in this little section over the last couple of
months. And these last few are referred to as
Royal Psalms. These are psalms that have a lot
of praise to the Lord that's kind of the theme
in most of these last few psalms that you see.
You can go back and you can kind of see that
theme. I was going to request the song, Shout
to the Lord, but since we didn't take requests,
I didn't request it. because that probably would
have been a tough one for us to sing. But it's
a good song, and if you read these psalms, you'll
see in these psalms that kind of surround this,
this language about shout to the Lord, all the
earth, let us sing. That same idea, well, that's
where that song comes from. These verses, chapter,
and particularly Psalm 96, that's where the words...
that inspired that song, came from. And so we
see that type of language in these psalms, the
idea of shouting to the Lord, of praising Him.
So we'll pray, and then we'll read through Psalm
98 and talk about it. So let's pray. God, we
come to you. We thank you for a good day. We
thank you for being good to us. We thank you
for the love that we have in this place. We thank
you for your word. I pray that your Holy Spirit
would just free us of the distractions and the
worries and the thoughts of the world. And in
these few minutes, dear Lord, that we can give
you praise. I pray that you would just hide me
behind the cross, that I would preach and teach
in a way that brings glory and honor to you.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Psalm 98, it's relatively short. We'll read through
the whole thing and then talk about it. We don't
know who wrote this psalm. It doesn't really
matter, but we can still see what's going on
regardless of the author. Psalm 98, verse 1.
Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has performed
wonders. His right hand and holy arm have won
him victory. The Lord has made his victory known.
He has revealed his righteousness in the sight
of the nations. He has remembered his love and
faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the
ends of the earth have seen our God's victory.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth, be jubilant.
Shout for joy and sing. Sing to the Lord with
the lyre, with the lyre and the melodious song.
With trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn,
shout triumphantly in the presence of the Lord
our King. Let the sea and all that fills it,
the world and those who live in it, resound.
Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains
shout together for joy before the Lord. For he
is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the
world righteously and the peoples fairly. Now,
we don't know exactly, or at least I'm not aware
of exactly when this psalm was written, at what
event this was covering, but it's good at many
times in Scripture, and it's good at many times
in our life. to recount the fact that God has
not forgotten about his people, that he's delivered
his people, that he's taken care of his people.
We see that language in verse 3. He remembered
his love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
So no matter what we are up against, no matter
what we are going through, we see example after
example in God's word where God does not forget
his people. He remembers his people. He's there
for his people. They're not always deserving
of it. But nonetheless, he is merciful and he
provides for them and he takes care of them.
And so what we see in this psalm and the psalms
that surround it is this idea that we are to
praise God, that we are to sing a new song, that
we are to shout to the Lord. All the earth, let
us sing, let us shout because God is good. And
the key that we see here in the first part of
these verses that God is praised for is the fact
that he is victorious. We see that in the first
verse. Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has
performed wonders. His right hand and holy arm
have won victory. That's important for us to
remember, that we serve a God who is victorious.
We serve a God who has never lost and will never
lose. Some may have thought so whenever Jesus
was nailed to the cross. There were many followers
who followed him, and even though Jesus told
them what was going to take place, I suspect
for many of them that when Jesus was nailed to
the cross, there was probably a little bit of
loss of hope. They probably were thinking, man,
we thought this was the guy, and here he has
been nailed to this cross and died. But God showed
that he was victorious through Jesus Christ.
Not in that Jesus Christ died on the cross, but
that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And that
is the victory of God. And so we see God's victory
in many different ways in our life. We see it
in the Old Testament. We see it in our own struggles
and things that we go through. We see how God
delivers us and is victorious in our life. But
the greatest victory we see in all of Scripture
is the victory that comes through Jesus Christ,
the victory over death and the victory over sin.
And he says in verse 2, The Lord has made his
victory known. He has revealed his righteousness
in the sight of the nations. Now, when I read
this verse, I instantly thought, Because I instantly,
when I thought about victory, I thought about
Jesus. And when I read this verse, it said God
has made his victory known. He's made his victory
known. He has revealed it to the nations. Through
Jesus Christ, death and resurrection, the victory
that has come through that, the victory of God,
is made known to all the nations. All of the
world can see. It's right here for us in black
and white. Through the hundreds and hundreds
of years, there has been men and women that have
continually preached the gospel of Jesus Christ,
preached the victory of Jesus Christ, talked
of the deliverance that comes through Jesus Christ,
through repentance. When we repent and ask for
forgiveness of our sins, we see victory. What
does victory look like? It looks like Jesus Christ
crucified and resurrected. That is victory. And
that is the victory that we can hang our hope
on. That is the victory that we can know that
no matter what happens to us, even if the worst
of the worst things happens to us, even if we
die in this world, we know that we serve a God
who is victorious over death. And praise the
Lord, the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
So God has made his victory known. Yeah, when
this was written, he made his victory known maybe
in more visible ways and the way that God's people
overtook enemies they were up against or whatever
it may have been or when walls come tumbling
down or when the Red Sea closed over the enemies.
God made his victory known in a variety of powerful
and beautiful ways, but none more powerful and
beautiful than Jesus Christ being resurrected.
So the Lord has made his victory known. He has
revealed his righteousness in the sight of the
nations. So if we're looking for righteousness
today, if we're looking for victory today, we
need not look any further than Jesus. Because
if we are looking somewhere else for victory
in our life and our battles and our struggles
and our temptations, we will not find it because
there is victory in no one else. If we're looking
to be made righteous today, we will not be made
righteous apart from Jesus Christ. We will not
be made righteous by our good deeds or our works
or anything within us. We are only made righteous
through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And
God's victory and God's righteousness have been
revealed to us in Jesus Christ. And we see that
in the Word of God. We see that in the way that
the Holy Spirit has worked and continues to work.
And so victory is available for all of the nations.
It's not hidden. God's word will continue to
be preached. It will never cease to be preached
in this world. No matter what the world tries
to do, no matter what the enemy tries to do,
no matter how much people try to stop God's word
and stop prayer to God and stop gathering of
brothers and sisters in Christ to God, they will
never succeed because God has won the victory.
They may kill us, but even if they kill us, praise
God, to be apart from the body is to be in the
presence of the Lord. So those of us who trust
Jesus Christ are those who are victorious. And
all of the nations, it is there for them to see.
If only all of the nations today would look to
that victory and look to that righteousness in
Jesus Christ. If only this nation would look
to that. If only the nations that are around
us, if all of the world, would look to the victory
that's already been revealed, what a better place
it would be. But sadly, our world is looking
for victory and righteousness and deliverance
in a variety of things other than Jesus Christ,
and they will not find it. And so we, we've put
our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We have
a job to do. We have to let others know that
victory has been had through Jesus Christ. And
we can share in that victory. and sharing that
righteousness if we would trust in him. Let's
pray. God, we come to you tonight. We thank you
for these good words. We thank you that you have
shown us ultimately what victory is. God, we
see the writer of this psalm rejoices in the
victories that they experienced, dear Lord. And
you showed us a lot of cool things in the Old
Testament, dear Lord, in your power and in your
grace and in your mercy. But, dear Lord, the
greatest thing you ever showed us in all of Scripture...
was that Jesus Christ, your only son, came and
died on the cross so that we could be forgiven.
And God, you did not allow him to see decay in
that grave, but dear Lord, three days later,
you raised him up. So God, I pray that we would
find hope in that today, that if there's one
here, that if there's one listening that has
never put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ,
God, if there's one that's looking for victory,
I pray, God, that they would look no further.
that they would stop looking to the world and
stop looking to things of the world and people
of the world, and that, God, they would simply
look to the pages of Scripture, that they would
look to the cross of Jesus Christ. And there,
dear Lord, may they find the victory that will
give them the peace and the hope and the comfort
that they desire. And may each one of us leave
here with that tonight. In Jesus' name I pray
it. Amen. All right, I'll give you guys a couple
on the prayer list tonight. I had one request.
Miss Pat asked that we add the Jill Nunry family.
She said that Jill had passed. I don't know Jill
Nunry, but we need to be. Okay, well, she's passed.
If you didn't know, we need to pray for that
family. Miss Pat got a good report. She had a
good safe trip up there, all of her doctor's
appointments. She got a good report, and so she'll
be back, I think, tomorrow. Pray for her. We
need to keep praying for Macy. She had those
wisdom teeth removed and she's still a little
sore from that. So I want to pray that her pain
will ease up and that she can get some rest.
We need to continue to pray for Julie Bolin.
I heard that there is some improvement there.
And so that's very good. Obviously, she's got
a long way to go. She still needs our prayers.
So we need to continue to pray for her. And then
one of our ladies at the apartment, she's taken
the loss of Miss Mary Cupid's son, Lawrence,
pretty hard. She was pretty upset about it yesterday.
Her name is Donna. So we need to pray for her,
keep her in our prayers. And that's all the ones
that I can give y 'all an update on tonight.
Does anybody else have any prayer requests or
praise reports or updates this evening? Okay.
Anybody else? What's his name? Okay. Prudence
has moved to somewhere in Macomb. I can't think
of the name of it at the moment. On hospice.
She made the decision to just die with some dignity,
I guess is a good way to say that. If you think
about where she's at, text that to me, please.
I will. I'll say asked in court, but I'll double
check. Okay, good. Tyler leads out tomorrow for
California something to do with the fire department
I'll be praying for him. Miss Linda Albritton
was doing a little better today when I saw her.
She was in a little better spirits, but she's
still got a long way to go, so y 'all keep praying
for her. Anybody else? Okay. All right, if there
are no others, if anybody wants to pray out loud,
y 'all are certainly welcome to do so. And when
everybody's finished, I'll close us up. Father
God, we come to you tonight. We thank you for
the freedom and the privilege we have in this
country to come and to worship you. And I pray
that you continue to help us to have these freedoms.
I pray that you'd bless our country, that we
would be a people that would seek you. I pray
that you'd be with our leadership, that they
would make good decisions that would point us
toward you, dear Lord. And I just pray that you
just continue to bless us. Even if we don't always
do good, dear Lord, just keep working with us,
God, and give us some mercy. I pray that you
be with the Nunnery family and their loss, that
you comfort them. I thank you that Miss Pat's
doing good. I thank you that you got her there
safe and got her a good report. I pray that you
get her home safe. I pray that you'd help Macy
to get some rest, help her pain just to ease
up, help her to feel better and have a good night
and to feel much better tomorrow to be able to
get on the mend. I pray that you'd be with Julie
Boland, that you continue to help her to improve
and just give her... encouragement and strength
and ease her pain and be with her family. And
I pray, God, that you just would work miracles
in her body, that you would help her to have
a full recovery, and that, God, you'd get all
the glory for everything. I pray for Donna at
the apartments as she continues to mourn the
loss of Lawrence, that you just would comfort
her and the rest of that family, that you'd strengthen
them. I pray that you'd be with Rita as she gets
ready for these treatments. that you would help
her with whatever it is that she goes through.
I pray, God, that you would bring healing to
her body. I pray that you'd be with Greg, that
you would help him to get over this flu, help
him as they get ready to decide what to do moving
forward as they go see doctors and try to figure
it all out. I pray, dear Lord, that you'd be
with them. I pray that you would encourage them.
I pray that you just would bring healing to his
body, dear Lord, that you would take care of
this, and I just lift him up to you. I pray that
you'd be with Miles' family and the passing of
his mom, that you would give them strength and
encouragement. I pray that you'd be with Mr.
Billy Gardner and all of his health concerns
that he's got going on, that you would just watch
over and take care of him and bring healing to
him. I pray for Ms. Prudence, that you would
be with her as she has been battling for so long.
I pray that you give her strength. I pray that
you give her rest. I pray that you keep her encouraged.
I pray that you'd be with her family. and just
watch over, dear Lord. I pray that you be with
Tyler as he gets ready to go to California, that
you help him to be safe and help him to get done
what has to be done, whatever it may be, and
just help him to work hard and get him back home
safe. I pray for Katie as she goes for these
treatments. I pray for her body, that you bring
healing to her body. I pray that you give them
a safe trip, and I pray that you get them home
safe at the end of it all. I pray that you'd
be with our church. that you'd keep our church
family safe, that you would keep our people healthy,
dear Lord. I pray that you would help us to be
a people that would seek you, help us to be a
people to serve you, give us opportunities, let
us see whether they are near or far, dear Lord.
Let us have opportunities to serve you and to
help people and to love people, and let us be
faithful to do that. I pray that you'd be with
our service this Sunday, that you would just
fill this place with people, dear Lord, that
you'd send people maybe that hadn't... come in
a while, or maybe you've never come to church
before, that they would come and that your Holy
Spirit would just speak to each one of us, dear
Lord. I pray for the music service, that you'd
bless that. I pray for the Sunday school teachers,
that you'd bless them for the time in the sermon,
that you'd just give us a good day. I pray that
you'd help us as we prepare for... our same inspiration,
and for this Easter season, dear Lord, that we
would just rejoice in you and all that you do,
dear Lord, that we would be those tonight that
would just shout joyfully to you for your goodness
and for your victory. And I ask these things
in Jesus' name. Amen.