I will
praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the
upright. Let us have eyes to our Savior. Let us look to our
Savior there. But again, let us remember that
it's not mere lip service from us, but let us look to that,
that only Christ loved the Lord with all his heart. Only Christ
prays the Lord with all his heart. He alone is the one who worships
the Lord with his whole heart, and only in him. And think of
this too, in the text it says, Later on it talks about the,
or actually in our text there, praise the Lord, I will praise
the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright
and in the congregation. We who are redeemed, sanctified
in Christ are the great congregation and we are only upright in Him,
in Christ, in Him alone. Turn if you would to Psalm 22
and then put your finger in Hebrews chapter 2. Psalm 22 in Hebrews
chapter 2. We are redeemed in Christ, sanctified
in Christ, and the great congregation is the elect of God, who praise
God for the mercy which we have found in Christ. Look at Psalm
22, verses 22 to 25, and then we'll turn over to Hebrews chapter
2. I will declare thy name unto my brethren. in the midst of
the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord,
praise him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify
him and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not
despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither hath
he hid his face from him. But when he cried unto him, he
heard, My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation. I will pay my vows before them
that fear Him. And in our text it says, Praise
ye the Lord, I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the
assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Now turn over
to Hebrews chapter 2. We know that Psalm 22 is a Psalm
of Christ. All the Psalms are Psalms of
Christ. They speak of Him. These verses
in Psalm 22 speak of Christ. And again, we who believe are
one in Christ Jesus our Lord. So turn over again to Hebrews
chapter 2, verse 11 to 13, and we will see that we are one in
Christ. And we sing praises unto Jehovah for his mercy and for
his grace, which has been bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Look at Hebrews chapter 2. For
both he that sanctify and they that are sanctified are all of
one. He is the head or the body. For which cause He is not ashamed
to call them brethren. Christ sanctifies His people,
and those He sanctifies have one Father, one Father, Jehovah. And we stand in relationship
as brethren in Christ, and with Christ we have one Father, and
we are one family, one body. Look at Hebrews 2, verses 12
and 13. saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in
the midst of the church. Will I sing praise unto thee?
And remember our text. Praise you, the Lord. I will
praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the
upright and in the congregations. In verse 12 says, saying, I declare,
I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the
church. The great congregation. Will I sing praise unto thee?
And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I
and the children which God hath given me. Now, the words of verse
12 of Hebrews are those quoted from Psalm 22, which we looked
at, which speaks of Christ. And note in verse 13, it is also
spoken that Christ receives his elect. His elect. His children in the text and
again, I will put my trust in him and behold I and the children
which God hath given Let us consider that they were
his as a gift from the father They were his they were given
to him by the father in eternity and they're also his by purchase
and because he purchased them, Christ
purchased them, the elect with his own precious blood. They're bug bought, they're bought
with a price. Scripture declares for you are
bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and
in your spirit, which are of God's first Corinthians 620.
And then let us also consider. That he receives them from the
Holy Spirit is those who are called They come to him in faith,
putting their trust in him alone. They're regenerated, born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. So the Father chooses us in eternity,
Christ redeems us, and the Holy Spirit draws us, calls us, and
regenerates us. Salvation is of the Lord. The
whole Trinity is in action in the salvation of a sinner. That's
why he gets all the glory, and that's why he gets all the honor,
and that's why he gets all the praise. who but Jesus Christ could undertake
to praise Jehovah with his whole heart. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter
30. Jeremiah chapter 30, and we'll
look at verses 21 and 22. And we see none but Christ, the
surety of sinners, had Jehovah in view. And Jehovah had in view
when he said their governor shall proceed from the midst of them,
Christ. Christ, the one who would fulfill
the law for his people. Jeremiah chapter 30, look at
verses 21 and 22. And their nobles shall be of
themselves, and their governor, that's Christ. their governor
shall proceed from the midst of them, and I will cause him
to draw near, and he shall approach unto me. For who is this that
engaged his heart to approach unto me, saith the Lord? Which
one of us who are human engage our hearts to come to the Lord? None of us, because scripture
declares there's none that seeketh after God. But the governor spoken
of in our text, in Jeremiah 30, and he shall approach unto me.
He's God incarnate in the flesh. He's the one who loves the Lord
thy God with all heart, mind, and soul. For who is this that
engages his heart to approach unto me, saith the Lord? And
ye shall be my people, and I will be your Lord. Do you remember earlier I said
what God says? Comes to pass, doesn't it? It
comes to pass. So let's go back to our text
and see this. Praise ye the Lord, I will praise
the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright
and in the congregation. We can sing this verse with faith
in Christ, beloved. With faith in Christ. Faith in
Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we approach God, clothed in his
perfect spotless righteousness, washed in his precious redeeming
blood, in the assembly of the upright. God's blood-washed saints. Made
just by Christ. Made just by Christ. In the great
congregation, known as the elect of God. The elect of God. Let's look at verse 2 now. It
says, The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them
that have pleasure therein. Now the works of the Lord are
great in design, in size, in number, in excellence, in all
the works of the Lord, all the works of the Lord, even the little
things of God, the microscopic things that we cannot even see,
they're all great. They're all great. And those
who love the Maker, those who love Jehovah, delight in his
works. We delight in his works. We delight
to see his handiwork. This morning I came out and about,
it was just about almost before seven o'clock. John, you get
to see this every day. And boy, that sky was just breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking. Consider his handiwork. Consider
his handiwork, beloved. My gosh, and we love to see his
handiwork and the people of God. We dig into the scriptures, don't
we? We dig into the scriptures and we behold and wonder in all
the works of the Lord. Great works that he's done. And
we take great pleasure in them, they bring us great joy and they
bring us great comfort. So let us regard the works of
the Lord in Providence. his mighty works of providence
having come to pass what he shall have come to pass. And let us
regard the works of our God in nature and see on display the
grace and the goodness of God. But let us chiefly consider the
wondrous works of salvation, the wondrous works of salvation,
the work of God, from beginning to end, the work of God, and
it's all in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, all in Him. And what joy unspeakable, what
joy unspeakable will that soul find in the blessed study of
our Redeemer, in the blessed study of redemption through Jesus
Christ our Lord. It'll bring you great joy, great
joy. Look at verse three, his work
is honorable and glorious and his righteousness endureth forever. Again, let us keep our eye upon
Christ and it'll fill your heart with joy again and peace to consider
these things in and through Christ. His is a righteousness. That
endures. Forever. Absolutely forever And this is the righteousness This is the righteousness That
is church those he purchased with his own precious blood on
Calvary's cross This is the righteousness that we will be clothed in for
eternity and look what the scripture says, and his righteousness endureth
forever. My goodness. Sinners clothed
in the perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ and his is the only
righteousness which God will accept. That's it. He won't accept any other because
our rights is like filthy rags, all tainted and sin. He's perfect
spotless. the unblemished, perfect Lamb
of God. And His righteousness is the
only righteousness God will accept, and how truly honorable is His
work. God's law, God's holy law, and
God's holy justice, and God's holy wrath, because He's a holy
God, has been appeased in the substitute
for the sins of his people. When Christ died as the substitute
of his people, God's holy law was satisfied, God's holy justice
was satisfied, and God's holy wrath was appeased, turned away
from his people. Because that wrath fell on Christ. My, what a Savior. What a Redeemer. His work is honorable, beloved.
You see why the text says His work is honorable? His work is
honorable and glorious. Is it not glorious? It's glorious,
isn't it? It's glorious. Honorable to God and glorious
to His people. So let us ponder and consider
this wondrous work of salvation, God's salvation, by God Himself, to save ruined sinners who could
never save themselves. And beloved, let the redeemed
sinner who is living, and think of this, I want you who are redeemed
to consider this, you are a living monument. You are a trophy of the grace
of God. You are a living monument of
God's grace. And we don't feel that way, do
we? But you're a living monument of God's grace in Christ Jesus
alone. Let us remember that. It'll make
your heart just leap for joy and praise His name. Turn, if
you would, to Exodus 34. Exodus 34 and let us consider
the words of our Lord to Moses and remember that he is the same
yesterday today and forever and that his works are mighty his
works are mighty Exodus 34 verses 6 and 7 And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord. I proclaim the Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children and upon the children's children, unto the third and
to the fourth generation. So now let us remember the great
work of salvation by Christ for his people. The scripture there
declares the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. And that
is by their own works. The Lord will not clear the guilty. By their own works. But he does this. He clears the
guilty for his people in the covenant of redemption. by the
blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ appeared
and suffered as surety of his people and substitute of his
people for his people. And he satisfied the utmost demands,
the utmost demands of God's law and justice and he paid for our salvation
by his blood, dying as our substitute in the place of his elect. And
every true believer in Jesus Christ seeks justification before
God in the finished work of Christ. That's who we seek our justification
in, Christ in him alone. Christ in him, in the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The God's justice and law demanded
a perfect righteousness to clear the guilty. The believers clothe in the perfect
righteousness of Christ. The law is satisfied, justice
is satisfied. What a wondrous work. What a
wondrous work. And at the cross, the scripture
was fulfilled, which says this in Psalm 85, verses 10 and 11.
It says this mercy and truth are meant together. Righteousness
and peace have kissed each other. Mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall
spring up, shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall
look down from heaven. That happened right at the cross.
My goodness, when Christ was redeemed and his people. Look
at verse four in our psalm. He hath made his wonderful works
to be remembered. The Lord is gracious, full of
compassion, and note that he has made his wondrous works to
be remembered. They are a memorial and a record
that the Lord is gracious and that the Lord is full of compassion.
And when we consider the mighty works of the Lord in the deliverance
of Israel from the land of Egypt and then their sojourn in the
wilderness, where their shoes never even wore out, where God kept them and He guided
them. Then He guided them into the
promised land, didn't He? Well, we see a picture of our
redemption, our time upon this earth and
our eventual glorification. And this is a perpetual picture,
a reminder for we who are redeemed and for generations of the Lord's
people that will come. that our God, our Lord is gracious
and full of compassion. We need not fear to trust his
grace. We need not to fear to trust
his grace for the future. If we look to see his mighty
works in the past. Then we ought not to fear for
the future. Because look what he's done.
For all the people of God. Now ponder this, you who are
beloved of the Lord. When we consider the wondrous
works of the Lord, we gain knowledge of His power. When we consider
the things in this book and the deliverances in this book and
how Christ redeemed us from our sins and the mighty works that
He wrought, we gain knowledge of His power as He reveals Himself
to us through the Word. And consider the greatness of
His power in the mighty works of creation. He spoke it into
existence. Consider the greatness of His
power. He just spoke it into existence, and it was so. Consider the greatness of His
power in the mighty works of providence, how He rules and
reigns over the earth right now. Consider the greatness of His
power and His might that are on display in the salvation of
His people at Calvary's cross. and consider the greatness of
His power in the regeneration of a sinner who is dead and is
bought to life. Who is dead spiritually and is
bought to life by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Is not He who has such power to be worshipped? To be praised? And are His mighty works not
to be remembered? Look at verses five to eight.
He has given meat unto them that fear him. He will ever be mindful
of his covenant. He has showed his people the
power of his works. They've been manifested. That
he may give them the heritage of the heathen. The works of
his hands are verity and judgment. All his commandments are sure.
They're sure. They stand fast forever and ever. and are done in truth and uprightness."
Now our text here speaks of the covenant made with Abraham and
that Sinai, but let us again keep our eye upon Christ and
the covenant that God made with His people in Christ before the
world was. This is the ground and foundation
of all His works of grace and redemption, the eternal covenant,
the everlasting covenant, the salvation of the elect in Christ
Jesus our Lord. And this is the reason He gives
food unto them, He never forgets them, His promises are in Christ,
and God's people have all their spiritual needs fulfilled in
Christ Jesus our Lord, because our God is a covenant-keeping
God. He's a covenant-keeping God.
And His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever. Forever and ever. Verses 5 to
8 shows God's faithfulness to His
covenant people. He's not a God little g, but He's the one true God. He's
the one true God who cares and watches over His covenant people
just as a shepherd does his sheep. Let's look at verse 9. Look at
verse 9 here. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. Now note the wonderful words
of this text. He sent redemption unto his people. That's marvelous. This redemption
spoken of in our text was conceived, arranged, executed, and applied
by God. He is the author of it, and His
people are the recipients are the recipients of this grace
and mercy and redemption through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Notice
again, he sent redemption. Look at the breakdown in this
verse. He sent redemption. He's the author of it. He's the
author of salvation. Unto his people, there's the
receivers. His chosen people, the elect
of God. They're the receivers of this
redemption. he hath commanded his covenant forever, there is
his sovereign majesty. What he says shall come to pass,
shall come to pass. And then holy and reverent is
his name. The result of this redemption, the result of the
people who have been the receivers of this redemption is praise. Holy and reverent is your name. His people praise Him because
of this mighty redemption that they have received in and through
Christ alone. Now consider this, when the Israelites
were in Egypt, He sent not only a deliverer, but He actually
delivered them out of Egypt. He didn't just send a deliverer,
He delivered them. He delivered them. And let we
who are redeemed wonder and awe that not only did He send a redeemer,
God Himself has redeemed us, and this redemption is complete
in Him, and He purchased us by His own precious blood, but that
He has rescued us and delivered us from the bondage of our sins.
What a Savior. What a Redeemer. And we can sing
of this redemption as an accomplished act, having obtained eternal
redemption. It's an accomplished act. If
He obtained it, that means that we don't work for it. He obtained
it. Oh, what a Savior. What a Redeemer. We can sing of a redemption that's
accomplished. It's been wrought out for us
by Christ Jesus our Lord, and we rejoice, we who believe, rejoice
in this redemption. this redemption that we have
received in Christ. Our text continues, He hath commanded
His covenant forever. Now, having been shown that our
redemption is sent by God and given to His people by God, and
knowing that our redemption, our salvation is free and full
in Christ and centered in Christ, we now see that it's everlasting.
It's everlasting. He hath commanded His covenant
forever. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
51, and then put your finger in Psalm 89. Isaiah 51 and Psalm
89. Isaiah 51 verses 4 to 8, and then Psalm 89, 3, We'll look at various scriptures
in Psalm 89. Isaiah 51, verses 4 to 8. Hearken unto me, my people,
and give ear unto me. O my nation, for a law shall
proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light
of the people. My righteousness is near, my
salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people.
The isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust."
Well, we know who the arm of God is, that's Christ. That's
Christ. Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look upon the earth beneath. For the heavens shall vanish
away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment.
And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation
shall be forever, forever. And my righteousness shall not
be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know
righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Fear ye
not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their rebellions. For the moth shall eat them up
like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But
my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation
to generation. My goodness, beloved. He hath commanded His covenant
forever. Turn, if you would, to Psalm 89. And look at verses
3 to 5. And look at these verses in light
of that text. For He hath commanded His covenant
forever. Psalm 89, verses 3 to 5. I have made a covenant with
My chosen. I have sworn unto David My servant.
Thy seed will I establish forever. and build up thy throne to all
generations, Selah. And the heavens shall praise
thy wonders, O Lord, thy faithful also in the congregation of the
saints. I have made a covenant with my
chosen. Thy seed will I establish forever." Now look at down to
verse 34 and 35, and we see the purposes of God are unalterable. Look at Psalm 89 verses 34 and
35. My covenant will I not break
nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. Once I have
sworn by my holiness that I will not lie on David. Beloved, he hath commanded this
covenant forever. Forever. Here, not lose one of
his sheep. Not one of them. Let's go back
to our Psalm. We'll look at the latter part
of verse 9 and then verse 10. I want to put holy and reverent
is His name with verse 10. So holy and reverent is His name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding
have all they that do His commandments. His praise endureth forever. Now the holiness of God is the
object of our reverence for Him. And this reverence comes when
the Lord reveals Himself in a saving manner to us. The sinner sees Him for who He
is. Holy. One who should be reverenced.
And we see our state before Him. desperate sinners in desperate
need of Christ. Now, the fear of the Lord. Is
to come before him in reverence and in awe and in respect of
who he is, and let us remember that we who are redeemed only
know him because he's revealed himself to us. In this, this
Olivia and all. We are to have reverence for
His name. Thou shall not take the name of the Lord your God
in vain. He commands that we are to have a reverence for the
name of God. Never use the name of God flippantly. The Jews of old would not even
pronounce the name Elohim. Because they had such reverence
for that name. And the fear of the Lord For
we who are redeemed, we have a fear of the Lord, but it's
not a slavish fear. It's a reverent fear. It leaves
you in awe. He is God. He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. A text there, it says the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. True wisdom. A man begins to
be wise when he fears the Lord, and not until then. In the Hebrew,
it's the highest wisdom. Rendered the chief of wisdom. The principal part of it, the
fear of the Lord. And out of that springs praise that
endureth forever. Turn if you would to Job chapter
28. Job chapter 28. And let us look at what Job said
about wisdom. This will be the last text we
turn to here. Job 28. Starting in verse 12. But where
shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof,
neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth says,
it is not in me, and the sea saith, it is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold with the gold of Ophir, with
the precious onyx or the sapphire, The gold and the crystal cannot
equal it. In the exchange of it shall not
be for jewels of fine gold. You can't buy it. No mention shall be made of coral
or of pearls, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. Nothing
in this world compares to it. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not
equal it. Neither shall it be valued with
pure gold, seeing it is hid from the eyes
of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say we
have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the
way thereof. God understandeth the way thereof,
and He knoweth the place thereof. For He looketh to the ends of
the earth, and seeth unto the whole heaven, to make the weight
for the winds. And He weigheth the waters by
measure, when He made the decree for the rain and the way for the lightning of the thunder. Then did He see it and declare
it. He prepared it, yea, and searched
it out. And on the man, he said, behold,
the fear of the Lord. That is wisdom. There it is. That's wisdom. And it can only be revealed as
Christ. Christ is the wisdom of God. Under man he said behold the
fear of the Lord that is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding
Now God has made an everlasting covenant with his people And he proclaims in Jeremiah
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will
not turn away from them To do them good But I will put my fear
in their hearts I reverence, a reverent fear of God, and they
shall not depart from me." What a great display of grace, mercy,
providence is on display in the great work wrought by God in
the salvation of His people. What a display in and through
Christ Jesus our Lord. And truly the works of God are
great, and He is greatly to be praised. And we who are redeemed
will praise Him forever. Forever. Gracious Heavenly Father, oh,
as we look at this psalm tonight, we see Thy great works in providence,
in nature, in creation, But most of all, O Lord, we see Thy great
work of salvation that was wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, God
incarnate in the flesh, to redeem the covenant people that Thou
has given in eternity. And we are redeemed by the precious
blood of our covenant-keeping Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we wait that day, we who
are redeemed, await that day when we shall see Thee face to
face. O Lord, clothe in Thy perfect,
spotless righteousness, and we will praise Thee forever. We glorify Thy name in Jesus'
name.