33rd Psalm opens as follows. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous,
for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with
harp. Sing under him with the psaltery
and an instrument of ten strings. Sing under him a new song. Play
skillfully with a loud noise. For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness
and judgment. The earth is full of the goodness
of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of
his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the
sea together as an heap. He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For
He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. For He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. There's a psalm which begins
with a call to praise and to rejoice in the Lord, to praise
Him with the harp, to sing unto Him with the psaltery and an
instrument of ten strings, to sing unto Him a new song, and
to play skillfully with a loud noise. It begins with a call
to praise and it goes on to describe Why we should praise and sing
unto this God. Just who this God is. That he
is a righteous God. A just God. A powerful God. An omnipotent God. A God of authority. A God who speaks. And it is done. For he spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. He is a sovereign God. Sovereign
over all the world. He is omnipresent. He is everywhere. And he sees and hears everything. The Lord looketh from heaven,
he beholdeth all the sons of men, from the place of his habitation
he looketh upon the inhabitants of the earth, he fashioneth their
hearts alike, he considereth all their works. God sees and knows everything. God is a God greater than any. He is a Lord greater than any
Lord. He is a King greater than any
King. Before Him all are as nothing. In verse 16 we read, There is
no King saved by the multitude of an host. A mighty man is not
delivered by much strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety,
neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. In which
the psalmist makes plain, that even the mightiest of men, even
the most powerful of kings, even those with the most horses and
the most strength, before this God, are as nothing. You may be a man of power, a
great king, who can call to your aid a great host, but before
God, they can do nothing. Because this God is the Lord
of Lords and the King of Kings. He is sovereign and he rules
over all. But this righteous, this just,
this powerful, This omnipotent, this omnipresent God, this King
of Kings, is also a just God and a Saviour. The great call
to praise that this psalm brings forth is not just because God
is great, and that would be reason enough. But this great and this
wonderful God is also a merciful, a loving, a gracious God who
saves his people from their sins. He is a saviour. He has given
wondrously and bountifully to his people. He has delivered
them and he does deliver them. and O sinner lost and dead in
your sins. This is a God who delivers sinners
like you. Behold the eyes of the Lord is
upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy to
deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Are you in famine? Are you starving? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Not for the
food of this world. Not for the drink of this world. For in these things, perhaps
you have plenty. There are those who have little
food in this world, and they know what famine is. There are
those who find little to drink, and they know what true thirst
is, in a natural sense. But the psalmist here speaks
of a famine, a thirst, which is greater than this. Are you
hungry? Are you thirsty? for righteousness the psalm begins with a call
to praise and it begins with a description of a righteous
God a just God are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness
which will help you to stand in the presence of such a God
for without it Your soul is dead. Behold, the ire of the Lord is
upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy to
deliver their soul from death. Without righteousness, your soul
will die. It is dead. You are dead already
in trespasses and sins. The judgment is written upon
your head. You have no hope. But if you're to be kept alive
in a famine, then you will be taught your hunger, taught your
thirst, given a hunger and a thirst after righteousness. The reward
of which will be salvation. The reward of which will be that
God delivers your soul from death, He brings you to life, He keeps
you alive in a famine, He puts faith in your heart and He will
reward that faith. by giving you that which you
hope for. Our soul waited for the Lord. He is our help and our shield,
for our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted
in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon
us, according as we hope in thee. Does your soul wait upon the
Lord? Does your heart rejoice in Him? Have you trusted in His name? Do you hope in God and in His
salvation? Where is your faith? In what do you trust and in what
do you hope? Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous,
for praise is comely for the upright. Rejoice in the Lord,
O ye righteous, but are you righteous? How can you rejoice in the Lord
if you're not righteous? You cannot. which is why you
need a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. And should God
quench your hunger and your thirst, should He satisfy your hunger
and quench your thirst, and put faith in your heart to look and
to hope in Him, then you with the righteous will rejoice in
the Lord who delivers His people from their sins. This psalm can
be divided into seven sections, a perfect description of God's
character and of his gospel and of his salvation. It begins with
this call to praise. It follows in verses four to
seven with this description of a righteous and a just God. Continues
in verses 8 to 11 with this description of his authority, his omnipotence,
his power. Continues from verse 12 to verse
15 with his omnipresence, his sovereign rule over this world. His perfect sight and knowledge
of all that we are and all that we do. In verses 16 and 17 we
see how this God is greater than all kings in this earth and all
power below. In verses 18 and 19 we see how
this God is a saviour of his people. And finally in the last
three verses from verse 20 we see in saving his people how
he is their help and their shield. how he rewards their faith, how
his mercy is placed upon them. And in the middle of the psalm,
as we read at the beginning, we see his authority. Verse nine, for he spake and
it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. We have a perfect gospel set
before us. A perfect gospel. And it's perfect
because it's author speaks and it is done. Commands and it stands
fast. This God who has chosen to save
a people leaves nothing to chance. There is no uncertainty with
Him. Nothing is a mere possibility. Salvation and the Gospel is not
presented to us in the Scriptures as something which could come
about if we do this, or if we are willing, or if we choose. There is nothing uncertain in
the Gospel. When God says he will save his
people from their sins, he does not mean that he will save whoever
chooses to follow him. He does not mean that his people
are unknown until they come to him. He does not mean that he will
save whoever wills. But he means just what he says.
He will save his people from their sins. He has a people whom
he has chosen. chosen before the foundation
of the world, chosen before they were ever brought forth from
the womb, chosen before they were ever born, chosen before
they ever did good or evil as we read in Romans 9 of Jacob
and Esau. Jacob was chosen before he was
ever born, before he ever sinned. before he ever rebelled. But
despite all that he did when he was born and grew and lived,
despite all his rebellion, all his sin, all his deceit, all
his subtlety, God chose Jacob, and God blessed Jacob, and God
made known his salvation to Jacob, and God delivered Jacob, even
though Jacob's will and Jacob's works went the opposite direction. Jacob didn't seek God. Jacob
wasn't righteous and Jacob didn't choose of his own self to follow. God chose Jacob and God in time
made Jacob willing. God delivered him. God spake
and it was done. God said, Jacob have I loved
and Esau have I hated. He spake and Jacob in time was
delivered from all his iniquity. God said, Jacob's mine, Jacob
will follow me. Jacob will I wash and cleanse
and deliver from his sins. He spake and it was done. Salvation
is of the Lord. Now if you're ever to know what
this psalmist speaks of, if you're ever to rejoice in the Lord with
the righteous, if you're ever to be rewarded with faith's reward,
if you're ever to know the mercy of God it will be because God
has looked upon you and says, you have I loved who hated me. You I will save, though you would
not. You will be drawn unto me, though
you cared not for me. I have loved thee, and I will
deliver thee. He spake, and it was done. No wonder then that the psalmist,
who speaks from his own experience, As one like Jacob who was a rebel
before God. As one like you who cared not
for the things of God. As one like you who was full
of sin and under the wrath of God and condemned already, heading
for hell. as one who found the things of
God to be a weariness, as one who found them to stand in his
own personal way before his own personal ambitions, as one who
by nature shook his fist in God's face. No wonder then the psalmist,
as one who had gone far away, but as one who was pursued by
God's grace. and delivered from his iniquity,
and delivered from all his enemies, and washed clean of his sin,
and blessed with blessings he could not have ever imagined.
No wonder then that the psalmist, having been given a hunger and
a thirst after righteousness, having waited for the Lord, and
being brought to trust and a hope in him. No wonder then that the
psalmist, hungering for righteousness, having righteousness imputed
unto him because of a saviour who died in his place. No wonder
then that the psalmist can open with this call to praise. Rejoice
in the Lord, O you righteous, for praise is comely for the
upright. Praise the Lord with harps, sing
unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song, play skillfully with a loud noise. O what is the song of your heart? What is the song of your heart? What makes you rejoice? In what do you find pleasure? In what do you find joy? What
makes you sing? Does the entertainment and the
pleasure of this world make you sing? Do you sing with the wicked? Or has the Lord put a new song
in your heart to praise Him and His salvation? Has the Lord taught you how righteous,
how just, how holy, how wondrous He is? Has He shown you His grace
and His mercy? Has He melted your hard heart? So that though you were once
set against Him, though you once went your own way, now you've
found this God. whose judgement you felt was
against you, whose righteousness you felt laid you in the grave,
whose power you felt crushed you. Now you find this God, this
powerful God, this sovereign God, this righteous God, to be
a wondrously gracious and merciful and loving God to your soul.
The Word of the Lord is right, and His works are done in truth.
He loveth righteousness and judgment. The earth is full of the goodness
of the Lord. Do you feel it? Do you know it? By the Word of the Lord were
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of
His mouth. He gathereth the waters of the
sea together as an heap. He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Have you heard the word of the
Lord? The same word by which he spake
and the heavens were made, has he spoken unto you? Has his speech brought you unto
life? Did you hear, as the soul who
laid in the grave, the voice of the Son of God? The hour is
coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son
of God and live. Have you heard his voice in the
Gospel? Has he spoken? Have you lived? That voice of authority, that
voice of power, that voice of omnipotence, Let all the earth
fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the
world stand in awe of Him. For He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. The Lord bringeth the counsel
of the heathen to naught. He maketh the devices of the
people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth
forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Here we have two councils, two
voices, two words, two speech. There's the counsel of the heathen,
the advice, the wisdom of this world. what the world would tell
you, what the world would teach us, what the world would advise
us. The heathen says go this way,
do this, believe this and you will prosper. But there is another counsel,
another wisdom, another speech Another word which says something
different. The counsel of the Lord. What
voice, what speech, what wisdom do you give heed to? The world
says turn your back upon God. Forget God. Our science, our
knowledge says this. We say, The world has always
been. We say millions, billions of
years have passed. We say the world came into being
from an explosion by chance. We say you have evolved. We say you will die one day and
go back to nothing. We say there is no God. There
is no sin. There is no accountability. We
say eat. Drink and be merry, for tomorrow
you die. Live life to the full. Live every
day to the max. Make yourself rich. There's happiness
in riches. There's happiness in pleasure.
There's happiness in doing what you want. We say there is no God. God says, the fool have said
in his heart, there is no God. God says in the beginning, God. God says that he spake and the
world was brought forth. He spake and it was done. God
says he spake in six days and created all things, man included. God says man rebelled against
his maker and sin entered into the heart of man. God says wickedness
multiplied upon the face of the earth. God says in the days of
Noah that the wickedness that multiplied upon the face of the
earth so grieved God that he sent a judgment. He sent a flood. And He slew all men, women, and
children upon this earth who were full of wickedness and hatred
for their Maker. He slew them, all except those
whom He put into an ark and delivered. And God says that whilst He will
not bring judgment in that way, there is judgment to come because
of the wickedness of man. That this world will come to
a conclusion, that this world will be burnt up with fire, that
the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll and the earth will
be burnt with fire and all men, women and children will stand
before Almighty God and have to give an account for what they
have thought, done and said in their lives. God says that there
is none righteous, no, not one. God says that there is none who
have sought God. God says that there is none who
loves God. God says that we will answer
for our sin and our iniquity. The Lord bringeth the counsel
of the heathen to naught, those who tell you lies, that life
is without God, that you can seek pleasure without accountability,
that you can turn your back on God and it won't matter. God
brings the counsel of the heathen to naught when they say that
when you die there's no afterlife, there's no heaven and hell, there's
no God before whom you will stand. He brings it to naught because
when you die as you will, you will stand before him and you
will answer for what you've fought and done. There is a beginning and there
is an end. God says that we are dead in
trespasses and sins. But God also says that he set
his love upon a people, a multitude, the many chosen in his Son, and
he sent his Son into this world to deliver that people from their
sins, to deliver them from the judgment to come, to deliver
them from the wrath to come. God sent his only begotten son
into the world because he loved the world that he might deliver
his people from the condemnation which was already passed. The council of the heathen despises
his son. The council of the heathen says
that Christ was nothing but a teacher. The council of the heathen tries
to question who Christ was and what he did. The council of the
heathen says he never rose from the dead. but he did rise from
the dead, he did die for his people's sins, he did deliver
them and he did rise again victorious. The council of the heathen would
try to bury it in the midst of time and try to deceive you to
turn your back upon the gospel and the truth of God. The council
of the heathen says go this way and the council of the heathen
will lead you to destruction. There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man. But it leads to destruction. The Lord bringeth the counsel
of the heathen to nought. He maketh the devices of the
people of none effect. All their building, all their
knowledge, all their science, all their inventions, all their
devices, all their cunning plans, all their political systems,
all their moving towards a world government, all their reign for
peace upon this world and all their hatred of God and his people
and of righteousness and judgment, all their devices are brought
to none effect. You may take their advice. You
may soak up their wisdom. You may follow them like the
children followed the Pied Piper, but you follow them to your destruction. He brings the counsel of the
heathen to naught, and maketh the devices of the people of
none effect. But the counsel of the Lord standeth
forever. His gospel, His truth, His word
is true. He is the almighty and the living
God. who sent his son as a saviour
into this world to perform his eternal covenant in laying down
his life for his people. The counsel of the Lord standeth
forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. He
chose a people out of every generation in this world, every generation,
to save them from their sins. You live today, 2,000 years after
the coming of Christ, and the reason that this world still
remains is because God has a people in this generation, your generation,
whom he has set his love upon. A people for whom Christ suffered
and died. A people whom Christ delivered
from their sins. A people under whom God will
speak through his gospel. A people whom he will bring unto
life unto a knowledge of his righteousness. Have you heard His voice in the
Gospel? Have you heard His voice in the
Gospel? and it was done. When we read
of Christ in the Gospels, we read of countless occasions when
Christ spake and people were healed. When Christ spake and
life entered into the dead. When Christ spake and a lame
man walked. When Christ spake and the blind
saw. When Christ spake and the deaf
heard. When Christ spake and the dead
lived. Luke chapter 4 verse 31 we read
and Christ came down to Capernaum a city of Galilee and taught
them on the Sabbath days and they were astonished at his doctrine
for his word was with power and in the synagogue there was a
man which had a spirit of an unclean devil and cried out with
a loud voice saying let us alone what have we to do with thee
thou jesus of nazareth art thou come to destroy us i know thee
who thou art the holy one of god and jesus rebuked him saying
hold thy peace and come out of him and when the devil had thrown
him in the midst and come out he came out of him and hurt him
not And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying,
What a word is this! For with authority and power
he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame
of him went out into every place of the country round about. Now this unclean spirit within
this man Said unto Jesus, Let us alone, what have we to do
with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? He hated him, he rejected him,
he wanted nothing of him. The Lord bringeth the counsel
of the heathen to naught. He maketh the devices of the
people of none effect. But the counsel of the Lord standeth
forever. He spake, and it was done. Jesus rebuked him, Hold thy peace,
and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown
him in the midst, he came out of him and hurt him not. and
they were all amazed and spake among themselves saying what
a word is this for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean
spirits time and again we read of similar accounts Chapter 5
and verse 12 of Luke. It came to pass when Jesus was
in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy, who seeing Jesus,
fell on his face and besought him saying, Lord, if thou wilt,
thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand and
touched him saying, I will. Be thou clean. and immediately
the leprosy departed from him immediately the leprosy departed
from him because jesus willed to clean him jesus spake and
he was cleansed 18 And behold, men brought in a
bed a man which was taken with palsy, and they sought means
to bring him into the room, and to lay him before Christ. 19
And when they could not find by what way they might bring
him in because of the multitude, 20 they went upon the housetop,
and let him down through the tiling, with his couch into the
midst before Jesus. And when Jesus saw their faith,
he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes
and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
alone? But when Jesus perceived their
thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your
hearts? Whether it is easier to say,
Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk? But
that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth
to forgive sins, he said unto the sick at a palsy, I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
and immediately he rose up before them and took up that whereon
he lay and departed to his own house glorifying God and they
were all amazed and they glorified God and were filled with fear
saying we have seen strange things today immediately time and again we read of Jesus
speaking to those who were sick and immediately they're healed.
He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. Arise and take up thy couch and
go into thine house. And this man who couldn't walk,
he had withered legs, unable to stand, stood up whole, immediately
he rose up before them. No wonder then the people were
amazed and filled with fear. Immediately he spake, and it
was done. In chapter 7 of Luke, we read
of a centurion who comes unto the Lord. And a certain centurion's
servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. And
when he had heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the
Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly,
saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. For he
loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus
went with them. And when he was now not far from
the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him,
Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldst
enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself
worthy to come unto thee. But say in a word and my servant
shall be healed. Here's a man who knows the power
of God and who knew who Christ was and he knew that Christ could
in a word just speak and it would be done. Do you know anything
of the faith of this centurion? He goes on to say, for I also
am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And
I say unto one, go, and he goeth. And to another, come, and he
cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus
heard these things, he marvelled at him and turned him about and
said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were
sent returning to the house found the servant whole that had been
sick. The centurion knew what authority
was. He spake to his servants, he
spake to his soldiers, and they did what he told them. And he
knew that if Jesus spake with such authority, if he spake,
then his servant would be healed. And Jesus spoke, and it was done. He spake, and it was done. Time and again we read this testimony
in the Gospels of Christ. and his authority and his power. He spake and it was done immediately. And sinner, if he should look
upon you in the depths of your sin and iniquity, if he should
look upon you in his rebellion and speak through his gospel
to your soul, He only has to utter one word and immediately
you will be whole. You who are so unrighteous. You who are such a rebel. You
who cannot for God. It only takes one word of the
Gospel from Christ's lips by His Spirit for you to immediately
be made whole. for faith to enter the heart,
for you to look unto a saviour who's washed away your sin. It only takes one word for your
eyes to be opened and you who were once blind will look and
see a saviour whose blood washed away the sins of his people.
Did his blood wash away your sin? Has he spoken unto you? Immediately when he speaks there
is salvation because he is a sovereign God. Blessed is the nation whose
God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own
inheritance. The Lord looketh from heaven,
he beholdeth all the sons of men, you included. From the place of his habitation
he looketh upon the inhabitants of the earth, he fashioneth their
hearts alike, he considereth all their works. What is he considering
about you today? What is he seeing in your soul
today? When he looks within you, when
he looks into your heart, when he looks inside your head, what
does he find? Does he find faith that falls
down at his feet because one day he spoke live and you lived
or will he find darkness and rebellion and death from a soul
that says not I? From a soul that trusts in his
own strength. From a soul that says, I will
stand. I can answer for myself. I've
got power. I've got wisdom. I can figure
it out. Or a soul that says, I'm good
enough myself. If God should judge me, I've
lived a good life. Well, here the psalmist was,
there is no king. saved by the multitude of an
host doesn't matter how strong you are or how many you have
on your side doesn't matter how many people in this world say
yes you're right do that go that way you'll stand you'll be fine
doesn't matter how many there are of you that say there is
no god doesn't matter how great your multitude is there is a
god And if you're wrong, you're wrong. And if you're wrong with
millions, you're wrong with millions. And if you're judged with millions,
you're judged with millions. There is no king saved by the
multitude of an host. A mighty man is not delivered
by much strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety,
neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. You need
a savior. because you cannot save yourself. You need righteousness because
you have none of your own. You need salvation because you
are lost. But this God who calls forth
praise. This God who speaks and it is
done is a Saviour. of His people. Behold, the eye
of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope
in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them
alive in famine. He delivers, He saves, He has
saved a multitude. Has He saved? Will He save you? Or are your ears shut? and your eyes closed and your
heart far away in what do you hope? in what do you trust? the counsel of this world? the counsel of the heathen? or
the counsel of the Lord which standeth forever? the psalmist's
hope was in the Lord The psalmist Faith looked unto a Saviour who
suffered for him. He says, with the righteous,
with other sinners like him who were washed in the blood of Christ,
our soul waited for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in
him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thine mercy,
O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. He had hope in a Saviour who
delivered him from his sins. and he said our he spake with
a people and we speak with him when we say unto you There is
no hope in man. There is no hope in self. There
is no hope in this world unless you're brought to the foot of
the Saviour, to the feet of Jesus Christ. There is hope in God
alone. There is no hope in the counsel
or the wisdom of this world. They will all lead to destruction. But if you wait on the Lord,
If you hear His voice, if you have heard His voice speak and
life has entered in, then you with the psalmist will find that
this God, this mighty Saviour is a shield and a help unto you. You will find your heart rejoices
in Him because you have trusted in His Holy Name. You will find
that His mercy is upon you as you have hoped in Him. Your hope
and your faith will be rewarded. It will never be let down. And
one day when you stand, in the last day you will stand before
Him and He will reward you and lead you into Heaven's glory.
and the wicked will be departed into outer darkness but you will
reign with him forevermore for he spake and it was done he commanded
and it stood fast did he speak has he spoken to you he spake
and it was done