Psalm 118 will be our study this
evening. Psalm 118, and I'm taking the
title for the message from what is said in verse 23 in regards
to the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of God and salvation
to sinners, salvation by his grace through the Lord's sacrifice. Verse 23, Psalm 118, this is
the Lord's doing. This is the Lord's doing and
it is marvelous in our eyes. What a comprehensive statement.
This is the Lord's doing. This is the Lord's doing and
it's marvelous in our eyes. That is salvation by his mercy
and his grace and his eternal love to us. It is glorious in
our eyes, isn't it? When we think about it, meditate
upon it, Think about the gospel of God's saving grace to sinners
in Christ. What else can you say but salvation
of the Lord? That's the same thing as saying
it's the Lord's doing, isn't it? Salvation of the Lord. And
it is marvelous. It is marvelous. It is a wonder. in our mind, in our eyes, we
see the Lord Jesus Christ as altogether, altogether lovely. Now these words that are found
in verse 22 of Psalm 118 are quoted at least four times in
the New Testament by the Apostle Paul, and then Peter, and then
the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Don't turn, but let
me just read it to you. Peter and John were for that
council in Acts chapter 4, and they were being questioned upon
the blind man being, or the lame man being healed. And they asked,
in whose name? in whose name they have done
this, and by what means? And here's the answer they give.
Be it known unto you and all the people of Israel, Acts 4,
verse 10, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him, doth
this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which
was set at naught of you builders. Remember what they said of the
Lord? They said, away with him, crucify him. We have no king
but Caesar. This is the stone which was set
at nought of you builders, religious Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. They were the religious builders,
weren't they? Which is become, he's the headstone. He's the head. He's the chief
cornerstone, elect and precious. And then he says in verse 12,
neither is there salvation in any other, where there is no
other name under heaven, given among men. whereby we must be
saved. This is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes. As we read a moment ago the words
of the Lord in Matthew 21, when he gave the parable of the wicked
husbandman that mistreated the Lord's servants, and then the
Lord's Son, and the Lord's Son, then he quotes this verse, verse 22, and applies those words
to himself. As we read and study the scripture,
we should always be on the lookout for one person. We should always
be on the lookout, not for facts and figures and not necessarily
doctrine, but we should always be on the lookout for the Lord
Jesus Christ, for the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ. You remember from Acts 10.43,
to him give all the prophets witness, And all the prophets
beginning in Genesis all the way through the Revelation, all
the prophets, all the scripture is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember in Luke 24 when those
two men were walking on the road to Emmaus and the risen Lord
drew near to them? And he said he started to open
the Scripture unto them and beginning at Moses and all the Scriptures
he expounded unto them and all things concerning himself. All
the Scripture is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Every page, every
verse, every word, somehow, someway is all relative to the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The book we call the Bible is
all about him. his person, his work, and his
salvation. That's why it's such a delight,
such a delight to study it. Now, you can read the books of
men, maybe once, maybe twice. And after that, you don't read
them again. But how many times have you read
Romans Chapter 8? How many times have you read
Ephesians Chapter 1? How many times have you read
and reread and read again all the words in the book of John? They never get old, do they?
They're new. They're always new. Because it's
just not the word of men, it's the word of God. It's given of
God. That's what makes this book so
unusual. What a privilege we have. of having all these words
spoken of God, given unto us, and we have it so available to
read and to study and to meditate upon and to preach from it. It
would be a miserable thing to preach without having the word
of the Lord, wouldn't it? It would be impossible. You see,
preaching is just repeating what God's already said. and that's
what we do. Now let's look at verse one through
four, Psalm 118. Oh, give thanks. Remember we
studied in 1 Thessalonians chapter five, in everything give thanks
for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you.
Oh, give thanks. We have so much to be thankful
for, not just on that last Thursday in November, they call Thanksgiving
Day, But being a believer, we know everything that we have,
everything that we'll ever be, and what the Lord has done for
us is all of his will, purpose, and grace. Now, give thanks,
and we do, don't we? We're thankful, we're thankful.
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. You remember, someone came to
the Lord Jesus Christ and called him, good master. And he said, why do you call
me good? There's none good but the Lord. You see, among men,
there's none righteous, no, not one. There's none that are good.
But our Lord, he is good. He is all goodness, love, and
mercy. The Lord is good, and the reason
he is good here, because his mercy. His mercy. It's by his mercy that he saves
us. Not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to his mercy. Because his mercy
endures forever. Now that being so, let Israel,
verse two, the people of God, the people of God, you remember
where the name Israel comes from? When Jacob met the Lord and the
Lord changed his name from Jacob to Israel, a prince of God. Those
who are blessed of God, the Israel of God, the elect of God, let
Israel now say that his mercy, his mercy endures forever. That's
what the people of God say. His mercy endures forever. And
then verse three, let the house of Aaron, the house of Aaron
is a tribe of Levi. The house of Aaron were the priest
of God. If God, in the gospel, we read he's made us kings and
priests unto our God, he's loved us and washed us from our sin
in his own blood, let the house of Aaron now say, the priests
of God, let them say, what do we say? Well, the same thing.
His mercy, his mercy, not by works of righteousness, which
we've done, but according to his mercy. It is of the Lord's
mercy that we're not consumed. They endure forever. Verse four,
let them now that fear the Lord. This is a reverential love and
fear of the Lord. A reverential fear and love of
the Lord. Turn back one page to Psalm 111.
Look at verse 9. He sent redemption unto his people. He commanded His covenant forever.
Holy and reverent is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A good understanding have all
they that do His commandments. His praise endureth forever.
This is a reverential fear. Let them that fear the Lord,
that worship the Lord, let them say, what do we say? Well, His
mercy. His mercy is like Himself. His
mercy endures forever, that's because His mercies are eternal.
His love toward us is what? It's eternal. His grace toward
us is eternal. Hold your place there and find
Psalm 136. Remember this Psalm? Psalm 136,
verse 1. O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good. His mercy endures forever. You
got it? Psalm 136. O give thanks unto
the God of gods, his mercy endures forever. O give thanks to the
Lord of lords, his mercy endures forever. To him who alone doeth
great wonders, his mercy endures forever. To him that by wisdom
made the heavens, for his mercy endures forever. To him that
stretcheth out the earth above, waters His mercy endures forever
to Him that made great lights for His mercy endures forever.
You can read the rest of that psalm in every verse. It's repeated
over and over and over again. Everything God has for us endures
forever. His love, His redemption, His
grace is eternal. He loved us with an everlasting
love. God will never stop loving His
people because His mercy endures forever. Nothing can separate
us from the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let them now say, look at verse
4 again, Let them, now that fear the Lord,
let them say..." Remember the ungodly are described
as those who have no fear of God? Believers fear the Lord. We have a reverential awe and
fear of Him. Now, look at verse 5. "...I called upon the Lord, in
distress or out of distresses. Now that's when we really get
serious about calling upon the name of the Lord. That is praying
unto the Lord. Lord have mercy upon me, thee
sinner. I called upon the Lord out of
distresses, out of anguish and distress and need. Guilt. I called upon the Lord. Now, it's a good thing, because
the scripture says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. I'm going to call. The Lord answered me. I called
upon the Lord, because He is the living Lord. He hears our
prayers. Because He is the loving Lord,
He answers our prayers. The Lord answered me and set
me in a large place. Now, what is this large place? He's saying here that the Lord
has set me at liberty. He set me free. He set me in
a large place. Remember from our study in Galatians
5? Stand fast therefore in the liberty
with which he has set us free. He's given us liberty and freedom
in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You shall know the truth
and the truth shall set you free. If the Son therefore shall set
you free, you shall be free indeed. And we are. He set us in a large
place. We're not confined to the bondage
of the law. We're not confined to the guilt
of sin. He set us free. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. Now look at verse 6. I like this. The Lord is on my side. Where
the Lord is for me, I will not fear. I will not fear what man
can do because the Lord is on my side. The Lord is on my side. Now don't turn. Let me just remind
you this scripture that you all know in Romans 8. If the Lord's on my side, then
everything's okay. If the Lord is for us, then everything's
okay. I will not fear what man thinks
or what man can do. You remember Romans 8, let me
read it to you, verse 31. What shall we say then to these
saying, if God be for us, who can be against us? Now you just
think about that. If God be for us, and he is,
covenant mercies, covenant grace, If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us
all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also makes intercession for us. You see what he's saying
here? If God be for us, who can be
against us? I will not fear what man can
do. Look at verse seven. We have no need
to fear the law. It's been honored. No need to
fear Satan. He's been defeated. No need to
fear death. Believers don't fear death. The Lord had changed the character
of our death. He said, because I live, you
live also. For me to live is Christ, to die is what? Gain,
not loss. Not loss. Now verse 7. The Lord taketh my part. The Lord has taken my part with
them that help me. The Lord had taken my part. That
is, He is my substitute. He is my mediator. He stood in
the room instead of His people as a surety, as a sacrifice.
The Lord had taken my part. He's my substitute. He took my
part and fulfilled every requirement that God demanded of His people. The Lord takes my part with them
that help me. Therefore shall I see my desire
upon them that hate me. David had those that were his
helpers, but his chief help was from the Lord. Turn just a couple
pages to Psalm 121. Remember Psalm 121? Look at verse 1. Psalm 121. I'll lift up my eyes
into the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from
the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy
foot to be moved, he that keepeth thee will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord, behold, he that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper.
The Lord is thy shade upon the right hand. The sun shall not
smite thee by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve
thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The
Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this
time forth and even forevermore. I look to the Lord. He's my help.
He's my strength, my song, my salvation. Now look at verse
8. It's better, it's better to trust the Lord
than to put confidence in man. It's better to trust the Lord.
You remember from Philippians chapter 3, where Paul there described
the true Israel. Those who are circumcised in
the heart will worship God in the Spirit and trust the Lord
Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh. So it's better
to trust the Lord. Remember Jeremiah 17 verse 5
says, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man. I don't want
to trust that which is cursed to you. I want to trust that
which the Lord has provided for us. It's better to trust the
Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust the
Lord than to put confidence in princes, presidents, or preachers. I don't want you to put confidence
in me. I want you to put confidence in the Lord. I don't want you
to trust me. I want you to trust the Lord.
Salvation is in the Lord. You remember, turn back a few
pages, Psalm 62. Verse 6, Psalm 62, He only is
my rock, my salvation, He's my defense, I shall not be moved.
Verse 7, Psalm 62, In God is my salvation, my glory, the rock
of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times,
you people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Well, it's better to trust the
Lord than to trust anything else. But confidence in the Lord than
in anything else, to trust the Lord. You see, our situation
is so dire, so desperate, we better trust the one who can
help us. Man can't help us. Man can't put away sin. Man can't
make an atonement for sin. There's no salvation from man,
salvation of the Lord, so it's better to trust Him at all times. at all times. Look at verse 10. All nations,
David had many enemies. as the Lord Jesus Christ had
many enemies. All nations compassed me about,
but in the name of the Lord, in the name of the Lord, I'll
cut them off. I'll destroy them. By the name
of the Lord, that means the power of the Lord. That means the will
of the Lord. I'll destroy them. They compassed
me about, yea, they compassed me about, but in the name of
the Lord, I will defeat them. I will destroy them. Remember
when young David the shepherd boy went out to meet the giant,
the Philistine, Goliath. And Goliath came with a helmet
and a big sword. Do you remember how big that
sword was? It was like six feet long or something. And David said, you come out
to me with the sword and the shield and the helmet. I come
to meet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know
who won that battle. David took that sling and that
stone and hit the old giant right in the head. And then he ran
up on that giant and he took that giant's sword and cut off
his head. In the name of the Lord. I come
to thee in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. They compass
me about like bees, verse 12, and are quenched as a fire of
thorns. For in the name of the Lord,
I will destroy them. In the name of the Lord. God's
given him a name which is above every name, that at that name
every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. Verse 13, thou hast thrust sore
at me, that I might fall, but the Lord help me. The Lord help
me. I don't turn. Let me just read
this to you. This is familiar ground. You remember Psalm 27? The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life, and whom shall I be afraid? When
the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat
up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an ocean encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise
against me in this, I'll be confident. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in time of trouble
he shall hide me in his pavilion, in the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me, and set me upon the rock, that rock is Christ. But the Lord help me, the Lord
is my strength, my help. Look at verse 14. Psalm 118, verse 14. The Lord
is my strength. He's a strength of our salvation,
is He not? He's a strength of our righteousness.
He's a strength of grace. He's a strength of mercy. He's
a strength of God's love to us. The Lord is my strength. And the Lord is my song. It's
a song of redemption. He's the joy of our heart. We
sing unto the Lord. How many times have we seen in
this book about singing unto the Lord? For example, I'm going
to read this to you. Psalm 98, 1. Oh, sing unto the
Lord a new song. For He hath done marvelous things.
His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him to victory. Sing
unto the Lord. We're going to see that in our
Bible study on Sunday. where they sang, worthy is the
lamb that was slain. Thou hast redeemed us to God
by thy blood out of every kindred, tribe, nation, tongue under heaven,
and made us kings and priests under our God. And we sing, worthy
is the lamb that was slain. The Lord is my strength, my song,
and has become my salvation. He's my salvation. My song, my joy. Salvation is
of the Lord. He's the strength of our faith,
the joy of our heart, and salvation is by His grace, is it not? Look
at verse 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous. The voice of rejoicing
and salvation is in the tabernacle of the righteous. Now who makes
up this tabernacle of the righteous? Sinners saved by His grace. They're
made righteous in Christ. The tabernacle of the righteous,
that's the believers resting in Christ. He's called the Lord,
our righteousness. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly, powerfully. You remember who's at the right
hand of the Lord? When the Lord Jesus Christ had
by Himself purged our sin, He sat down at the right hand of
the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ right now
is seated on the throne of glory at the right hand of the Lord,
ever living to make intercession for us right now. Therefore, the right hand of
the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, he doeth valiantly. Verse 16,
the right hand of the Lord is exalted. God highly exalted him
above every name. Therefore, the right hand of
the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is
exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. Therefore, I shall not die, but
live. I shall not die, but live. Live. You remember what our Lord told
Martha and Mary? You believe in me, I'm the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me shall
never die. You see, when a believer dies,
his body goes back to the dust, but he doesn't die. He goes to
be with the Lord. That's why we read just across
the page, look just across the page, you're at Psalm 116, verse
15. Psalm 116, verse 15, what does
it say there? Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. The apt from his body is to be
present with the Lord. Now one of these days, they're
gonna take this body of mine, this tabernacle of clay, they're
gonna put it in a box, they're gonna bury it away. But I'm not
there. I'm with the Lord. I'm with the Lord. To be ever
with the Lord. But live and, look what he says here,
declare the works of the Lord. We declare the works of the Lord.
That's what the gospel's all about. The gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ was all about his works. Remember in the temple
with Joseph and Mary, he was 12 years old and he told those
people in that day, I must be about my father's business. Those
were the first recorded words of the Lord Jesus Christ. I must
be about my father's business. And then when he died on Calvary,
what did he say? It is finished. You see, the
gospel is all about the works of the Lord. Psalm 111, turn
over there, back one page. Psalm 111, David said here, I'm
gonna declare the works of the Lord. That's the gospel of God
concerning Christ. Psalm 111, look at verse one,
praise you the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart in the assembly upright and in the congregation. The
works of the Lord are great. sought out of all of them that
have pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious.
His righteousness endureth forever. Now watch it. Verse 4, he made
his wonderful works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. So I'm going to declare I'm going
to declare the works of the Lord. You see, the works of the Lord
is salvation by His grace. The works of the Lord is salvation
and pardon and sin and redemption of sin through the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I'm going to declare the works
of the Lord. Verse 18, the Lord hath chastened
me sore, but he hath not given me over unto death. Whom the
Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Verse 19, open to me the gates of the righteous. Open to me
the gates of the righteous, and I'll go into them, and I will
praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord into which
the righteous shall enter." Now, again, we get back to this vital
statement here about righteousness. Righteousness. Now, in and of
ourselves, we don't have any righteousness. Our best deeds,
Isaiah says, filthy rags in God's sight. Paul, when he quotes in
Romans 3 from Psalm 14, said, there's none righteous, no, not
one. Open to me the gates of righteousness."
That righteousness is the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel. Open to me the gates of righteousness. They're open because the Lord
has established righteousness for us, and I'll go into them
in the name of the Lord, being made righteous in Him. And I'll
praise the Lord. I'll give him all the honor and
glory for salvation of the Lord. This gate of the Lord into which
the righteous shall enter. We shall enter. Remember the
Lord said, I'm the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. He is the way, the truth, the
life. No man come to the Father, but by and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Open to me, verse 19, the gates
of righteousness, and I'll go into them, and I'll praise the
Lord, this gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter,
shall enter. We enter in in Him. He's the
forerunner. He's entered in and seated and
we're seated together in heaven. He's in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 21, I praise thee for thou hast heard me and art become
my salvation. I like what Simeon said in the
temple that day when they brought in the man-child the babe, the
Lord Jesus Christ. God revealed to that old man
that he wouldn't die until he'd seen the Lord's Christ. And when
Joseph and Mary brought him to the temple to do according to
the law of God, he picked up that baby and said, Lord, I've
seen your salvation. I'm ready to die. Let thy servant
die. I've seen thy salvation. Thou art become my Savior. He's God our Savior. Who is the
Lord Jesus Christ? He's God, our Savior. This is
a stone, the tried stone, the precious cornerstone, which the
builders refused. All the religious men turned
thumb down, away with him, crucify him, we have no king but Caesar.
But this is a stone, this is the foundation. Turn to this
scripture here, you can find it easy, Isaiah 28, remember? Am I studying Isaiah 28, verse
16? This foundation here we know
is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is foundation, this is a
tried stone that God has laid. Isaiah 28, 16, Therefore thus
saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tried stone. a precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation, he that believeth shall not make haste, shall not
be ashamed, shall not be confounded. That verse is quoted in Romans
and in 1 Peter. Shall not be ashamed, shall not
be confounded, will never be forced out. You see, to move
The believer, you've got to move the foundation, the rock. See,
we're fastened to that rock. And to move the believer, you've
got to move that rock. That rock ain't moving. It's
certainly sure. It's the anchor of our soul.
The stone which the builder refused, he's the head of the church,
the body. He's the Lord our God. Now verse 23, this is the Lord's
doing. You know it's so, right? It has
to be that way. God purposed to save sinners
in and only by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Lord's doing.
It's the same thing as saying that salvation is of the Lord,
is it not? This is our testimony. This is
the message of the gospel. This is the Lord's doing. Who saved you? The Lord did. Did He do it on purpose? Absolutely. Every sinner he saves, not an
accident, every sinner he saves, he saves on purpose. His purpose
and grace given us in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Last verse, verse 24. This is the day, the day of salvation,
which the Lord has made. Today is the day of salvation,
right now, today. This is the day the Lord has
made. It's a day of mercy, a day of grace, a day of His love.
We will rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always, and
again I say rejoice, and we will be glad. Glad. David said, I was glad when they
said to me, I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house
of the Lord. How about that? It was good. It's good. David
said, it's good. I was glad, Psalm 122. I was glad when they said to
me, let's go to the house of the Lord. Hear His word. Worship our God. This is the
day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice. We will be glad
in this day. Amen.