Would you turn to Psalm 135.
Psalm 135. Praise ye the Lord. Hallelujah. And this is one of
11 Psalms that begins with this. Hallelujah. I hope we can say
that from the depths of our heart. Most of the time when people
make that statement, it almost seems insincere. But oh, that
I might be enabled to say this before him. Praise ye the name
of the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the
Lord. You that stand in the house of
the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the
Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing praises unto his name, for
it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. For I know that the Lord is great
and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
did he. in heaven and in earth, in the
seas and in all deep places. He causeth the vapors to ascend
from the ends of the earth. He maketh lightnings for the
rain. He bringeth the wind out of his
treasuries, who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast,
who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of the old Egypt, upon
Pharaoh and upon all his servants. who smote great nations and slew
mighty kings, Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of
Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, and gave their land
for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel, his people. Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever. and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout
all generations. For the Lord will judge his people,
and he will repent himself concerning his servants. The idols of the
heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They
have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not. Neither is there any
breath in their mouths, They that make them are likened to
them. So is everyone that trusteth
in them. Bless the Lord, O house of Israel. Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
Bless the Lord, O house of Levi. Ye that fear the Lord, bless
the Lord. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, by your grace, we say praise
and bless your holy name. And Lord, we're aware that it
is through your son we offer this praise and thanksgiving
for we know that apart from him we could not be heard or accepted,
but in him we're complete and we give thanks for him. We pray
that you'd enable us to worship. We pray that you'd enable us
to hear the gospel. We ask that you would cause your
gospel to be preached. Lord, bless us for Christ's sake. We pray for safety in traveling
during this day. We pray that your will would
be done in all things. We pray that your gospel would
be preached. We pray for your blessing upon all your people,
wherever they meet together. Thank you for your word. Thank
you for who you are. May we be found in Christ. In
his name we pray. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord. He says in verse 1, praise the
name of the Lord. You see, this is not ignorant
religious mumbo-jumbo. When you're praising the name
of the Lord, you're praising him for all of his attributes. You're praising him for his holiness. You're praising him for his immutability. You're praising him for his whatever
sovereignty, whatever attribute you want to mention. That's what
the name of the Lord is. So this praise is not ignorant.
It is born of a true knowledge of who he is. Praise the name
of the Lord, O ye servants of the Lord, ye that stand in the
house of the Lord. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your standing is in Christ. Your standing is in the house
of the Lord. That's your standing. And right
now I'm standing in Christ. What a place to stand. What a
place of acceptance. Ye that stand in the house of
the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the
Lord. Here he says it again. Praise
the Lord. Hallelujah. For the Lord is good. Now understand this, he is good
all the time. There is no circumstance in which
he is not good. The Lord is good. I love it when
the rich young ruler came to the Lord and said, good master,
what good things shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he
said, why callst thou me good? There's none good but God. God
is good. He's essentially good. Whatever
he does is good. And you know, there's many things
we don't understand, but we trust his character because he is good. And whatever he does is good. Now, this is what is truly pleasant. Praise the Lord for the Lord
is good. Sing praises unto his name for it's pleasant. Oh, it's a pleasant occupation
as the Lord gives us grace to do it. how pleasant it is to
be enabled to truly praise the Lord for who he is and be happy
about who he is. Four, verse four. For the Lord
hath chosen, you know, there's election. It's throughout the
Bible. The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto
himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure. This is one of many
times in the scripture we read of Jacob and Israel, the same
person. Jacob, who we are in ourselves. Israel, who we are
in Christ. And he says that he's chosen
Israel for his peculiar treasure. Now, think about that. If you're
one of his. He views you as his peculiar
treasure. Verse five, for I know that the
Lord is great. Don't you know that he's infinitely
great? For I know that the Lord is great. Like Moses said in Deuteronomy
32, ascribe ye greatness to the Lord. For I know that the Lord
is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Does that mean
there's minor gods? Small g gods are, he's saying
for what they are, the gods of the heathen, non-existent gods
that cannot be compared to the living God, the God of the Bible. Now in verse six, we have one
of those glorious statements regarding the sovereignty of
the Lord. Look what it says. Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did he. in heaven and in the earth, in
the seas and in all deep places. Now that covers everywhere. There's
nowhere where the Lord is not doing as he is pleased. God's absolute sovereignty, everything
that takes place is what the Lord is pleased to do. He's the
first cause of everything. Wherever you go, whatever it
is, he is the first cause. Now somebody is thinking, and
I understand this thought, are you saying he's the cause of
evil? When you make that statement, are you saying that the Lord
is the cause of evil, the first cause of evil? Because that's everybody's objection
to the sovereignty of God. If you say something like that,
you're making the Lord the author of evil. Evil exists. Natural evils, earthquakes,
tsunamis, hurricanes, disease of every kind. Some kind of disease
is going to get you. You know, I don't want to suffer.
I'd rather go quickly, but it could be that I'm looking at
the suffering of disease. Diseases of every kind kill people. There are moral evils, sinful
evils, such heartbreaking, heart-wrenching things that people go through
because of the sinful abuse of others. Heart-wrenching. There's the evil that exists
in every human heart. God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth. And that's talking about me and
you. Listen to it in that light. God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only Evil continually. That's what
the Lord sees when he sees into my heart and your heart. By nature,
only evil continually. Jeremiah 17, 9, the heart is
deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it? And
that word desperately wicked means incurable. It can't be
made better. Carnal mind is enmity against
God, it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be. Now this is true of all men as
a result of the fall of Adam. And when Adam fell, was that
God's purpose? Deal honestly with this. When
Adam fell, was this God's purpose? Could God have prevented it?
Of course he could have. Why didn't he? Because it was his
purpose. In the day you eat thereof you
shall surely die. He didn't say if you eat you'll
die. He said when you do you will surely die. Spiritual evil exists. Satan. The wicked one, the God
of this world, the prince of this world. Spiritual evil exists. Now here's the first thing I'm
saying is God exists. Here's the second thing I'm saying.
No, first thing I'm saying is evil exists. Second thing I'm
saying is God exists. The God of the Bible, the God
described in this verse. And the reason there is evil
is because he wills it to exist. It is all according to his glorious
purpose and he takes full responsibility for it. Somebody says, are you
charging God with evil? Well, let me read you a verse
of scripture from Isaiah 45. Verse 5, Isaiah 45 verse 5, I
am the Lord and there's none else. There is no God beside
me. I go to thee though thou has
not known me that they may know from the rising of the sun and
from the West that there's none beside me. I am the Lord and
there is none else." Now look at this, I form the light and
create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. Now somebody says that's just
talking about calamities. That doesn't say that. No doubt
he is behind all calamities, but the Lord says, I form the
light. I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. I, the Lord, do
all these things. Now, we would not know the character
of God were there no evil. You wouldn't know anything about
his justice, his punishment of sin. You wouldn't know anything
about the forgiveness of sin. We wouldn't know anything about
the riches of his grace. We would not know the glories
of his character without this. Now, what's the most evil thing
to ever take place? You know the answer to that.
It's when they nailed the Son of God, when we nailed the Son
of God to a cross. That is the most evil, malicious,
wicked thing to ever take place. Who purposed it before the foundation
of the world? Christ is called the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. And what is the most glorious
thing, the most God-like thing to ever take place? The cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. God does what only God can do. He brings good out of evil. And he does it all the time.
And that's why we don't need to scratch our heads. Why does
the Lord let this happen? Because he's good. And whatever
he does is good and glorious. We trust his character. That
doesn't mean I'm indifferent about the pain and suffering
and the sorrow sin brings. Of course we're not. God is good
all the time. And he brings good out of evil.
So when we when we say whatsoever the Lord please that did he in
earth and sea and all deep places and that covers everywhere. Aren't you thankful. Aren't you
thankful for the sought the absolute sovereignty of God. God's people
are. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven and earth and the sea and all deep places. Verse seven, he causes the vapors
to ascend from the ends of the earth. He maketh the lightnings
for the rain. He bringeth the wind out of his
treasuries. Now that means everything that
happens in Providence, he does. Whatever it is, he does. I love that. Verse eight, who smote the firstborn
of Egypt, both of man and beast. Now he goes to the Passover,
who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast, all the
firstborn. were smitten in Egypt, either
in the substitute or in actuality. But in every home, the firstborn
was smitten, either in the lamb slain or the person themselves
who sent tokens and wonders in the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon
Pharaoh and upon all of his servants." Don't you love that scripture
where the Lord said to Pharaoh, it actually says, the scripture
said to Pharaoh, which is the Lord speaking, even for this
same purpose have I raised thee. that I might show my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the
earth. And he sent his tokens and wonders
into the midst of the old Egypt upon Pharaoh and upon all his
servants who smote great nations and slew mighty kings. And he
mentions a couple of them, Sihon, the king of Amorites, and Og,
the king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. smote all
these kingdoms and gave their land for an heritage and heritage
unto Israel, his people. Now, I want you to think about
that. He smote all these nations and countries and destroyed them
and gave them to Israel, his people. Now, have you ever thought,
why did he make such a difference? Why did he do this? Now, lest
we think he did this because he loved Israel, because Israel
was better than these other nations, I want you to turn for a moment
to Deuteronomy chapter 9. Beginning in verse 1. Thou art to pass over Jordan
this day to go in to possess nations greater and mightier
than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, a people
great and tall, the children of the Anicums, whom thou knowest
and whom thou hast heard say, who can stand before the children
of Anic? Understand, therefore, This day that the Lord thy God
is he which goeth before thee, as a consuming fire he shall
destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face. So
shalt thou drive them out and destroy them quickly as the Lord
hath said unto thee. Speak not thou in thine heart
after the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying,
For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess
the land. but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth
drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness or
for the high uprightness of thine heart dost thou go to possess
their land, but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy
God doth drive them out from before thee. that he may perform
the word which the Lord swear unto the fathers, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. Understand, therefore, that the
Lord thy God giveth not this good land to thee to possess
it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stick-necked people."
Now he says the reason these people are being judged, and
I'm judging them, is because of their wickedness. I'm not
giving you this land because you're good. I'm giving you this
land because they're bad and you're just as bad. But I'm doing
it as a sovereign act of my grace. Now, you see the difference the
Lord makes. The Lord puts a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel back to Psalm 135. He gave their land for an heritage
and heritage to Israel, his people, verse 13. Thy name, O Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.
His name is his attributes, the person behind the name. We love
his name. I am that I am, the self-existent
one, the independent one who has no needs, the holy one, the
just one, We love his name, we love every attribute that makes
up his name. Thy name, O Lord, is eternal. It's forever. Thy memorial, O
Lord, throughout all generations, from age to age, from everlasting
to everlasting. Now what's his memorial? The
cross. That is the great manifestation
of who he is. And this was manifest before
time began. And it's going to be the song
at the end throughout heaven. Thy memorial. Oh, the glory of
the cross of Jesus Christ. It dwells throughout all generations
for the Lord will judge his people. And he will repent himself concerning
his servants. Now that word. Repent himself. If you look at most other translations,
it says he'll comfort himself. He'll comfort himself. You see,
he judged his people. And he comforts himself and the
satisfaction he gave to himself in that judgment and the way
he's made a way to be just and justify the ungodly. He comforts
himself. That comforts me. My sin has
been judged. He doesn't just sweep it under
the carpet to be brought up again. He's been judged, condemned,
put away, and he comforts himself because he is completely satisfied
with what his son did, and we are too, aren't we? Satisfied. Now he speaks of the false gods. The idols of the heathen are
silver and gold. The work of men's hands. Now he talks about what they
cannot do. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have
they, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear
not. Neither is there any breath in their mouths. There's no life.
They that make them are likened to them. So is everyone that
trusteth in them. Now these man-made gods. They
are gods who cannot. That's the best definition of
these gods, they cannot. They can't see, they can't smell,
they can't touch, they can't taste, they can't help you. What
did Isaiah say in Isaiah 45 verse 20 now? Can a god that can't
speak, can't see, can't hear, and has no life, can he help
you? Isaiah said in Isaiah 45, 20,
they have no knowledge that pray unto a God that cannot save. Now, a God that cannot save you
unless you fill in the blank, whatever it is. A God that cannot
save you unless you fill in the blank, is a non-existent God. It's described in this passage
of scripture I just read. Verse 19. Bless the Lord, O house
of Israel. Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron. Bless the Lord, O House of Levi. Now, what does it mean to bless
the Lord? It means the exact same thing
Paul said in Ephesians chapter one when he said, blessed be. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Blessed be.
When I bless the Lord, it's not that I can confer blessing on
him. He's utterly independent. It would be derogatory to him
to think that I could make him more blessed than he is, but
I can ascribe blessedness to him. That's what Paul is doing
and that's what we do. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says, ye that fear
the Lord, bless the Lord. Now, I love thinking
about this. The scripture has so much about
the fear of the Lord. It's the beginning of wisdom.
It's the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord and faith
in Christ are the precise same thing. You see, if you have any
fear of God, you are afraid to look. You have such respect for
his person, such awe of his person, you're afraid to look anywhere
but Christ alone. You look to Christ alone is everything
God requires of you. You don't look at anything you
do. You look totally to what he has done, and you fear looking
to your works in any way because you know that your works are
no good. You fear the Lord. That is faith in Christ. All
who have faith in Christ fear the Lord. You know, I've heard
people talk about good God fearing men and women. You fear God if you believe on
Christ. If you don't believe on Christ, you have no fear of
God, no respect of God, no awe of this person. To fear God is
to look to Christ only. Ye that fear the Lord, Bless
the Lord. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Now Zion, Mount Zion is the church,
you know that. It's the mountain upon which
the temple stood in Jerusalem. It's in Jerusalem. But I think
that this is so glorious. There's something very special
about church. This is where God dispenses his
blessing. Zion, the church. I love the way Paul calls the
church, the pillar and the ground of the truth. God dispenses his
blessings through the church, through his people. So the psalmist says, blessed
be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth in Jerusalem. And then
he ends where he began. Hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord. Weren't the Psalms glorious?