Praising God For His Greatness

Praise God For His Greatness

Psalm 135


The English word "greatness" can mean many things.

The word "greatness" is used 32 times in the KJV Bible.

The Hebrew word "rob" which is translated into our English word "greatness" on some occasions is actually used 150 times in the Old Testament.

Greatness is describes as:

1) A Large amount, we have a great big God.

2) A high degree, we have a God that sets the highest standards of morality.

3) A high rank, we have a God who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

4) A high intellect, our God knows everything that can be known.

5) A high power, nothing in this world can compare to the power of our God.

In the Book of Psalms God's greatness is described this way:

Psa 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and "his greatness is unsearchable".

We should have great praise for our Great God because His greatness is unsearchable!

No one but Jesus knows just how great is our God!

There is no part of the Lord's greatness that is not worthy of our praise!

6) Our God is most excellent in His greatness!

Psa 150:2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to "his excellent greatness".

There is nothing in this Universe that has a more excellent greatness than our God!

7) Our God is complete because our God is perfect!

It takes a perfect God to bring a perfect salvation!

Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Let's Begin:

*****Psa 135:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.
Psa 135:2 Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,
Psa 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

What is the reality of our God? The reality of God is that "He is much more greater then our own finite minds can even comprehend"!

God keeps teaching us that when we are in the house of God we need to have a hallelujah time!

Church is not to be some boring, quiet, solemn place!

There is no doubt that that there nations such a China, and North Korea and Iran along with many others where Christians live in fear of their lives and may worship trying to avoid punishment from oppressive governments or even more oppressive false religions but even when these gather together, they need to gather in joy and not in fear.

When the servants of the Lord gather they are to sing hallelujah to Jehovah.

God has revealed to the world His holy nature.

God has revealed to the world His perfect love beginning with Creation and by His Providence.

God has revealed to the world the only means of salvation by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Surely we can praise the name of Jehovah!

Surely we can praise Jehovah-Jireh, the God that provides.

Or we can praise Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord our banner, the banner of the Christian is the Tri-Une God, Jehovah.

Or we can praise Jehovah-Shalom, the God that brings peace into our hearts.

Or we can praise Jehovah-Shamma, the God who is always present in our lives.

Or Jehovah-Tsidkenu, The Lord Our Righteousness, because our own righteousness is as filthy rags.

Or Jehovah-Sabbaoth, The Lord of all the Angelic hosts of Heaven.

Or Jehovah-Macaddeshcem, The Lord our Sanctifier.

And there is still Jehovah-Rapha, the God that heals and Jehovah-Rohi, the God who is our Shepherd.

When we stand in the House of God, or even in the courts of the House of God surely we can praise Him!

We can sing hallelujah to Jehovah because of all these things, because Jehovah is the God who saves!

The Bible says:

Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

There is great pleasure that comes from praising our God in every House that wears the Banner of the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Psa 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

What is choice? Choice is the voluntary act of selecting between two or more things that which is most preferred.

Why did God choose Jacob?

Deu 7:8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deu 7:10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

God chose Jacob whose children are called Israel, because He loved them.

What are the facts?

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God chose Jacob because He had sworn to keep His oath.

God made an oath to His Son, The Messiah, The Lord Lord Jesus Christ, that He would save all that had "Faith" in Him as God and believed on His Son.

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

This is the same as Abraham and is included in the same oath made to Abraham:

Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

God will keep this oath, this covenant, with all that love Him and who keep His commandments because God made this covenant with His Son!

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Just as the true Israel, is God's peculiar treasure then the Church is also God's peculiar treasure!

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

God chose this method of fulfilling His salvation plan and this plan has not changed nor will it ever change until it is no longer necessary.

God treasures all those that place their trust in Him and God gives His love and His mercy to all those that believe upon Him!

Jesus said it is a very sad thing that so many will get the opportunity to choose, but will simply not choose or choose the wrong path trying to obtain salvation.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

This is why Jehovah is such a great God!

*****Psa 135:5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

We need to praise God for the God given ability to choose.

We need to praise God because of His "greatness"!

We must have the right view of God in order to serve Him!

If we cannot accept that Jehovah God is far greater in power and in all other things, above any other so-called god then we will not have the right view of Christianity!

If we are wrong in this then we are wrong in all things!

God is great in His being.

God is great in His perfections.

God is great in His creation.

God is great in His providence.

God is great in all His Words.

And God is great in the "Gospel", His plan of salvation!

God does what He pleases and God is pleased with everything that He does!

*****Psa 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
Psa 135:7 He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.

God does not just do what He pleases on this Earth, God does as He pleases throughout all His creation which is our entire Cosmos or some would say throughout our Universe.

That word cosmos describes our Universe as an orderly system," as it is" and "is not in chaos" as is taught by the theory of evolution.

God is pleased with His cosmos!

Those vapors, describe what is now known in science as the hydrological cycle.

The evaporation of water from the oceans, transported inland by our great atmospheric circulation, with electricity that activates condensation and precipitation and this is also part of God's clean air filtration system.

Jer 10:13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

Lightning is not just some lawless force of nature but is actually part of the wonderful machinery God uses to provide much of our needs!

It took a great big God to bring such order throughout all His creation!

Our universe is not in chaos but is in the orderly control of it's Creator!

God is also great in His providence.

*****Psa 135:8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.
Psa 135:9 Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.

God is great in what He can do for mankind.

God gives us many great examples by what He has formerly done with the nation of Israel.

The last plague that came on Pharaoh and Egypt is now celebrated as the Passover.

It was this plague that convinced Pharaoh that he needed to let the children of Israel leave Egypt.

It was the death of the firstborn child that brought deliverance to the people of God.

This is remind us all that it was the death of God's only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that has brought deliverance to all of God's people.

We can just imagine how Egypt was horrified by the greatness of God's power!

We should also be humbled by the fact that this instant was a reminder to Israel of the providence of God.

Those "tokens" were the plagues and there were 10 plagues recorded that went against Egypt but these are our evidence of the providence of God.

Those "wonders" were judgments and reminders to Egypt that they were serving false gods.

And God did all these things in full view of the Egyptians by the hand of Moses, a servant of the God of Israel, Jehovah the Tri-Une God.

It was not just Pharaoh nor just the people of Egypt that witnessed these things, it was also the false priests and false prophets of the multiple gods of Egypt.

It is Jehovah God who can humble any nation He so chooses!

*****Psa 135:10 Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;
Psa 135:11 Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan:
Psa 135:12 And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people.

There is no nation, no matter their military power that can turn the hand of God away.

Israel was a ragtag band of escaped slaves with only Moses who had some military training, yet those nations of Canaan Land never had a chance of defeating them.

Sihon was a man of great courage and a mighty military leader but He fell by the hand of God.

Og was not only a mighty military man but was also gigantic in his size and his stature and ruled 60 city states but he and his army fell by the hand of God.

Even when the other nations pooled all their armies and all their resources together, they could not stand against the hand of God.

It is no different today and even the mighty war machine of America can not stand against a nation that God chooses to defeat them because it is Jehovah God who will fight for His cause against all enemies.

It is by the hand of God that any nation can hold to their lands.

It is Jehovah God that gave the land called Palestine to the children of Israel. This is their heritage and their land and not for anyone else to question!

To the Church we also have a goodly heritage!

Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

These things can only happen because our God is "Great"!

*****Psa 135:13 Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations.

When Moses was at the "burning bush" he asked God what was His name.

God said:

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

**1) God first said Moses, I Am That I AM.

This name speaks of the providence of God.

This is God's absolute control of the Universe. God is independent of His creation. God is independent of all life because God is life itself.

God is complete in Himself!

God is absolute!

The Lord Jesus said:

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

The Lord Jesus is the absolute image of the invisible God!

Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,

**God next said, I Am The LORD. (Jehovah) The Supreme God.

The self-existing, eternal God!

His name is Wonderful!

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

God's name is eternal and God's name will never change!

Once we come to know the LORD, then we can never forget Him!

It is Jehovah, Elohim who created our universe and abides over it!

Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

It is this same Jehovah, Elohim who will judge this Earth and all who dwell on it!

*****Psa 135:14 For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.

Who are "Jehovah's people"?

They are the "elect", they are the "chosen", they are "the called" of God.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

We all know that the wages of sin are death:

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Once we become the chosen people of God, His people, we have already been judged and the LORD has repented from this sentence of death.

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Only Jehovah has the power to save His people!

*****Psa 135:15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
Psa 135:16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
Psa 135:17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
Psa 135:18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

Silver and Gold are valuable commodities in today's world but to shape them into an image to worship is like taking a dead metal and trying to make it have life.

Whatever is fashioned from dead metals come from the imagination of the man who is forming it.

It takes a fool to worship man-made objects as a god!

Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

What can an idol do for you?

You can ask your idol any question you may have but you will get no answer, they cannot communicate with you.

You may ask your idol to watch over you today but they cannot see.

You can speak to your idol with great worshipping words or in times of troubles but they cannot hear you.

An idol is already dumb as death. All idols are made from something that God has made but they can never have life in themselves.

There is no sign of life in an idol and neither can there ever be!

All those that worship idols will become just like the idols they choose to worship.

What is an Atheist? Those who worship themselves.

Those who worship themselves are just as blind and insensitive as an idol!

They refuse to hear or see what God has to say because they have placed themselves above all others especially above God!

When we place ourselves above the Word of God, we then become idols ourselves!

Everyone that trust in their own selves are blind fools according to the Word of God!

Atheists and Idol worshipers are one and the same they pride themselves in their great wisdom, they boast of their higher learning and they think that they are evolving into a god themselves.

It's easy to see why God says they are fools, but God also says this:

1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Not one of us are born saved! Salvation comes only by the Lord Jesus Christ!

When you are justified you will not have a problem praising the Lord.

*****Psa 135:19 Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron:
Psa 135:20 Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
Psa 135:21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

That word "house" as used in this passage means a family of ancestors.

The descendants of Israel would be all 12 of the tribes of Israel.

Israel is still the chosen nation of God and will continue to fulfill the purpose God has for them!

**The house of Israel has no excuses for not blessing the Lord!

Amo 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

**The house of Aaron are all the descendants of Aaron who were elected to perform the duties of the high priesthood.

The High Priests were to be the leaders, the teachers, and the example of the worship of Jehovah and therefore above all others.

Psa 115:10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

**The house of Levi was the specially elected servants of the Lord.

Deu 10:8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
Deu 10:9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.

**The house of Levi had no excuses for not blessing the Lord!

Those that fear the Lord are the wisest people on this Earth!

Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

**Those that fear the Lord have no excuses for not blessing the Lord!

Zion is the place where Jerusalem had it's beginning, as a strong hold and became the city of David.

2Sa 5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

Zion is the place where the Temple was first built and the place where King Jesus will rule.

Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Zion then was the symbol for the entire nation of Israel.

Amo 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Zion is the city of God.

Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Zion also refers to heavenly Jerusalem.

Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

Zion is the the place where at the Second Coming of Christ, He will redeem Israel.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

It is Zion where this world will see the perfection and the beauty of God!

Psa 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

All those that know of Zion have no excuse for not blessing the Lord!

Zion dwells at Jerusalem!

Just as Jerusalem will soon be the dwelling place of God among His chosen nation, then Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of the Church and we will all gather in the city of King Jesus one day soon!

Until that day we need to have a Hallelujah time and just praise the Lord!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Praising God For His Benefits

Praise God For His Benefits

Psalm 116


God sincerely wants to have a close personal relationship with each of us individually.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, "I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me".

Jesus Christ is not some aloof Savior waiting on us to run Him down or hiding for us to try to find Him.

Notice it is the desire of our Lord to be a close nit family!

Jesus Christ will not only make a personal visit to your heart and will knock with His own nailed scared hands but He will call out to us using His own Words.

God did not send anyone else to save us, He came Himself!

Before Jesus Christ will come into your heart, He will first introduce Himself and He brings with Him the record of His accomplishments, the Bible, so we can see for ourselves who He truly is.

It's called choice!

If Jesus did not knock first, we would never come to knock at His door.

God has a loving desire for our salvation!

God will knock on the door of our heart but He will not break down that door.

Jesus Christ is the "I Am" of the Bible and if we have that close personal relationship with our Savior, we will also use that word "I" along with the word "My" in our relationship with Him!

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Let's Begin.

*****Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

We have been seeing many things we need to include in our prayer life.

Just to mention a few, we need to praise our Lord, we need to repent of our sin at least daily, we need to walk the Christian path as Christ walked to get our prayers answered.

Because we are not perfect and cannot be in this life, we need to ask for mercy but just maybe at the very top of our list in our prayer life we need to say "Lord, I Love You".

Remember it was God who made the first move and we can love Him because He first loved us.

1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

This is a pure fact in Christianity, we can love our God because He first loved us!

All human love is preceded and generated by the love of God!

If we are willing to be channels through which God's love can flow, we will be able to reach others with the love of God!

If we have that close personal and loving relationship with the Lord, we should be able to say "I Love You Lord" without hesitation.

If Jesus Christ is real to you, then His love is real, and His salvation will then become very real.

We must not just know we love the Lord but we need to also know why we love the Lord!

We have a very good reason! He hears our prayers.

God hears our voice! Jesus said when we pray we need to get into our closet with our private prayer but even in that closet when we are able, we need to pray out loud if for no other reason, so that God can hear our voice.

God is always listening in to what is said by His people and the Lord will keep a good record of what is said!

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him "for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name".

God loves to hear our voices!

God already knows what we need.

God has seen what troubles we are going through.

God just loves to hear from us and He loves to hear our voice calling out to Him!

And when we have not reported in for a while, the Lord can look back to see what was said the last time we made contact with home base!

Sometimes we just want to know that God hears us and what we need is not as important as just to know that God is listening and every time our prayer is answered our love will increase.

We show our love by calling out to God and He shows His love by answering our prayers because He is always listening for the sound of your voice if you are saved and the Lord already knows your name!

*****Psa 116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

Calling upon the Lord is an act of worship when it is done with our whole heart but when we are discouraged we must remember that God is always near.

God is always listening carefully to every prayer and God answers every prayer that reaches into Heaven!

Psa 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

Knowing that the Lord is always listening gives us confidence to always seek Him.

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

We are only foolish if we do not call upon the Lord everyday that we live!

It is always wise to go to the place we are always welcomed and that place is near the heart of our Lord and our God!

*****Psa 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

We must remember who our real enemy is!

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

The only way to escape this enemy is by the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Hebrew word used for our English word "sorrows" in the verse gives us the sense of a noose tightening around our necks or the uneasiness of the pain in our minds for our circumstances.

The Hebrew word used for our English word "pain" in this verse gives us the meaning of tightness, as that noose just gets tighter and tighter and we are choking to death in our own distresses.

We have waited much to long if we have reached this point before calling upon the Lord but it is only too late if we reach that point of death.

We are wrong to think we can hide from sorrow and distress!

We are wrong to think we can hide from our problems!

We cannot ignore the fact that Satan will do all he can to hinder the spread of the "Gospel".

These things will seek us out, but there is no need to suffer through these things alone.

We simply cannot allow the sorrows and troubles of this world to choke us into submission!

*****Psa 116:4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

There is absolutely no depth of sorrow that can take us out of the ear range of our God.

Here again we see there is only One who we can call on to get some actual help.

Jehovah is the God of revelation and redemption!

It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Moses.

It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Abraham.

It is Jehovah who will reveal Himself in our hour of need!

It is Jehovah who will deliver us from our sorrows!

The name Elohim declares God displayed in his power as the Creator and Governor of this physical universe,

The name Jehovah designates God's nature as He stands in relation to man!

Jehovah is the almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and "the father of spirits," the "I Am" of the Old Testament!

When we get personal with Jehovah, He will get personal with us!

Jehovah got real personal with us when He appeared as our Savior!

Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

And how do we approach our Lord?

It does not take many words.

"O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul".

We must pray to the Lord as often as we can and we may use many words trying to describe to the Lord how we feel but in that hour of a specific need, our prayer does not need many words.

Real trouble produces real prayer!

This prayer needs no words added and it explains the complete need!

This prayer brings the greatest benefit!

It is this prayer that will show us the "Grace of God"!

*****Psa 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Most of the time, just to know someone is listening to us, itself brings great relief!

God teaches us to come to Him in prayer when we need His help, and there is not a day that goes by that we do not need God's help.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

God says we can draw near to Him in confidence, knowing He has the power to help us in that hour of need.

The throne of God is a "throne of grace" because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

The throne of God is called "gracious" because we have an Intercessor who sits in the throne room of God!

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Those that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ cannot open the ears of God and cannot know the mercy of God!

*****Psa 116:6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
Psa 116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.

Those that are wise in the wisdom of this world will try to take care of themselves but those that trust in the Lord can depend on God to take care of them.

Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

It is our faith that determines if we get relief from our troubles, from the only God that lives.

If you have known the Lord for any time at all, then you can also say "when I was brought low, He helped me"!

Rest simply means we can be restored to a peaceful confidence in the Lord.

Psa 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

We are reminded that we can never loose our salvation.

We are reminded that we are not left in this world alone but our Savior is never far from us.

We are reminded that when we walk in the ways of Christ Jesus we are walking in the glory of the Lord.

We are reminded that our God is Good all the time!

God has given us His Son Jesus and in Him will He give us all things!

God has given us eternal life!

*****Psa 116:8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

What a marvelous thing is our salvation.

God has graciously canceled the debt of sin that we could not pay without our own death in Hell.

1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God will continuously deliver us from a physical death until a time that He has selected.

Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

God will not hold back anything to wipe away our tears and restore us to the joy of salvation.

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God will keep us! Satan will never be able to lay his grubby hands on us again!

Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

Death is put away, our tears are dried up, and fear is banished, when the Lord is our Savior and we can walk before Him!

*****Psa 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

This verse means we will walk one day in Heaven where there will be no death!

This verse means we will always live in the sight of God.

Those that continue to walk in this life can only be seen by men and only during this lifetime.

Those that continue to walk in this life, will all their days be subject to human judgment, human opinion, and human results.

Those that know the Lord know that the ever watching eyes of God are on His children.

Psa 57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

These things require our faith!

*****Psa 116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:

Faith is the only way we can approach God!

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

That faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

That faith will show in our walk with the Lord in this life.

Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

By faith we live! By faith we have deliverance! By faith we can brag on our God!

Without our faith in God our prayers will go unanswered.

Without faith we will remain greatly afflicted.

When we trust in the things of this world we will find out that all men are liars because they that reject the truth have no respect for the truth!

*****Psa 116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.

Some times when we are suffering affliction in this world we will become as a pessimist.

A pessimist is any person who has a gloomy, hopeless, and complaining disposition.

A pessimist takes a dark view of everything and sometimes everyone, as did the writer of this Psalm.

But we will see a child of God can only be a pessimist for a short time!

It is a fact that all those that speak against the Word of God are all liars!

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

But we have no right to distrust all men!

There are many people still in this world who are honest, moral, and conscientious.

To blame everything on this world we live in takes our focus off of the real enemy, who is the Devil!

Faith, says we trust the Lord in all circumstances.

Faith does not mean we can wrongly accuse mankind!

We will never lead anyone to the Lord Jesus Christ by being a pessimist.

What is the opposite of being a pessimist?

*****Psa 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

The opposite of being a pessimist is when we can say, we can give back to the Lord for all the benefits He has given to us?

This world is not so gloomy that we cannot have joy in serving the Living God!

We need to be searching for ways to serve the Lord and get busy doing so, and this will take our minds off this sinful world.

Each one of us receive a special benefits in serving the Lord, so each of us should have his own special way of of showing his gratitude!

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

What was the special way, this writer had of showing his gratitude?

*****Psa 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

The greatest gift we can give back to the Lord is to accept His free gift of salvation!

We must become that new creation of the Lord!

This writer had been drinking from the cup of afflictions and had forgotten all about God's cup of salvation.

There are no works of our own that can ever repay the Lord for what He has done!

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

When we forget we are a saved people we will put off our worship of the Lord.

Satan will do anything to hinder the Word of God.

He will sometimes bring one affliction after another to try to break us.

BUT, if we can keep in mind the Salvation that is given to us from the Lord and the benefits that come from our Savior, we will continuously call on the name of the Lord.

Most of us think of worship as something that is only done on Sunday and Wednesdays or what ever days are set aside to worship but this actually is not good for us.

We simply must not reserve our worship for certain times or certain days.

In fact we are worshiping someone or something at all times with our thoughts, or with our words, or with our actions.

Worship is saying that this thing is worthy of our worship when in fact there is only One who is worthy of our worship and it is our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord who gives life.

It is the Lord who gives us the air we breath.

It is the Lord who freely gives us all things.

Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

How can we not be continuously worshiping the Lord?

The cup of Salvation of the Lord provides living water!

Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

We must devote ourselves to the worship of the Lord and Him only, all the days of our lives!

What else can we give to the Lord?

*****Psa 116:14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.

In our days of being in the family of God most of us have made certain vows. Some of those we have kept but in most cases there are some we have not kept.

Vows that have not been fulfilled are the same as debts that have not been paid!

Deu 23:21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

If we say things in worship and in prayer then, we need to hold ourselves accountable.

Deu 23:23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

This Psalm writer then went on to say that he would pay his vow before witnesses, in fact in the presence of all God's people.

God does not allow for secret disciples!

Because every saint of God is precious in the eyes of God.

*****Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

The Hebrew word "chasid" is translated as "saints" in this verse.

The "chasid" are godly people because they reflect the character of God Himself!

It is only because of God's covenant with Himself and fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ, that every "Born Again" child of God can be called a "Saint".

A Saint of God is anyone who believes by faith that Jesus Christ is Lord and can then be called Christian if they conform to the image of Christ.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate "to be conformed to the image of his Son", that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

So many people abuse the title Christian these days, as the Christian name can only be applied to those who are striving to be like Christ Jesus.

A Christian is only those whose behavior, whose actions, and whose speech are like those of Jesus Christ.

All others are impostors and it is these impostors who give Christianity a bad name!

But all those that are the true Saints of God are very precious in the eyes of God and who die according the way they lived a Christian life.

Precious means valuable.

We think of death as being the enemy of all men, but the Saints of God have no need to fear death.

1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The Saints of God do not have to drown on death's sorrows.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

To the Saints of God, death is only a device or a vehicle that is used to enter into the presence of the Lord.

Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

What a precious benefit for the Saint of God!

*****Psa 116:16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.

There will come a time to almost everyone of us that we will need to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.

This is better stated as surrendering to the Lord!

After all the giving of ourselves to His service is one of the few things that we can actually give back to the Lord for what He has done!

We belong to the Lord by the fact that we are God's creation!

BUT, we also belong to the Lord by His "Grace"!

We are to be servants of our Lord if we want to meet our Father in Heaven!

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

It's a precious feeling to know you are saved!

It's a precious feeling to know that you no longer serve Satan.

Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The most precious thing we can have is to know that we are now servants of God by Jesus Christ.

We have been loosed from the bonds of sin, of death, and of Hell, so how can we not wear the yoke of Jesus Christ?

Jesus teaches us with these words:

Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Once we have given ourselves to be servants of the Lord we then can begin to offer up our thanksgivings which are another one of the things that we can give to the Lord of our own possession.

*****Psa 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

The New Testament Church has never been told to offer up animal sacrifices.

The sacrifices that the "Body of Christ" are instructed to make are:

1) The sacrifice of ourselves as servants of God.

2) The sacrifice of righteousness, remembering that our righteousness is by the Lord Jesus Christ.

3) The sacrifice of praise which is due from us all.

4) The sacrifice of thanksgiving for the great benefits of our salvation.

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

5) Then we are to offer the sacrifice of doing good and the sacrifice of telling everyone we meet just how good it is to serve the Lord.

It is only when we drink of the cup of salvation that we can call upon the Lord!

It is probable that David also wrote this Psalm and we know that David's desire before His death was to build a house worthy of the Lord.

It should also be our desire to build houses worthy of the Lord.

Salvation is still the main objective of the Church but it seems the modern day Church has forgotten the main thing!

*****Psa 116:18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
Psa 116:19 In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

We must be determined to keep our word to the Lord.

We must invite all those that know the Lord to observe our walk in this life and point out anything that looks to be a deviation from the Word of God.

We are to exhort and help each other through the trials and afflictions in this life.

We are to comfort each other and we are to do it daily.

Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

This is the duty of each Pastor.

This is the duty of each "Born Again" child of God.

God says we need to have a Hallelujah time whenever we are in the House that is called by His name!

When our own hearts are filled with gratitude, we will want all our brothers and sisters in Christ to join in with that same feeling!

There are truly great benefits in serving the Living God!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Praise God For His Works

Praise God For His Works

Psalm 111


We have already established that the phrase "Praise ye the LORD" is the Hebrew word Hallelujah.

This word appears 25 times in the KJV Bible with 23 of those times in the Psalms.

There is 1 instance in the Book of Judges and 1 instance in the Book of Jeremiah.

One of the biggest problems this world we live in has today is acknowledging the works of God.

This world adds to that sin, with it's objection to the doctrine of salvation by "Grace".

This lost world and all false religion will tell us that there must be some good works performed in order to be saved.

The pure fact is that all moral men and the chiefest of sinners are all saved the exact same way.

They are saved by God's Grace and that "Grace" comes by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Today our Psalm teaches us to praise God for His works.

The works of God began with creation by the design of God!

So, All the works of God from creation to salvation are worthy of our praise!

Grace is the single most important gift of God.

Work means to produce by an action.

When God speaks action takes place!

*****Psa 111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

How are we to praise God? With our whole heart!

**1) Our praise of our God, Jehovah, the Triune God must come from the heart. Praise is to never be some outward show or our praise will be in vain.

Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Our praise must be carried on in an orderly manner.

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Our praise must be about how God has worked in our lives and not about rituals.

Amo 5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Amo 5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Amo 5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
Amo 5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

**2) Our praise must be the same no matter where we are located.

The upright are all those who are honest and moral and who have been justified by the Lord.

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

3) Our praise must be the same even in a congregation, whether it be family or just a crowd.

Psa 40:9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
Psa 40:10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

The actions of our own praise should instill others to praise!

Many will join us in our praise and many of those who do not will be convicted because they did not join in.

*****Psa 111:2 The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

We have mentioned many times the providence of the Lord and how He is in control of the world everyday but we have allowed creation by the design of God to come under attack and not many offering any defence of it.

We must praise God for His works and His works include all creation.

Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
Jer 32:18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,
Jer 32:19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

When we love our Maker we will delight in His handiwork!

Even the little things that God does are great!

We can read in the Word of God about all the marvelous works that our Maker has done for us but how many of us take the time to just look around us and see the marvelous works that God has done that are in full view.

How many of us set aside time just to view the beauty of God's creation, the visible things.

And then how many of us take to the time to acknowledge the invisible things such as God's love and God's Grace and His loving-kindness.

The works of God are "Great" in size, "Great" in number, and "Great" in excellence!

God works are worthy of being sought out.

There is great pleasure in admiring that mountain range.

There is great pleasure in sitting at the lake fishing or enjoying it's pleasures.

There is great pleasure in viewing the mighty oceans and all the other wonders of God that we can see but we have to seek these things out because they are so numerous.

Even when we take in the night time sky we can only see a small portion of the heavens.

Not only are the works of God pleasurable but God's work is honorable and glorious.

*****Psa 111:3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

Honorable means grandeur which means when you see it you marvel at the greatness of what you are witnessing.

Such as being in the midst of an ocean and seeing nothing but the Sea.

Such as seeing a mighty mountain range.

Such as being in an airplane seeing the marvels of the skies while also seeing the checkerboard of the land.

Glorious means magnificence which means you are in awe of God's works.

The beautiful sunset or sunrise.

The snow covered mountains.

The night time sky.

That flowery meadow.

These are the things we can see but those things we cannot see are just as honorable and just as glorious, if not more so, because God can only do things that are right!

Righteousness is the nature of our Perfect and Holy God!

The most honorable and the most glorious work of Our Lord is His Salvation!

The "Grace" of God, by the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

The "Regeneration of God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier and our Comforter.

The "Eternal Home, the gift of Our Father in Heaven.

None of the other works of God can compare the the honor and glory of His "Salvation"!

God has a plan for every part of His creation and it is all honorable and it is all glorious but His plan of Salvation is just for those who believe Him!

Isa 51:5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
Isa 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

We can be sure that God has never accomplished one wrong thing!

We can be sure that God will never say "well if I done this a little different the outcome would have been better".

God has the perfect plan and His perfect plan will be remembered by all those that have rejected Him.

Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes", being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

This rich man who's name did not make it into the Lamb's book of life was still remembering the wonderful works of God when he prayed that he would never see his family again. He did not want them to end up in Hell as he had. He is forever looking up to try to see the Heaven that he rejected in his life time.

Even Hell is a honorable and glorious place of torment, a perfect place for those that reject the Lord!

*****Psa 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

It is the statue that becomes a memorial of the dead.

It is the Lord's supper that is our memorial of the death and sufferings of Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is our memorial because it is salvation that it is the memorial of all those that have gone on home before us.

Our greatest peace in this life comes when we know we and all our family and friends are saved.

As we study the Word of God we must know that the things God has done are not to be read and then forgotten but the Word of God is also a memorial for us to remember what God will do in the future.

The Bible is not a book of fables as some would have you to believe!

The Bible is written about actual people and actual places at specific in the providence of God.

2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We will never be able remember everything God has written down for us in His Word but we can be sure God has not forgotten one word of what He has said!

God is so full of grace and compassion that it shows in all His works.

It shows in nature, all His design of the things that we can see.

It shows in spirit, by all His character, of love and goodness and greatness and especially His mercy and remember, we were all created to grow into this image.

It shows in His providence, as He guides this world into the completion of His perfect plan.

It shows in His salvation and redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's power is divine.

God's wisdom is divine.

God's faithfulness is divine.

God's goodness is divine.

Because God's character is divine!

*****Psa 111:5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

God provides for the needs of those that trust Him in faith!

God not only provides for our being but He also provides for our well being!

Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

When we read about the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, we always remember the manna that came from Heaven.

We always remember the water that was provided, but we always seem to forget that in 40 years of travel many other things were needed.

Deu 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
Deu 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Deu 8:4 "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years".

God will never forget His people nor the needs of His people because God will never forget the covenant He has made.

Isa 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

This covenant is with God's Messiah!

Joh 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Joh 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Joh 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

This is the covenant that God can never break, the covenant that God made with Himself!

Gen 17:2 And I will make "my covenant" between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

This covenant extends from Abraham and his seed to the Lord Jesus Christ and through each believer, the seed of the Messiah which will eventually include Israel.

This is God's covenant with Himself and God is ever mindful of His covenant!

And God has shown us all His power to keep His covenants by His own works!

*****Psa 111:6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

The works of the Lord are never hidden from sight to those that seek to know the truth!

Those that are the lost of this world we live in, are blinded by their own eyes!

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

We may not be able to see Jehovah God at this time but we can certainly see the evidence of Him by His works!

There are only two basic types of miracles.

**1) There are the miracles of creation. The results of God's creation are in the laws of nature that surround our existence every day.

God created all matter that is visible to the eye, but also the energy, the order of, the information of, and the complexity of life, both biological and also spiritual.

**2) Then there are the miracles of the providence of God. This is God's absolute control of all the processes He has put in place by His creating power and the timing of the events in all our lives.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Israel had not only witnessed the miracles of God in Egypt and at the Red Sea but also in His provision for them in their 40 year journey to Canaan Land.

Israel had witnessed as God had given to them the land of Canaan by defeating armies that outnumbered them and taking the great walled cities of that time.

There are many today that question the fact that God ordered the destruction of the Canaanites but simply smile when Nebuchadnezzar, or Alexander, or the Ottoman empire or the Roman rulers are mentioned who brought great destruction to many more people than that of Israel.

God removed Israel from their homeland because of sin and scattered them throughout this world and a great miracle that can be seen today is the return of Israel to that homeland.

It is impossible that a nation could retain its identity without a homeland for more that 2000 years but Israel has done so.

It is also impossible that that same nation could return and establish that same homeland again but Israel has.

God will certainly give Israel the heritage of the heathen!

God's Word means exactly what it says and we are wrong to not take the Word of God as the truth as it is written.

And we must not forget the spiritual message in this passage.

God has also showed all people the power of His works by the "Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ".

We have witnessed the miracles of Christ, His resurrection from the dead, His redeeming power, His work of Grace, and the results of changed lives.

The power of God's works are brought forth by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

And the Psalms are just as important to the Church as they are to Israel.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

It is the works of God that teach us truth but it is also the works of God that teach us judgment of God!

*****Psa 111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
Psa 111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

The works of God are everything that God does on the behalf of all those that believe!

Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

God will always be true to His promises, we can depend on that!

God will always be true in His judgment, we can also depend on that!

God began to fulfill His promise to Abraham by the gift of Canaan Land.

God began to fulfill His promise to those Israelites that were saved by expelling the Canaanites because of their unrepented wickedness.

Deu 9:4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: "but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee".
Deu 9:5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Our God does not ever change, it will be because of the wickedness of this world that God will drive out all those that reject Him!

We still have no righteousness in ourselves!

Our righteousness is only in the Lord Jesus Christ!

God has never commanded one thing today and another thing tomorrow, God's commands have always been consitent with His character!

Our problems come when we treat the Word of God as a book of suggestions and not as a book of commandments.

We need only look at the works of God throughout our history to see that this is true.

God means what He says and He also says what He means!

God's purpose, God's commands, God's actions, and God's Word will stand forever.

God will do with His works as He pleases!

The laws of God are all good and they are established by faith!

1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

The Gospel of God is also an everlasting Gospel.

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

It is the everlasting Gospel that will be the last thing that many people will ever hear before they enter into Hell.

God's Word is true even when many simply will not believe.

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

God's commandments are sure!

Salvation is then eternal!

*****Psa 111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

God's plan all along was to send redemption to His people!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

This was the same message that was given to the early church.

1Jn 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God

The New Testament Church must be centered on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Salvation, by the Lord Jesus Christ is unchangeable and is everlasting!

Isa 51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

This salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ has been God's plan since before creation and God will not alter His plan to suit the modern world!

Psa 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

To the dismay of Satan, who has caused confusion in so many, there is still only one way to reach our Father who is in Heaven.

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.

To not know the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah is to worship a false god!

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

There can be no wisdom without the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

The One that the world rejects, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the chief element of true wisdom!

The wisest thing a creature can do is acknowledge it's Creator!

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Only those that are void of understanding cannot realize the truth of God's Word.

That would be children who have not reached the age of accountability and those that are mentally handicapped.

All others are fools and will remain fools that reject the only Savior to this world!

These are the works of God, open and visible for all the world to see.

The praise of God will never cease because those that acknowledge the truth of the Gospel will never cease to praise Him for what He has done!

Until the Lord returns we are to be witnesses of His goodness and not be judges of this world.

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

It is the Lord who will judge this Earth!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Goodness Of God

Praise God For His Goodness

Psalm 107


We have seen the need to praise God for His glory, for His forgiveness, and for His patience along with many other reasons but there could be none of these things without the goodness of our God!

Goodness can best be described as loving-kindness.

Loving-kindness is the English translation of the Hebrew word "chesed".

This Hebrew word appears 249 times in the King James Bible.

This word can best be described as the faithfulness of God, despite our unfaithfulness, and is part of God's character of "mercy"!

This is the love that God has for us and this love remains constant regardless of any circumstance we may be going through!

No matter how extreme things get in our lives, God is able to deliver us through those things.

We all know that old saying "That if God takes you to it, then God will take you through it".

The theme for this Psalm can be found in the very last verse.

Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Let's begin:

*****Psa 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

One of the three things that we have that we can give to the Lord is our thanksgivings. This is the least of all things that we can give Him and it cost us nothing but the time to say thanks for what God has done in our lives.

We offer up our moans and groans to the Lord continually and He does not mind this, but to say thanks is to worship Him!

What is the greatest character of our God? The greatest character of our God is that He is good!

If our God was not good, He would not teach sinners the way to get close to Him.

Psa 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

God wants us to conform to His own image because we were created in the image of God.

God gave us our example of "goodness" when He gave us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as our God is from everlasting to everlasting, so is God's mercy from everlasting to everlasting!

God will always be good!

It is on ly because God is "good" that we can be redeemed!

*****Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psa 107:3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

If God has redeemed you from the penalty of death, then you need no other reason to praise the Lord for His goodness.

We should say so in our prayers but this verse says we should declare God's goodness publicly.

In fact we should tell everyone we see just how good God has been!

Redeemed still means to be purchased!

The redeem are all those that have been purchased out of the marketplace of sin, the slave market of Satan!

There was only one payment that was suitable for this purchase.

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

If you have been redeemed, then you need to praise God for His goodness!

Salvation is not in a feeling, but if you feel you have been redeemed then you need to say so!

Who is our enemy?

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

When we lose track of who our real enemy is, we will then become enemies ourselves to this world we live in.

We are not the enemy, we are the redeemed who are to tell the world just how good our Redeemer is!

Gathering will always follow redeeming.

No matter what divides us in this world, or what location we live on this earth, The Lord will gather us all into one "Body of Christ".

There is only One Lord, one faith, and one baptism by the Holy Spirit, and therefore only one "people" of God!

So as we gather in our local assemblies, let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

God has placed us in such varied locations, and from such varied backgrounds that there is always some lost soul that we can relate to.

1Co 6:11 "And such were some of you": but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

*****Psa 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

Lost, hungry, thirsty and exhausted can be used to describe all those lost in sin, we know that, because most all of us were once that same way.

Once we realized our own condition, we cried out to the Lord and to be redeemed is to be delivered.

Delivered means released from the bondage of Satan but it also means rescued and made free.

Delivered means we know we have no home in this place, our home is in Heaven and Jesus has gone there to prepare us a place. Our home is with our Lord!

What is the right way while we are still in this place?

There are many wrong ways but there is only one right way!

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.

1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

The Lord will never lead us from one wilderness to another, He will only lead us to the city of God!

Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

How can we not praise God for His goodness?

*****Psa 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Over and over again we are reminded that we need to praise God for His goodness because we have been redeemed.

We also need to praise God for His providence.

God created a perfect world.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God made a way for salvation.

Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

God's plan of salvation will succeed.

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

God has nothing but good things in His plan for us.

Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

And we have been redeemed so that we may also do good to the children of men!

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

It is the goodness of God that brings with it, our satisfaction.

*****Psa 107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

There is deep satisfaction in having received the goodness of God.

A longing soul, is a searching soul.

I do not know about you but when I was lost I just could not be satisfied, I was craving something that I was not aware that I was missing.

I did not understand why, until I found the Lord Jesus Christ.

God did not just fill my soul with common things but He is continuing to fill my soul with His goodness.

Those who do not know Him or reject Him cannot know these things.

*****Psa 107:10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
Psa 107:11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
Psa 107:12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Most of us look upon those in prison as deserving the circumstances they have caused themselves to be in.

BUT, We have a Savior who loves us no matter how far we have fallen from His grace!

God wants to reach out to those in darkness.

God wants to reach out to those that sit in the shadow of death.

God wants to reach out to those that are bound in the afflictions of this world.

God wants to reach out to all those that are bound by the iron chains of Satan.

God even wants to reach out to all those that rebel against the Word of God and withstand the Holy Spirit.

God has given this job to us, we are to reach out to the lost!

Until someone reaches them with the Gospel, God will keep them busy.

God will humble them under His mighty hand.

God will crush their haughty spirit.

God will crush their pride.

God will bring them to the point of submission!

God will do all these things because of His love and because of His goodness because God wants them to cry out to Him for salvation.

God is always ready to save!

*****Psa 107:13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. Psa 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

As long as the lost feel that the answers will come from this world they will not yield to the Holy Ghost. We that are saved know this very well.

It is so sad that God practically has to force a confession out of us!

Humans will simply wallow in misery for some reason but as soon as that point is reached and we cry out to the Lord, He will save us.

God will immediately send relief from our distresses.

God will never again allow us to be locked in Satan's prison.

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

How can we not praise God for His goodness?

*****Psa 107:15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

Once we understand the good-news of Jesus, that He died so that we can be redeemed, how can we not praise God of goodness?

How can we not brag on our God?

The Lord can break the strongest chains that kept us bound to Satan.

Jesus said:

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, "ye shall be free indeed".

Sin makes bondage.

Truth brings freedom.

Freedom comes by Jesus Christ!

Those that reject this truth are fools!

*****Psa 107:17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
Psa 107:18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Psa 107:19 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

Many of our sicknesses today are brought about by foolish acts. The disease of aids and other sexual transmitted diseases may top the list but we could also include drunkenness, smoking, gluttony, diabetes, and much of our heart problems just to name a few.

Many of our lusts and passions are our own downfall!

There are way to many of us who have caused ourselves these things and then foolishly continue doing the same old things.

Fools usually bring trouble upon themselves!

It is a fact that most people will lose their appetite when they are sick and many are so nauseous that they cannot even hold the food they try to eat.

Many of them die but many more of them come close to death before they cry out to the Lord.

Those that think that the Lord is not the Healer are also fools!

The Lord not only saves us out of our troubles, He can save us out of all distresses.

How does He do this?

Prayer is as important when we are sick as when we are healthy, God always has His ear turned toward His children.

*****Psa 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psa 107:21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

It is also a fact that only our Savior can also break addictions, erase bad memories, and restore broken relationships!

Medicine can be used in the healing process but man is not healed by medicine alone.

Just as God spoke our world into existence, when God speaks the Word, we can also be healed.

We have proof of this in the scriptures:

Mat 8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
Mat 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
Mat 8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
Mat 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mat 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

We are foolish to forget the power of the Word of God!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We are foolish to forget the fulfillment of God's Word!

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

God will do these things because of His goodness!

Many a person have prayed to be healed of God, making all sort of promises, and after that healing soon forget the promises they made.

It always seems that when ten are healed seldom will more than one return to praise the Lord.

Luk 17:12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
Luk 17:13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Luk 17:14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Luk 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
Luk 17:16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Luk 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

We are so foolish when we do not show our Great Physician the gratitude that He deserves.

The one thing we can surely offer is our thanks as He requires little else!

If we would do more, then we should tell all others just how good our Savior really is!

*****Psa 107:23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Since the time of Adam's sin, mankind has had to work by the sweat of his brow to earn a living.

To be a mariner was a hazardous job because the sea held so many mysteries as it still does.

In that day, sailors were said to be "going down to the sea" but in our day sailors sa they "sailing the high seas". This is because of the difference in safety in our day.

We can be sure that if there had not been great profit for those that ventured out on the oceans there would have been no seagoing vessels in that day.

No where in the scriptures do we read of men taking great pleasure on the seas.

Mariners were admired in the days of the kings of Israel.

It was these mariners sailing the great oceans that could view vastness of God's creation.

In the middle of the open sea there are no distractions from the land. The skies could be observed in all their majesty.

The vastness of the oceans themselves were a wonder and we can just imagine the first sight of the great whales and the sea creatures.

There would be storms that would come up all of a sudden and then there would be great calms when not even a wisp of air stirred the sails.

And there would be the great waves.

*****Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

At one moment the small ships of that day would be climbing a wave and see nothing but the open skies and the next moment traveling down a wave and appear to be sailing straight into the deep.

The sailor would be tossed to and fro and stagger like a drunk man.

To the first time sailor they would be at their wit's end, to the experienced sailor they knew there was no escape from the raging seas.

Many a sailor of that day knew they were at the mercy of the sea and did not possess the skills to overcome their peril.

They were all very glad to reach their destination.

But are we not all like a ship in the midst of the great waters of life?

Is not the weather fouler to some than others?

Is it not God who makes the arrangements for all human affairs?

Are not many souls shipwrecked everyday?

But there is an answer to these turmoils of life!

Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

The mistake we make most of the time is that we wait until we reach our wit's end before we call upon the Lord.

Prayer is good when we are sick.

Prayer is good when we are bound by afflictions.

Prayer is good when we have gone against the Word of God.

Prayer is good when we are on the sea of affliction.

And God can even hear us in any storm!

Why do we not trust the goodness of God and just stay in constant contact with our Savior?

Oh, we are truly a foolish people.

*****Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

When we are at our weakest is the exact same time that we can be at our strongest.

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

There are the trials of life that we must endure but there is also the grace of God that will also endure and God's grace cannot ever fail.

God loves to come to our rescue!

When God sees our weakness He sees an opportunity to show us His goodness and His great power.

When we feel most secure, Satan sees an opportunity that we may trust in our own power.

God's way is not to remove our trials but to give His strength during that trial.

We have no testimony until we have been tested!

We can appreciate this verse if we have ever been through a trial in this life that has overwhelmed our ability to cope with it.

We can be glad when that storm in our life has passed on by.

We will one day reach our Heavenly haven and all our trials will all be over!

How can we not praise God for His goodness?

*****Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Praising the Lord cannot be just reserved for our private prayers, we must praise him for His goodness when we gather in worship of Him.

When we have found peace by the comforts of God then it is a great privilege to brag on our Lord for what He has done.

Psa 66:16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

It is Jehovah God who is in control of this earth and all the things in all His creation.

*****Psa 107:33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
Psa 107:34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
Psa 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.

Because of the providence of God there have been many a city that no longer exist or are ghost towns.

There are even nations that have ceased to exist.

There are more than 400 ghost towns in America alone.

There are ghost cities where the gold ran out, or the water ran out, or by landslides or earthquakes.

As God deals with rebellion, He will sometimes take away the things that bring the greatest assurance.

It is our God that controls the productiveness of this earth.

God will make fruitful places barren and make barren places fruitful.

When God judges, He will take away things that are important to us.

When God is merciful, He will make even the barren place to produce what is needed.

We need to look no further than Israel to see that a barren land has now blossomed like a rose.

*****Psa 107:36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
Psa 107:37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

We also know that America, was once a great waste land, and was established by people seeking to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ and now those that are hungry and oppressed seek to make America their home.

God has a reason and a purpose behind everything that He does.

Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

The main intent of the Lord is putting the right people, in the right place, that they will have the opportunity to seek Him and be saved!

This world we live in may have made great strides in education, and the arts and sciences, and even transportation but none of these things have changed the fact that there is still only One Savior and only One Redeemer.

Christianity since the time of Jesus Christ has only one purpose and only one message!

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

This the greatest blessing we can receive in our lifetime.

*****Psa 107:38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

It is only by God's blessings and God's goodness that mankind can be truly happy.

God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and they did.

This command has not changed.

Those that believe this earth we live on cannot feed the people that God allows to be on it at any given age do not have enough faith to be saved.

When things get unbearable in one place God may be saying move on to a more suitable place.

*****Psa 107:39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

As we have seen, Israel's ups and downs were a direct consequence of her sin and repentance of that sin.

Why are we to think differently in our own lives and our own nations?

Those that seek the Lord are blessed.

Those that reject the Lord are eventually brought low!

As we see the number of Christians diminish in number we must know that we are in the latter days of the Church Age.

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

If we open our eyes, we can see all these things but we can also see the goodness of the Lord with those same eyes.

*****Psa 107:40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Psa 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.

In most all cases it is the rulers in place or the laws and regulations in place that causes the starvation of people.

It is our God that allows certain ones to be in power in the governments of this earth.

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

All those that would see their nation prosper would seek the hand of God!

All those that make themselves out to be something that they are not will be put down.

God has no respect for Kings and Rulers.

If they cause God's people to suffer they in turn will also suffer.

On the other hand all those that know they are spiritually poor will be raised unto comfort and happiness.

They will be added to the family of God!

No amount of suffering in this world can compare to the peace of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!

*****Psa 107:42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

If we would just allow the Word of God to rule in our lives we would see the hand of God in every action of this world.

God does not cause evil to happen, that's what Satan does, but Satan has been allowed to do his thing at least for the time being.

If we could see the evil that goes on around us, we would see a very frustrated Satan who has never been able to completely have his way and he never will.

Satan is as much a pawn in God's plan of salvation as are all of God's created beings.

God gives us choice!

The power of choosing is something we all have and when we choose righteousness we will stray from iniquity.

Choice is taking great care in what we select.

Choice is skill in selecting what is preferred.

Choice is preferring life over death.

Misery follows bad choices and iniquity, rejecting the Word of God will cause our downfall.

Those that are wise will see the hand of God in everything in this world and know Who to choose.

*****Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Being wise means, when we can see the hand of God working from the first day of creation and all the days of our lives.

What did Jesus say?

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

That rock is the Lord Jesus Christ!

If we cannot see goodness in everything that God does, then we need to take a hard look at our own lives because God does not do evil things.

Questions?

Let's Pray!