Psalm 33. Psalm 33 this evening. I'm taking my title for the message
from verse 9 and I'm calling this message, God Speaks. God
Speaks. And it's done. It's done. It's over when God Speaks. For
He spake and it was done. He commands. He commanded. And it stood fast. God Almighty,
who is God, when He speaks, He speaks with absolute authority,
and what He speaks is His command, and it will be done. He said,
I purposed it, I bring it to pass, I will do it, I will accomplish
my purpose. Now what great comfort This is
to guilty sinners in need of salvation, in need of mercy. This brings me great comfort. The God who is God, who has purposed
salvation, and His salvation cannot fail. The promises of
God, His word, His promise, His gospel, His salvation, and everything
we can think about God cannot fail. It says that in Isaiah
42 verse 4, doesn't it? Behold my elect, he said, my
beloved, in verse 1, who shall not fail. He goes forth conquering
to conquer. And we are, and he has given
unto us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. This victory
of salvation cannot fail. Because God cannot fail. God's
Christ cannot fail. Our Savior is no weak, pitiful,
frustrated Savior. He's the absolute Almighty God
who saves whom He will. He prayed that way in John 17.
Father, You've given me power over all flesh that I should
give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given to me. What great comfort! This is to
a weary sinner in need of mercy. His word, His promise, they cannot
fail. All the promises of God, Peter
writes, and calls them, they're exceeding, they're great, and
then he says they're precious promises. By these promises of
the gospel that cannot fail, you are partakers of a divine
nature, that's regeneration, according to the power of God,
according to the wisdom of God. For it's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy. I
like the way the Apostle Paul, being inspired of God, penned
these words, God-given. All the promises of God in him
are yes, and in him. Amen. And to the glory of God,
by Jesus Christ. I'm of this persuasion." If anybody
ever asked you, well, what persuasion are you? And they probably mean
by that, well, what denomination do you belong to? Are you Catholic? Are you Methodist? Are you Presbyterian?
What kind of persuasion are you? How would you answer that question?
Let me tell you how to answer it. Answer it with the Word of
God. And answer it this way. As Abraham
said, I'm persuaded that what God has promised, He is able
to perform. That's my persuasion. What God
has promised, He is able to perform. Look up that word able sometime.
It's a good word to study. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him, saying He ever lives to make
intercession for us. God is able to do all He had
promised. God is able to keep us from falling. And God is able to make us new
creatures in Christ Jesus. You know, the last words of a
dying man, they hold some weight, don't they? David's last words
recorded in 2 Samuel 23, although my house be not so with God,
he's made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things
and maybe it will come to pass. No, he uses the word sure. ordered
in all things and sure this is all my hope and all my desire. Did you ever read the last words
of Joshua in Joshua 23? It's recorded, and behold this
day, Joshua said, I'm going the way of all the earth. He said,
I'm a dying man. And you know in all your hearts
and all your souls, not one thing hath failed. Of all the good
things which the Lord your God spake concerning you, all are
come to pass unto you, not one thing has failed. That's true. He speaks and it's
done. He commands and it stands fast
forever. Now in verses 1, 2, and 3 of
Psalm 33, we see these words, rejoicing, praising, and singing
unto the Lord is comely. Comely. You know what that word
means? It means it's suitable. It is
right. It is beautiful. It is proper
for us who were upright in heart, made so by His grace, being made
a new creature in Christ, it is proper for us and even I would
go so far as to say mandatory to worship praise and rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember what the Lord told
the woman there in John 4, the Father seeketh such to worship
Him in spirit and in truth. Now I'm not real smart, but I
do know this, there is no spiritual worship apart from truth. Now you can go all through the
exercises in the flesh, but if the truth of God, the truth of
the gospel, the truth of who He is, the truth of who we are,
the truth of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what He has accomplished,
if there's no truth proclaimed, there's no worship going on.
He seeketh such to worship him in spirit and in truth." Now
notice, rejoicing, praising, and singing unto the Lord is
proper for every believer, those who are upright in heart. He
calls them, you righteous. You righteous. Now, how is a
believer upright and made righteous? certainly not in ourselves, only
by the declared decree of God justifying us in Christ Jesus. for the righteous for those who
were made that way by his grace for by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners so by the obedience of another shall
many be made righteous God made him sin for us who knew no sin
that we might be made the righteousness now get a hold of this the righteousness
of God in him the righteousness of God Romans 10, and all through
the book of Romans, talks about this righteousness that's of
God. This righteousness that originates
with Him. This righteousness, and He's
talking about the righteousness provided in the Gospel. And that
righteousness provided in the Gospel, the righteousness that's
of God, is a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the Lord, our righteousness. How are we made righteous? in Christ, in the Lord. Now sing
unto Him. How can you not sing? He has
made us holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight. How can you not
sing? How can you not rejoice? How
can you not lay face down on the floor in awe and adoration
and worship of Him who is holy? Sing unto Him a new song with
a well-tuned instrument. The instrument, whatever it may
be, sing unto the Lord. Use it to worship Him. Now think
of this in a spiritual way though, for the Lord has tuned our heart
to sing praises unto His name. Turn over here to Psalm 40. He
has tuned our heart. He's given us a new heart. Taken away that old stony dead
heart. given us a new heart to worship
Him, to rejoice in Him. Psalm 40 verse 1, I waited patiently
for the Lord. He inclined unto me and heard
my cry. He brought me up also out of
a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He brought me up. He set
me up. He set my feet upon a rock. He
established my goings. Steps of the righteous man are
ordered of God. And then verse 3, He tuned me
up. He put a new song in my mouth. Even praise unto our God. Many
shall see it in fear and shall trust the Lord. Oh, He's tuned
me up. He's given us a new heart. He's
given us a new song. And the words of this new song
are found several places in Scripture. This is one of my favorite to
turn to, though. I think it's Psalm 98, 1. Psalm
98, verse 1. Let's see if that's the right
reference here. Psalm 98, here it is. Sing unto
the Lord a new song, for He hath done marvelous things. His right
hand, His holy arm, has gotten him the victory. And the redeemed
in glory sing that song worthy as a lamb that was slain to receive
all honor, glory, blessing, and power both now and forever unto
him who loved us and washed us from our sin in his own blood. This song of redeeming grace
in Christ Jesus. We sang just a moment ago, come
thou fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing thy grace,
streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Oh, we praise the Lord. Now,
look at verse 4, Psalm 33 verse 4. For the word, the word of the Lord, The Word of the Lord is right. And all of His works, all the
works of the Lord are done in absolute truth, in truth. Sing
and worship and praise and rejoice in Him because the Word, and
this has reference to His act, His decree, His counsel, His
business, His purpose, All those things are right in his eyes. You remember the testimony of
one found in Genesis 18, shall not the judge of all the earth,
shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And whatever God does, he works
all things after the counsel of his own will. Whatsoever the
Lord please, that's what he does in heaven and earth, seas, all
deep places. Whatever the Lord does is right. It's right. It's the Lord. Let him do what he will. It's
the Lord. Isn't that what Eli said when
Samuel came to him and said, Eli, your two boys are rebels.
God's going to kill both of them. And he did. Remember what Eli
said? Well, that's not fair. That's
not right. That's not what he said. He said, it's the Lord.
Let him do what seemeth good in his sight. Whatever God does
is right. All his works are done in truth.
All his actions, his works are holy. His works are the result
of his decree. There's no lie in God's Word.
There's no sham or shame in His works. His works of creation. His works of providence. And
yes, in His work of salvation. For it's His doing. It's His
accomplishment. And all these things abound in
truth. All his works are done in truth. Whatever God does is right, holy,
good. And it's true. Look at verse
5. He loveth. He loveth righteousness. God hates iniquity. Scripture
says that God hates iniquity. God hates all the workers of
iniquity. He loveth righteousness. And he loves justice. Justice. He loveth judgment. The earth
is full, the earth is full of the mercy, the goodness of the
Lord. Only in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ Can God love
righteousness and justice, and be in complete harmony with His
holy character, and save His people from their sin, and not
compromise in any degree His holy law? That's the marvel and
beauty of the gospel. How God can be just and a justifier. How God can be a just God and
Savior. How can that be? Only in Christ. only in the blessed Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ, for He redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us. He redeemed us, taking our
sin into Himself, to enable God in his great wisdom to devise
a way and a scheme whereby he can remain holy and just and
righteous and yet extend mercy to the miserable, to the guilty
and not violate his holy character. That's only in Christ. Can that
be done? You ask the average person how
God can be just and justify the ungodly and they go, huh? Huh? Don't have a clue. It's only
in Christ that He satisfies the justice of God for us. In every
precept, every precept of that law, He honored, He magnified
the law of God for us. It says that in Isaiah 42, 21.
In every precept of that law, He had no sin, He knew no sin,
He did no sin, He was tempted and tested in all points like
as we are, yet the scripture says, without sin, and in Him
is no sin, Every precept of that law, he's
a holy one. Satan has come and tempted him
and tried him and found nothing in him. He's a holy one of God. Every precept as a God-man mediator,
he honored that law perfectly. But not only in the precept,
but in the penalty. The penalty of that loss is the
guilty must die. The Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's
tree was made guilty for us, for His covenant people, as He
hangs there with our sin charged to Him, reckoned to Him. imputed to him. He bare our sin
in his own body on the tree, and in doing so put them away,
enabling God to be just, holy, and righteous, and save and justify
the ungodly in Christ Jesus. That's why it says here, the
earth is full of his mercy. Oh, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. According
to his mercy he saved us. Someone said, if the earth is
full of his mercy, what must heaven be? If the earth is full
of his mercy, what must glory be? Oh, mercy, mercy, mercy. Look at verse 6 down through
verse 9, and we see the great Creator, the great God, who creates
all things by and through our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of
His mouth. He gathereth the waters of the
sea together as a heap. He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the inhabitants of the
earth fear the Lord. Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. God created all things by Jesus
Christ. You consider Colossians chapter
1, Hebrews chapter 1, in all He created all things by Christ. In the old creation, all things
were made by Him and created by the word of His power, by
His command. Even so, now think about this.
Even so, in the new creation, in the new birth, in regeneration,
all things are made and created by the Word of His power. He
speaks and it's done. He commands a light to shine
in our heart and it shines. And it shines so much so that
we see the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. Revealed in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2.10, you know the
verse, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 4.24 talks about put
on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness. The new birth, my friend, is not reformation of the old
nature. It's a creation of a new divine
nature that was not there before. We were dead in sin. God has given us life in Christ
Jesus. Now, let all the inhabitants
of the earth stand in awe of Him. Let all the inhabitants
of the earth shrink to fear and reverence His holy name. Psalm 110 declares holy and reverent. Holy and reverent is His name.
Oftentimes when you're in mixed circles and they find out that
you're a minister of the gospel Oftentimes people who are untaught
will refer to a man as Reverend so-and-so, Reverend Jones, or
Reverend Smith. And usually if I have an opportunity to correct a person,
I usually try to tell him, that's God's name. That's God's name. My name's Tom. They just call
me Tom-Tom, will do, won't it? Yeah, it'll do. Yeah. Just call
me preacher, a dead dog, or a dead dog sinner, whatever you want
to call me. But don't call me reverend. Holy and reverend is
His name. His name. Let all the earth stand
in awe of Him, because, because, verse 9, He spake, and it's done. He commands and it stands fast.
Salvation in Christ Jesus. Now think about this. Salvation
in Christ Jesus does stand fast. God saves us, not with temporary
amnesty. God saves His people, it says
in Isaiah 45, He saves them with an everlasting salvation. He has obtained for us eternal
redemption with His own blood. God does not save us temporarily. He saves us with an everlasting
salvation. The salvation of the Lord does
stand fast. It's by His command that we have
life. When He speaks to the sinner,
they live. They live. Salvation in Christ
does stand fast. It's certain and secure and everlasting. The argument that some religious
people want to bat around is a sinner saved eternally. Well,
if God saved him, he is. Because the scripture says, Whatsoever
the Lord doeth, it shall be forever. No man can put anything to it,
nor can anyone take from it. Our Lord straightened those Pharisees
out, didn't he? In John chapter 10, he said,
My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and I give unto them eternal
life. I give unto them what? Eternal
life, and they shall never perish. My Father which gave to me is
greater than all, and no man can pluck Him out of my Father's
hand. I and my Father were one. You
reckon the sheep of Christ, for those for whom He died, could
perish? Is there any in hell for whom
the Lord Jesus Christ paid their sin debt? Absolutely not! Read the record in John chapter
6, verse 37 and following. He said, I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will of Him that sent me, that of all
He had given me, I'll lose nothing. Raise it up again at the last
day. You see, this salvation of the
Lord, it does stand fast. Because it's by His command.
It's not by some profession we've made. It's not walking in an
aisle and making a decision. That's not salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. And
this salvation is God-given that makes us stand in awe and reverence
of God Almighty, does stand fast by His command. Now, verses 10
and 11, He gives us two extreme opposites. The Lord bringeth
the counsel, the wisdom of the heathen, the ungodly, to nothing
He makes all their devices, the devices of the people, none affect. They don't affect God. He that
sits in the heavens shall laugh at them. Let's turn and read
that there in Psalm 2. Remember when it talks about
the heathen do rage and the people imagine a vain thing. Psalm 2
verse 1, the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers
take counsel together against the Lord and against his Christ
saying, let's break their bands asunder. Let's cast away the
cord from God. Who is God? No God for me. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. The Lord
bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nothing. He maketh the devices
of the people Noneffect. Noneffect. Now, here's the opposite. The extreme opposite. The counsel
of the Lord. The counsel of the Lord. The
word of the Lord. The will of the Lord. Whose will
is going to be done? His will is going to be done. He does according to His will
in the army of heaven and among the heavens of the earth and
none can stay His hand. None can say unto me, Lord God
Almighty, what doest thou? He taught that pagan king that
lesson. I believe he's taught us that lesson, hadn't he? The
counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his
heart, the thoughts and purposes, the counsel, the decrees of his
heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God
is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. You see, the cause of God is
never in danger. The purpose of God is never in
danger. All evil is outwitted by His
infinite wisdom. Satanic malice is held in check
by God's boundless power. Even the wrath of men will praise
the Lord, and the remainder of wrath He shall restrain. Man is so frail, impotent, and
wicked that all our devices, plans, and thoughts, and purposes
shall fall. God's plan, His purpose shall
always be accomplished. His counsel is forever. His thoughts
are eternal thoughts. I've got a reference jotted here
if you will find Psalm 146. Therefore because the counsel
and wisdom and devices of men will surely perish Psalm 146
says put not your trust in princes nor in a son of man That is the
best of men in whom there is no help no salvation in any son
of Adam His breath goeth forth the return to his earth in that
day to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish Happy
is he that hath the God of Jacob the God of Jacob for his help
whose hope was in the Lord his God that's our hope that's our
hope verse 13 in our text the Lord looketh from heaven the
Lord looketh from heaven and he beholdeth he beholdeth all
the sons of men from the place of his habitation he looketh
upon all the inhabitants of the earth Let's back up and consider verse
12 for a moment. Blessed, blessed is that nation,
I believe this is his spiritual nation, whose God is indeed Lord. And the people whom he hath chosen,
the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Election is at the bottom of
it all. The divine choice rules the day. None take Jehovah to
be their God till he takes them. to be his people. Our Lord said,
no man can come to me except the Father which sent me, draw
him. Over here in, and that's, you know, that's just not New
Testament theology, that's all the way through the scripture.
Turn over here to Psalm 65. You see, God does not change.
What's true of God's character in what we call the Old Testament
is true of God's character in the new. He said, I am the Lord,
I change not. Same yesterday, today, and forever.
Psalm 65 verse 4, blessed is a man whom thou choosest and
causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy
holy temple. Blessed is that nation. Blessed
is that people whom God hath chosen. Verse 13, 14, and 15. Almighty
God sees the hearts of all men. He's not only omnipotent, He
is all-knowing. The Lord looks on the heart.
What does He see in all men by nature? Well, He sees us as we
are. In ourselves, sin. But His elect
and His sheep, He sees us truly as we are. in Christ Jesus, for
as He is, so are we in this world in Christ. Hagar, as she fled
from Sarah, you remember the story? And she called the name
of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me. He sees us. He knows all about
us. He knows our heart. He knows
our thoughts afar off. You know, that's comforting to
me. That's comforting to me. God knows my motive, my heart,
my desire to honor Him, to believe Him, to worship Him, to rejoice
in Him. We don't need to put on a show. You know, the word hypocrite
actually comes from the word play actor. We don't play hypocrisy. We don't play games with God.
He knows our heart, our motive. And that is comforting to me.
He fashioneth their hearts alike. Verse 15, He consider all their
works. What does God see in all the
deeds of men and works? All their so-called righteousness,
filthy rags in God's sight, dung in His sight. Verse 16, 17, there
is no king saved by a multitude of a host. An army is a vain
thing for salvation. A mighty man is not delivered
by his strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety. Neither shall he deliver any
by his great strength. Verse 18, behold the eye of the
Lord. The eye of the Lord is upon them
that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy." Salvation
as it's known and revealed in the Word of God is totally by
the power of God, not the creature will, not the deeds of the flesh. Mortal power is mere fiction,
and those who trust it are absolute fools. When Paul describes the
true Israel of God in Philippians 3, he says, we are the true Israel,
we are the true circumcision of God, who worship God in the
Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and we have zero confidence in
the flesh. Absolutely none. You see, it's
a vain thing to trust your own strength. It's a vain delusion
to trust your own righteousness. How silly, how foolish to think
that by some deed of creature that is vile, you see the problem
is, Everything we do is sinful in ourselves. We have no righteousness
of ourselves, but the good news of the gospel is God does not
require us to produce a righteousness, but rather by His grace to receive
one and rest in Him who is the Lord our righteousness. Behold,
the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him. A pleasant thought
is this, the Lord, the foundation of God standeth sure having this
seal, the Lord knoweth them, He knoweth them that are His. The Lord does know His sheep
by name, He does lead them out, He does deliver them by His power,
He does redeem them by His precious blood. Out of bondage and to
liberty. out of death into life, out of
sin into salvation, out of trusting self-righteousness into Christ,
our blessed righteousness. To deliver their soul from death,
to keep them alive. Verse 20, in closing, Our soul
waiteth for the Lord. Boy, he's worth waiting on, isn't
he? Wait, I say, on the Lord. He shall encourage our heart.
Our soul waiteth for the Lord. For He is our help. He is our
shield. For our heart shall rejoice.
Our heart shall rejoice. Because we believe Him. That's
what he's saying there. Our heart shall rejoice because
we believe Him. We believe Him. We believe Him
who is holy. God is holy. We trusted His holy
name, His holy character. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon
us according as we hope in thee. You see, the hope we have, the
hope we have is a good hope. It's just not a wish, it's not
a shot in the dark. The hope we have is a good hope.
Christ in you, the hope of glory. He's given us an everlasting
consolation, a good hope, 2 Thessalonians 2.16, a good hope through grace. It's right back to grace, doesn't
it? Right back to Christ. Right back to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us as we look to the
Lord Jesus Christ of His fullness. Think about this. I'll let you
go. There in John 1 16 it says of
his fullness Have we all received grace? grace for grace Now here's
the thought what is the reason for grace? Grace of His fullness
have we all received grace because of grace." That's what He's saying.
In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and in
Christ we are complete. Thank God for His grace.