I would like very much if you
would take your Bibles and turn to the book of Psalms. For the
message today, I want to bring a verse-by-verse exposition of
Psalm 146. Now, I think this will be a blessing
to you if you'll take your Bible there at home and turn to Psalm
146. Now, the title of this message is, Praise the Lord, O My Soul. It's written, the psalm is written
by David, man after God's own heart. Twice the scripture says,
David, man after God's own heart. And also this psalm is written
by David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. He wrote most of the
psalms. Moses wrote a few, but David
wrote most of them. The psalms is called the hymn
book of the church. And then David also is referred
to as the man whom God raised on high. That's the person who
wrote as he was led by the Holy Spirit. And he begins this psalm
this way. Now listen to it. In Psalm 146
he says, Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Praise the
Lord, O my soul. Now my friends, pull up your
chair just a minute. Let me share something with you.
I am genuinely appalled and troubled that these great and meaningful
words, like praise the Lord and hallelujah, and hallelujah means
praise to Jehovah, these great and meaningful words, praise
the Lord and hallelujah, have become mere flippant, careless
Meaningless religious bywords. Now that's what they are. You'll
have to confess that's so. You'll have to admit that's so.
People are just going around saying, we'll praise the Lord,
we'll hallelujah, we'll hallelujah, we'll hallelujah, we'll praise
the Lord, so flippantly and carelessly and in a meaningless manner. And I'm saying this, and this
is verified by the Word of God. Men ought to exercise great care
in the use of the name of God, great care, lest we be guilty
of taking God's name in vain. You say, praise the Lord, but
be careful, be careful, and be sure that you're praising the
Lord. You say, hallelujah, or praise Jehovah, or praise to
Jehovah, fine, fine. If you've got a heart of praise,
If you've got a sincere attitude of praise, if you really mean
by that, praise Jehovah and praise the Lord. If not, it's blasphemy. And it's just as much blasphemy
as that fellow down there using the name of Jesus Christ in vain.
And that's why it's no more flippant and no more meaningless and no
more careless than his taking God's name in vain. Because you
don't mean it either. And this is, David says, praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh my soul. Now listen to me, a follow-up
of that. This praising the Lord is a heart work and a soul work,
not a lip service. That's where we get in trouble,
lip service. Lip service. Our Lord said, lip
service. These people draw nigh unto me
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. It's not every
man that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, that shall enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father. Many shall
say unto me that day, Lord, Lord, praise the Lord, hallelujah.
Didn't we preach in your name and cast out devils and do many
wonderful works? And I shall say unto them, I
never knew you. That's lip service. And this business of praising
the Lord is heart work. He says, praise the Lord, O my
soul, O my soul, and all that is within me, wrote in Psalm
103, bless the Lord. And watch this now. The Lord
can be and is praised in heart without a word being uttered.
You don't have to say anything to praise the Lord with the heart
and from the soul. You don't have to say anything.
Hannah didn't. You remember when Hannah was praying, her lips
moved, but there were no words, and somebody said, she's drunken
here in the middle of the day. No, she said, I'm not drinking.
I'm talking to God. I'm worshiping God. I'm praising
the Lord God. And then in Romans chapter 8,
verse 26, it says, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit interceded for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered. which cannot be other. So, are you with me? David said,
praise the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, praise ye the Lord. Praising the Lord, exercise great
care, but it's a heart work, it's a soul work, it's not lip
service, and it can be done without saying a word. Praise the Lord. And great entertaining, great
thoughts of God, thoughts that honor God. and thoughts that
magnify God's name. Verse 2, watch this. While I
live, while I live, I'll praise the Lord. Well, I'll tell you,
I have good reason to praise the Lord while I live, because
if I live, I live by His good pleasure. I live by His will,
that's right. He gave me life, and He sustains
life. It says in Him we live and move
and have our being. God said in 1 Samuel, I kill
and I make alive. I, the Lord, do these things.
Job said in Job 14, man's days are determined. The number of
his months are with the Lord. God has set his bounds. He cannot
pass. So David said, while I live,
I'll praise the Lord. And I have every reason to praise
the Lord while I live, because if I live, I live by the good
pleasure and will of God. It's not the doctors that keep
me alive. It's the will of God. It's not medicine that keeps
you alive, it's the will of God. It's not what you eat that's
keeping you alive, no matter whether it's health, food, or
what it is. It's the will of God. God uses means, I know that. But ultimately, it's the will
of God. By His will, we live or die. And I have greater reason
to praise the Lord if I live spiritually. You hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sin. In Adam I died, but in Christ
God made me alive. By man came death, by man came
life. So while I live, while I live,
while I live physically and while I live spiritually, I praise
the Lord. Every good gift and perfect gift
comes from God. You see, in Him is life. The
Son quickeneth whom He will, and life is in Him. And I live
spiritually, and I'm going to praise Him. I'm not going to
praise me, I'm going to praise the Lord. And if I live spiritually,
I'll live eternally. And I'll praise the Lamb of God
forever. That's the song of heaven. Unto
Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
unto Him be the glory both now and forever. David said this.
I will sing praise unto my God while I have any being. While
I live, I'll praise the Lord. I live physically. By His grace,
I live spiritually. And by His grace, I live eternally.
And while I have any being whatsoever, I'll praise the Lord. I tell
you, there's a whole lot more here than just rejoicing over
a new car. There's a whole lot more here
than just rejoicing over the house payment being met. There's
a whole lot more here than just rejoicing over your leg being
healed. I tell you, this is eternal praise
to God. David said, praise the Lord.
All that is within me, O my soul, while I live, I'll praise the
Lord. While I have any being, I'll
praise the Lord forever. Now look at verse 3. Now watch
this. Put not your trust in men. Put
not your trust in men. No matter how high they are.
That's what David said. Don't put your trust in kings
and princes and men. No matter how high they are.
No matter how high they are politically. No matter how high they are financially
or economically. No matter how high they are in
religion. Don't put your trust in men,
because in them there is no help. There's no help in the arm of
the flesh. There's no hope in men. There's no salvation in
men. What David is saying here is this. I don't want you to
trust me or to put your confidence in me, nor in the nobles, nor
in the kings, nor in one another, nor even in yourself. Because
there's no help, there's no hope, there's no salvation in human
flesh. Have you ever noted this? That the creature has failed
under every dispensation. It doesn't matter about his environment,
it doesn't matter about what he's seen or heard or participated
in, the creature has failed under every test and every environment
and every dispensation. Let's start way back there with
the angels, when the angels fell. That's right, one-third, the
scripture said, of the heavenly host sinned against God. That's under perfect circumstances.
Lucifer, whose heart was lifted up within him, said, I'll be
like God. I'll exalt my throne above the stars of God. I'll
reign in the north places. and the angels fell with him.
And then God created a man called Adam and put him in a garden
with perfect surroundings, talked with him, walked with him, communed
with him. He had everything he needed or
wanted, could possibly want, and yet he fell. And then God
sent a flood and destroyed the world, and he saved one man and
his family, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their
wife. And Noah saw all of this destruction about him, And that
ark came down upon the mountain, and he stepped out, the only
person left alive with his family. And it wasn't any time that he
had sinned against God in drunkenness and misleading his own son. And then you take this Israel
after their deliverance from Egypt. Think how they were delivered
from Egypt. Think how God had his hand on
that one nation. They went down into Israel, went
down into Egypt, 70 of them. And now there were 2 or 3 million
of them. And God miraculously led them out of slavery, even
as He brought judgment upon the house of Pharaoh, the death of
the firstborn throughout Egypt. And yet Israel, they sinned for
40 years in that wilderness, and most of them died in unbelief
and didn't enter the Promised Land. And then you take the Apostles,
look at Judas, who walked in the presence of Christ the Lord
for three and a half years, and yet sold him for eighteen dollars,
thirty pieces of silver. And then Peter, the Apostle Peter
denied he ever knew the Lord. And then Demas, who was a companion
of the Apostle Paul, Paul finally wrote about Demas, said, he's
just left me, left me, having loved the world. So I tell you,
you can take any environment, any circumstances, and the creature
will fall. So this is what David said, don't
put your trust in me. Don't do it, no matter how high
they are politically, financially, or religiously, just don't trust
the flesh. There's no help in the flesh,
there's no hope, there's no salvation. Paul said in Philippians 3, verse
3, this. He said, here's the true circumcision,
here's true Israel. We worship God in the Spirit,
we rejoice only in Jesus Christ, and we have no confidence in
the flesh. Actually, my friend, for a man
to trust another man or another creature, for a man to put spiritual
confidence in another creature, in himself or anyone else, is
like a beggar going to another beggar trying to find something
to eat. Or like a crippled man leaning on another crippled man
hoping he can hold him up. He can't hold himself up. Or
a blind man being led by another blind man. They'll both fall
into the ditch. So David said, praise the Lord,
O my soul. While I live, I'll praise the
Lord. As long as I have any being, I'll praise the Lord. Because
you can't praise the flesh. You can't boast in the flesh.
You can't trust in the flesh. You can't put any confidence
in men. Why not? Alright, he tells us
in verse 4, he said, Why not trust men? Why not put confidence
in the flesh? Verse 4, he said, Because man's
breath goeth forth, his breath goeth forth, and he returns to
the dust, his earth. And in that day his thoughts
perish. What's David saying? He is saying
this, don't put any confidence in the flesh. There's no hope
or help in the flesh because the flesh dies. And you know
how he, what he, How he refers to death, what he calls it, he
said his breath goes forth. His breath. In other words, when
his breath leaves his body, he's a goner. I don't care how rich
a man is, no matter how rich he is. The only thing that keeps
him out of eternity is one breath. Just breath. I don't care how
strong a man is, how muscular and how powerful he is. When
his breath stops, he leaves here. I don't care how religious a
man is or how high he stands politically or any other way.
When his breath leaves, he dies. That shows the weakness of the
flesh. We boast about our strength and
our stamina and our power, but I'm telling you this, only thing
between you and the grave is a brat. If God stops your air,
that's all. That's all. His breath goes forth.
And then it says this, there's no hope in man because he returns
to the earth. He returns to his earth. You
notice that personal pronoun in there? His earth. It belongs
to him. And that's the only thing that
belongs to him. It's his dust. The dust is his because he was
made from it. And he goes back to it. The grave
is his home. All that King has awaiting him
is a hole in the ground. All that millionaire has waiting
him is a hole in the ground. And all you have waiting on you
is a piece of property six feet deep, six feet long, and about
four feet wide. And even that won't be yours
very long, not very long, because you're going to go back to the
dust, and a few years will go by, and there won't be anything
left there. You'll just be part of the environment,
part of the dirt, part of the ground. That's what you don't
trust in a man. Don't put your confidence in
men. His breath goes forth, and then he goes to his earth. His
earth. And notice the third thing. Now
watch this. This is good. This, David, I love this right
here. He says there's no hope in man
because he dies. His breath goes forth, he goes
back to the dust, and when he does, his thoughts perish. His thoughts perish. In other
words, all of his plans, he had great plans. But when he goes
to the earth, they're all over. All of his plans, all of his
programs, all of his ambitions, all of his expectations, they
die when he dies. When he's gone, they're gone.
King Solomon said this. vanity of vanities, all is vanity. You know, we're foolish to trust
in men. We're foolish to put our confidence
in the flesh. And here's the threefold reason,
because man dies, and man returns to the dust, and all of his plans
perish with him. And if he's left any memorials,
it won't be long till they're forgotten, too. And what a bleak
outlook, what a hopeless outlook that is. But wait a minute. Wait
a minute, verse 5. Watch this. Happy is that man. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help. Blessed, happy is the man who
has the God of Jacob for his help. His help and hope is not
in flesh, not in men, not in all their purposes and all their
plans and all their programs, but his help comes from the Lord. which made heaven and earth.
His hope is in the Lord his God. Now I want to break that down
just briefly, very simply, very briefly. Happy, twice happy,
blessed is the man whose help cometh from the God of Jacob.
Why did he call God the God of Jacob here? Have you thought
much about that? He said he's the God of Jacob.
Well look at the life of Jacob, are you with me? First of all,
the God of Jacob is the God of sovereign election. When he mentions
Jacob, he says this in Romans 9, the children being not yet
born, not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election, covenant mercies, might stand.
It was said to the mother of the twins in her womb, The elder
shall serve the younger. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. Oh, the God of Jacob is the God
of purpose. The God of Jacob is the God of
covenant mercies. The God of Jacob is the God of
everlasting love. Happy is the man whose help cometh
from the God of Jacob. who bases his help and mercies
on his covenant and his purpose. That's rich. But also he called,
he called this God the God of Jacob because you remember when
Jacob was out there at Bethel? What's Bethel? House of God?
God's in this place. House of God. Jacob lay down
and God showed him the way to glory. There was the ladder,
you remember, from earth to heaven? That ladder is Christ. That way
is Christ. And God revealed himself right
there to Jacob. He said, I'm the God of Bethel.
Go back to Bethel, Jacob. Go back there where I revealed
myself to you, where I said I'll be with you and help you and
never leave you. Go back there. And I'll tell
you this, happy is that man who's God. is the God of Jacob, the
God of purpose. Not chance, not fate, not luck,
not accident, purpose. Covenant mercies, elective grace. And he's the God of revelation.
He revealed himself to Jacob. He did on another occasion. He
wrestled with him. He wrestled with him. And you
know what he did? Here's the third thing. He's
the God not only of covenant mercies and the God of revelation,
but he's the God of a new name. He wrestled with Jacob. And Jacob
said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. He said, what's
your name? Jacob said, well, my name's Jacob. Sheep. Sheep. That's right, swindler. Take advantage. And the Lord
said, I won't change your name. You're no longer Jacob. You're
Israel, a prince of God. What's a prince of God? A son
of God. Oh, now then, I praise the Lord
for my soul. While I live, while I have any
being, I'll praise the Lord. I'm not going to trust you or
me or anybody else that spells his name Adam. I'm not going
to rest on the flesh or lean on the arm of flesh. My help
cometh from the God of Jacob, the God of covenant mercies,
the God of purpose. the God of revelation, and the
God of a new name. And then he's called, our hope
comes not only from the God of Jacob, but from the Lord our
God. The Lord our God? Yeah, that's
Jehovah, that's Savior, a just God and a Savior. He's a very
present help in time of trouble, and he's a hope, a blessed eternal
hope in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us. and
gave himself for us. My hope, my hope, my hope is
built on nothing less. And anything other than Christ
is less. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame by holy lean on Jesus' name. His name is a name of redemption
and sanctification and justification and mercies in a redeeming Lord. His oath, His covenant, His blood
will support me in the whelming flood when all around my soul
gives way. He is my only hope and stay. Now then, these last five verses
tell us why we can find all this help and all this hope in the
God of Jacob, in the Lord our God. Verse 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. You see it there? You got your
Bible? All right, first of all, it says we can trust Him. He
can't trust man because his breath is all he's got. I may finish
this telecare. I may not finish it. Step down
here and drop dead, my breath stops, and then they'll put me
in a hole in the ground, and I'll go back to the dust, and
all my great plans and programs and purposes will die with me.
But not God. Because it says in verse 6, He
made the heavens and the earth. He made the seas and all that
therein is. So He's not only the author of
creation, He's the author of the new creation. He can, when
He can speak life into being, He can give you life. New life,
eternal life. And then the next verse says,
He keepeth truth forever. He never changes. He said, I'm
the Lord, I don't change. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance, without change. You change, I change,
everybody changes, denominations change, churches change, everything
changes. God doesn't change. God doesn't change. I don't want
a work I do, or you do, or some man does. I don't want someone
pronouncing me saved or unsaved. I want to hear from God. His
truth is forever. He never changes. And He says
He executes judgment. He gives food to the hungry.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness,
they'll be filled. He sets the prisoner free. If
the Son will make you free, you'll be free indeed. Free from the
covenant of works, free from the curse of the law, and free
from the penalty of sin. If He sets you free, somebody
will slap you on the back of an altar and say, you're free,
son, you're not free till God frees you. But He'll free you. Truth will make you free indeed.
He opens the eyes of the blind. That's the reason you can hope
for help in Him. He raises them that are bowed
down. He loves the righteous. Who is the righteous one? He
loves the righteous one. That's Christ. He loves Christ,
and He loves those who are in Christ. He loves them as He loves
Him. That's not all. It says he'll
preserve the stranger. That's the Gentiles, strangers
to the covenant of Israel, aliens. He relieves the orphans and the
widow. He provides for his people. He
will turn the wicked upside down, and the Lord shall reign forever. That's the reason you can trust
him. His name is forever. All flesh is grass, and the glory
of man is the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the word of the Lord. shall endure forever.