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It was about 16 months ago, June 25th, 2023,

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that we started this series in the Psalms.

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And by the way, if you're visiting with us

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for the first time, you're like, oh great,

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the tail end of a series, sorry about that.

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But that means next week is fresh and new, so come back.

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June 25th, 2023, we started preaching through the Psalms.

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And I went back this week.

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I found my sermon from that morning,

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and I looked at what I said at the outset of that message.

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And here's what I said.

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I said, it's always an exciting day

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when we get to launch into a new preaching series.

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For me, it's like waking up on the day

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that you're about to leave on a vacation.

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And you start to wonder, well, what is ahead of us?

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What's the journey going to be like?

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And in the end, what will we learn,

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and how will we be changed by our time together?

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And then I said, I'm not sure what

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the answers to those questions are right now,

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but that too is part of what makes this moment so exciting.

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Because I know whatever the Lord does and wherever he takes us,

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it'll be for our benefit and for his glory.

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And so here we are today, wrapping up

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the series, October 20th, 2024.

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And we can now look back and answer some of those questions.

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I know I can look back and see what the Lord has done

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in my life, what he's done in my heart through the Psalms.

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And it has been life-changing.

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And from the feedback I've gotten

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from a lot of you guys over the last 16 months,

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it's been life-changing for many of you as well.

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Not because my preaching is so good,

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but because the Psalms are so amazing.

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It's been a great journey.

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And we have the Spirit of God to thank us for all of it,

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for carrying us through, for being our guide and our teacher.

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So like we said earlier in our call to worship,

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praise the Lord this morning.

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Amen?

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So how many Psalms did we actually cover?

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I ran a list last night.

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And among the five collections of books

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within the Book of Psalms, we covered 45 Psalms.

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So almost a third of them.

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In fact, here's how it breaks down in the five books.

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You can see that we are definitely heaviest

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on the front end, because that is primarily

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where most of David's Psalms are located,

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but also pretty busy in the final collection, where

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we find so many of the great Psalms of praise.

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And along the way, we not only study the works of David,

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but we listen to the voice of a man named Asaph.

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Remember the skilled musician at the tabernacle

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in the days of David, and also this great Levite family known

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as the sons of Korah.

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We even heard the voice of Moses, who wrote Psalm 90,

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and of course covered a number of Psalms

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that where the writer remains anonymous.

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And I think we covered just about every type of Psalm

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that I promised on the front end.

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Let's see.

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Praise Psalms, thanksgiving, wisdom, lament,

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penitential, liturgical, messianic,

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and we even covered three imprecatory Psalms,

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which were a great challenge, if you recall.

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So we got through, I think, every single type of Psalm.

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And as we did, a whole number of really important themes

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sort of rose to the top for me.

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First of all, the massive, massive number of times

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that the name of the Lord, Yahweh, is invoked.

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It's everywhere, isn't it?

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The consistent references to Jerusalem and to Zion,

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this place that God says, I have chosen as my dwelling place

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forever.

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Obviously, praise and worship, huge theme, right?

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And we're going to see that one last time this morning.

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And along with praise, we saw such an incredible emphasis

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on prayer.

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And not just prayer for the sake of prayer,

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like checking a box, but deep, deep, emotional,

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and authentic prayer, where the psalmist, especially David,

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right, just poured his heart out before the Lord

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because of all of the great needs that he had.

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It's interesting also, we heard a lot about the enemies of God,

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right, and how God is going to condemn the wicked, those who

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stand opposed to him, especially those

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who stand opposed to his anointed king, David.

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We saw so many familiar verses, which we recognize

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we see them later cited in the New Testament

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by the authors of the New Testament.

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And along with that, all these incredible messianic psalms,

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which point forward to Christ.

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And we should never forget that as Jesus died on the cross,

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he died with Psalm 22 on his lips.

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And finally, what stands out to me

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were the many, many references to the chesed of God, right?

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The loving kindness of God, his steadfast covenant love.

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How many times do we hear that phrase,

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according to his loving kindness?

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126 times.

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You find the word chesed in the Psalms.

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So it's been an amazing journey, guys,

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and we need to finish well this morning.

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So grab your Bibles, and we're going to go to Psalm 147.

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This is where we are going to end things.

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By the way, what's coming up next?

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Reformation Sundays, plural.

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Because Reformation Sunday is the 31st.

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It falls right in the middle of the week.

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So I said to the elders, give me two Sundays.

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Two Sundays for Reformation.

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Just again, to study more about our historical and spiritual

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roots as a non-denominational independent church in America

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today, we should know our history.

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By the way, grateful to Adam for filling in for me last week

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while I was trying to figure out the stomach bug that just

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wouldn't go away.

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And he did such a great job in Psalm 144.

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On about 12 hours notice, put together a 30-minute devotional

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that was fantastic.

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And I'm just so blessed by our elder team here.

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The one thing that Adam didn't cover that I wanted to cover

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when I was going to do Psalm 144 was the statement in verse 1.

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And by the way, he knows this.

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Jesse's laughing.

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He knows this.

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But in verse 1 of that Psalm, David says,

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blessed be the Lord who trains my hands for war.

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And that is a pretty controversial statement

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for many in Christendom today.

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And so my thought was I wanted to talk about what

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is a biblical case for a righteous war.

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So I didn't get a chance to do it,

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which means I'll probably do a podcast at some point.

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So pay attention for that.

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OK.

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I've known that I wanted to finish with Psalm 147

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from the very beginning because it is such a great summary

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psalm that brings us back to a whole bunch of the themes

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that I just mentioned.

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Now, this may sound familiar to you.

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About three months ago, we were in a section of the Psalms

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called the Hallel Psalms.

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Psalm 113 to 118, we covered two of those six.

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And back then, I explained that the word Hallel in Hebrew

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means praise.

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And when you take that word and you combine it

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with Yah, which is short for Yahweh,

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you get this everybody's favorite Hebrew word,

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halleluya, which simply means praise Yahweh or praise

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the Lord in caps in your English Bibles, right?

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Now, as we come to the end of our series,

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to the end of the book, guess what?

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There is a second set of Hallel Psalms, the last five Psalms

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from 146 to 150 are also Psalms of praise.

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Each one begins with the phrase praise the Lord or halleluya

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and also ends with that exact same phrase, praise the Lord

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or halleluya.

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So let's talk about the historical background

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of these Psalms.

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And so you know I'm going to squeeze in a little history

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before we go here.

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Scholarly consensus puts these final Hallel Psalms

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in this period that we call Judea's post-exilic era.

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So this is after the destruction of Solomon's temple in 586.

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This is after the 70 years of captivity in exile in Babylon.

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And once the remnant of faithful Jews

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returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city.

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And that restoration process began in 538

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with the first return of exiles from Babylon

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under the leadership of Zareh Babel.

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And the second temple was then rebuilt and completed in 516.

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Then in 458 Ezra the scribe, very important figure

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in the post-exilic period, brought a second wave of Jews

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back to the land, followed 13 years later

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by this amazing man by the name of Nehemiah in 445 BC.

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And it's under Nehemiah's brilliant leadership

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that Jerusalem's protective walls and city gates

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are rebuilt in just 52 days.

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Incredibly impressive.

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And that number is actually recorded

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in the book of Nehemiah.

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So what did it look like?

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Some of you guys, you know, you've

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sort of seen what this must have felt like in your mind's eye.

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What this would have looked like is Nehemiah directing

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the building of these walls.

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And you see soldiers, they had to have soldier station

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all around.

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Every family was building right in front of their dwelling,

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building the walls.

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So you're going to build that wall pretty well,

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aren't you, when you're building in front of your own dwelling

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place.

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So they built the walls, and they

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had to have guards with spears and swords stationed

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all the way around.

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Because the enemies of God did not want those walls rebuilt.

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Now, this is a really cheesy model,

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but it gives you an idea of sort of the size of the walls that

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were rebuilt.

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You see a much smaller second temple up on Mount Moriah.

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The first temple, Solomon's Temple, was larger than this.

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But you see all these walls and these city gates

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with towers, which were so important to defend the city.

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You see on the bottom left, the Dung Gate, and then the Water

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Gate, and the Fountain Gate, and the Eastern Gate.

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And all the way around, they were

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able to build the walls and the gates.

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So this is likely the setting behind Psalm 147.

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The dedication of the walls and the gate,

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and the celebration that the Israelites, the Judeans,

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went through in finishing that project.

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In fact, if you want to jot this down,

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Nehemiah 12 gives us the whole recording

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of this great celebration, where the Levites all went up

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on the top of the walls, and they encircled the city,

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and they led the community in this incredible time

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of praise and worship, singing what?

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Psalms.

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Singing Psalms of Thanksgiving and songs

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with the accompaniment of cymbals, and harps,

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and lyres.

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And the text of that amazing day finishes like this.

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It says, then, after they were up on the wall singing,

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then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God.

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So they went into the temple on Mount Moriah,

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along with the officials and priests.

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And on that day, they offered great sacrifices,

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and they rejoiced.

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Because why?

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Because God had given them great joy.

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And the joy of Jerusalem, it says, was heard from afar.

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It's one of the most special days in all of Jewish history.

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Now, as we always try to do, we want

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to try to slip on the sandals of the folks, the Jewish people

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in this moment.

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Why were they so moved to celebration and worship?

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Well, we talked about this not long ago,

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but let me just reiterate.

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None of us here this morning have ever

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had to witness the sight of an invading army coming

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into your land, to see your village burn to the ground,

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your city, your home destroyed, to see friends and family

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members slaughtered and others taken captive,

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to be driven out of your land by a pagan enemy,

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forced to resettle in a foreign nation completely removed now

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from your life of worship.

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Your temple gone, never to return.

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There are no words to describe the physical, emotional,

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and spiritual experience of what the Jews went through

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in that time.

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And now, as the return happens, you're now probably

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a second generation exile.

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Many of your ancestors had to die apart

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from the land in Babylon.

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But try to imagine how you would feel upon being released

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from slavery in Babylon to return to your precious land

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to be able to see your temple rebuilt,

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to see your city come back to life,

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and to reestablish your entire life of worship.

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And then to see your city walls go back up and your gates

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to finally feel safe and protected from your enemies.

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Guys, listen.

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How deep and filled with joy would your worship

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00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:14,140
be in that moment?

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It'd be off the charts.

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You would be worshiping like you would never worship before

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because of the Lord's goodness.

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Well, that is the story of these last five Hallel songs.

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It is truly the height of praise and worship.

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00:12:25,580 --> 00:12:28,360
So unlike so many of the other psalms that we've studied,

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in these you will not find lamenting.

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You will not find sorrow.

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You will not find complaining.

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No shadow of doubt.

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No fear.

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No despair.

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It is simply the height of exaltation.

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So let's read the psalm all the way through.

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Actually, before we do that, I have a picture.

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You know how I was going to do this.

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Did you know today you can still see parts of Nehemiah's wall?

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00:12:52,180 --> 00:12:54,120
In Jerusalem?

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It's amazing.

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That picture on the left was a picture

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I took the very first time many years ago

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that I first went to Israel.

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00:13:01,220 --> 00:13:05,300
And the guide said, that is a section of Nehemiah's wall.

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And they said, go touch it.

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00:13:06,900 --> 00:13:09,660
And I went, what?

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00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,460
I can walk up and touch?

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00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,700
He goes, look, it's been there for 2,500 years.

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00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:15,440
You're not going to break it down.

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00:13:15,540 --> 00:13:17,500
But in Israel, you just walk up and touch things

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00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:19,740
that are 2,500 years old.

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It's amazing.

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00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,640
Now, the picture on the right is much more recent.

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00:13:22,740 --> 00:13:25,080
As they continue to dig in the city of David,

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00:13:25,180 --> 00:13:27,620
they're finding more and more sections of Nehemiah's wall.

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00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:29,820
It's still there.

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00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,020
Man, God is just amazing.

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00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,520
OK, so let's read together.

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Verse 1.

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00:13:38,500 --> 00:13:40,900
Praise the Lord.

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00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:42,760
In Hebrew?

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00:13:42,860 --> 00:13:44,160
Hallelujah, very good.

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00:13:44,260 --> 00:13:47,000
For it is good to sing praises to our God.

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00:13:47,100 --> 00:13:50,200
For it is pleasant, and praise is becoming.

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00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,680
Now, listen for the language that speaks of that history

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00:13:52,780 --> 00:13:53,880
I just mentioned.

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00:13:53,980 --> 00:13:54,580
Verse 2.

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00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:56,640
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.

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00:13:56,740 --> 00:13:59,140
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

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00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,820
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

318
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:04,420
He counts the number of the stars.

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00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:06,720
He gives names to all of them.

320
00:14:06,820 --> 00:14:09,020
Great is our Lord in abundant in strength.

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00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,660
His understanding is infinite.

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00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:14,200
The Lord supports the afflicted.

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00:14:14,300 --> 00:14:17,800
He brings down the wicked to the ground.

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00:14:17,900 --> 00:14:19,340
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.

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00:14:19,340 --> 00:14:21,940
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,

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00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,500
who covers the heavens with clouds,

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00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,380
who provides rain for the earth, who makes grass

328
00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:27,580
to grow on the mountains.

329
00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,980
He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens

330
00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:32,480
which cry.

331
00:14:32,580 --> 00:14:34,340
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.

332
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,880
He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.

333
00:14:36,980 --> 00:14:39,680
The Lord favors those who fear him,

334
00:14:39,780 --> 00:14:42,960
those who wait for his loving kindness.

335
00:14:43,060 --> 00:14:44,360
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.

336
00:14:44,460 --> 00:14:46,860
Praise your God, O Zion.

337
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:48,100
And here comes more language that

338
00:14:48,100 --> 00:14:50,060
fits at the rebuilding of the walls.

339
00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:51,360
Verse 13.

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00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:54,300
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates.

341
00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,640
He has blessed your sons within you.

342
00:14:56,740 --> 00:14:58,240
He makes peace in your borders.

343
00:14:58,340 --> 00:15:01,880
He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.

344
00:15:01,980 --> 00:15:03,880
He sends forth his command to the earth.

345
00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:06,580
His word runs very swiftly.

346
00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,020
He gives snow like wool.

347
00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,080
He scatters the frost like ashes.

348
00:15:10,180 --> 00:15:12,380
He casts forth his ice as fragments.

349
00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,220
Who can stand before his cold?

350
00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,220
He sends forth his word and melts them.

351
00:15:17,220 --> 00:15:20,460
He causes his wind to blow and the waters to flow.

352
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:25,800
He declares his words to Jacob, his statutes

353
00:15:25,900 --> 00:15:29,300
and his ordinances to Israel.

354
00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,200
He has not dealt thus with any nation.

355
00:15:31,300 --> 00:15:36,240
And as for his ordinances, they have not known them.

356
00:15:36,340 --> 00:15:38,180
Praise the Lord.

357
00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:39,180
All right.

358
00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,520
So now when you step back and look at this structure here,

359
00:15:42,620 --> 00:15:44,020
you can sort of get the big picture.

360
00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:46,420
You see three stanzas here, first of all.

361
00:15:46,420 --> 00:15:49,720
1 through 6, 7 through 11, and 12 through 20.

362
00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:52,760
And each of these stanzas, you see highlighted in yellow,

363
00:15:52,860 --> 00:15:56,760
starts with a unique call to praise.

364
00:15:56,860 --> 00:15:58,200
Praise the Lord.

365
00:15:58,300 --> 00:15:59,840
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.

366
00:15:59,940 --> 00:16:02,240
In verse 12, praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.

367
00:16:02,340 --> 00:16:03,900
And then, of course, thank you.

368
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,400
You get a final praise the Lord at the very end.

369
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:07,740
So you get bookends, right?

370
00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:09,640
Praise the Lord, hallelujah at the front,

371
00:16:09,740 --> 00:16:12,180
and praise the Lord, hallelujah at the bottom.

372
00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,640
And by the way, in each stanza, after the call to worship,

373
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,520
then you get a list of reasons why you should be worshiping God.

374
00:16:18,620 --> 00:16:20,580
And so we'll walk through some of those today.

375
00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:21,280
OK.

376
00:16:21,380 --> 00:16:23,560
Let's go back up to verse 1.

377
00:16:23,660 --> 00:16:26,600
We have to start there because verse 1 sets the tone

378
00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:27,720
for the entire psalm.

379
00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:30,760
It really is the key verse.

380
00:16:30,860 --> 00:16:34,000
Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God,

381
00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:35,000
for it is pleasant.

382
00:16:35,100 --> 00:16:39,200
And praise is becoming, or praise is fitting.

383
00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:40,640
So right out of the gate, the psalmist

384
00:16:40,740 --> 00:16:42,680
tells us three things about worship.

385
00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:49,620
First of all, it is tov, it is naim, and it is nave.

386
00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,020
It is good, it is pleasant, and it is fitting.

387
00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:54,260
And who can argue with that?

388
00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,520
It is a positive good any time God's people come

389
00:16:57,620 --> 00:17:00,260
into His presence with songs of praise,

390
00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:01,660
but not just songs from the lips,

391
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,900
but with songs engaged with the heart, right?

392
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:06,500
We don't praise just to check a box,

393
00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:09,000
but with our hearts engaged.

394
00:17:09,100 --> 00:17:11,300
And then second, it's also a pleasant thing, he says.

395
00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:14,880
And that Hebrew word there can mean delightful.

396
00:17:14,980 --> 00:17:17,240
It can mean lovely.

397
00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:20,720
And I hope that's how you see your praise and worship here

398
00:17:20,820 --> 00:17:22,420
at Oak Hill.

399
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:23,520
Is it delightful to you?

400
00:17:23,620 --> 00:17:25,380
Is it lovely to you?

401
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,820
Now listen, not all of us are musical, me included.

402
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,420
I could not, if you said, hold a note to save your life,

403
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:34,700
I'd be a dead man.

404
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,660
Ask Tanya.

405
00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,140
But if we know the Lord, regardless of our skill,

406
00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:42,840
if we know the Lord, if we love Him, if we truly cherish

407
00:17:42,940 --> 00:17:45,100
the grace that He's poured out upon us,

408
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,840
then we will find praise and worship

409
00:17:48,940 --> 00:17:53,840
to be pleasant and lovely and delightful.

410
00:17:53,940 --> 00:17:55,180
And of course, finally, it's fitting.

411
00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:56,180
Why?

412
00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,380
Every creature, and we sang about it already this morning,

413
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,160
every creature ought to come before his Creator

414
00:18:02,260 --> 00:18:05,300
and sing praises, especially when that creature is completely

415
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,700
dependent on the Creator for every single thing.

416
00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:11,800
Every single thing he needs in life.

417
00:18:11,900 --> 00:18:12,800
It's fitting, right?

418
00:18:12,900 --> 00:18:15,700
For every breath he takes, every good gift he receives,

419
00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,140
comes from his Creator, so every creature should come

420
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:20,700
and give praise to the Lord.

421
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,840
So it is good.

422
00:18:22,940 --> 00:18:24,240
It is pleasant.

423
00:18:24,340 --> 00:18:25,940
It is fitting.

424
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,680
And so here's my advice to you guys about worship.

425
00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:30,280
Somebody told me this a long time ago,

426
00:18:30,380 --> 00:18:33,060
because when I first got saved, I'll be honest with you,

427
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,180
I didn't get the whole singing praises thing.

428
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:36,520
It was just, it was hard.

429
00:18:36,620 --> 00:18:37,960
I needed to grow into that.

430
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:42,660
Somebody advised me, don't be afraid to enjoy God.

431
00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,740
Don't hold your voice back.

432
00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:47,000
Right?

433
00:18:47,100 --> 00:18:48,560
Don't just mumble under your breath.

434
00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:51,300
Don't worry about what other people might think of you.

435
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:56,680
Lift your joyful noise, on key or not, lift it up

436
00:18:56,780 --> 00:18:58,020
and magnify his name.

437
00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:00,580
Because listen, here's the reason given to me.

438
00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,880
That's actually what you were created for.

439
00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:05,320
You were created for this.

440
00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:09,160
You were saved for this purpose, to magnify the name

441
00:19:09,260 --> 00:19:11,260
of your Creator and Savior.

442
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:12,820
So why would you hold back?

443
00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,200
Sam Storms, one of my favorite guys, great quote.

444
00:19:15,300 --> 00:19:16,200
He often says this.

445
00:19:16,300 --> 00:19:18,700
Listen, fish swim in the water.

446
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:24,240
Birds fly in the air, and God's redeemed, sing his praises.

447
00:19:24,340 --> 00:19:26,780
It should just be natural outflow of your heart.

448
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:29,040
It's as simple as that.

449
00:19:29,140 --> 00:19:31,120
And so this morning, if you were like me many years ago

450
00:19:31,220 --> 00:19:33,320
and you struggle to praise him, it's

451
00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,620
important to be honest about that, to take note of it.

452
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,520
And to do some heart work and say, well,

453
00:19:38,620 --> 00:19:39,520
what's going on there?

454
00:19:39,620 --> 00:19:41,660
Why don't I want to praise his name?

455
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:43,220
Is there something going on in the heart

456
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,000
that I need to bring to the surface

457
00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:48,100
and come alongside a spiritual counselor

458
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,700
and examine that to figure out what's going on?

459
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,140
Because the consequences of failing to worship the Lord

460
00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,400
are not insignificant.

461
00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:59,500
This is something we don't often think.

462
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,680
Found this great quote from an Englishman by the name

463
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:03,240
of Edward Pulsford.

464
00:20:03,340 --> 00:20:05,680
Never heard of him before, but this is a great quote.

465
00:20:05,780 --> 00:20:08,960
He says, there is no heaven either in this world

466
00:20:09,060 --> 00:20:13,820
or the world to come for people who do not praise God.

467
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,920
If you do not enter to the spirit and worship of heaven,

468
00:20:17,020 --> 00:20:22,400
how should the spirit and joy of heaven enter into you?

469
00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:24,500
So praise the Lord, friends.

470
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:25,300
He is worthy.

471
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,380
So what does the psalmist now say?

472
00:20:30,380 --> 00:20:31,980
What does he believe about God that

473
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,240
warrants such deep and thorough commitment

474
00:20:35,340 --> 00:20:36,480
to praise and worship?

475
00:20:36,580 --> 00:20:38,880
Well, listen, this psalm, he piles up

476
00:20:38,980 --> 00:20:41,320
a whole bunch of reasons that we're going to walk through.

477
00:20:41,420 --> 00:20:43,420
But to make it simple, we could go through the structure

478
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,220
all carefully.

479
00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:49,620
I just want to break it up into two simple categories.

480
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,020
Because Psalm 147 gives us perhaps

481
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,960
the most obvious example in the entire Bible

482
00:20:55,060 --> 00:21:00,240
of both the transcendence of God and the imminence of God.

483
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,440
Let me define those words for you.

484
00:21:02,540 --> 00:21:07,580
God is transcended in the sense that He exists outside

485
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:09,580
of His creation.

486
00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,780
He exists outside of both time and space.

487
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,180
He has no source.

488
00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:17,480
He is what we call assay.

489
00:21:17,580 --> 00:21:21,760
He is from Himself, meaning He is non-contingent.

490
00:21:21,860 --> 00:21:23,420
He depends on nothing.

491
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:24,620
He has no beginning.

492
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:25,800
He has no end.

493
00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:29,960
He is infinite in all aspects of His nature and being.

494
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:31,660
And you're like, I don't get it.

495
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:32,960
I know.

496
00:21:33,060 --> 00:21:33,800
I know.

497
00:21:33,900 --> 00:21:35,500
But this is what we're told.

498
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,480
He's transcendent in that sense.

499
00:21:37,580 --> 00:21:43,480
Yet, big conjunction, yet He is also imminent in the sense

500
00:21:43,580 --> 00:21:47,280
that He is replete throughout every square inch

501
00:21:47,380 --> 00:21:48,880
of His creation.

502
00:21:48,980 --> 00:21:50,180
He is present everywhere.

503
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,520
He sustains every molecule according

504
00:21:52,620 --> 00:21:54,020
to the power of His word.

505
00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:57,200
And He graciously chooses to be involved

506
00:21:57,300 --> 00:21:59,000
in the lives of His creatures.

507
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,200
So in layman's terms, we would say,

508
00:22:01,300 --> 00:22:02,800
God is, first of all, far off.

509
00:22:02,900 --> 00:22:09,240
But second, He is nearby, all at the same time.

510
00:22:09,340 --> 00:22:14,640
He is holy enough to consume sinners in His wrath,

511
00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:17,940
yet tender enough to draw our hearts into relationship

512
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,080
with Himself and save us for His pleasure.

513
00:22:22,180 --> 00:22:23,580
Think about that.

514
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,660
He's powerful enough to balance all that we need for life

515
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:28,060
in this cosmic world.

516
00:22:28,060 --> 00:22:31,020
He's powerful enough to know our life in this cosmos

517
00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:34,060
and intimate enough to know our every thought

518
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,860
and the number of hairs on our head.

519
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,540
He is far off, and yet He is nearby.

520
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:41,540
And scripture doesn't back away from declaring

521
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:42,900
both of those truths.

522
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,500
Even if for us, it seems impossible to understand,

523
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:46,780
scripture is very clear.

524
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,380
In fact, we haven't made that up.

525
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,340
No man would make that up, that picture of God.

526
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,820
God Himself told us, that's who I am.

527
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,980
Look at, listen to Isaiah 57, 15.

528
00:22:56,980 --> 00:23:00,260
He says, the high and exalted one who lives forever,

529
00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:03,060
whose name is holy, God says this about Himself,

530
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,800
I dwell on a high and holy place, far off,

531
00:23:07,900 --> 00:23:15,000
and also with the contrite and the lowly of spirit nearby,

532
00:23:15,100 --> 00:23:17,540
in order to revive the spirit of the lowly

533
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,880
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

534
00:23:20,980 --> 00:23:23,340
And as worshipers, it is so important

535
00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,120
that we balance our thoughts about God

536
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:27,120
and our thoughts about Him, and we

537
00:23:27,220 --> 00:23:28,920
balance both ends of that spectrum.

538
00:23:29,020 --> 00:23:30,280
Because here's the thing, when we

539
00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:32,680
lose sight of God's transcendence,

540
00:23:32,780 --> 00:23:36,220
and we forget how awesome He is, how magnificent and high

541
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,660
and lofty He is, we will fail to honor Him as we should.

542
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,860
We will fail to stand in awe of Him as we should.

543
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:44,740
But if we lose sight of His eminence,

544
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,340
then we're going to fail to relate to Him as we should,

545
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,500
to love Him as much as we should.

546
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,280
But when we balance the two, we get in this sweet spot,

547
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:55,640
we love His magnificence, and yet we're

548
00:23:55,740 --> 00:23:57,980
able to abide with Him in relationship

549
00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:00,220
as we would with a friend.

550
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:01,320
Think about that.

551
00:24:01,420 --> 00:24:04,580
How amazing is God?

552
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,360
So what exactly do we see in Psalm 147

553
00:24:07,460 --> 00:24:08,820
that reveals God's transcendence?

554
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:09,820
We'll start at verse 4.

555
00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:12,500
Look at verse 4.

556
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,260
He counts the number of the stars,

557
00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:18,740
and He gives names to all of them.

558
00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:20,840
Now, we've already walked through some of the science

559
00:24:20,940 --> 00:24:22,940
behind this multiple times in this series.

560
00:24:22,940 --> 00:24:26,680
But just as a refresher, there are somewhere around 100

561
00:24:26,780 --> 00:24:29,880
billion stars just in the Milky Way,

562
00:24:29,980 --> 00:24:31,740
just in our little corner of the universe,

563
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,880
which is a pretty small corner, 100 billion stars.

564
00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:38,660
It's so much bigger than that in reality.

565
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:40,960
When you look at the fact that astronomers say there's

566
00:24:41,060 --> 00:24:47,020
10 to 20 trillion galaxies that exist,

567
00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:49,400
and each of those trillions of galaxies

568
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,100
has hundreds of billions of stars in each,

569
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,300
the numbers are just ridiculous.

570
00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,400
The numbers are unfathomable for us.

571
00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:01,040
And by the way, God designed it that way.

572
00:25:01,140 --> 00:25:04,080
But it's not ridiculous for God.

573
00:25:04,180 --> 00:25:07,180
Now, I don't think we should take this poetic language

574
00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:10,760
and think, well, God right now is literally up in heaven.

575
00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:14,560
One, two, three, four.

576
00:25:14,660 --> 00:25:15,560
Right?

577
00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:18,200
He's not out there, OK, your name is Bob.

578
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:19,420
Your name is Fred.

579
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:20,700
No.

580
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,800
I don't think we should take the language that literally.

581
00:25:23,900 --> 00:25:26,760
The truth is actually greater than that.

582
00:25:26,860 --> 00:25:29,440
He doesn't need to count the stars,

583
00:25:29,540 --> 00:25:31,880
because he already knows how many there are.

584
00:25:31,980 --> 00:25:33,600
That number that you can't fathom,

585
00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:36,880
he already knows, he doesn't have to count.

586
00:25:36,980 --> 00:25:39,080
Because nothing goes out of existence without his approval,

587
00:25:39,180 --> 00:25:41,920
and nothing comes into existence without his approval.

588
00:25:42,020 --> 00:25:44,920
And he already knows the label of each one.

589
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:49,420
He knows every star in every galaxy, its size,

590
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,360
its lifespan, its movement, its location, all of it.

591
00:25:53,460 --> 00:25:54,560
He already knows it.

592
00:25:54,660 --> 00:25:56,760
It's actually greater than what the psalmist

593
00:25:56,860 --> 00:25:59,300
describes in the poetry.

594
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,100
And then moving on, we see in verse eight and nine,

595
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,540
he covers the heavens with clouds.

596
00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:05,940
He provides rain for the earth.

597
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:07,880
He makes grass to grow on the mountains.

598
00:26:07,980 --> 00:26:10,740
He gives to the beast its food.

599
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,480
And then in verses 16 to 18, he gives snow like wool.

600
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,120
He scatters the frost like ashes.

601
00:26:16,220 --> 00:26:18,120
He casts forth his ice.

602
00:26:18,220 --> 00:26:20,280
He causes his wind to blow and the waters to flow.

603
00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:23,520
So we praise God for his control over all of nature.

604
00:26:23,620 --> 00:26:26,260
Nothing in creation exists or happens

605
00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:27,920
apart from his sovereign hand,

606
00:26:28,020 --> 00:26:32,740
both in the sky above and in the earth below.

607
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,140
And aren't you glad that he provides rain for our food?

608
00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:36,240
We forget.

609
00:26:36,340 --> 00:26:39,040
The food doesn't end up in the market by magic.

610
00:26:39,140 --> 00:26:40,040
It grows from the ground.

611
00:26:40,140 --> 00:26:42,000
Aren't you glad for the rain?

612
00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:43,000
He feeds us.

613
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:44,580
He brings the beasts of the earth.

614
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,820
He brings about snow and wind in its season.

615
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:49,620
That's important for water, right?

616
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,780
He causes rivers to flow from their source to their end.

617
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,920
And he does it all without a sweat.

618
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,660
A fact is, friends, stop and think about this for a second.

619
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,400
We are pretty helpless creatures.

620
00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:05,360
We really are.

621
00:27:05,460 --> 00:27:06,900
If you remove one of those things,

622
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,840
you remove one essential ingredient from the world,

623
00:27:10,940 --> 00:27:12,240
we're in big trouble.

624
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,640
Water, meat, plants, you remove those things.

625
00:27:15,740 --> 00:27:17,440
If those things don't work according

626
00:27:17,540 --> 00:27:21,120
to God's sovereign hand, we are all in big trouble.

627
00:27:21,220 --> 00:27:22,720
So praise God.

628
00:27:22,820 --> 00:27:25,780
Every day you have something to praise him for.

629
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,080
He graciously provides for all of creation, for his creatures.

630
00:27:29,180 --> 00:27:31,320
If the rain falls, praise him.

631
00:27:31,420 --> 00:27:33,620
If the grass grows, praise him.

632
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,720
If the animals are fed, praise him.

633
00:27:35,820 --> 00:27:38,900
Even the weather, which we all complain way too much about,

634
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:39,860
including me.

635
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,300
Got to stop this.

636
00:27:41,300 --> 00:27:42,900
Tanya's laughing.

637
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,640
It's all for a purpose.

638
00:27:44,740 --> 00:27:46,140
And so we praise him.

639
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,180
And by the way, this isn't mother nature at work.

640
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:53,380
Stop me with that materialistic nonsense, right?

641
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,240
There's a reason and a cause and an intelligence

642
00:27:56,340 --> 00:28:01,620
behind all of the things that we call natural processes.

643
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:03,720
Any man who believes that all of the design that's

644
00:28:03,820 --> 00:28:06,500
built into our universe, that it just randomly happened,

645
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,760
or that it all holds together and works in perfect balance

646
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:14,560
by sheer chance, that man has way more faith than I do.

647
00:28:14,660 --> 00:28:18,300
Way more faith in his so-called science.

648
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:19,240
God is at work.

649
00:28:19,340 --> 00:28:20,400
And we should praise him for it.

650
00:28:20,500 --> 00:28:22,480
Finally, all these transcendent ways of the Lord

651
00:28:22,580 --> 00:28:24,080
get summarized in verse 5.

652
00:28:24,180 --> 00:28:27,980
Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength.

653
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:30,280
His understanding is infinite.

654
00:28:30,380 --> 00:28:34,620
Listen, there's simply no way that you or I can step back

655
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,660
and go, OK, I understand God now, fully.

656
00:28:38,660 --> 00:28:39,860
There's no way.

657
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,320
All we can do is three things.

658
00:28:42,420 --> 00:28:43,800
And whenever you're talking about somebody

659
00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:46,560
who doubts the existence of God or doesn't know God,

660
00:28:46,660 --> 00:28:47,960
these are three things to talk about.

661
00:28:48,060 --> 00:28:51,140
Number one, look around at creation.

662
00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,780
Marvel at the beauty and the complexity

663
00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:55,180
of the world around us.

664
00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,840
And ask the question, how did it get here?

665
00:28:58,940 --> 00:28:59,940
Where did it come from?

666
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:01,140
How is it held together?

667
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:02,640
How do you know when you wake up tomorrow

668
00:29:02,740 --> 00:29:05,380
it'll still be held together?

669
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:06,380
So look around.

670
00:29:06,380 --> 00:29:09,280
First of all, second, look within yourself.

671
00:29:09,380 --> 00:29:12,060
Where did my soul come from?

672
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:12,900
Why do I love?

673
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:13,700
Why do I forgive?

674
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,200
Why do I do those things?

675
00:29:15,300 --> 00:29:18,840
I'm not just an animal operating off of instincts.

676
00:29:18,940 --> 00:29:19,940
I'm so much more.

677
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,140
Well, why?

678
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,300
How did that happen?

679
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,940
So look out, look within, and then look into the Scriptures.

680
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,340
Because that's the only place where God has said, listen,

681
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,620
I know you can see some things about me in the world

682
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:34,780
around you.

683
00:29:34,780 --> 00:29:37,180
And you can know something about me from your own soul,

684
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:38,860
your own conscience.

685
00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:44,100
But ultimately, you need my word to know who I truly am.

686
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,600
And so God revealed Himself to us.

687
00:29:46,700 --> 00:29:51,840
He breathed out His instructions to us through human authors

688
00:29:51,940 --> 00:29:55,000
and gave us great promises and gave us answers for the reasons

689
00:29:55,100 --> 00:29:58,600
why all of this exists.

690
00:29:58,700 --> 00:29:59,980
Before we move on to eminence, I want

691
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,540
you to listen to what Isaiah says about this topic.

692
00:30:02,540 --> 00:30:06,280
He has a whole chapter, chapter 40, which is quite remarkable.

693
00:30:06,380 --> 00:30:08,380
And so for anybody here this morning who questions

694
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,820
the transcendence of God, I just want you,

695
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,320
I'm going to read portions of it, not all of it,

696
00:30:13,420 --> 00:30:14,760
but I'm going to read portions of it.

697
00:30:14,860 --> 00:30:16,100
So just listen and be amazed.

698
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,500
And if you need to close your eyes, close your eyes.

699
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,660
But this is what Isaiah says.

700
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:27,200
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of Yahweh's hand

701
00:30:27,300 --> 00:30:31,100
or marked off the heavens with the span of His hand?

702
00:30:31,100 --> 00:30:33,440
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure

703
00:30:33,540 --> 00:30:36,220
or weighed the mountains on a balance

704
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:37,980
and the hills on the scales?

705
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,020
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord?

706
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,980
Who has given Him counsel?

707
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,560
With whom will you compare God?

708
00:30:45,660 --> 00:30:49,700
What likeness will you set up for comparison with Him?

709
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:51,000
An idol?

710
00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:53,420
Something that a smelter casts in a metal worker

711
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,660
plates with gold?

712
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,800
Do you not know?

713
00:30:57,900 --> 00:30:58,800
Have you not heard?

714
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:03,040
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

715
00:31:03,140 --> 00:31:06,940
Have you not considered the foundations of the earth?

716
00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:10,120
God is enthroned above the circle of the earth.

717
00:31:10,220 --> 00:31:13,420
Its inhabitants are like grasshoppers to Him.

718
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,680
He stretches out the heavens like cloth.

719
00:31:15,780 --> 00:31:19,720
He spreads them out like a tent to live in.

720
00:31:19,820 --> 00:31:23,620
He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth

721
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,500
like a wasteland.

722
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,660
They're barely planted, barely sown.

723
00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:30,200
Their stem hardly takes root in the ground

724
00:31:30,300 --> 00:31:33,240
when He blows on them and they wither.

725
00:31:33,340 --> 00:31:37,000
And a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

726
00:31:37,100 --> 00:31:40,240
To whom will you compare Me?

727
00:31:40,340 --> 00:31:41,540
Or who is My equal?

728
00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,340
asks the Holy One.

729
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:44,420
Look up and see.

730
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:45,880
Who created these?

731
00:31:45,980 --> 00:31:47,560
He brings out the stars by number.

732
00:31:47,660 --> 00:31:49,560
He calls all of them by name.

733
00:31:49,660 --> 00:31:51,360
Because of His great power and strength,

734
00:31:51,460 --> 00:31:54,260
not one of them is missing.

735
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,200
Do you not know?

736
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:57,660
Have you not heard?

737
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:01,660
Yahweh is the everlasting God, the creator of the whole earth.

738
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:06,900
He never becomes faint or weary, and there is no limit

739
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,200
to His understanding.

740
00:32:10,300 --> 00:32:12,040
That's what God has declared about Himself.

741
00:32:12,140 --> 00:32:13,240
Do you believe it?

742
00:32:13,340 --> 00:32:14,640
It's your choice to believe it now, right?

743
00:32:14,740 --> 00:32:17,940
To say, yep, I believe it.

744
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:19,280
OK, now here's the thing.

745
00:32:19,380 --> 00:32:23,360
As we move into the second aspect of God's nature,

746
00:32:23,460 --> 00:32:25,520
His eminence, consider what I just

747
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:29,220
read from Isaiah 40, who that God is,

748
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,060
and then try to grasp the fact that He knows everything

749
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,960
about you.

750
00:32:36,060 --> 00:32:41,840
That God knows everything about you and about me.

751
00:32:41,940 --> 00:32:49,480
See, in His majesty, it extends to both extreme directions.

752
00:32:49,580 --> 00:32:53,340
From the furthest galaxy in our universe

753
00:32:53,340 --> 00:32:57,120
to the unique needs that you have in your life.

754
00:32:57,220 --> 00:32:58,280
Think about that.

755
00:32:58,380 --> 00:33:03,520
So vast a universe and yet so small the affairs of men.

756
00:33:03,620 --> 00:33:06,120
Now, earthly kings, how do earthly kings

757
00:33:06,220 --> 00:33:09,960
relate to peasants and commoners?

758
00:33:10,060 --> 00:33:11,760
They distance themselves.

759
00:33:11,860 --> 00:33:15,140
But the King of kings, the God of the Bible, does the opposite.

760
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,600
And this is a mind-blowing thing considering who He is.

761
00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:21,840
He draws near to the lowly.

762
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:23,580
He draws near.

763
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:24,980
And it brings to mind the question

764
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,180
that David asked in Psalm 144 last Sunday.

765
00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,260
It says, what is man that you care for him, O Lord?

766
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:33,460
What is man that you care?

767
00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,460
What is the son of man that you would even think of him?

768
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:37,560
Man is like a breath.

769
00:33:37,660 --> 00:33:40,020
His days are like a passing shadow.

770
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,760
Guys, that is a legitimate question to ask ourselves

771
00:33:43,860 --> 00:33:47,340
and to ponder the answer, to even share with somebody

772
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:48,440
who doesn't know the Lord.

773
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:52,600
What is man that God would even be concerned?

774
00:33:52,700 --> 00:33:55,540
In this world of self-centeredness and narcissism,

775
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:57,920
where everybody feels entitled to things,

776
00:33:58,020 --> 00:34:01,780
feel like they deserve not just what they have but even more.

777
00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:03,680
But the question is, honestly, why?

778
00:34:03,780 --> 00:34:06,560
Why do you feel entitled to that?

779
00:34:06,660 --> 00:34:07,780
Why do you feel you deserve it?

780
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,000
What does any man that God should care for him?

781
00:34:12,860 --> 00:34:14,600
In light of our sinful ways and the way

782
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:19,640
we rebel against our Creator, why should he provide anything

783
00:34:19,740 --> 00:34:23,700
for you or for me?

784
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,280
The fact is, not only does he care,

785
00:34:26,380 --> 00:34:29,840
he pours out his grace lavishly upon the earth.

786
00:34:29,940 --> 00:34:34,880
He makes mankind the object of his loving attention.

787
00:34:34,980 --> 00:34:38,180
It's too much to even fathom.

788
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:39,520
The psalmist makes it clear, though,

789
00:34:39,620 --> 00:34:41,420
that God's special delight and pleasure

790
00:34:41,420 --> 00:34:44,620
is in one particular category of people.

791
00:34:44,720 --> 00:34:46,520
Look at verse 11.

792
00:34:46,620 --> 00:34:50,560
The Lord favors those who fear him,

793
00:34:50,660 --> 00:34:53,560
those who wait for his loving kindness.

794
00:34:53,660 --> 00:34:55,900
So God's not a human.

795
00:34:56,000 --> 00:35:00,580
He doesn't favor the strong or the swift or the powerful.

796
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:02,440
He's not like human beings who are

797
00:35:02,540 --> 00:35:07,180
super impressed by celebrities and athletes and politicians.

798
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:09,820
God's the opposite of that.

799
00:35:09,820 --> 00:35:13,080
He delights in men and women who are humble and reverent

800
00:35:13,180 --> 00:35:17,320
and worshipful, men and women who recognize not a sense

801
00:35:17,420 --> 00:35:21,200
of entitlement, but recognize the great need that they have,

802
00:35:21,300 --> 00:35:23,400
that only he can meet.

803
00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:24,900
He delights in those who honor him

804
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,260
by trusting his word, by putting their hope

805
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:29,960
in his steadfast love.

806
00:35:30,060 --> 00:35:33,140
And those are the marks of new life in Christ.

807
00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:36,380
If you're wondering, what does it look like to be a Christian?

808
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,580
That's it.

809
00:35:38,580 --> 00:35:41,780
A greater fear, a sense of awe before God,

810
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,580
but also hope in him alone.

811
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,280
We fear because we know in our hearts that we're sinners,

812
00:35:47,380 --> 00:35:50,620
but we hope because God is a God of grace.

813
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,260
And we balance those two things, right?

814
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:57,200
We know, I am a sinner, but I am saved by grace.

815
00:35:57,300 --> 00:36:00,200
Now, the fifth century BC, the time the psalm is being written,

816
00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:02,700
you see in the text that Yahweh had his eye

817
00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:05,940
upon his chosen nation, Israel.

818
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,740
You see it in verse 2.

819
00:36:07,740 --> 00:36:09,780
Jerusalem, Israel.

820
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:11,140
You see it in verse 12.

821
00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:13,240
Jerusalem, Zion.

822
00:36:13,340 --> 00:36:14,640
You see it again in verse 19.

823
00:36:14,740 --> 00:36:17,780
Jacob, Israel.

824
00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:19,460
And the reference here in verse 2

825
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,280
seems to be tied to those events of Nehemiah coming back

826
00:36:22,380 --> 00:36:25,060
to the city and rebuilding the walls.

827
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,160
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.

828
00:36:27,260 --> 00:36:29,360
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

829
00:36:29,460 --> 00:36:32,800
In other words, he brings them back from exile.

830
00:36:32,900 --> 00:36:34,200
Verses 13 and 14.

831
00:36:34,300 --> 00:36:36,340
He strengthens the bars of your gates.

832
00:36:36,340 --> 00:36:38,300
He blesses your sons within you.

833
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:40,100
He makes peace in your borders.

834
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,040
He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.

835
00:36:43,140 --> 00:36:46,040
Guys, all of these things, Yahweh has done for his people.

836
00:36:46,140 --> 00:36:51,480
Securing, protecting, providing, and blessing.

837
00:36:51,580 --> 00:36:54,180
And not because they deserved it.

838
00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:55,860
This is what we got to get straight.

839
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:57,520
Not because they deserved it, not

840
00:36:57,620 --> 00:36:59,760
because they were entitled to such things,

841
00:36:59,860 --> 00:37:02,020
because we know about the people that came back

842
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:03,600
to the land from Babylon.

843
00:37:03,700 --> 00:37:05,900
They were not all godly people.

844
00:37:05,900 --> 00:37:08,660
They had lots of problems.

845
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:10,200
They were very imperfect.

846
00:37:10,300 --> 00:37:11,500
Here's why God did this.

847
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,740
Because he had promised it.

848
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:14,980
That's it.

849
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:18,140
We have got to get this through our thick skulls.

850
00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:20,320
We're always talking about scales and weighing things.

851
00:37:20,420 --> 00:37:21,580
Well, if I'm on the good side of things,

852
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:22,720
then God will do this.

853
00:37:22,820 --> 00:37:24,420
No, God does things because he says

854
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:29,420
he's going to do them in spite of you and me.

855
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:30,620
And so that's what he did.

856
00:37:30,720 --> 00:37:33,700
He promised to restore Jerusalem and to restore his temple

857
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:35,260
and to restore his people.

858
00:37:35,260 --> 00:37:38,560
And so by grace alone, he faithfully brought that about,

859
00:37:38,660 --> 00:37:39,940
ultimately for his glory.

860
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,840
So we could say, those are my people in my chosen land.

861
00:37:43,940 --> 00:37:46,840
And they will praise my name.

862
00:37:46,940 --> 00:37:49,280
Because he wanted the world to see that.

863
00:37:49,380 --> 00:37:51,440
By the way, just so we don't get arrogant,

864
00:37:51,540 --> 00:37:53,640
because we have a tendency to look back on ancient people

865
00:37:53,740 --> 00:37:55,320
and go, oh, those fools.

866
00:37:55,420 --> 00:37:57,180
We're no different.

867
00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:58,560
We're no different, right?

868
00:37:58,660 --> 00:38:04,520
Christ said he would build his church with people like us.

869
00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:05,720
Sinners saved by grace.

870
00:38:05,820 --> 00:38:07,460
And just like the fifth century Jews,

871
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:09,500
we don't deserve that blessing.

872
00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:10,600
Yes, it's for our good.

873
00:38:10,700 --> 00:38:12,440
But ultimately, it's for his glory,

874
00:38:12,540 --> 00:38:14,940
because he's gathering people from all over the earth

875
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:17,200
and bringing them into this thing called the church

876
00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:19,840
so that we might praise his holy name.

877
00:38:19,940 --> 00:38:21,080
It's all by grace.

878
00:38:21,180 --> 00:38:25,340
Same thing, fifth century BC and today.

879
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,880
Now, in addition to those who fear him and hope in him,

880
00:38:27,980 --> 00:38:31,920
Yahweh also favors those who are special object of his care.

881
00:38:32,020 --> 00:38:33,620
Look back at the first stanza.

882
00:38:33,620 --> 00:38:36,720
Verse 2, he talks about outcasts.

883
00:38:36,820 --> 00:38:39,960
Verse 3, he talks about the brokenhearted.

884
00:38:40,060 --> 00:38:43,760
Verse 6, he talks about the afflicted.

885
00:38:43,860 --> 00:38:48,040
So for those who fear him and hope in him who are suffering,

886
00:38:48,140 --> 00:38:54,100
he gathers, he heals, and he binds up their wounds.

887
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:55,340
Again, be amazed by this.

888
00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:58,440
The same God who can count the stars

889
00:38:58,540 --> 00:39:01,880
is concerned about people who are hurting on the earth.

890
00:39:01,980 --> 00:39:03,480
That is amazing.

891
00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:06,480
Spurgeon.

892
00:39:06,580 --> 00:39:07,820
I have to go one more time.

893
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,120
By the way, somebody finally asked me,

894
00:39:09,220 --> 00:39:12,200
why so many Spurgeon quotes in this series?

895
00:39:12,300 --> 00:39:14,000
It's because he's got the greatest work called

896
00:39:14,100 --> 00:39:15,200
the treasury.

897
00:39:15,300 --> 00:39:17,960
It's his personal treasury of commentaries on the Psalms.

898
00:39:18,060 --> 00:39:18,600
Look it up.

899
00:39:18,700 --> 00:39:19,600
It's absolutely amazing.

900
00:39:19,700 --> 00:39:20,800
That's why.

901
00:39:20,900 --> 00:39:23,100
And it's just a joy to read each and every week.

902
00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:27,800
He says, behold, the most high is with the sick

903
00:39:27,900 --> 00:39:32,520
and the sorrowful, with the wretched and the wounded.

904
00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:34,540
Few will associate with the despondent,

905
00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:40,380
but Yahweh chooses their company and abides with them

906
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:42,420
till he has healed them by his comforts.

907
00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:44,920
He himself lays on the ointment of grace

908
00:39:45,020 --> 00:39:47,900
and the soft bandages of love and thus binds up

909
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:52,340
the bleeding wounds of those who are convinced of their sin.

910
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:54,940
Don't forget that last phrase.

911
00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:58,040
Not for the strong, not for the powerful, not for the arrogant,

912
00:39:58,140 --> 00:40:02,400
but for those who are convinced of their sin.

913
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:07,420
When Jesus came to earth, God the Son in human form, right?

914
00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,120
He goes into the synagogue and He opens up the Word

915
00:40:10,220 --> 00:40:12,580
and He preaches from Isaiah 61.

916
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:14,820
He says, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me

917
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:19,700
because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

918
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:24,100
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

919
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:27,900
and recovery of sight to the blind,

920
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:32,200
to set free those who are oppressed.

921
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:34,980
This is God's heart.

922
00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:37,680
The same God who knows all the stars,

923
00:40:37,780 --> 00:40:41,440
this is His heart for you and I.

924
00:40:41,540 --> 00:40:43,120
Paul spoke of this as well.

925
00:40:43,220 --> 00:40:47,160
Paul talks about the believers in 1st century Corinth, right?

926
00:40:47,260 --> 00:40:48,420
And here's what he says.

927
00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:51,520
God has chosen the foolish things of the world.

928
00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:52,520
Ha ha.

929
00:40:55,620 --> 00:40:56,460
Right?

930
00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:57,760
We should all just say it.

931
00:40:57,860 --> 00:40:58,860
That's us.

932
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:00,700
Foolish things of the world.

933
00:41:00,700 --> 00:41:03,140
The weak things of the world.

934
00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:05,900
The insignificant things of the world.

935
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,900
The despised God has chosen, he says.

936
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:10,740
The things that are not,

937
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:14,720
He has chosen to nullify the things that are.

938
00:41:14,820 --> 00:41:16,420
For what reason?

939
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,360
Paul says, so that no man may boast before God.

940
00:41:22,820 --> 00:41:25,020
In verse 6 of our Psalm,

941
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:26,820
Yahweh also promises something else,

942
00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:28,820
to bring down the wicked.

943
00:41:28,820 --> 00:41:31,200
Those whom the world looks to and says,

944
00:41:31,300 --> 00:41:33,540
oh, those are the beautiful people.

945
00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:35,240
Those are the powerful people.

946
00:41:35,340 --> 00:41:37,500
Those are the celebrities, the elite,

947
00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:39,300
and they glory in themselves.

948
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:43,340
God says, in the end, I will bring them down.

949
00:41:44,820 --> 00:41:47,020
But God will give grace to the humble.

950
00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:48,920
To those who acknowledge their sins.

951
00:41:49,020 --> 00:41:50,120
To those who repent.

952
00:41:50,220 --> 00:41:54,360
To those who fear the Lord and hope in Him.

953
00:41:54,460 --> 00:41:56,320
And this brings me then to the final great promise

954
00:41:56,420 --> 00:41:57,720
in Psalm 141.

955
00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:00,120
God is near to the outcasts and the brokenhearted

956
00:42:00,220 --> 00:42:02,060
and the afflicted and the humble.

957
00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:03,760
And to these, the psalmist says,

958
00:42:03,860 --> 00:42:05,360
he sends his word.

959
00:42:05,460 --> 00:42:07,060
Did you catch that in the reading?

960
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:09,500
He sends his word.

961
00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:10,800
Starts in verse 15.

962
00:42:10,900 --> 00:42:13,140
He sends forth his command to the earth.

963
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:16,640
His word runs very swiftly, the psalmist says.

964
00:42:16,740 --> 00:42:17,880
Again in verse 18.

965
00:42:17,980 --> 00:42:19,340
He sends forth his word.

966
00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:21,320
Now both of those are references

967
00:42:21,420 --> 00:42:25,380
to how God commands the natural world.

968
00:42:25,380 --> 00:42:27,580
But then when you get to verse 19,

969
00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:29,060
you see something altogether different.

970
00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:31,420
Not natural revelation, but what we call what?

971
00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,620
Special revelation.

972
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:36,700
He declares his words to who?

973
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:37,900
To Jacob.

974
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:39,500
To Israel.

975
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:42,240
His statues and ordinances to Israel.

976
00:42:42,340 --> 00:42:44,140
So the same God who creates, orders,

977
00:42:44,240 --> 00:42:47,800
and directs the natural world through his word

978
00:42:47,900 --> 00:42:50,240
brings the revelation of who he is.

979
00:42:50,340 --> 00:42:52,240
The revelation of his heart and mind

980
00:42:52,340 --> 00:42:54,540
through his service to the world.

981
00:42:54,540 --> 00:42:57,740
Through his servant Israel.

982
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:01,080
The Jewish people were granted that incredible privilege.

983
00:43:01,180 --> 00:43:02,360
Paul talks about it in Romans 3.

984
00:43:02,460 --> 00:43:04,580
The Jews were given the oracles of Yahweh.

985
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,560
They are the guardians of his revealed word, which by the way

986
00:43:07,660 --> 00:43:09,660
is why Jesus, when Jesus is talking

987
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:14,000
to the Gentile woman at the well, what does he say?

988
00:43:14,100 --> 00:43:17,160
You worship what you don't know, but we Jews, we know.

989
00:43:17,260 --> 00:43:21,380
Because salvation is from the Jews.

990
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:22,540
And of course it is.

991
00:43:22,540 --> 00:43:24,840
It runs through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

992
00:43:24,940 --> 00:43:27,780
because salvation is only accessible to those

993
00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:29,840
who have God's word.

994
00:43:29,940 --> 00:43:32,280
Who have the good news of the gospel.

995
00:43:32,380 --> 00:43:34,380
And then believe and trust in God's promises.

996
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:37,660
Salvation is through the Jews.

997
00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:40,220
And so guys, we're to praise the Lord above all other things

998
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:42,560
for the fact that he has manifested himself

999
00:43:42,660 --> 00:43:46,500
to us through his word.

1000
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:48,800
I mean there's a million great promises we can look at,

1001
00:43:48,900 --> 00:43:52,200
but without the word we would not know them.

1002
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:53,800
Think about this.

1003
00:43:53,900 --> 00:43:55,540
Do you sense the height of God's love

1004
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:58,200
and knowing that he cared enough about you

1005
00:43:58,300 --> 00:44:02,920
to reveal himself to you through his scriptures?

1006
00:44:03,020 --> 00:44:04,920
Do you see that his affection and care for you

1007
00:44:05,020 --> 00:44:09,380
is found in the Bible to show you and I how we can experience

1008
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:12,320
the fullness of joy in this abiding relationship

1009
00:44:12,420 --> 00:44:14,960
with our creator and savior?

1010
00:44:15,060 --> 00:44:16,560
That Bible you have in your hands,

1011
00:44:16,660 --> 00:44:18,560
whether it's a book or it's on your phone,

1012
00:44:18,660 --> 00:44:21,440
is God's greatest gift to you.

1013
00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:23,360
And you say, well, no, salvation is.

1014
00:44:23,460 --> 00:44:27,700
Without the book you wouldn't even know what salvation is.

1015
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:29,380
That's why we put Bibliology first

1016
00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:31,700
in all of the list of systematic theology.

1017
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:33,840
Because without the Bible we can't know the rest.

1018
00:44:36,940 --> 00:44:41,820
I read an article a few years back written by Mark Devere,

1019
00:44:41,920 --> 00:44:43,020
who's a great historian.

1020
00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:44,620
And he was in London at a conference

1021
00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:48,320
and he was doing a talk on the Puritans.

1022
00:44:48,420 --> 00:44:50,600
And he was telling the audience how back in England

1023
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:54,500
in the 1500s, this cracks me up, Puritan churches would take

1024
00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:57,740
a pulpit like this and they would hang a big hook, iron

1025
00:44:57,840 --> 00:44:59,160
hook on the front of it.

1026
00:44:59,260 --> 00:45:02,580
And on the hook they would put a big hourglass

1027
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:04,900
and fill it with sand.

1028
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:06,240
And as the preacher was preaching,

1029
00:45:06,340 --> 00:45:08,740
they would give the preacher two turns of the hourglass.

1030
00:45:12,220 --> 00:45:15,420
Yeah, scary, huh?

1031
00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:17,360
And we think of that and go, oh, man, those guys really,

1032
00:45:17,460 --> 00:45:19,320
they really wanted to limit the time of the preacher.

1033
00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:21,660
But no, that wasn't it.

1034
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:24,420
Because here's the thing, people living in the 1500s,

1035
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,900
early 1600s in England, as they sat in churches,

1036
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:33,000
they could still smell the smell of burned flesh,

1037
00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:35,640
of fellow Christians who'd been burned at the stake,

1038
00:45:35,740 --> 00:45:38,140
because they had the audacity to be

1039
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:42,180
in possession of an English Bible.

1040
00:45:42,280 --> 00:45:44,240
Think about that.

1041
00:45:44,340 --> 00:45:48,780
And so the turning of that hourglass

1042
00:45:48,780 --> 00:45:50,760
gave the people listening in the pews,

1043
00:45:50,860 --> 00:45:54,220
they were reminded about how short the time was

1044
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:58,020
that they had to hear God's word preached.

1045
00:45:58,120 --> 00:45:59,500
So every time somebody got up and flipped it,

1046
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:02,560
they would say, look how short our time is.

1047
00:46:02,660 --> 00:46:05,960
To hear the Bible in our own language

1048
00:46:06,060 --> 00:46:09,800
and to hear it preached, that's amazing.

1049
00:46:09,900 --> 00:46:13,180
Now, the question is, do we treat the word of God that way?

1050
00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:18,580
As that level of a gift that we have it in our own language

1051
00:46:18,580 --> 00:46:20,780
we all have multiple Bibles in our home.

1052
00:46:20,880 --> 00:46:21,720
It's on our phone.

1053
00:46:21,820 --> 00:46:24,960
We can listen to it in the car.

1054
00:46:25,060 --> 00:46:25,920
What a gift we have.

1055
00:46:26,020 --> 00:46:29,420
Without it, we could only speculate about who God is.

1056
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:32,600
We would only be able to guess about how we can know Him.

1057
00:46:32,700 --> 00:46:34,260
Without the written word, we wouldn't even

1058
00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:35,760
know our own hearts.

1059
00:46:35,860 --> 00:46:39,340
We wouldn't know even about our own selves.

1060
00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:41,440
We wouldn't know why we were created in the first place,

1061
00:46:41,540 --> 00:46:44,340
or how our sins could be forgiven.

1062
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:46,980
So friends, I know it's really easy to slip

1063
00:46:46,980 --> 00:46:50,680
into complacency, but do not take for granted the fact

1064
00:46:50,780 --> 00:46:54,480
that you hold in your hands this morning God's revelation

1065
00:46:54,580 --> 00:46:55,980
to you.

1066
00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:58,320
Amen?

1067
00:46:58,420 --> 00:47:03,820
Well, it's time to wrap up both the Psalm and the series.

1068
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:06,000
And of course, where are we going to end?

1069
00:47:06,100 --> 00:47:08,100
Look at the very end of Psalm 147.

1070
00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:13,240
What's the last word from the psalmist?

1071
00:47:13,340 --> 00:47:14,040
Praise the Lord.

1072
00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:17,000
Hallelujah.

1073
00:47:17,100 --> 00:47:19,880
That's it.

1074
00:47:19,980 --> 00:47:26,240
So the psalmist has drawn for us this spectacular picture

1075
00:47:26,340 --> 00:47:29,680
of two things, countless stars and humble hearts.

1076
00:47:29,780 --> 00:47:33,080
And we need to keep striving to hold those two things together,

1077
00:47:33,180 --> 00:47:36,400
to hold out the great thoughts about God

1078
00:47:36,500 --> 00:47:38,260
in everyday moments of life, because it's

1079
00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:40,200
in the everyday moments of life that we need

1080
00:47:40,300 --> 00:47:42,560
great thoughts about God.

1081
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:44,460
Does that make sense?

1082
00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:49,200
In this fallen world, we need to know the great glory of God

1083
00:47:49,300 --> 00:47:51,640
and the great grace of God in our lives,

1084
00:47:51,740 --> 00:47:54,140
to know that He is the God of the universe

1085
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:57,080
and also the God of our souls.

1086
00:47:57,180 --> 00:48:00,880
And especially to know Jesus, God the Son,

1087
00:48:00,980 --> 00:48:05,380
who took on flesh and walked among us as one of us.

1088
00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:09,620
Jesus the Christ, the one who the Bible tells us simultaneously

1089
00:48:09,720 --> 00:48:12,060
holds all things together by the power of His Word

1090
00:48:12,060 --> 00:48:15,060
and is also moved with compassion

1091
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:18,700
by seeing people without a shepherd,

1092
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:21,160
both far off and nearby.

1093
00:48:21,260 --> 00:48:23,500
There is no one like Jesus.

1094
00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:26,400
He truly can and does save.

1095
00:48:26,500 --> 00:48:27,540
He is all of those things.

1096
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:29,280
He is holy and merciful.

1097
00:48:29,380 --> 00:48:30,780
He is full of grace and truth.

1098
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:32,940
He is both a sovereign and a servant.

1099
00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:34,840
He is fully God and fully man.

1100
00:48:34,940 --> 00:48:38,720
He is overall, through all, and in all.

1101
00:48:38,820 --> 00:48:41,620
And so may our thoughts and our praise increasingly

1102
00:48:41,620 --> 00:48:44,420
reflect the reality of who God says He is,

1103
00:48:44,520 --> 00:48:49,260
who He has told us He is, both for our endless joy

1104
00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:52,400
and for God's endless praise.

1105
00:48:52,500 --> 00:48:54,200
Amen?

1106
00:48:54,300 --> 00:48:55,200
Let's pray together.

1107
00:48:58,700 --> 00:49:01,540
Father, what a series it has been

1108
00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:04,500
to walk through Your Word in the Old Testament,

1109
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:06,720
to hear Your voice in the Psalms,

1110
00:49:06,820 --> 00:49:10,280
to find out more about You,

1111
00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:11,920
to find out more about ourselves,

1112
00:49:12,020 --> 00:49:17,320
to discover more about the various places in our hearts,

1113
00:49:17,420 --> 00:49:19,820
our need for prayer, our need for worship and praise.

1114
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:23,160
So many, many lessons that You have taught us

1115
00:49:23,260 --> 00:49:26,400
in this series, God.

1116
00:49:26,500 --> 00:49:30,640
Lord, it strikes me as we finish

1117
00:49:30,740 --> 00:49:35,280
just how endless Your Word is to teach us.

1118
00:49:35,380 --> 00:49:38,640
How many of us in this church have read through the Psalms

1119
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:42,320
over and over again, yet every time we pick it up,

1120
00:49:42,420 --> 00:49:44,020
we see more.

1121
00:49:44,120 --> 00:49:45,880
We see more of Your goodness and Your grace.

1122
00:49:45,980 --> 00:49:50,720
We see more of Your majesty and Your love for us.

1123
00:49:50,820 --> 00:49:52,520
So Father, help us not to be the end

1124
00:49:52,620 --> 00:49:53,720
of our study of the Psalms.

1125
00:49:53,820 --> 00:49:56,460
May You grant us many more years as a church,

1126
00:49:56,560 --> 00:49:59,040
as individuals, to continue to work

1127
00:49:59,140 --> 00:50:02,200
through this amazing book, and that by it, Lord,

1128
00:50:02,300 --> 00:50:04,540
You'd be glorified and that we would grow

1129
00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:05,880
to be more and more like Christ.

1130
00:50:05,980 --> 00:50:07,040
So thank You for the series,

1131
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:09,000
and thank You for our time this morning

1132
00:50:09,100 --> 00:50:10,480
in this beautiful psalm.

1133
00:50:10,580 --> 00:50:12,640
It's all for You and Your glory.

1134
00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:37,500
In Jesus' name, amen.