Let's open our Bibles again to
Psalm 111. Here in verse 1 of our text this
morning, we're instructed, praise ye the Lord. Boast, give glory, celebrate,
praise ye Our natural response is far from
that. Our natural response is to doubt,
often to question, to murmur against God and His prophets. Back in Mark, the disciples,
during that storm, they said, Master, carest thou not that
we perish? Martha, Martha said this, she
said, Lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died.
By nature, that's our response. But here, David says, praise
you the Lord. Praise you the Lord. And then
he follows that with, I will praise the Lord. I will praise
the Lord. with my whole heart. In Psalm 115, David said this,
he said, he said, the dead, the dead praise not the Lord. Dead
man, a dead man can't praise, can't praise the Lord. A dead
heart cannot praise the Lord. You can say hallelujah till he's
got a sore throat. But dead man cannot praise the
Lord. Praise comes from the heart. And only God can give that heart. Only God can give that new heart.
Ezekiel 36, he says a new heart. A new heart will I give you.
A new spirit will I put within you. I'll take away that stony
heart out of your flesh and I'll give you a heart of flesh. and
I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes,
you shall keep my statutes and do this." A man, a woman, a young
person to whom the Lord has given a new heart, in whom the Spirit
of God dwells, that person has a heart to praise the Lord. He
says, I will praise the Lord with my whole heart. Let's read
on in our text, in the assembly of the upright, that word assembly
there, it means in private, in private places, at home, when
you're to yourself, he says, in the assembly of the upright,
in private, I will praise the Lord. And in the congregation,
in our public worship, when we gather together with God's people,
he says, I'll praise the Lord. I'll praise Psalm 34, Psalm 34
verse 1 says this, I will bless the Lord at all times, at all
times. His praise shall be continually
on my lips. Recently, looking at Ecclesiastes
3, listen to a message from Ecclesiastes 3. Look over there, just a few
pages in Ecclesiastes 3. Look at these verses here. beginning with verse 1 of Ecclesiastes
3. To everything, to everything
there is a season, a time to every purpose under heaven, a
time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck
up that which is planted, a time to kill, a time to heal, a time
to break down, and a time to build up. A time to weep. A time to laugh. A time to mourn
and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and
a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace. A time to
refrain from embracing. A time to get and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to cast away. A time to rend and
a time to sow. A time to keep silence and a
time to speak. A time to love. and a time to
hate, a time of war, and a time of peace. A time for everything. My friends, it's always a time. It's always
a time. Whatever that situation is that
God in His providence sets before His people, it's always a time
to praise the Lord, to praise Him. Just a few scriptures. Psalm
147, verse 1. Praise ye the Lord. It's good. It's good to sing. How many things
does God's word say it's good? It's good to sing praises. We
just heard these ladies sing this special. It's good to sing
praises. Let's pray those songs that honor
and glorify our God. Isaiah 12, verse 1, And in that
day shalt thou say, O Lord, I'll praise thee, I'll praise thee,
though thou wast angry with me. We get good reason to be angry,
didn't we? In our sin, in our shame, in our rebellion against
God, thou wast angry with me. But thine anger is turned away. Thou comfortest me. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart. Now this morning, I want us in
this passage of Scripture to consider six reasons. Six reasons to praise the Lord. Now obviously, this passage of
Scripture and God's Word is not limited, I'll set that out there
clearly, to six reasons to praise the Lord. But for this feeble
mind to keep up with and for sake of time, let's look at six
reasons found in this Scripture to praise the Lord. The first reason is for His works. Look at verse 2. Here we read,
The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have
pleasure therein. In Psalm 40, verse 5, we read,
Many, O Lord, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and
Thy thoughts which are toward us. They can't be reckoned up
into order unto Thee. If I would declare to them and
speak to them, they are more than they can be numbered. Praise
Him. Praise Him for His works. His works in creation. We looked
at this this morning. his works and creation. You young
people, you listen. School has just started back
up and sometime during the school year, your teachers will be required
to tell you that this world was formed when a big ball of gas
blew up and look what we have. I guess remember what you have
to to pass the test, but you listen to me. You know that's
not true. In the beginning, in the beginning,
God created the heavens. He did. He did. And we looked
at that this morning in our Sunday school lesson on that sixth day.
On that sixth day, he looked back at everything he had made.
He said this, he said, Praise him for his works in creation. I was thinking about this. We were at the beach this year,
and the boys go down and they play in the water, and Abby and
I sit and read. She reads books, and I try to
get through a book over the course of the week. But as I was sitting
there, there was a little bird, a little black bird. Water would
roll up on the shore. the bird would back up, wouldn't
get his feet wet, and when the waters went back in, he'd run
up to the edge of the water, and that bird had a beak that
was just perfect for going down in the sand and picking up a
sand flake and then just pecking what it needed to eat out of
that. Nothing like what we have around, not like a black bird
we have around here. In God's creation, just the smallest,
think about the smallest things in creation. Isn't it just amazing
to think that bird was made and equipped with just what it needed
for where it is? God's works in creation. Wayne, I was thinking about you
guys in Alaska. I can't imagine what you all
had the opportunity to see. The sky of the evening, what
that must look like, God's creation. Every, every detail of it. Perfect. Praise Him. Praise Him for His
works. His works in creation. David, David, remember what David
said? He said, when I consider the works of thy hands, I consider,
what's man? What is man? The dark mind. Praise
Him for His works in creation. praising for his works in providence,
ordering and directing all things after the counsel of his own
will. We read that, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. The natural man refuses to believe
this. He might say that he believes
God's sovereign, He might say that, but when trouble comes,
listen to what he's talking about. Listen to what he's talking about. He'll blame the devil. He'll
blame the people around him. He'll blame a disease. Anything, anything but submit
to God's sovereignty. I believe that's why men worship
idols. You know, you can do, you can, we can do whatever,
if this cup's an idol, if I want to hide it down here so it can't
see me or see you, I can do whatever I want to with an idol. I can hold it in my hands. I
can move it. All by God. Almighty God, Sovereign. We're in His hands. We're in
His hands. Nebuchadnezzar over in Daniel
4, he said, all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing.
He doeth according to his will, the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? A few verses later, he said,
now, now I praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven. Our God is sovereign. Our God
is sovereign. We're to praise Him for His works
in creation, praise Him for His works in providence. Second,
here in verse 3, we read of His work. His work. His work is honorable
and glorious. John 17.4 says, Our Lord Jesus Christ speaking,
He says, I have finished the work. The work. What's that work
referring to? The work is, it was salvation. The work of salvation. Philippians
1.6 says, is He that hath begun a good work in you? He'll finish
it. He'll finish it. It's a work for us. It's a work
in us. And don't lose this. It's Israel. It's Israel. Salvation is of
the Lord. Consider from our lesson this
morning, those of you who are here, David determined to show
mercy to Mephibosheth. He said, I'm going to show mercy.
He determined who he was going to save. He determined he was
going to save Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. And in time,
he sent men down there to Lodobar to fetch him and bring him back. And he put him in his king's,
put him in the king's house. And he told his servants, he's
going to sit here at my table as my son. He's going to eat
as a son. The king did that work, didn't
he? Mephibosheth, all Mephibosheth
did was rode back home. The king did all the work. And
listen, the entire work whereby a guilty fallen son of Adam is
lifted from the dunghill, washed, justified, and translated in
the kingdom of his dear son, it's of the Lord from beginning
to end. He does the work. He does the
work. Our Lord planned and purposed
the redemption of his people from the beginning. Our Lord
Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. Almighty God made the Lord Jesus
Christ to be our surety, our representative, our federal head
of an elect people. We're chosen in Him, given to
Him to redeem us and bring us to glory. In Adam, we died. In Christ, we live. In Adam,
we're made sinners. In Christ, we're made righteous.
In Adam, we're separated from God. In Christ, we're brought
to God. His people, His people are made
willing in the day of His power. We read of His own will, begat
He us with the word of truth. We receive Christ and believe
on His name because we're born of God. Paul said this, but when
it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, in me. Salvation. Salvation is of the
Lord. Praise Him. Praise Him for His
salvation. Third, we read here in this text,
His righteousness endureth forever. It's His righteousness. It's
His righteousness. The Scriptures declare this.
It must be perfect to be accepted. The Scriptures declare not by
works of righteousness which we have done. The Scriptures
declare that there is none righteous. No, not one. We must have His righteousness. We must be made righteous. Turn
to 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21. Here we read, For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. Christ our Lord had no sin. He
knew no sin. He did no sin. He was perfect
for the law of God, yet he was made sin. He died under the wrath of God,
being made a curse. for us, all of this, all of this
that we might be made the very righteousness of God in Him. David said over in Psalm 71,
16, he said, I will go in the strength of the Lord, I will
make mention of thy righteousness, thine only, thine only. Praise Him. Praise Him for His
righteousness, which is our righteousness. Let's read on in our text. Verse 4, 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 hath
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,
truth, and judgment. All His commandments are sure,
they stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Look at verse 9, fourth one. Praise Him for His redemption. He sent redemption unto His people. He sent it. The redemptive work
of Christ was fully accomplished by His death at Calvary. It secured
the salvation for all whom His precious blood was shed. And
the Word of God doesn't speak of Christ trying to redeem His
people. It doesn't speak of Him doing
His part in redemption or merely providing the possibility of
redemption. The Word of God declares an accomplished,
effectual redemption. A redemption which always results
in the deliverance of His people. Salvation for His redeemed. It's a full redemption. It's
a free redemption. It's not just an opportunity
for redemption. Christ is our Redeemer. He is
the Redeemer. Who's this redemption for? Look
in our text. He sent redemption His people. This is what folks get upset
about. This is what particular redemption. But what's it say there? It said
He sent redemption to His people. To His people. It's for His people. It's for His elect. It's for
His sheep. Galatians 3.13 says this, Christ
hath redeemed us. Us. It's for His people. Fifth,
we read here of His covenant. His covenant. Praise Him for
His covenant. He hath commanded His covenant
forever. He hath commanded by His power,
by His authority, by His sovereignty. He hath commanded. And what is
this covenant? It's that covenant of grace. Look back at 2 Samuel. David talked about this covenant
Back in 2 Samuel 23. Look at verse 5. We read here in verse 1, these are
the last words of David. He says here beginning in verse
5, although my house be not so with God. Although David said
my house, my children, my servants, my court, my nation, they're
not right with God. They don't love God, they don't
worship God, they don't seek His glory. Although my house
be not so with God yet, in spite of that, in spite of me, Yet
he hath made with me an everlasting covenant. That covenant by which
David's kingdom was settled, that covenant by which the Lord
Jesus Christ through the lineage of David would be born. It's
a picture of that eternal covenant of grace made with Christ from
the beginning for the foundation of the world in which Christ
is our surety, our savior, our sanctifier, and our mediator,
given us by God the Father. We read, all that the Father,
all that the Father hath given me, I'll lose none, I'll lose
none. I'll not cast out a one of it.
And all that the Father chose, the Son redeems and the Spirit
calls to it. And he says this covenant, This
covenant is ordered in all things. Ordered in all things and sure,
thy mercies, the mercies and the grace of God, they aren't
left to chance. They're decreed. They're declared. They're determined and purposed
by Him and Him alone. And the fulfillment of this covenant
in establishing a perfect righteousness and an effectual atonement for
His people is not in the hands of man. Are we thankful? Are we thankful that these things
aren't left in our hands? No, they were given to Christ.
Given to Christ to accomplish it. That's how they can be called.
He talks about these sure mercies. The sure mercies of David. If
they're in our hands, they're not sure, are they? Oh, but they're
in His hands. They're the sure mercies of David. That's how they can be called
sure mercies. He shall not fail. He shall not fail nor be discouraged.
And David said, this is all my salvation. Can we listen? We don't get anything else this
morning. David said, this, this right
here is all my salvation. God's love for me in Christ,
God's choice of me in Christ, God's righteousness fulfilled
in Christ, God's acceptance of me, it's all in Christ. He is all
my salvation. Not my feelings, not how I feel
on one day or the next, not my works, not what I've done, not
my own personal righteousness, Not any of those things. This,
this is all my salvation. Christ is all my salvation. That's my hope. That's my rest. That's my comfort. And he says,
this is all my desire. This is all my desire. Not only
do I find comfort and peace in God's Word and in His promises
and in this covenant of grace, but also I delight in Him. I
find rest and assurance in Him. And then he says, although he
make it not to grow, the outward signs and evidences may not always
be there. But he said, my rest, my comfort,
my hope is in this covenant. It's in the Lord Jesus. It's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn back to our text, Psalm
111. Sixth thing, his name. Praise
the Lord for His name. We read this, holy and reverend. Holy and reverend is His name. His holy name, His character
is worthy of the most profound awe. It's perfect. It's complete. It's holy. His name is holy. And I looked
at this this morning, I was looking at this word reverend. I didn't
realize this until, that's the only time the word reverend appears
in God's Word. Now there's other forms of it,
but that word reverend, it says holy and reverend is His name. These men that go around taking
upon themselves the title reverend, I tell you, I just shiver. I
just cringe. Holy and Reverend is His name. Is His name. Over in Acts chapter 4, Peter
said this. He said this of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the stone
which was set at naught of you builders, which has become the
head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name given under heaven. given among men, whereby we must
be saved. Call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sin. Holy and Reverend is His name. Praise Him. Praise Him for His
name. Praise Him for His name. Well,
praise Him for His works. Praise Him for His works and
creation. Praise Him for His works and providence. Praise
Him for His Word, the work of salvation. Praise Him for His
righteousness, for His redemption. Praise Him for His covenant.
Praise Him for His name. Let's see the conclusion here.
Verse 10, the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning.
It's the chief part of wisdom. Over in Jeremiah 32 verse 40,
he says, I'll put my fear in their hearts. There it is with
the heart again. It's a heart work, a work that
only he can do. He said, I'll put my fear in
their hearts and they shall not depart from me. Think of the,
I was thinking about this. Think about the security of the
believer, the comfort of a believer, We read in God's Word, He said
He'll never leave us nor forsake us. But here we read, we'll not
depart from Him. How's that possible? Helped by the power of God. We read on in our text, a good
understanding have all they that do His commandments, those that
obey Him. May the Lord make us May the
Lord make us willing, obedient servants for His praise. His praise endureth forever. I want us to look at one more
passage of Scripture here and we'll close. Turn over to Revelation
5. Revelation 5. Look at verse 9. And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof.
For thou was slain, and thou hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.
And thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we
shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and
the elders, The number of them was 10,000 times 10,000, and
thousands of thousands sang with a loud voice, worthy as the Lamb,
that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven on the earth and under the earth and such as are in
the sea and all that are in them, I heard I sang, that great multitude
praising Him, saying, Blessing honor, glory, and power be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and
ever. And the four beasts said, Amen, and the four and twenty
elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever."
His praise, his praise endures forever. God's people, that's
how we'll spend eternity, praising him. All right, Brother Sessom,
please do so.