Okay, this evening now we're
going to take a few minutes and look at Psalm 118. I'm entitling
the message from that verse that I just mentioned, verse 23. This
is the Lord's doing and it's marvelous. It's marvelous in
our eyes. God's marvelous providence, God's
marvelous grace, His marvelous mercy, everything about the Lord
and His salvation is wonderful, isn't it? It's marvelous, isn't
it? It's glorious, isn't it? In all His ways, all His ways. Now these words that are quoted
here or written here in verse 22, the stone which the builders
refused, it become the headstone of the corner, as referred to
many times in the New Testament. Paul mentions that in Acts chapter,
excuse me, in Ephesians chapter two, and Peter mentions it in
Acts chapter four, and also in 1 Peter that we read a moment
ago, chapter two. The Lord Jesus Christ also refers
to this parable, refers to this Psalm in a parable that's found
in Mark chapter 12, in Matthew 21, also in Luke 20. So, portions
of this Psalm 118 have been mentioned in the New Testament over 13
times. 13 times. As we read and study
the Scripture, we should always be on the lookout for the Lord
Jesus Christ. Because the whole Word of God
is about Christ, about His person, and about His work. To Him give
all the prophets witness. This book, It's a big book. It has a lot of words. A lot
of different books. A lot of verses. A lot of words. But all this book, you can sum
it all up in this. This book is about the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's all about Him. It's all
about Him. All the way from the beginning.
In Genesis all the way to the Revelation, all the way through,
this book is all about the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. To Him give all the prophets
witness. All about Christ, His coming. The Old Testament says someone's
coming. The Gospels declare that He has come. The Epistles declare
the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. Let me read this to you
in Luke chapter 24. The Lord said, the risen Lord,
said unto them, these words which I spake unto you, these are the
words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that
all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me. It's all about him. Then he opened
their understanding that they might understand the scripture.
Oh, that God would be pleased to do that for us this evening.
open our understanding that we might see in the book revealed,
the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ alone. Now look at verse 1, 2,
3, and 4. A very often repeated phrase,
oh give thanks unto the Lord. Paul writes to the Thessalonians
and says, in everything give thanks, in everything give thanks,
for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you.
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord. One thing God's people should
always be is thankful. Everything we know, everything
we have, everything we are is a gift of his sovereign grace
unto us. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord
for he is the Lord. He is good. Everything about
him, everything about him is good. All of his attributes are
good. His love is good. His holiness
is good. His justice is good. His judgment
is good. He is good because His mercy
endures forever. Verse 2, let Israel now say.
And when we read that Israel, a lot of times we think of that
nation or that national people. But this is really referring
to God's elect, God's spiritual Israel. Let Israel now say, that
is the people of God, those chosen in Christ Jesus, Jacob have I
loved. The Lord made Jacob into Israel.
Let Israel now say, that is the people of God. Let them say now,
his mercy endures forever. And then again, verse three,
let the house of Aaron. The house of Aaron were the tribe
of Levi. They were the Aaronic priests. And we've been made
kings and priests until we're gone. Let all believers say right
now, let's say right now, right now, that His mercy endures forever. His mercy is everlasting, from
everlasting. His mercy is as old as God Himself,
and God's eternal, has no beginning, has no end. Let them, verse 4,
let them now that fear the Lord, Those who fear the Lord are those
who believe the Lord. Those who believe the Lord. Let
them now that fear the Lord. This is a reverential awe and
fear of His person. Let them say, His mercy endures
forever. Now, hold your place there. If
you find Psalm 136, do you remember when we went through Psalm 136?
Turn over there and look at verse 1. This is a repeated phrase all
through the book of Psalms. Psalm 136 verse 1, O give thanks
unto the Lord, for He is good, His mercy endures forever. But
this Psalm repeats that every verse. O give thanks unto the
God of gods, His mercy endures forever. O give thanks unto the
Lord of lords, His mercy endures forever. You kind of got the
idea, don't you? We know that salvation is by
His mercy. Not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to His mercy. He saved us. He saved us. His mercies are
new every morning. New every morning. Great is thy
faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. I
love that this psalm begins with, Oh, give thanks unto the Lord.
And then it ends in verse 29. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord.
He is good. The Lord is good, none good but
God. When it talks about humanity,
there's none righteous, no not one. But when we talk about the
Lord our God, He's good. Everything about Him is good.
Everything about Him is right. His mercies to us in the Lord
Jesus Christ are everlasting mercies. The Lord is good to
His people. He's good to his people. He's
blessed us with all spiritual blessing. There is none good
but God. You remember from last week,
Psalm 115, verse one, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but
unto thy name, give glory for thy mercy and for thy true sake. So not unto us, but unto him,
all the honor and all the glory for all things. Now, look at
verse five. Psalm 118 verse 5, I called upon
the Lord out of distress. Now, when you find yourself between
what the old timers used to say, between a rock and a hard place,
in distress, what do you do? What do you do? Believe what's
called upon the name of the Lord. I called upon the name of the
Lord. I called upon the Lord in distress. And the Lord answered
me. And he set me in a large place.
He set me free. Here we see in verse 5 his mercy
in action. I called and he answered. He
set me in a large place. For he set me at liberty. He
set us free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty
what wherewith Christ hath set us free. The believer has been
liberated from the bondage of sin, from the bondage of the
law. We're redeemed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. Remember our Lord in
Luke chapter 14, when He was in His hometown synagogue, and
they gave Him the book of the prophet Isaiah, and He read from
Isaiah 61, remember? And this is what it says, the
Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. He has
set us free to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, that year of
jubilee. You shall know the truth, and
the truth shall set you free. Remember from our study Sunday
from Matthew 17, then the children are free. We've been set free
in Christ. Now look at verse 6. Notice that's capital L, capital
O, capital R, capital D. When we see that, talking about
Jehovah, God our Savior. The Lord is on my side, or it
says there, the Lord is for me. The Lord is for me. I will not fear. What can man
do unto me if the Lord is for me? What can man do unto me? Can't
do anything. You remember the Scripture from
Romans chapter 8, and I don't know if that reference is given
there or not, but I've written it down below that verse, Romans
8, verse 31. You remember what that says? If God be for us,
who can be against us? If God be for us in covenant
mercy, who can be against us? I will not fear, because God
fights the battle for us, and He gives us the victory. Thanks
be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. The law of God that was against us, contrary to us, the
Lord Jesus Christ has honored that for us, established righteousness
for us. The Lord Jesus Christ has defeated
our archenemy. Satan himself is a defeated foe. The Lord Jesus Christ not only
destroyed Satan, but the Lord Jesus Christ
has changed the character of death for the believer. Now,
we're going to die if the Lord doesn't come back. This body
is headed to the ground, back to the dust from which it came.
But the Lord Jesus Christ has changed the character of death
for the believer. He said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys
of hell and death. He said, because I live, you
shall live, you shall live also. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
resurrection and our life, is he not? I will not fear death. To be absent from this body is
to be present with the Lord. Do you remember we studied a
few weeks ago, just across the page there, you remember Psalm
116 verse 15, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death
of his saints, The death of a believer is precious to the Lord. It's
the Lord calling him home. For me to live is Christ, to
die, to die is gain. Verse 7, Psalm 118 verse 7, The
Lord taketh my part. The Lord taketh my part with
them that help me, therefore shall I see my desire upon them
that hate me. The Lord Jesus Christ was a very
hated man. And he told his apostles, if
they hated me, don't be shocked if the world hates you. The world
hated the Lord Jesus Christ. But the good news of the gospel
is, he takes our part. had those that were with him
who were his helpers. But David's cheap help was the
Lord Himself. Turn just a couple pages over
to Psalm 121. Remember this Psalm? We may look
at this next time we gather on a Wednesday night. Psalm 121,
verse 1, I'll lift up my eyes into the hills from which cometh
my help. My help cometh from the Lord
which made heaven and earth. So we as helpless sinners, we
need one who is the Almighty God to help us and lift us. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
done that for us. God incarnate, God in human flesh. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under that law. Therefore, in verse 8 and 9,
he said, it's better, it's better to trust, it's always best to
trust, who do we trust? We trust the Lord, don't we?
It's better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence In
the flesh, remember from our study in the book of Hebrews,
that key word, what's the key word in the book of Hebrews?
Christ is better. He's a better priest with a better
sacrifice, who established a better covenant. The law made nothing
perfect, but bringing in a better hope did. by which we draw nigh
unto God. It's always better to trust the
Lord, to have complete confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, than
to put any confidence in self or in any other person. When
we are helpless, vile, guilty, sinner, the only one we can have
confidence in to deliver us is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
the Lord Himself. He is our Deliverer. It's better
to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in any man. You remember Paul writes in Philippians
3, we are the true Israel which worship God in the Spirit, that
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the
flesh. None at all. Look at verse 9,
he repeats it, it's better, oh it's better to trust in the Lord. Jeremiah said, cursed is that
man that trusteth in the flesh. That's a cursed man. It's better
to trust the Lord than to put confidence in any politician. Would you put your confidence
in a politician? And any princes, any king, any
president We have confidence in our God. He ruled. You know,
the king, you remember Proverbs 21 where it says, the king's
heart is in the hand of the Lord and he turns it whether so ever
he will. It's like he turns the river.
He turns the heart of the king according to his own eternal
purpose and grace. Trust Him at all times. You remember
Psalm 62. Trust Him at all times. You people
pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. He's
a refuge for us. Now look at verse 10, 11, and
12. All nations encompass me about,
but in the name of the Lord, I will cut them off. I'll destroy
them. Now this is God's, this is God's
business. This is God's doing. They compassed
me about, yea, they compassed me about. But in the name of
the Lord, I'll destroy them. I'll destroy them. They compassed
me about like bees. You ever seen a swarm of bees?
A swarm of bees. Sometimes they get out away from
their hive and sometimes they'll swarm on a tree. Have you ever
seen a big swarm of bees? You wouldn't dare go out there
and try to shoo them away, would you? You'd have to call a special
person to deal with those bees. And the enemies of the Lord are
like a swarm of bees. They would swarm around us and
sting us and harm us. But the Lord will take care of
us. They are quenched. What it says in verse 12, they
are quenched as a fire of thorns. In the name of the Lord, He will
destroy them that afflict the righteous. I was thinking about
this statement here in verse 12, as the fire of thorns. Fire of thorns. Now, we don't
have tumbleweeds around here, right? If you go out west where
I grew up, out in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, they have what they call
tumbleweeds. You see them old westerns, don't you see them
tumbleweeds tumbling down? What happens when they come up
in the spring, they're a green bush. They grow up like that.
And then toward the end of the summer, toward the fall, they
die out. And when the wind blows out there, and it blows a lot.
it blows them loose from the roots and they just tumble and
tumble and tumble. But what happens a lot of times,
those tumbleweeds, you have a big fence and they'll roll up in
the corner of that fence. And you know what the farmers
will do, the ranchers will do, they'll get all them tumbleweeds
that are all piled up in that corner of that fence and they'll
go out there with a lighter and Those tumbleweeds, boy, they
burn. You wouldn't believe how they
burn. They just burn like that. You would think they was doused
with gasoline. They really burn. But the Lord
Jesus Christ shall burn up those who oppose him. He will. He will. wrote this scripture
down in 2 Thessalonians. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance
on them that know not God, who obey not the gospel of God of
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of his power. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God, the wrath of God will
abide on them. I love that scripture where it
says the Lord has delivered us from the wrath to come. He's
delivered His people from the wrath to come. Oh, they'll encompass
me about like bees, the enemies of the Lord. but he'll quench
them like a fire of thorns. In the name of the Lord, he will
destroy them. We're not to take vengeance.
The Lord says, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. Now look at verse
13 and 14. Thou hast, that is the enemies
of the Lord, hath thrust sword at me that I might fall, but
the Lord helped me. The Lord is my help. Verse 14,
the Lord is my help. Not only that, but he's my strength.
The Lord is not only my strength, but He's my song. And He's become my salvation.
He's my strength, my song, and my salvation. That's good news,
is it not? The enemy of the gospel of Christ
would seek to cast us down, to put an end to our ministry and
to our preaching, but the Lord would not allow this. He's our
help. in our time of need. He said, come boldly to the throne
of grace that you may obtain mercy, find grace to help in
our time of need. He is the strength of our faith.
He's the strength of our faith. The strength of our faith is
the object of our faith. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. Saving faith looks to who? Christ,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. So
he's a strength of our faith. He's a strength of our hope.
We trust him at all times. He is our song. What do you mean
by that? He's our song. He's our joy.
You know, singing brings joy, does it not? When you sing, I
love those old, old hymns that have been around 200 or 300 years.
They bring joy to our heart, don't they? Sweet hour of prayer,
sweet hour of prayer. Oh, how precious it is. That
calls us from a world of care. He is our song, our joy. I rejoice
in him. We love to sing of his power,
his grace, his salvation. that He had wrought for us. The
Apostle Paul says, rejoice in the Lord always. And again I
say, rejoice in the Lord. So He's our strength, the strength
of righteousness, the strength of faith, the strength of our
hope, salvation. And then it says, He is our salvation. He is. He is our salvation. Now you've heard this statement
before, but I'm going to repeat it again. Salvation is a person. Not in a place, not in a pool,
not in a profession. Salvation is in a person. He
that hath the Son hath the eternity. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son hath not life. So salvation is in
a person. He's God our Savior. He's the
Savior who really saves His people from all their sin. He doesn't
try to save, He saves His people. He's the Redeemer who's completely
redeemed God's people from all their sin. He's our Redeemer. I like what Simeon said in the
Temple of the Lord, I'm ready to die, I've seen thy salvation. What was he looking at? Remember
what he looked at? He picked up that infant, Christ's child,
and said, Lord, I'm ready to die. I've seen Thy salvation. Salvation in a person, in Christ
alone. So the Lord is my strength, my
song, become my salvation. By the grace of God, He's become
my salvation. Verse 15 and verse 16, the voice
of rejoicing The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacle
of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is
exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. Now notice he repeats that three
times. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. Now when you think about the
right hand of the Lord, what do you think about? When He had
by Himself purged our sin, He sat down on the right hand of
the throne of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
right hand that doeth valiantly for us. The voice of rejoicing
and the voice of salvation is in the tabernacle of the righteous.
The tabernacle of the righteous, we have this tabernacle of clay.
And believers have been made righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed is that man to whom the
Lord imputeth righteousness without works. We have this righteousness
in this tabernacle of flesh. And we do so because the Lord
hath done valiantly for us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father
hath chosen us in Christ. The Son hath redeemed us. The
right hand of the Lord is exalted. He's exalted to the throne of
God, is he not? The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. God the Father has chosen us,
God the Son has redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit has revealed
the gospel unto us. He has done valiantly. Valiantly. Let me read this to you. Psalm
98 and 1. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new
psalm. For He hath done marvelous things.
His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him to victory. Thanks
be unto God who has given us the victory. How? Through Christ. Through Christ
and Him crucified. He is the Lord, our Savior. Look at verse 17. Psalm 118 verse
17, I shall not die, not eternally, but live. And while I live, what do believers
want to do? We want to declare the works
of the Lord. The works of the Lord. We know
that the end of this flesh is death, but the new man created
in Christ Jesus, our soul has been regenerated from being spiritually
dead in sin and shall live forever and ever and ever. Remember the
Lord's words to Martha? She was weeping because her brother
Lazarus had died. And the Lord said, he'll rise
again. And she said, oh, I know in the resurrection. He said,
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me will never die." Will never die. He's changed
the character of death for us. While we do live here in the
flesh, we shall declare the gospel of Christ. We shall declare the
works of the Lord. Now don't misunderstand what
I'm going to say here. Salvation is by works. His, not ours. Salvation by His doing. His doing. Turn back, look at one page. Psalm 111. Look at verse 2. The works of the
Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
His work is honorable, glorious, and His righteousness Endureth
forever. He 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
hand are true and just. All his commandments are sure.
They stand fast forever and ever. Done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto His people. He commanded His holy covenant
forever. Holy and reverent is His name.
Salvation is by His doing. By His doing. Salvation in the
Lord Jesus Christ is done. It's done. D-O-N-E. Done. Done. Now this
is not good English, but it's good theology. He's done it all.
He's done it all. He's done it all. He's all our
hope. He's all our hope. Look at verse 18 now. The Lord
hath chastened me sore, but He hath not given me over
to death. Whom the Lord loveth, you remember from Hebrews chapter
12? Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth
and scourges every son whom He receiveth. The Lord does chasten
and correct His people because they need correction, don't they? They need chastening, don't they?
But He's not giving me over to death. He's given us salvation
in Christ. Verse 19, Open to me the gates
of the righteous. Now we run into this word righteous
again. Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go into them. I will praise
the Lord. Verse 20, This gate of the Lord
into which the righteous shall enter, they shall enter. Open to me the gates of righteousness."
The Lord Jesus Christ is the gate of heaven. The Lord Jesus
Christ, He said, I am the door. All you understand what the door
is for. The door gives us access into
a building or out of a building. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the door. I am the door. He is the only,
the only Savior. He's the way, the truth, the
life into the presence of God, the God of glory. None enter
there but by the merit and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. I like what they asked the old
preacher years ago. They asked him, said, when you
get to heaven, and they ask you, by what right are you here? He
said, I'm not here on my right. I'm here on the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I like that. Verse 22, this is the stone. This is the stone. Verse 21,
I'll praise thee for thou hast heard me and art become my salvation. And Adam all died and Christ
shall all be made alive. He's become my salvation. Neither
is there salvation in any other, for there's no other name under
heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. He is my salvation. The stone which the builders,
the builders refused, those religious Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes,
the builders, they refused the Lord Jesus Christ, didn't they?
He's become the head of the corner. He's the headstone. He's the
Lord. You remember Peter said in Acts chapter 2, Sermon there
on the day of Pentecost, this same Jesus whom you crucify,
God has made Him both Lord and Christ. He's not Lord by something we
do. He's Lord by God's eternal decrees. The stone which the
builders refused, He has become the foundation of our salvation. And this is the Lord's doing.
This is the Lord's doing, and it's marvelous, marvelous in
our eyes. Isn't that saying the same thing
as salvations of the Lord? The Lord Jesus Christ is that
foundation. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid. He said, Behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation of stone, a tri-stone, a precious cornerstone. He that
believeth on that foundation shall never be forced out, never
be confounded, never be ashamed. This is the Lord's doing. And
it's marvelous. It's marvelous in the eyes of
a believer. It's wonderful. Because His name
is wonderful. Verse 24, this is the day, this
is the day the Lord hath made. Today is the day of salvation.
And we will rejoice, we will be glad in it. Verse 25, save
now, I beseech thee, O Lord. Lord, save me right now. I need
salvation right now. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord.
O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. And I thought of that verse in
Isaiah 53, where it says, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper
in his hand. Everything God puts his hand
to, it prospers. Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord, We have blessed you out of the house
of the Lord. God is the Lord which has showed us light. God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all. He's a light of our salvation. He's a light of our righteousness. He's a light of all things. He's
commanded the light of the gospel to shine in our heart. And then
bind the sacrifice. Now you can't get away from Christ
and Him crucified. He is our sacrifice. and the
sacrifice that was bound with cords of love upon the horns
of the altar. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
only the sacrifice, He sacrificed His humanity on the altar of
His deity, but He's also the God to whom He was sacrificed
unto. I can't explain that, but it's
so. Verse 28, Thou art my God. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
my God. I can say that. Can't you? Every
believer can say that. He's my God. And I'll praise
Him. Thou art my God. I'll exalt Thee. Again, he ends with, O give thanks
unto the Lord. He is good. Oh, taste and see. Psalm 37. The Lord is good. His mercy is forever and ever.