Okay, this evening we want to
take a look at Psalm 92. I took a little bit of time in
reading it so we could get good, good familiar with it. I'm entitling
the message from the words found in verse 4. We have the victory in the Lord
Jesus Christ. For thou, Lord, hast made me
glad. happy, blessed through the Lord
Jesus Christ, through his work. And I will, because he shall. I will, because he wills. I will triumph, have the victory
in the works. OF THY HAND. WE HAVE THE VICTORY
IN CHRIST. WE ARE THE VICTORIOUS PEOPLE
IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. WHERE EVERY BELIEVER IN AND THROUGH
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST CAN SAY WITH THE APOSTLE IN ROMANS 8,
NAY, IN ALL THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM THAT
LOVED US AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR US. ONE OF THE KEY VERSES I THINK
IN THE REVELATION CHAPTER 6 VERSE 2 IT SAYS THAT THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST WENT FORTH CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER. HE'S NEVER LOST
A BATTLE. And because the Lord Jesus Christ
is victorious, seated on the throne, all his enemies are made
to bow at his footstool, because he's on the throne, and victorious
upon the throne, so is every believer in him. Because what's true of the head
is true of the body. Where the head is, that's where
his body is. WE ARE AS BELIEVERS ALREADY SEATED
IN THE HEAVENLYS IN CHRIST RIGHT NOW IN HIM. NO WONDER THE APOSTLE SAYS THANKS
BE TO GOD WHO HAS GIVEN US THE VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS
CHRIST. 1 Corinthians 15, 57. I think I quote that verse every
time, don't I? Thanks be to God who's given
us the victory. We have the victory over sin
in that he put it away by the sacrifice of himself. We have
the victory over Satan, the Lord Jesus Christ crushed his dominion,
crushed his power. We have the dominion over death
because our Lord says, I'm the resurrection and the life. Our
Lord said, I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I'm alive
forevermore. I have the keys of hell and death.
So we have the victory in him, and we certainly have the victory
over the law that says, you're guilty, you're guilty, you're
guilty. The Lord has redeemed us from
the curse of that law. being made a curse for us. So
we indeed, we are victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is just good news, is it not? I love to talk about it. I really
believe those things. Now this psalm has a title here
under 92. See it there, a psalm or song, For the Sabbath day, notice right
across the page, Psalm 91, it has no title, and then going
the other way, Psalm 93, the Lord reigneth, he's clothed in
his majesty, the Lord is clothed in strength, but there's no title
below Psalm 93. But here in Psalm 92, the Lord
gives us a special note here that this is a song or a psalm
for the day of rest, for the day of rest and worship. That's
what this Sabbath day was all about. This glorious psalm of
good gospel news indeed is a psalm for the Sabbath day. For the
Lord Jesus Christ is our Sabbath rest. We rest in him. WE DON'T LOOK AT A DAY AND SAY
WE REST IN THAT DAY. OUR REST SPIRITUALLY IS IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST. YOU REMEMBER FROM HEBREWS CHAPTER
FOUR, DON'T TURN THERE, I THINK I CAN FIND IT HERE QUICKLY. IN
HEBREWS CHAPTER FOUR I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS VERSE IN REFERENCE
TO OUR REST IN CHRIST. THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE HEBREWS
CHAPTER FOUR VERSE NINE, THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST TO
THE PEOPLE OF GOD. For he that is entered into his
rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from
his. Six days the Lord created, and
then on the seventh day he rested. Why? Work was done. The Lord Jesus Christ is seated
on the throne of God, resting. Why? The work is done. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest. lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief." Labor to enter into rest, that sounds
like a paradox, doesn't it? Sounds like something that's
contradicting. One of the impossible things
we cannot do without His grace is to rest in Him. Our Lord said,
come unto me all ye that labor, heavy laden, I'll give you rest.
rest for your soul. That's what I need. Just thinking,
even in a natural way, how sweet it is to lay down at night and
rest the body and the mind and wake up. It seemed like sometimes,
it happened very often with me, but sometimes you go to sleep
and before you know it, time to get up. You rested, you rested. Let us cease from seeking salvation
by our works. or going about to Sabbath the
righteousness of our own, and let us rest in Christ who is
our righteousness. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord would impute righteousness without works. So Christ is our
Sabbath rest. We don't look to a day, do we?
We look to a person. Now look at verse one. It's a
good thing. This is a good thing. YOU DON'T
KNOW WHAT A GOOD THING IS? IT'S A GOOD THING FOR EVERY BELIEVER
TO BE THANKFUL UNTO THE LORD. AND I BELIEVE HIS PEOPLE ARE.
REMEMBER READING FROM I THESSALONIANS 5 WHERE IT SAYS REJOICE EVERMORE
AND IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN
CHRIST JESUS CONCERNING YOU. BE THANKFUL. IT'S A GOOD THING
TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD FOR EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. All that I am, all that I know,
all that I ever will be, we give thanks unto the Lord. And we're not only thankful,
we sing praises unto the Lord. We sing praises to the Lord. That is, our desire is to worship
him, to exalt the Lord. TO HONOR HIM, TO BLESS THE LORD,
AS DAVID SAID, BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, ALL THAT IS WITHIN
ME, BLESS HIS HOLY NAME, AND HE IS THE MOST HIGH. CAN WE HONOR
HIM TOO MUCH? CAN WE GIVE HIM TOO MUCH GLORY,
TOO MUCH HONOR? WELL, IF HE'S THE MOST HIGH GOD,
WE CAN HEAP ON HIM EVERY HONOR AND PRAISE AND GLORY AND NOT
GET THE JOB DONE AND NOT OVERDUE THAT. HE'S THE MOST HIGH GOD. LET'S BRING IN VERSE 8 ON THIS
TOO BECAUSE IT REPEATS IT. BUT THOU LORD ART MOST HIGH FOREVERMORE. HE'S THE MOST HIGH GOD FOREVERMORE. FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING
THOU ART GOD. I like what it says over and
over and over again in Isaiah 45 and Isaiah other chapters
46. He said, I am the Lord beside
me, there is no other. I'm the only just God and Savior. Don't look for another. He's
the most high God for ever, and he is God our Savior. So what
does that make us? Thankful unto the Lord. we sing
praises unto the lord for everything he's given us we can say with
paul i am what i am by the grace of god we sing praises to the
most high god a couple psalms here i've got jotted down if
you want to find psalm 95 verse 1 oh come let us sing unto the
lord let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation
again in psalm 96 oh singing to the lord a new song singing
to the lord all the earth singing to the lord bless his name show
forth his salvation from day to day psalm 98 turn over there
he repeats this a lot I LOVE THIS VERSE, PSALM 98-1-0, SING
UNTO THE LORD A NEW SONG. THAT'S THAT SONG OF REDEMPTION.
FOR HE HAD DONE MARVELOUS THINGS. HIS RIGHT HAND, HIS HOLY ARM,
UH-OH, THERE IT IS AGAIN, GOT HIM THE VICTORY. VICTORY IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST. WE HAVE THE VICTORY. THERE'S
NONE HIGHER THAN OUR SOVEREIGN GOD. High in sovereign power,
high in every attribute of his glorious character, he's the
most high God. Now look at verse two. Show forth
thy lovingkindness in the morning. We praise the most high God to
show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness
every night. And then we'll pick up with verse
two, verse 15. to show that the Lord is upright,
to show that the Lord is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness
whatsoever in the Lord, who is the most high God. He is holy,
holy, holy, holy. Believers are thankful. BELIEVERS
DO DELIGHT TO WORSHIP AND PRAISE THE LORD, AND THEY LIKE TO SHOW
IT FORTH. HOW DO YOU SHOW IT FORTH? YOU
DEMONSTRATE, YOU DECLARE AND BOLDLY STAND FOR THE GOSPEL AND
SAY IN THE MORNING, IN THE EVENING, GREAT IS THE LORD AND GREATLY
TO BE PRAISED. GREAT IS THE LORD. NOW, LET'S
LOOK AT FOUR THINGS HE MENTIONS THERE. HIS LOVING-KINDNESS. His
loving-kindness, that's his long-suffering, that's his pity, that's his mercy.
As David said, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness,
according to the multitude of thy tender mercy, blot out my
sin. The Lord is long-suffering to
his people, not willing that any should perish. but all should come to repentance."
Talking about his people now. A lot of people misuse that verse,
misunderstand that verse, where it says, the Lord is long-suffering,
not willing that any should perish. Well, his people will not perish,
because he's long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish. All that the Father hath given
to me, they will come to me, and those that come to me, I
will never, no, never, never cast them out. SO HIS LOVING-KINDNESS. I LOVE HIS LOVING-KINDNESS, DON'T
YOU? AND THEN HIS FAITHFULNESS. THE LORD IS FAITHFUL TO EVERY
COVENANT PROMISE. NOT ONE WORD WILL FAIL. NOT ONE WORD. HE IS ABLE, AS
IT SAYS IN ROMANS CHAPTER FOUR, Abraham was fully persuaded that
of all that God has promised, all of his promises are in him,
amen, yes, amen, forever. I'm fully persuaded that all
that God has promised, he is able to perform. He's able to
perform. What persuasion are you? You
ever been asked that question? What persuasion are you? Or what's
your religion? Well, I'm persuaded that he is
able to do all that he promised. I'm persuaded that he's able
to keep us from falling and to present us thoughtless before
the presence of God's glory. He is able. His faithfulness. To every covenant promise is
certain and sure His faithfulness, His obedience unto death, even
the death of the cross. And the Lord is upright. The
Lord is upright, verse 15, to show that the Lord is upright.
That is, He's just and He's holy. There's no unrighteousness in
the Lord. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty,
Isaiah 6.1. That's the central main attribute
or characteristics of the God of the Bible, is that he is holy. His holy love, his holy mercy,
his holy grace. But everything revolves around
his essential character, God is holy. And then it says the
fourth thing that's mentioned there, down to verse 15, the
Lord is upright, he is my rock, he is my foundation upon which
we rest, and there is no unrighteousness in him at all. He's my rock.
There's no rock like our rock, is there? You remember that Psalm
I call the only Psalm? He only is my rock, my defense,
my salvation. Psalm 62. The rock of my refuge
and my strength is in God. Trust in him at all times, you
people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. He is our rock, rock of ages. Cleft for me. Our Lord said to
Peter, upon this rock, I'll build my church, and the gates of hell
will not prevail against my church. I like what Moses said to the
people about, he says, our rock is not like their rock. Our rock
is the everlasting rock. Our rock not like that rock who
want to and can't, who tried and failed. Our rock is the rock. He's a rock of ages, and he is
our help in time of need. Verse three, upon the instruments,
upon 10 strings. Some people are of the mind that
we should not use stringed instruments when we sing unto the Lord. David
was of that mind. Upon the instruments of 10 string
or six string, upon the psaltery or the harp, do it with a solemn,
solemn sound, that is, have your music and the words of your song
in such a way that is honoring to the Lord. Let me read this
to you found in Colossians chapter three. Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly Teaching admonishing one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual song Singing with grace in your heart
to the lord and whatsoever you do in word or deed Do all in
the name of the lord jesus christ giving thanks to him That's what
music is about. That's what music about is about
singing hymns honoring the Christ's word to magnify His grace. We
don't want to preach one message of grace and then sing a message
about works, do we? WE WANT TO SING OF HIS GRACE
AND PREACH ABOUT HIS GRACE. SO WE SING, HOWEVER WE SING,
USING INSTRUMENTS IN A WAY THAT'S HONORING TO THE LORD WITH A SOLEMN
SOUND. WE CAN SING WITH GLADNESS IN
OUR HEART, CAN'T WE? TO HIM WHO LOVED US AND WASHED
US FROM OUR SIN IN HIS OWN BLOOD, TO HIM BE GLORY AND DOMINION
FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER. AMEN. NOW LOOK AT VERSE 4. for thou, Lord, for thou, Lord,
hast made me." What has he made us? He's made us new creatures
in Christ. I am what I am by the grace of
God. The Lord has made me glad through thy work. He means salvation
is all based upon his doing, his dying, his work, the work
of his hand? Absolutely. What part do we have
in it? None. None. If we had any part in it, we'd
mess it up. Thy Lord has made me glad through
thy work. I will triumph. I will triumph. BECAUSE OF HIM,
BECAUSE OF THE WORKS OF THY HAND. SOME ONE OLD PREACHER HAD THIS
OUTLINE ON THAT VERSE. HE SAID, OUR STATE, WHAT IS THE
STATE OF A BELIEVER? WE'RE GLAD. THAT IS, WE'RE BLESSED
WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. BLESSED
IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD WILL NOT IMPUTE SIN. THAT'S GOOD NEWS,
IS IT NOT? Blessed is the man to whom thou
choosest and causest to approach unto him." Well, that's certainly
good news, is it not? That's our stake, gladness before
God. How do we arrive at it? Thou
hast made me glad through thy doing. And what is the ground
of it, of this gladness? Through thy work, through the
work of his hands. What then shall I do? I ascribe
all glory to God and bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O
my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. The Lord has made his people
glad and we do rejoice in the Lord. We are those who are the
true Israel. WHICH WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT,
THAT REJOICE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND WE HAVE NO CONFIDENCE
IN THE FLESH. WE REJOICE IN THE DOING OF HIS
HAND, HIS OBEDIENCE, HIS FAITHFULNESS. SALVATION IS BASED UPON HIS WORKS,
NOT OURS. NOTICE IT'S THE WORKS OF HIS
HAND, HANDS. BOY, HIS HANDS ARE SOMETHING,
AREN'T THEY? I think of that scripture, Nebuchadnezzar, when
the Lord revealed himself, he said, all the inhabitants of
the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of this
earth, and none can stay his hands. If you can stay my hand,
you're stronger than me. If you can stop my, stay my hand. No one can stay his hands. OR
SAYING TO HIM, WHAT DOEST THOU? HE'S THE ALMIGHTY GOD. HE'S THE ALMIGHTY GOD. AND THROUGH
HIS DOING, HIS DYING, HIS OBEDIENCE, HIS FAITHFULNESS, WE HAVE SALVATION. THAT'S THE FREE GIFT OF GOD.
THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE.
LOOK AT VERSE 5, O LORD, HOW GREAT, WE SING THAT SONG, HOW
GREAT THOU ART. HOW GREAT ARE THY WORKS? JUST HOW GREAT ARE THY WORKS?
YOU THINK ABOUT IT. HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT
SO GREAT SALVATION? HOW GREAT IS HIS WORKS? GREATER
THAN ANY MAN CAN TELL. I CAN'T TELL. HIS GREAT WORKS
OF REDEMPTION? He redeemed us with his own blood. He put away all our sin by the
sacrifice of himself. So much so that God said their
sin and their iniquity, I remember no more. What would you say of
that? Well, it's just, you know, it's okay. It's so-so redemption. No, it's great. Is it not? He
obtained for us eternal redemption with His own blood. Everything
you think about salvation, you have to put this adjective to
it, it's great! Because He's our great God and
Savior. We have great, we have a great Redeemer. We
have a great Savior. We have a great Savior. He's
never lost one of His sheep. He's gonna save every one of
his sheep. They will not and they cannot
perish. How great are thy works. And
then watch what he says here, thy thoughts. How deep thy thoughts,
how great are his thoughts, how deep are his thoughts, his wisdom,
his knowledge. It's beyond human comprehension. How deep are the thoughts of
God? And these include the decrees and counsels of the Lord. He
worketh all things after the counsel of His will. Oh, the
depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God,
how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. For of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory, both now and forever. The very salvation that we enjoy
is by the thoughts, decrees of God, which has decreed and predestinated
our salvation. That's great, is it not? Thy
thoughts to us are very deep. They're eternal. He chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now, in the remaining
verses here, in verse 6 down through 14, it seemed to me like
the Lord gives us a contrast. And oftentimes He does this in
Scripture. When He sets forth the truth,
He gives us a contrast. For example, blessed is that
man that trusteth the Lord, right? What's the contrast of that?
Cursed is that man that's trusted in the arm of the flesh. That's
a contrast. And here's what we see, a contrast
here. Look at verse six. A brutish
man knoweth not, neither does a fool understand. When the wicked spring as the
grass, when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it shall
be, they shall be destroyed. Verse nine. For lo, thine enemies,
O Lord, lo, thine enemies shall perish, all the workers of iniquity
shall be scattered. Remember the Lord said, depart
from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. Verse 11, my
eyes also shall see my desire upon my enemies, and
my ears shall hear my desires. of the wicked that rise up against
me. David is not saying here that I'm gonna take vengeance
on them. He's saying that the Lord will. Vengeance is mine,
saith the Lord, I will repay. So the brutish man, he may prosper
for a little bit, but his days are short. They spring up as
the grass, And the workers of iniquity do flourish for a little
while, but they shall be destroyed. A brutish man, a sinful man,
that's what we are by nature, sinful, brutish like a brute
beast, ignorant and dumb, have no understanding, no knowledge.
The fool has said in his heart, the fool doesn't understand.
The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. But here's the
contrast. But thou, Lord, art most high
forevermore. The brutish man doesn't know
the true and living God. And the only reason he's made
us to differ, the only reason that we're not still ignorant
and foolish and brutish, who made you to differ from another?
What do you have that you haven't received of God's grace? But
lo, O Lord, thou art most high forevermore. Now here's the,
Flipside the Lord is the most high forevermore. Remember he
said I am the Lord I change not Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. The Lord is the same yesterday
today and forevermore The Lord is the most high God and he's
blessed his people with all spiritual blessings in Christ look at verse
12 The righteous shall flourish
The wicked, the workers of iniquity, they shall perish. The brutish
man and the fool, they shall perish. The righteous, look at
verse 12, the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon, strong and straight and sturdy. Those that be planted,
in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God." Now, what a contrast. Do you see the contrast here
between the workers of iniquity who shall perish and those who
are blessed to flourish and be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God? Verse 14, they shall
still bring forth fruit in old age. Fruit trees, when they get
old and old and old, they get beyond the age of bearing fruit. I picked a, I planted some peach
trees several years ago, and I've never eaten any fruit from
that peach tree. I got two of them. And this afternoon,
I walked underneath that tree and looked up, and there was
a peach. I had to get my ladder to pick
it. I ran in the house at lunchtime,
this is at lunchtime, I told Bridget, look here, I got fruit
from a tree. But when that tree gets old,
It won't bear any more fruit. Maybe one day the Lord be pleased
to fill it with some peaches. I love peaches. We buy them at
the store because my peach tree doesn't do very good about producing
peaches right now. But the point I'm trying to make
here is the righteous shall flourish. Even in their old age, they'll
be fat and flourishing. They'll be full of sap, full
of grace, of His fullness, how we all receive grace for grace. They shall be flourishing, planted
in the house of the Lord. Believers are called the trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, like a palm tree. They tell me a palm tree is the
only thing that will grow in the desert land. Believers are
like a palm tree in this desert land of sin. That palm tree grows
and it remains the same. Those palm trees, when that hurricane
comes, you see them bend, don't you? I don't remember seeing
one break. They always come back up. That's
the palm tree. We're kept by his power. The
righteous, who are those people who are righteous? Well, you
know the answer, don't you? Christ is our righteousness.
He's the Lord our righteousness. And because we are trees of righteousness
that he has planted, we shall flourish and we shall grow. We grow in grace and the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ, like those cedar trees in Lebanon. And believers are planted in
the house of the Lord and they flourish because God plants them. He cares for them. He waters
them. He cultivates them. He looks
over them. He causes them to produce fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering. He said, I'm the true vine. Without
me, you can do nothing. They shall still bring forth
fruit. They'll be flourishing to show
that the Lord, to show that the Lord is upright, upright in him.