Rejoice In The Lord
Psalm 33
The 32nd Psalm was a Psalm of instruction and yet we know that "all" the scriptures are good for instruction.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
When we confess our sin to the Lord, it will lead to a time of rejoicing.
Psalm 33 is a Psalm of rejoicing.
This Psalm teaches us not to just rejoice but to express our emotions loudly.
After all we are the redeemed people of God.
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Whatever others think of us, as the redeemed of the Lord we have many reasons to rejoice in the Lord.
To rejoice is to experience joy and gladness to a high degree!
To rejoice should be heard by the voice. To rejoice is the idea of singing out with immense joy.
Though we can rejoice alone, this Psalm is more about the gathering in an assembly to worship the Lord!
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
When we gather together as the redeemed of the Lord, we need to worship but we also need to rejoice in that worship!
This Psalm teaches us how to rejoice and some of the reasons why we need to rejoice.
Let's begin:
*****Psa 33:1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Who are the righteous? All those that are justified by faith in our Holy God!
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Music has always been a vital part of praising the Lord in our worship services.
This Psalm is more about congregational praise than the individual. It is "all the righteous" who are to praise the Lord!
All music in the Church is to be about praising the Lord and not for entertaining those that are sitting in the pews!
Many places of worship have become places of entertainment.
That building may be used for other things but that worship service should be exactly that, a worship service to the Lord!
To rejoice is to shout for joy, to sing joyfully, to cry out in joy exalting the Lord our God!
If God never did anything but save us from a burning hell, we have enough reason to praise Him!
Psa 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
It is dangerous to rejoice in the things of this world!
It is foolish to rejoice in our own accomplishments!
It is fatal to rejoice in sin! The wages of sin are death.
But it is heavenly to rejoice in the Lord!
It is a fact that even the righteous are not always glad, so we all have a need to stir up that rejoicing spirit within ourselves.
There is great joy in knowing the Lord!
When the Lord sees His church rejoicing and singing praises to Him they are beautiful in His sight!
The word "comely" means to offer rejoicing praise to the Lord is a beautiful and a most fitting thing to do!
Psa 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
God loves to see His people happy!
There may be many professionals who sing the songs of praise, who do not know the Lord as their Savior, but God sees no beauty in them.
Singing is wonderful but God says to bring your musical instruments.
The Psalms were never to be chanted, they were always to be accompanied by musical instrument!
There is nothing musical about chanting!
*****Psa 33:2 Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
**The harp was the national instrument of the Hebrew people.
If you do not like the praising of the Lord with singing along with the harp, you will not like it in Heaven.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and "I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps":
The voice of the harp is beautiful!
**The psaltery is another version of the harp but normally had 12 strings.
It was played with the hand. Some say it resembled the guitar but had a much superior tone.
**The instrument of 10 strings was also another version of the harp.
In fact it is possible that this instrument more fits the picture of the modern day harp. The strings may have been plucked with a quill or with the hand.
There are many that say music is not important in the worship service but what do they do with these scriptures in the Bible?
God includes these things in the Bible for a reason!
Many will say that musical instruments are unnecessary to worship the Lord but most people will not sing at all without the assistance of musical instruments.
The pure fact is, that we are to praise the Lord with every fiber in our body and all the powers we possess.
Praise is never to be half-done but wholehearted!
*****Psa 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
Nine times in the Bible we are told to sing a "new song" to the Lord.
When we are saved, we need to be singing a new song.
When our troubles are over we need to be singing a new song.
When God has answered that prayer we have prayed for so long a time, we need to be singing a new song.
When God has been merciful toward us in anyway we need to be singing a new song!
When we live by the ways of the Lord it is a "new and living way"!
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Just singing for the sake of singing and not in praising God is not worth very much.
The Lord loves to see us excited about our salvation!
The Lord loves to see a freshness in our worship!
The Lord loves for us to put forth our new life, that "Born Again" feeling, from the heart and soul into our praises for Him.
To play skillfully is to praise God in everything with the very best that we have!
The sweetest tune, the sweetest voice with the sweetest words, the very best we can do are still much to little to offer our Lord for what He has done for us!
We can live a righteous life only because the Word of God is right!
*****Psa 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
If this verse is not true then we can all go home because we can find better things to do but since it is true then we need to pay attention to what God has got to say!
What ever God says in His written Word are the truth!
What ever God says about His creation is the truth!
We may not understand why things happen as they do in our lives and the lives of those we love and care about but we must believe that all the works of the Lord were the right thing for Him to allow to happen!
There are no deviations from the Word of God that hold true!
There are no deviations in God's act of creation, God spoke and things happened!
We can praise God because of His truth.
We can praise God because of His faithfulness.
We can praise God because of His "Mercy" and His "Grace".
And we can praise God because of His truth in creation!
In fact there are no reasons why we should not be praising God!
The more we know about our God, the more we will learn of His excellence!
*****Psa 33:5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
What does God love?
According to the Bible, true righteousness is a character of God that is rooted in the fulfillment of the covenants God makes with us when He saves us.
True righteousness can come to each of us only because of our relationship with Our Holy God!
Righteousness is always doing things right and we have no power of righteousness within ourselves!
Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
There are many who believe they know how to do the right things but God say no one can know without His wisdom.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
God 's righteousness is seen in what God does!
And because God is righteous in His "mercy" He will also be righteous in His "judgment"!
Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
Just as God will keep His covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ, He will also keep His covenant of judgment also by Jesus Christ!
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Salvation and condemnation must exist together as the truth of God's character!
It is only the saved that can understand these things of God.
Liberals cringe at the thought of God's judgment!
It is God who created His covenants and it is God who must remain faithful to His own covenants!
It is the righteousness of God that is the key to understanding the salvation of humanity!
God requires each of us to be righteous but our righteousness can only come by the Lord Jesus Christ!
It is the gift of "righteousness" that God gives so freely by His "Grace"!
Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
The Earth is truly full of the goodness of God and everyone on this Earth will get the opportunity to miss out on the judgment of God!
Before any one dies they will be offered that choice to believe. It is what we do with that choice that determines our outcome at the end of our physical days.
Things happen when God speaks.
*****Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
We can understand the word heavens as the 3 heavens.
1) There is the atmospheric heaven:
This is the body of our earthly atmosphere and extends to about 6 miles above our planet.
No other planet has such an atmosphere as the one that surrounds our Earth!
Life on Earth can only exist because of our atmosphere!
Act 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
2) There is the celestial heaven:
This the place of our Sun and Moon and all the stars of the Milky Way and all other galaxies.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
3) And there is the dwelling place of God:
This is the specific place of God's dwelling.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
This where we will find the Father's House and where Jesus returned to prepare for us a place.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Paul said this is the 3rd heaven.
2Co 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
This is what John saw in the Book of Revelation.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And God made all the host of all 3 heavens just by His commands.
All the vast spaces of the heavens and the cosmos were called into existence by the Word of God, in fact by the Word of Christ Jesus.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
It is on these things is where our faith must begin!
Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
If we cannot begin with the truth of God's creation we will never understand the truth of the righteousness of God!
*****Psa 33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
In the Book of Genesis we read that God gathered 2 great bodies of water. One above the atmosphere and one below the atmosphere.
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
God then gathered all the waters below the atmosphere into one place.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Today all our oceans are still inter connected and separated by name only. The seas stay where God directs them.
Pro 8:29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
These seas have remained in place except for the one time that God flooded the entire planet at one time in the time of Noah.
Psa 104:9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
All the extra water that was used to flood the Earth is now laid up in the depth of God's storehouses.
It is from these sources that we get our wells and the many springs and many a river begin from these storehouses of water.
These waters that were once used in judgment are now used in mercy!
*****Psa 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
It was the Jews that sang these songs of praise but God says let all the Earth stand in awe of Him.
We cannot properly worship the Lord unless we can admit His boundless power!
We cannot get a single prayer answered unless we can admit God's boundless power!
We cannot even obtain salvation unless we can admit God boundless power!
How could we trust our salvation to a God that professed anything less than our Creator has already shown us!
Awe is fear intermingled with adoration. We must realize both these things when we come humbly before our righteous God!
Why?
Because when God speaks things happen!
*****Psa 33:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Creation is the fruit of God's Word!
This is why Creation by the design of God remains constantly under attack.
If God did not create all things as He has said then we cannot be saved!
God did not take millions nor even billions of years to accomplish His works of creation. If creation could take place by these processes then we would not need God!
We have a Creator who strives to also be our Savior but it takes "faith"!
It takes more faith to believe in the lies of evolution that it does to get saved!
Each created act was an instantaneous event that cannot be explained by natural processes!
Out of nothing came God's creation and it is confirmed by it's existence!
There is only one means of true happiness in this world and it is to realize that we are a created being and not some accident that just happened!
There is not one human being on this Earth that can prove any other method of creation beyond what God says!
*****Psa 33:10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
Everything that happens on this Earth has some part in God's plan!
God does not adjust His plan according to the outcome of events. God's decrees govern human history!
Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
God also has His way in the angelic realm! Even Satan does not make a move without the express permission of God!
Sinful acts do not frustrate the plan of God and God is not the cause of sinful acts!
Although all things are encompassed in the will of God, each of us are responsible for our own actions!
Although the death of Jesus Christ was the great plan of God for our salvation, it is still a fact that wicked men were responsible for His death!
God gave us the freedom to choose but God has only chose righteousness for Himself!
Even though Christian persecution is on the rise, God will bring good out of it because He always has!
The cause of Christ is never in danger of not succeeding!
Wickedness will always be overcome with godly wisdom!
Satan will always be held in check by the power of God!
Why?
*****Psa 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
We should ask ourselves, what is the greatest comfort we can have in this life before our death?
We should be able to answer this question with these words: That, I with my body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own because I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ who is faithful enough to preserve me that without the will of my Father in Heaven not one hair can fall from my body and that all things that happen to me while I am alive must work to the good of my salvation!
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
God did not send His Son to this Earth to die in payment for our sin just to abandon us in our time of trouble!
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is faithful to keep His promises!
God will never change His purpose for us!
God's plan cannot fail!
**What is the view of the Atheist and the Evolutionist? All human history and of life are subject to fate.
**What is the view of the Muslim and others that believe in One God? That God created our world but has since allowed the world to run itself like some machine and men control their own destiny.
**What is the view of the pantheist and the environmentalist? That the universe is God and is only some impersonal force that permeate our universe and that God is the creation.
**What is the view of dualism? That two opposing forces, the forces of light and the forces of darkness are locked in a great battle and no one knows who will win in the end. In other words God is caught up in this battle that is out of His control.
What is the real truth of Jehovah God?
Psa 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
Truly the Word of God will stand forever and God's eternal purposes are much firmer than His creations!
Men and women come and go and most of them follow their own desires to the grave!
But the undisturbed mind of God moves on producing results that are certain!
God's will and God's plan will be carried out from age to age and we know that the Church Age is fast drawing near it's end.
So how can our own nation of America and all other nations be blessed?
*****Psa 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Blessed does not just mean just spiritual happiness but also to be prosperous in our physical lives.
Israel has been blessed from the time of Abraham but God's blessings are for any and every nation whose God is the Lord!
There are many religions but there can be only one Christianity!
If Christianity is to be considered a religion then in can only be the religion of Jesus Christ!
We have no religion beyond Jesus Christ!
There are many things that have happened and continue to happen in our world in the name of Christianity but are not of true Christians.
We see many Muslim who move forward to establish the Koran with cruelty and superstitions.
We know that many nations throughout history, such as in Europe that have felt the power of the sword in the name of Christianity but not by true Christianity.
It is not any of these things that can bless a nation!
It is only Christians who are filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit that can bring God's blessing to any nation!
We already know that in America, those that do not know the Lord are using all their power to remove the Lord Jesus from any part of America.
God's may have already stopped blessing America!
We already know that those that bless Israel will also get a blessing but as our government condemns Israel then the blessings will stop!
So as we see our nation falling apart we do not have to look far for the reasons!
But God will never remove His blessings from those that He has chosen for His own inheritance!
Our home is not in America.
Our home is not even in this world.
There is nothing in this world that can cause our home in Heaven to be less than what God says it will be!
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Since we are so blessed, we need to rejoice and shine brightly for the world to see and cling to Jesus who is our Savior!
The Lord has His eyes on us.
*****Psa 33:13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
Psa 33:14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
It should provide us a great comfort knowing that we are always under the watchful eye of the Lord.
But the eyes of the Lord are also on those that do not know Him.
God knows what the saints are doing and what those that are lost are doing to those saints!
There is nothing that can happen on this Earth that does not catch the eye of God.
There is also nothing that happens on this Earth that could not be stopped if the Lord chose to do so!
God can also see deep into the heart of every man and He says it is the foolish men that cause wars.
2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
*****Psa 33:15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
God has fashioned every heart to seek after the Creator. The heart of the king as well as the heart of the beggar and all in between.
Consider what it means that God is examining each of us and He knows our intentions even before we act on them.
What did Jesus say?
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her "hath committed adultery with her already in his heart".
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
We must desperately fight against the desires of our heart when our desires go against the Word of God!
*****Psa 33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
God cannot be defeated in His plans for all mankind!
Our Lord is a sovereign God and has decreed all things according to His will.
Every human being is responsible for their own sinful acts!
For instance, Christ's death was a result of God's plan but wicked men were responsible for His death!
So man being a mortal, and subject to death, has no power to change God's plan.
All those that trust in mortal power are deceived!
There have been many an empire fall throughout history that have fallen even though they had the largest army and/or the best armaments.
There is no greater example of this than the nation of Israel!
America has never been great because of earthly resources. America has been great only because the founding fathers searched for a place to serve God, by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is America failing today? Because Christians are standing idle while wicked people are removing the Lord Jesus Christ from our nation!
America may be the most powerful nation on this Earth but nothing can ensure the safety of those that God leaves to their own destruction!
No man, no matter his strength is able to deliver himself from the hands of God!
When that day of death arrives there is no force on this Earth that save us from that death!
Our strength can only come from the Lord!
Jer 9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Jer 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
*****Psa 33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
In the time of David, military strength was measured not only by the size of the army, but also in horses and chariots.
It is a fact that the well trained horse will rush into danger therefore taking his rider to his death or death can come if that horse falls upon it's rider.
The strongest defenses are nothing if they fail when they are needed the most.
Even today in Iraq, we have an army supposedly trained by America, supplied with the best weapons on this Earth yet they are failing miserably because they have no will to fight the enemy.
They do not have God on their side!
In fact they themselves allow the persecution of God's people!
We should realize God is not on either side of this conflict!
It is just evil and foolish men on both sides seeking to control the masses of people.
And it is only the Lord our God who can deliver us from such wars!
Sennacherib had a mighty army but it only took one angel of the Lord to end his day!
2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
Not one army nor even all the armies on this Earth can stand against the Lord!
Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Psa 20:8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
*****Psa 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
Psa 33:19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
That word "behold" means open your eyes and you will see who sits on the throne of our world!
Many laugh when they see the references to the physical features of the Lord.
God is Spirit for sure!
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
But we know that the Lord Jesus went back to Heaven in a glorified body and in that same glorified body will He return!
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
The truth is that our God is omnipotent and He can certainly assume the attributes of the bodies of those He has created when He so wills!
What does God say to those that mock Him?
Psa 94:8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
Psa 94:9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
Psa 94:10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
Deliverance from evil cannot come by military power!
Deliverance form evil cannot come by manpower!
Deliverance from evil cannot come by all the horsepower in this world!
Deliverance from evil can only come by "Spiritual Power"!
Because the Lord's hand go everywhere His eyes go!
God can preserve all those He sees and death cannot touch them unless the Lord allows it!
Mortality means we are always subject to death at any time, God knows exactly when that day will come and it comes by the choices we make.
We should also remember, famines normally come by the judgment of God.
It may be said that famine comes from natural causes but they must be allowed.
Natural causes are just the agents and instruments God uses in His judgment of sin!
But the greatest famine of all is when sin separates us from the express will of God!
Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amo 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
This famine may be in the early stages of it's beginning or even farther along than that!
There is not a day that goes by that we should not be calling upon the Lord.
*****Psa 33:20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
We can only rejoice when we are patiently waiting for the Lord and trust in His Word!
What are we waiting for?
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
That word "Our" means these things belong to those who wait on the Lord.
Our relationship with the Lord must be a very personal thing!
The Lord is the answer to all things to His people!
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
What are we to rejoice in?
*****Psa 33:21 For our heart shall rejoice "in him", because we have trusted in his holy name.
We must not rejoice in sin.
We must not rejoice in ourselves.
We must rejoice in the Lord!
We must rejoice in His Word!
We must rejoice in His person!
We must rejoice in His righteousness!
We must rejoice in His salvation!
We must rejoice in His unspeakable joy!
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
And we must rejoice in our only hope!
*****Psa 33:22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
Even when we can rejoice in the Lord, we still need His mercy!
Our joy can come only by our faith!
What did Jesus say?
Mat 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it unto you".
We are saved by our hope in a very personal relationship with the Lord!
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Even when our hope is weak, we can rejoice because we have been blessed far more than we deserve!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
Psalm 33
The 32nd Psalm was a Psalm of instruction and yet we know that "all" the scriptures are good for instruction.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
When we confess our sin to the Lord, it will lead to a time of rejoicing.
Psalm 33 is a Psalm of rejoicing.
This Psalm teaches us not to just rejoice but to express our emotions loudly.
After all we are the redeemed people of God.
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Whatever others think of us, as the redeemed of the Lord we have many reasons to rejoice in the Lord.
To rejoice is to experience joy and gladness to a high degree!
To rejoice should be heard by the voice. To rejoice is the idea of singing out with immense joy.
Though we can rejoice alone, this Psalm is more about the gathering in an assembly to worship the Lord!
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
When we gather together as the redeemed of the Lord, we need to worship but we also need to rejoice in that worship!
This Psalm teaches us how to rejoice and some of the reasons why we need to rejoice.
Let's begin:
*****Psa 33:1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Who are the righteous? All those that are justified by faith in our Holy God!
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Music has always been a vital part of praising the Lord in our worship services.
This Psalm is more about congregational praise than the individual. It is "all the righteous" who are to praise the Lord!
All music in the Church is to be about praising the Lord and not for entertaining those that are sitting in the pews!
Many places of worship have become places of entertainment.
That building may be used for other things but that worship service should be exactly that, a worship service to the Lord!
To rejoice is to shout for joy, to sing joyfully, to cry out in joy exalting the Lord our God!
If God never did anything but save us from a burning hell, we have enough reason to praise Him!
Psa 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
It is dangerous to rejoice in the things of this world!
It is foolish to rejoice in our own accomplishments!
It is fatal to rejoice in sin! The wages of sin are death.
But it is heavenly to rejoice in the Lord!
It is a fact that even the righteous are not always glad, so we all have a need to stir up that rejoicing spirit within ourselves.
There is great joy in knowing the Lord!
When the Lord sees His church rejoicing and singing praises to Him they are beautiful in His sight!
The word "comely" means to offer rejoicing praise to the Lord is a beautiful and a most fitting thing to do!
Psa 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
God loves to see His people happy!
There may be many professionals who sing the songs of praise, who do not know the Lord as their Savior, but God sees no beauty in them.
Singing is wonderful but God says to bring your musical instruments.
The Psalms were never to be chanted, they were always to be accompanied by musical instrument!
There is nothing musical about chanting!
*****Psa 33:2 Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
**The harp was the national instrument of the Hebrew people.
If you do not like the praising of the Lord with singing along with the harp, you will not like it in Heaven.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and "I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps":
The voice of the harp is beautiful!
**The psaltery is another version of the harp but normally had 12 strings.
It was played with the hand. Some say it resembled the guitar but had a much superior tone.
**The instrument of 10 strings was also another version of the harp.
In fact it is possible that this instrument more fits the picture of the modern day harp. The strings may have been plucked with a quill or with the hand.
There are many that say music is not important in the worship service but what do they do with these scriptures in the Bible?
God includes these things in the Bible for a reason!
Many will say that musical instruments are unnecessary to worship the Lord but most people will not sing at all without the assistance of musical instruments.
The pure fact is, that we are to praise the Lord with every fiber in our body and all the powers we possess.
Praise is never to be half-done but wholehearted!
*****Psa 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
Nine times in the Bible we are told to sing a "new song" to the Lord.
When we are saved, we need to be singing a new song.
When our troubles are over we need to be singing a new song.
When God has answered that prayer we have prayed for so long a time, we need to be singing a new song.
When God has been merciful toward us in anyway we need to be singing a new song!
When we live by the ways of the Lord it is a "new and living way"!
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Just singing for the sake of singing and not in praising God is not worth very much.
The Lord loves to see us excited about our salvation!
The Lord loves to see a freshness in our worship!
The Lord loves for us to put forth our new life, that "Born Again" feeling, from the heart and soul into our praises for Him.
To play skillfully is to praise God in everything with the very best that we have!
The sweetest tune, the sweetest voice with the sweetest words, the very best we can do are still much to little to offer our Lord for what He has done for us!
We can live a righteous life only because the Word of God is right!
*****Psa 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
If this verse is not true then we can all go home because we can find better things to do but since it is true then we need to pay attention to what God has got to say!
What ever God says in His written Word are the truth!
What ever God says about His creation is the truth!
We may not understand why things happen as they do in our lives and the lives of those we love and care about but we must believe that all the works of the Lord were the right thing for Him to allow to happen!
There are no deviations from the Word of God that hold true!
There are no deviations in God's act of creation, God spoke and things happened!
We can praise God because of His truth.
We can praise God because of His faithfulness.
We can praise God because of His "Mercy" and His "Grace".
And we can praise God because of His truth in creation!
In fact there are no reasons why we should not be praising God!
The more we know about our God, the more we will learn of His excellence!
*****Psa 33:5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
What does God love?
According to the Bible, true righteousness is a character of God that is rooted in the fulfillment of the covenants God makes with us when He saves us.
True righteousness can come to each of us only because of our relationship with Our Holy God!
Righteousness is always doing things right and we have no power of righteousness within ourselves!
Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
There are many who believe they know how to do the right things but God say no one can know without His wisdom.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
God 's righteousness is seen in what God does!
And because God is righteous in His "mercy" He will also be righteous in His "judgment"!
Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
Just as God will keep His covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ, He will also keep His covenant of judgment also by Jesus Christ!
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Salvation and condemnation must exist together as the truth of God's character!
It is only the saved that can understand these things of God.
Liberals cringe at the thought of God's judgment!
It is God who created His covenants and it is God who must remain faithful to His own covenants!
It is the righteousness of God that is the key to understanding the salvation of humanity!
God requires each of us to be righteous but our righteousness can only come by the Lord Jesus Christ!
It is the gift of "righteousness" that God gives so freely by His "Grace"!
Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
The Earth is truly full of the goodness of God and everyone on this Earth will get the opportunity to miss out on the judgment of God!
Before any one dies they will be offered that choice to believe. It is what we do with that choice that determines our outcome at the end of our physical days.
Things happen when God speaks.
*****Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
We can understand the word heavens as the 3 heavens.
1) There is the atmospheric heaven:
This is the body of our earthly atmosphere and extends to about 6 miles above our planet.
No other planet has such an atmosphere as the one that surrounds our Earth!
Life on Earth can only exist because of our atmosphere!
Act 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
2) There is the celestial heaven:
This the place of our Sun and Moon and all the stars of the Milky Way and all other galaxies.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
3) And there is the dwelling place of God:
This is the specific place of God's dwelling.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
This where we will find the Father's House and where Jesus returned to prepare for us a place.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Paul said this is the 3rd heaven.
2Co 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
This is what John saw in the Book of Revelation.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And God made all the host of all 3 heavens just by His commands.
All the vast spaces of the heavens and the cosmos were called into existence by the Word of God, in fact by the Word of Christ Jesus.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
It is on these things is where our faith must begin!
Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
If we cannot begin with the truth of God's creation we will never understand the truth of the righteousness of God!
*****Psa 33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
In the Book of Genesis we read that God gathered 2 great bodies of water. One above the atmosphere and one below the atmosphere.
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
God then gathered all the waters below the atmosphere into one place.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Today all our oceans are still inter connected and separated by name only. The seas stay where God directs them.
Pro 8:29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
These seas have remained in place except for the one time that God flooded the entire planet at one time in the time of Noah.
Psa 104:9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
All the extra water that was used to flood the Earth is now laid up in the depth of God's storehouses.
It is from these sources that we get our wells and the many springs and many a river begin from these storehouses of water.
These waters that were once used in judgment are now used in mercy!
*****Psa 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
It was the Jews that sang these songs of praise but God says let all the Earth stand in awe of Him.
We cannot properly worship the Lord unless we can admit His boundless power!
We cannot get a single prayer answered unless we can admit God's boundless power!
We cannot even obtain salvation unless we can admit God boundless power!
How could we trust our salvation to a God that professed anything less than our Creator has already shown us!
Awe is fear intermingled with adoration. We must realize both these things when we come humbly before our righteous God!
Why?
Because when God speaks things happen!
*****Psa 33:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Creation is the fruit of God's Word!
This is why Creation by the design of God remains constantly under attack.
If God did not create all things as He has said then we cannot be saved!
God did not take millions nor even billions of years to accomplish His works of creation. If creation could take place by these processes then we would not need God!
We have a Creator who strives to also be our Savior but it takes "faith"!
It takes more faith to believe in the lies of evolution that it does to get saved!
Each created act was an instantaneous event that cannot be explained by natural processes!
Out of nothing came God's creation and it is confirmed by it's existence!
There is only one means of true happiness in this world and it is to realize that we are a created being and not some accident that just happened!
There is not one human being on this Earth that can prove any other method of creation beyond what God says!
*****Psa 33:10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
Everything that happens on this Earth has some part in God's plan!
God does not adjust His plan according to the outcome of events. God's decrees govern human history!
Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
God also has His way in the angelic realm! Even Satan does not make a move without the express permission of God!
Sinful acts do not frustrate the plan of God and God is not the cause of sinful acts!
Although all things are encompassed in the will of God, each of us are responsible for our own actions!
Although the death of Jesus Christ was the great plan of God for our salvation, it is still a fact that wicked men were responsible for His death!
God gave us the freedom to choose but God has only chose righteousness for Himself!
Even though Christian persecution is on the rise, God will bring good out of it because He always has!
The cause of Christ is never in danger of not succeeding!
Wickedness will always be overcome with godly wisdom!
Satan will always be held in check by the power of God!
Why?
*****Psa 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
We should ask ourselves, what is the greatest comfort we can have in this life before our death?
We should be able to answer this question with these words: That, I with my body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own because I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ who is faithful enough to preserve me that without the will of my Father in Heaven not one hair can fall from my body and that all things that happen to me while I am alive must work to the good of my salvation!
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
God did not send His Son to this Earth to die in payment for our sin just to abandon us in our time of trouble!
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is faithful to keep His promises!
God will never change His purpose for us!
God's plan cannot fail!
**What is the view of the Atheist and the Evolutionist? All human history and of life are subject to fate.
**What is the view of the Muslim and others that believe in One God? That God created our world but has since allowed the world to run itself like some machine and men control their own destiny.
**What is the view of the pantheist and the environmentalist? That the universe is God and is only some impersonal force that permeate our universe and that God is the creation.
**What is the view of dualism? That two opposing forces, the forces of light and the forces of darkness are locked in a great battle and no one knows who will win in the end. In other words God is caught up in this battle that is out of His control.
What is the real truth of Jehovah God?
Psa 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
Truly the Word of God will stand forever and God's eternal purposes are much firmer than His creations!
Men and women come and go and most of them follow their own desires to the grave!
But the undisturbed mind of God moves on producing results that are certain!
God's will and God's plan will be carried out from age to age and we know that the Church Age is fast drawing near it's end.
So how can our own nation of America and all other nations be blessed?
*****Psa 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Blessed does not just mean just spiritual happiness but also to be prosperous in our physical lives.
Israel has been blessed from the time of Abraham but God's blessings are for any and every nation whose God is the Lord!
There are many religions but there can be only one Christianity!
If Christianity is to be considered a religion then in can only be the religion of Jesus Christ!
We have no religion beyond Jesus Christ!
There are many things that have happened and continue to happen in our world in the name of Christianity but are not of true Christians.
We see many Muslim who move forward to establish the Koran with cruelty and superstitions.
We know that many nations throughout history, such as in Europe that have felt the power of the sword in the name of Christianity but not by true Christianity.
It is not any of these things that can bless a nation!
It is only Christians who are filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit that can bring God's blessing to any nation!
We already know that in America, those that do not know the Lord are using all their power to remove the Lord Jesus from any part of America.
God's may have already stopped blessing America!
We already know that those that bless Israel will also get a blessing but as our government condemns Israel then the blessings will stop!
So as we see our nation falling apart we do not have to look far for the reasons!
But God will never remove His blessings from those that He has chosen for His own inheritance!
Our home is not in America.
Our home is not even in this world.
There is nothing in this world that can cause our home in Heaven to be less than what God says it will be!
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Since we are so blessed, we need to rejoice and shine brightly for the world to see and cling to Jesus who is our Savior!
The Lord has His eyes on us.
*****Psa 33:13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
Psa 33:14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
It should provide us a great comfort knowing that we are always under the watchful eye of the Lord.
But the eyes of the Lord are also on those that do not know Him.
God knows what the saints are doing and what those that are lost are doing to those saints!
There is nothing that can happen on this Earth that does not catch the eye of God.
There is also nothing that happens on this Earth that could not be stopped if the Lord chose to do so!
God can also see deep into the heart of every man and He says it is the foolish men that cause wars.
2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
*****Psa 33:15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
God has fashioned every heart to seek after the Creator. The heart of the king as well as the heart of the beggar and all in between.
Consider what it means that God is examining each of us and He knows our intentions even before we act on them.
What did Jesus say?
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her "hath committed adultery with her already in his heart".
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
We must desperately fight against the desires of our heart when our desires go against the Word of God!
*****Psa 33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
God cannot be defeated in His plans for all mankind!
Our Lord is a sovereign God and has decreed all things according to His will.
Every human being is responsible for their own sinful acts!
For instance, Christ's death was a result of God's plan but wicked men were responsible for His death!
So man being a mortal, and subject to death, has no power to change God's plan.
All those that trust in mortal power are deceived!
There have been many an empire fall throughout history that have fallen even though they had the largest army and/or the best armaments.
There is no greater example of this than the nation of Israel!
America has never been great because of earthly resources. America has been great only because the founding fathers searched for a place to serve God, by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is America failing today? Because Christians are standing idle while wicked people are removing the Lord Jesus Christ from our nation!
America may be the most powerful nation on this Earth but nothing can ensure the safety of those that God leaves to their own destruction!
No man, no matter his strength is able to deliver himself from the hands of God!
When that day of death arrives there is no force on this Earth that save us from that death!
Our strength can only come from the Lord!
Jer 9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Jer 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
*****Psa 33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
In the time of David, military strength was measured not only by the size of the army, but also in horses and chariots.
It is a fact that the well trained horse will rush into danger therefore taking his rider to his death or death can come if that horse falls upon it's rider.
The strongest defenses are nothing if they fail when they are needed the most.
Even today in Iraq, we have an army supposedly trained by America, supplied with the best weapons on this Earth yet they are failing miserably because they have no will to fight the enemy.
They do not have God on their side!
In fact they themselves allow the persecution of God's people!
We should realize God is not on either side of this conflict!
It is just evil and foolish men on both sides seeking to control the masses of people.
And it is only the Lord our God who can deliver us from such wars!
Sennacherib had a mighty army but it only took one angel of the Lord to end his day!
2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
Not one army nor even all the armies on this Earth can stand against the Lord!
Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Psa 20:8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
*****Psa 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
Psa 33:19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
That word "behold" means open your eyes and you will see who sits on the throne of our world!
Many laugh when they see the references to the physical features of the Lord.
God is Spirit for sure!
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
But we know that the Lord Jesus went back to Heaven in a glorified body and in that same glorified body will He return!
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
The truth is that our God is omnipotent and He can certainly assume the attributes of the bodies of those He has created when He so wills!
What does God say to those that mock Him?
Psa 94:8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
Psa 94:9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
Psa 94:10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
Deliverance from evil cannot come by military power!
Deliverance form evil cannot come by manpower!
Deliverance from evil cannot come by all the horsepower in this world!
Deliverance from evil can only come by "Spiritual Power"!
Because the Lord's hand go everywhere His eyes go!
God can preserve all those He sees and death cannot touch them unless the Lord allows it!
Mortality means we are always subject to death at any time, God knows exactly when that day will come and it comes by the choices we make.
We should also remember, famines normally come by the judgment of God.
It may be said that famine comes from natural causes but they must be allowed.
Natural causes are just the agents and instruments God uses in His judgment of sin!
But the greatest famine of all is when sin separates us from the express will of God!
Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amo 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
This famine may be in the early stages of it's beginning or even farther along than that!
There is not a day that goes by that we should not be calling upon the Lord.
*****Psa 33:20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
We can only rejoice when we are patiently waiting for the Lord and trust in His Word!
What are we waiting for?
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
That word "Our" means these things belong to those who wait on the Lord.
Our relationship with the Lord must be a very personal thing!
The Lord is the answer to all things to His people!
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
What are we to rejoice in?
*****Psa 33:21 For our heart shall rejoice "in him", because we have trusted in his holy name.
We must not rejoice in sin.
We must not rejoice in ourselves.
We must rejoice in the Lord!
We must rejoice in His Word!
We must rejoice in His person!
We must rejoice in His righteousness!
We must rejoice in His salvation!
We must rejoice in His unspeakable joy!
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
And we must rejoice in our only hope!
*****Psa 33:22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
Even when we can rejoice in the Lord, we still need His mercy!
Our joy can come only by our faith!
What did Jesus say?
Mat 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it unto you".
We are saved by our hope in a very personal relationship with the Lord!
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Even when our hope is weak, we can rejoice because we have been blessed far more than we deserve!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
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