Download Here:

The State Of The Union – Part 1
Isaiah 1:1-31 (1-3)
February 5, 2023

So this morning we’re going to begin a new study together
And it is a study through the book of Isaiah.

I realize that it is a daunting study to begin simply because of it’s length
And so with us finishing up Psalms tonight we will study Isaiah
Both on Sunday morning and Sunday nights.

Isaiah is certainly the most well-known of the Old Testament prophets.
• His 53rd chapter is one of the most recognizable chapters in the whole Bible.
• Many a missionary has echoed Isaiah’s “Here am I. Send me!”
• And quite frankly Isaiah is even one of the favorites of the New Testament writers since his name is mentioned 22 times in the New Testament.

This morning we want to first introduce the book
And then begin our study.

Very important to your understanding of the book,
As with most of the Old Testament prophets,
Is the MEANING OF HIS NAME.

Isaiah means – “The LORD is Salvation”

And far from just a theological fact,
It is also the call of the entire book of Isaiah.

It is a reminder to God’s people
That though this world offers a multitude of would be saviors,
THERE IS ONLY ONE.

And that is the LORD.

Isaiah 43:3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.”

Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.”

Isaiah 45:15 “Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!”

Isaiah 45:21 “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.”

Isaiah 49:36 “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 60:16 “You will also suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings; Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

It is the driving point of the entire ministry of Isaiah.

And to make sure you rightly apply his message you also need to know
That Isaiah is preaching TO A COVENANT PEOPLE.

That is NOT to say that he is preaching only to saved people,
For he most certainly is not.

It becomes quite apparent that
Though these people occupy the Holy Land
And though they call themselves the people of God,
THEY DO NOT KNOW GOD.

• As Paul would teach us in Romans, “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” and that becomes apparent in the book of Isaiah.

• God will actually refer to them in chapter 30 as “false sons”.

SO ON ONE HAND
We read Isaiah sort of like we would John 14:6 or Acts 4:12.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

We often quote those verses TO THE LOST as a way of revelation to show them that there is no other way to be saved than to trust in Jesus Christ.

HE IS THE ONLY SAVIOR.

And certainly that is a major point of Isaiah throughout this book
As he calls unbelievers to trust in the LORD.

YET ON THE OTHER HAND
It’s not only an evangelistic book. It’s also a book of revival.

For the call that God is the only Savior
Is also a message for the wayward redeemed.

Even those who knew the LORD had grown very cold toward Him
And had begun to look in other places for their salvation.

During the ministry of Isaiah the nation will face 2 MAJOR CRISIS.

1) When Aram and Israel unite to try and wipe out Judah.
• That one they will refuse to trust God, instead turning to Assyria, and the results will be nearly totally fatal.

2) When Assyria invades Israel to destroy her.
• That one Hezekiah will determine to trust the LORD and Judah will be delivered.

SO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE BOOK VERY MUCH DICTATE
THE CALL TO TRUST IN GOD AS YOUR ONLY SAVIOR.

Only God is the Savior.
Only in Him do we find salvation.
Both the lost and the redeemed alike need to know this.

Of course Isaiah also DOESN’T STOP THERE.

Not only does Isaiah remind continually that the LORD alone is the Savior, Isaiah will INTRODUCE THE ONE through Him God will save.

While Jesus is pictured and promised throughout the Old Testament,
Perhaps no prophet gets more specific or gives more information
About this coming Savior than Isaiah does.

• It is Isaiah who announces His virgin birth.
• It is Isaiah who announces this child called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”
• It is Isaiah who writes that He will come to set the captives free and give freedom to the oppressed and to open the eyes of the blind.
• It is Isaiah who speaks of His suffering and how they will beat Him and mock Him and even pluck out His beard.
• It is Isaiah who gives such great detail of His substitutionary atonement on the cross.
• It is Isaiah who speaks of His zeal to put on the armor of God and to come and crush His enemies.
• It is Isaiah who speaks of His kingdom when He comes to reign upon the earth.

ISAIAH IS HERE TO SHOW YOU THE SAVIOR.

Namely because WE ALWAYS NEED A SAVIOR
AND THERE IS ONLY ONE.

THIS IS THE DRIVING FORCE OF THE BOOK.

THIS MORNING we want to begin our journey through it.

First let’s just examine THE SETTING.
(1) “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

Perhaps you notice a little DIFFERENT TERMINOLOGY
Than the last prophet we studied.

• Malachi was said to bring an “oracle” or a “burden” from God to the people.
• We talked about how burdened God was and indeed the prophecy of Malachi bore that out.

But Isaiah isn’t credited with a burden, he is credited with “The vision”
WHAT IS THIS VISION?

You are familiar with the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry.

Isaiah 6:1 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.”

Isaiah said: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne”

Isaiah’s vision is NOT primarily about future events,
Though he will reveal a number of them.

ISAIAH’S VISION IS ABOUT THE LORD.

Isaiah is revealing who God is.
ISAIAH SAW THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL.

And to make sure we are traveling down the correct track
Let’s make sure you understand exactly WHO IT WAS that Isaiah saw.

John 12:36-41 “These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.” These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”

John quotes Isaiah twice in that passage.
• The first quotation is from Isaiah 53 and the second is from Isaiah 6.

But notice what John added at the end.
“These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory,
and he spoke of Him.”

Who is the “Him” John is talking about?
JESUS.

John says that when Isaiah walked into that temple and saw the Lord
It was Jesus whom he saw.

That’s who this book is about.
It is about the Savior.

Isaiah is shown a vision of Jesus
And his objective is to drive Israel to that Savior.

Now we also note that this vision was NOT primarily for everyone.

It was “concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”

Isaiah will give several prophetic details about the northern kingdom.
Just as Isaiah will give prophetic oracles about many nations like:
• Babylon (ch 13)
• Moab (ch 15)
• Syria (ch 17)
• Ethiopia (ch 18)
• Egypt (ch 19)
• Edom (ch 21)
• Arabia (ch 21)
• Tyre (ch 23)

But it’s not like those nations heard (at least not initially) these prophecies
Isaiah was not a foreign missionary like Jonah.

Isaiah spoke of all these nations and their fate,
But the message was for God’s people.

WHY?
1. To show that in their false gods they had no Savior.
2. And to show Israel that those nations would be no Savior to them.

How many times was Israel tempted to run to Egypt for deliverance?
How many times did they want help from some other nation?
But those nations were a false hope and could not save.

Isaiah not only pointed to the real Savior,
But he goes to great effort to expose false ones.

He is preaching to Judah and to Jerusalem
Seeking to get them to trust in the LORD and to trust in Him alone.

And we also see the TIME PERIOD
In which Isaiah ministered, and this is important to grasp.

“during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

Isaiah received His commission from the LORD in the year Uzziah died
So he barely ministered during Uzziah’s reign,
But knowing about Uzziah is still important
To understanding the spiritual condition of the people.

LET’S DO A QUICK HISTORY LESSON
On those 4 kings so you’ll know what Israel was like in Isaiah’s day.

WE START WITH UZZIAH.

• From a political standpoint…
• From an economic standpoint…
• From a military standpoint…
• UZZIAH WAS AS GOOD AS THEY COME

You don’t have to turn there but you can read 2 Chronicles 26
And find how he restored the borders of Judah.

• One town in particular named “Eloth” had been stolen from Israel and Uzziah recaptured it.
• Uzziah (also called Azariah) subdued land from the Philistines into Judah.
• The Ammonites were so in awe of him that they sent tribute to Judah while he was on the throne.
• He fortified walls and towers.
• He built engines of war on the towers that would fling large amounts of arrows or stones.
• He stocked up on military supplies.
• And it was said in his day that he amassed a great and skilled army of 307,500 soldiers.

In the days of Uzziah the borders were secure the economy was stable and Judah was the envy of her neighbors.

He reigned on the throne for 52 years and from a purely worldly perspective it was a great time to live in Jerusalem.

However, from God’s perspective Uzziah was a dud.
When we studied through the books of the kings
We called him “The King Who Accomplished Nothing”

For all that Uzziah did and for all that is listed about him in the book of Chronicles THIS IS ALL the writer of Kings had to say about him.

2 Kings 15:1-7 “In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king’s son was over the household, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place.”

To say he did right like Amaziah is not much of an accommodation
Since Amaziah’s heart turned away from the LORD.

But the glaring failure of his reign is that despite all his economic and political success “the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

We also learn of his arrogant maneuver when he tried to offer sacrifices in the temple
And God struck him with leprosy.

His epitaph in the book of Kings reads like if someone at my funeral said,
“Rory preached in Spur for 20 years and did good in the sight of the Lord as those before him. He remodeled the sanctuary and the kitchen and the women’s bathroom. His sons painted the trim of the church. The church finances were stable during his leadership. Nevertheless sin was never confronted and no one repented and no one in the church trusted Christ.”

That would be a horrible legacy, but that was Uzziah.

If you’re in to worldly comfort and ease, he’s your guy,
But Israel took some major strides backward spiritually during his reign.

And in the year he died Isaiah is commissioned to preach.

And then we come to his son JOTHAM.

• Jotham would reign for 16 years in Jerusalem
• When we studied the kings we called him “The Ineffective King”.

Like his father, he had much political success,
But also like his father the nation continued to regress spiritually.

2 Chronicles 27:1-6 “Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people continued acting corruptly. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built fortresses and towers on the wooded hills. He fought also with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them so that the Ammonites gave him during that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites also paid him this amount in the second and in the third year. So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.”

Jotham did some really good things just like his father had done.

However:
2 Kings 15:34-37 “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.”

You read it again don’t you?
The writer of kings treats his accomplishments like a big – “SO WHAT!”

• SO WHAT he built the upper gate…
• SO WHAT he subdued the Ammonites…
• SO WHAT he built cities and walls…

“the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

Like his father Jotham did everything but the main thing.
Not a bad guy but totally ineffective.

His 16 year reign was the first years of Isaiah’s ministry.
It was a prosperous time.

But Israel, due largely to her feeling of security, was drawing further and further away from God.

• They were enamored with the high places.
• They were enamored with these pagan deities.

And it was during the reign of Jotham
That God started to say, “ENOUGH!”

We read that “In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.”

God started attacking their precious security and prosperity.

This attack comes full force during the reign of Jotham’s son AHAZ.

While Uzziah and Jotham were good men, though ineffective,
Ahaz was a product of their tolerance and apathy.

Ahaz, due largely to the complacency of his father and grandfather,
Had no desire for God at all.

2 Kings 16:1-4 “In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.”

His father and grandfather left the high places and Ahaz used them.
Judah’s apostasy was now going full force.
The nation was departing from God.

So God began to afflict Jerusalem and Judah.
He sent Israel and Aram to attack Judah and to try and overthrow Ahaz.

It was at that critical moment that Isaiah approached Ahaz and told him to trust God
• Ahaz would not.
• Instead he employed the king of Assyria to come and fight on his behalf.
• He did, and it worked.
• Ahaz was so grateful he even traveled to Assyria copied the pagan altar to the Assyrian god and had an exact replica built in the temple court in Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem was turning pagan.
• It appeared to be a shrewd move by Ahaz, for the king of Assyria would totally annihilate the northern kingdom and carry them off into exile.

The problem was that the king of Assyria wouldn’t stop.
The son of Ahaz would face the battle of his life.

THAT WAS HEZEKIAH.

Unlike his father before him Hezekiah was a king who trusted God.
He is definitely in the top 5 of the great kings of Israel.

2 Kings 18:1-6 “Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.”

In his day Assyria would attack and nearly completely annihilate Judah,
But Hezekiah trusted God and God delivered Jerusalem from his hand.

And Hezekiah represents THE GLORIOUS UPSWING
That occurs at the end of the book of Isaiah.

You can follow the mood of the book as you follow the kings who sit on the throne.
• It begins in apathy and false religion with threats of God’s judgment.
• It walks through times of hardship and suffering wrath.
• It ends with God’s promises of redemption for those who trust Him.

It follows the pattern of the men who sit on the throne.

But this cultural backdrop is important to your understanding
Of why Isaiah is saying what he is saying.

Isaiah is preaching to a comfortable people.
• Their land is prospering
• Their borders are secure
• So calling on God and seeking His salvation is far from their minds.
• Because of their ease they are running into paganism and idolatry.

But as Isaiah warns, times grow increasingly more difficult.
• Their ease and comfort is stripped away
• They fall nearly to the brink of annihilation
• The only thing that saves them is faith in the only Savior.

And while many in Judah are destroyed
God begins to separate the wheat from the tares
And it is the remnant who emerges secure because they trust God.

And Isaiah’s preaching walks through every ounce of that with them.

FOR US there are very relevant warnings and almost eerie similarities.

We are NOT going to compare Israel to the United States as we study,
Though certainly circumstances seem similar.

No, we compare Israel to the church.
• And we see how times of ease and safety can so quickly lead God’s people to grow lazy and complacent.

• And we see how God may very well begin to bring about hardship and danger to drive us from our idols back to our only Savior.

The message is a good one for God’s church
And one that we eagerly begin this morning.

SO YOU HAVE THE SETTING

Well, in the short time we have left,
Let’s introduce this INAUGURAL SERMON of Isaiah.

Here’s the new preacher and this is sermon number 1.

I like to call it “The State of the Union”

There are 3 main topics that God will discuss with the nation.

#1 REBELLION
Isaiah 1:1-9

(2) “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks,”

God calls all of creation, almost like in a courtroom
To bear witness to the news that He is about to announce
About this nation of His people.

In an almost shocking revelation
God takes the podium in front of a global stage
And announces that Judah has been taken by rebel extremists.

• There is a group of anarchists that has arisen.
• There is a rebel faction who is walking in opposition.
• They have in effect seceded from the union and war is brewing.

It is somewhat of a shocking announcement from God
To a NATION THAT WAS CURRENTLY IN SUCH A PLEASANT SITUATION.

• All their external enemies were currently at bay.
• Uzziah had defeated the Philistines.
• Uzziah was receiving tribute from the Ammonites.
• The defenses were strong.
• The army was large.
• Judah was enjoying peace and prosperity.

But God is announcing that Judah is falling and falling from within.

Then God begins to lay out the details of this rebellion.

1) THE REBEL’S IDENTITY (2-3)

“Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.”

This is not a foreign army invasion.
This is a civil war of sorts.

“Sons I have reared and brought up,”

It brings to our minds
All that we know about ISRAEL’S SOVEREIGN SELECTION by God.

Throughout their history Israel has always been referred to as
“God’s Chosen People”

We’re reminded of passages like:
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Or:
Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.”

There Israel actually referred to as God’s son.

Or that famous passage in Ezekiel 16 where God so graphically outlines His grace to save Israel when she was but a disregarded baby.

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 16:1-14

Our minds travel back to Genesis 12
• Where, for no apparent reason,
• God approached a pagan idol worshiper named Abram
• And promised him descendants and land and great blessing.

THE POINT WE REMEMBER IS SIMPLE.
Israel didn’t approach God for the relationship, God approached Israel.
• He chose them.
• He saved them.
• He cared for them.
• He became a God and Father to them.

IT WAS NOTHING BUT PURE GRACE.

The beginnings of the nation of Israel
Was a 90 year old pagan idolator with a barren wife,
But God chose them.

• He made them His children.
• He delivered them from Egypt.
• He gave them the Promised Land.
• He subdued their enemies around them.

And now in a shocking move those sons have rebelled.

“Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.”

It’s the shock of that younger son in the parable of the prodigal.
• Who terribly disgraced and humiliated his father by demanding his half of the
inheritance.
• He took all that was his and then abandoned the father to go live up the world.

It was unthinkable disrespect.
It was totally undeserved
Anyone watching objectively from the outside would be shocked.

That is the type of shocking rebellion mentioned here.

To further explain the shock we read:
(3) “An ox knows its owner And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”

An “ox” is a beast of burden.
• It is a hard-working animal and incredible strong,
• But it’s not known for its great intellect.

If you see a big guy doing manual labor and you call him an “ox”
He might not be flattered by the comparison.

A “donkey” is also a beast of burden.
• It is also a hard-working animal but it comes with a definite reputation.
• A donkey is stubborn.

Many of you have actually seen the phenomenon of a donkey that determines to just sit down. And it doesn’t matter what you do to it, it won’t move.

And God turns to the “ox” and the “donkey”
To make an analogy about His people.

Even a dumb ox “knows its owner”
That is to say, even the ox knows who is in charge.

Even a stubborn donkey knows “its master’s manger”
That is to say, even the donkey knows who to trust and follow for care.

“But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”

WHAT IS GOD SAYING?
My people are dumber than the ox and more stubborn than the donkey.

You’d think after all I have done for them that they’d understand
What a good thing they have going with Me and yet they don’t.

They don’t know Me and they don’t trust Me.

Now we’ll have to stop here for the time being,
BUT LET’S LEAVE WITH THIS THOUGHT.

What is it that Israel doesn’t know about God?
What is it that Israel doesn’t trust about God?
What is it that they “do not understand”?

NAMELY THAT GOD IS THEIR SALVATION

It is a tragic thing when even the people of God
Fail to realize that God is their only hope and salvation.

It is a tragic thing when God’s people begin to trust the world
And look to the world for their deliverance
Instead of to the God who has shown nothing but good to them.

We sing sometimes that song, “I Lay It All”

I love the second verse which says:
“When questions rise, when faith wears thin
When fears come fast, and truth grows dim
The One Who saved will not forsake
I’ll trust His word and trust His way
For He Who bore my blame
Can bear each care I name”
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/i-lay-it-all/

THIS IS THE QUESTION OF ISAIAH.
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?

If you can trust God for salvation can you not also trust Him for provision and deliverance and for your marriage and in raising kids, etc.

Israel had apparently decided that they could not
And they were running to the world for worldly solutions.

AND GOD SAW THIS AS REBELLION.

May we be reminded that God is the only Savior in your life
And that includes more than just salvation from hell.

LEARN TO TRUST HIM.

Download Here:

Praise The LORD!
Psalms 150
February 5, 2023

Well tonight we come to the conclusion of what has been
A 4 ½ year study through the book of Psalms.

It is in fact God’s hymn book.
And here we have found prayers and songs for every situation and walk of life.

It is God’s prescribed manual on what to say to Him in
• Times of joy and times of grief
• Times of celebration and times of anger
• Times of victory and times of defeat
• Times of triumph and times of failure
• Times of confidence and times of fear

We find the cries and complaints; songs and declarations of men
As they navigated this broken world holding only to their faith in God.

It is a book of tremendous value and tremendous depth.
I am certain that we could start again next week in Psalms 1
And go through the entire book again and seize anew on things that we missed
And would encounter God in new ways yet again.

We will never stop pouring over this precious book.

But tonight we conclude our official study of it.
And it concludes really the only way it can
And that is with “Praise the LORD!”

What else could you really say after such a study
But that God is worthy of praise?

And so tonight we take a look at this final chapter.
We’ll break it down into 3 points tonight.

#1 THE ELEMENTS OF PRAISE
Psalms 150:1-2

By elements we mean the specifics or logistics of praise.
This is the blueprint so to speak.

Here we find the:
• Where?
• Why?
• How?

And this evening we spend a moment in reflection
As we listen to the Psalmist briefly lay this out for us.

It opens again with that familiar “Praise the LORD!” or “Hallelujah!”

And we are reminded again of both the occupation and the object.
The OCCUPATION is praise and the OBJECT is the LORD.

And then the Psalmist begins to lay out for us
Some of the elemental details.

1) WHERE?

“Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.”

Two locations are given.
• One is generic.
• One is specific.
• Both are obvious.

The Psalmist says to “Praise Him in His mighty expanse.”

This would entail the whole of creation.
There is not a pocket in all of God’s creation
Where praising God is inappropriate.

It doesn’t matter where you dwell on earth or on the sea.
It doesn’t matter if you catch a shuttle to the stars.
God deserves praise in every place you could ever be.

FOR ONE because no matter where you are, God is there.
We know of His unfathomable omnipresence.

Psalms 139:7-12 “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

God is all-present and so no matter where you go praise is fitting.

But it is also true because no matter where you go, you remain inside of what God has made.
• There is no aspect of creation which God did not make.
• There is no aspect of creation which God does not sustain.

All His creative works are a testimony
To His divine nature and unprecedented power.

And all of creation calls for His honor and glory.

Some places are obvious.
• I have stood, as many of you have, overlooking the Grand Canyon.
• I have stood at the base of the Giant Sequoias.
• I have stood on a cliff overlooking the great Victoria Falls.
• I have descended into caverns…
• I have climbed on mountain tops…
• I have flown through the clouds…
• I have swam in the ocean…

And each and every place declares the absolute glory of God.
Every one of those places calls for His praise.

As does the things we see every single day.
• The sun and it’s heat.
• The wind and it’s bitter cold.
• The lighting and the thunder.

They all demand praise for their Creator.

Psalms 148:7-12 “Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl; Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children.”

There is no place within “His mighty expanse”
Where His praise is not fitting.

And yet while His praise is obvious in every aspect of creation,
There is one place where it is MORE FITTING than any other

And that is “in His sanctuary.”

Every time we enter the sanctuary of God and dwell among God’s people
We witness before our eyes the most glorious miracle of all
And that is the miracle of redemption.

• We see people who have been totally transformed.
• We see people who were dead in sin who no walk in newness of life.
• We hear God’s word proclaimed which perfectly explains His glory and
greatness.

AND WHEN WE COME INTO HIS SANCTUARY
THERE IS NO HIGHER PURPOSE THAN TO PRAISE HIM.

So when we talk about WHERE to praise God
We can literally say “Everywhere, but especially in His sanctuary!”

• You may get distracted and forget to praise God on the highway between here and Lubbock.
• You may get distracted and forget to praise God in your pasture or in the parking lot of SAMS.
• And yet no one should ever enter these doors and forget to praise Him.
He deserves it everywhere; how much more does He deserve it in this place where the redeemed gather?

I think about it often times when new people visit our church.

Churches really focus these days on being a friendly church (not that there’s anything wrong with being friendly).

But that often times seems to be the main objective is to make sure that people know we are friendly or accepting or loving.

And while I certainly want people to feel welcome to come, it is not our friendliness I want them to be most aware of. I hope that when we start singing that first song that they are blown away at the praise we offer to our God.

That they look around and say, “I can tell that these people love me but what is really obvious is that these people really love God.”

Wouldn’t it be something to be a congregation known for their praise!

I know we have many Patrick Mahomes fans in Spur and that there are many who love to watch him play. One thing you always notice if you watch him is how loud it always is at Arrowhead Stadium.

It’s one of the hardest places for opponents to play in the NFL because the fans there are so passionate about the Chiefs. That stadium has a reputation.

Wouldn’t it be something if we had a reputation of praise!

Certainly that we praise God “in His mighty expanse”
But even more so “in His sanctuary.”

That’s the WHERE of praise.

Our Psalmist also speaks of:
2) WHY?

(2a) “Praise Him for His mighty deeds;”

And we really don’t have time to be exhaustive on this point.
Just think about “His mighty deeds” for a moment.

You say, “Which ones?”

CONSIDER HIS REALIZED DEEDS
Those deeds which we have all seen and realized our entire lives.

THINGS LIKE CREATION.
• That God spoke this world into existence.
• That every morning “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good”.
• That He sends His “rain upon the just and the unjust”.

Consider the drastic differences in landscape all over this planet
And what a remarkable imagination God must have.

“Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all Thy worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.”

“From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea; Creations revealing Your majesty. From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring; Every creature unique in the song that it sings. Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go? Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow? Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light? Yet, conceals it to bring us the coolness of night.
Indescribable, uncontainable; You placed the stars in the sky And You know them by name. You are amazing, God. All powerful, untameable; Awestruck, we fall to our knees As we humbly proclaim You are amazing, God”

We could talk for days about these realized deeds of creation.
• The beauty of the earth.
• The mystery of the sea.
• The creativity of the animal kingdom.
• The wisdom of the human body and all its systems.

We could talk about His works of PROVIDENCE and care over all these things.
• The faithfulness by which creation operates
• And His sustaining power behind it all.

We could sing and rejoice and praise Him continually
Simply for these realized deeds.

But what about HIS RECORDED DEEDS?
The things we read about in the Old Testament.

• How He flooded the earth but preserved Noah.
• How He confused the language of the builders at Babel.
• How He opened Sarah’s womb or Rebekah’s womb or Rachel’s womb.
• How He crippled Egypt with mighty plagues.
• How He parted the Red Sea.
• How He provided manna from heaven or water from a rock.
• How He spoke through Balaam’s donkey.
• How He subdued the nations of the Promised Land.
• How He made the sun stand still for Joshua
• How He scattered the enemies of Gideon.
• How He toppled Goliath.
• How He closed the lions mouths for Daniel
• How He rescued the boys from the furnace

And those aren’t even the tip of the ice burg.

We could spend hours or any one of those recorded deeds of God
And learn of His great power.

And that isn’t even yet to discover His revealed power in the New Testament.
• Turning water to wine
• Restoring crippled hands and blind eyes and deaf ears and mute tongues
• Raising the dead and healing paralytics
• Casting out demons and feeding the multitudes
• Cleansing lepers, forgiving sinners, giving hope to the hopeless

Which recorded deed would you like to focus on first?
He is deserving of praise for every one of them.

Both for His willingness to perform such miracles
And for His ability to bring them to fruition.

• Why did He even care for that rabble of Israelites, let alone deliver them?
• Why did He even care for that caravan, let alone protect them?
• Why did He even care for those broken sinners, let alone heal them?
• Why did He even care for those hypocritical crowds, let alone feed them?

And this book is filled with His recorded deeds.
All His works and all His miracles there for us to read and ponder
And to praise Him accordingly.

Which recorded deed blows your mind the most?
• Was it the parting of the Red Sea?
• Was it the parting of the Jordan?
• Was it when that paralytic got up and walked?
• Was it when Lazarus came out of that tomb?

Pick one of His recorded deeds and then praise Him accordingly!

“Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.”

“Zaccheus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he” but as the Savior passed by Jesus called him to salvation.

We sing about “Father Abraham” and his many sons.

They are songs of praise to speak of the great recorded deeds of God.

And then move on to HIS REDEEMING DEEDS.

What about the INCARNATION?
• That God became man and dwelled among us.

What about His being born of a woman and born UNDER THE LAW?
• That He lived a sinless life and perfectly fulfilled God’s righteous standard.

What about His TEMPTATION in the wilderness when He withstood every temptation of the enemy?

We look at THE CROSS where He bore the full wrath of God for all the sin of all the elect for all time.

We look at THE TOMB where He conquered death and rose again.

We look at THE CLOUDS where He ascended to take His seat at the right hand of God to intercede for us.

Which one of those deeds will cause you to praise Him?
All of those deeds of mercy and redemption.

“I heard and old old story, how a Savior came from glory. How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about His groaning and His precious bloods atoning, then I repented of my sins and won the victory.”

“You slept beneath the stars You named and numbered; Were tempted in a desert You designed. You faithfully obeyed the law You authored; The King left His throne behind. You washed the feet of those who called You Master And fed the multitudes with truth and bread. You shared the feast with harlots and with sinners And loved those who sought Your death. Without a word You faced the accusations And joyfully You bore the bitter cross The Innocent received our condemnation And paid for the rebel’s cost. Beneath the earth You fashioned You were buried, The Word of Life was silenced by the grave. But doors of death could not contain Your glory Our God rolled the stone away”

What about Him sending His Holy Spirit to dwell in believers?
• Will you praise Him for that one?

His redeeming deeds are certainly mighty and worthy of praise.

Or do you prefer to look at YOUR RECEIVED DEEDS?
You know, those things that God has done for you personally.

• Like when He provided food for your family.
• Or that time when He saved you from that peril.
• Or when He healed you of your sickness.
• Or when He saved you from that temptation.

• Has He influenced your marriage?
• Has He intervened in the life of your kids?
• Has He directly affected your occupation or work?

Has He done anything for you specifically for which
You would agree that it is imperative that you praise Him?

What about saving you from your sin?
What about giving you a future and a hope?

“And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me who caused Him pain? For me who Him to death pursued? Amazing love how can it be that Thou my God should die for me?”

“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see. Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come, Tis’ grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”

It’s not just what God has done in general,
But we praise Him for what He has done for us personally.

We praise Him for our received deeds.

And we also think about HIS REVEALED DEEDS
Like those which He has promised yet to accomplish.

• Like His promise that you don’t have to worry about what you will eat or what you will drink.
• Like His promise that He will never leave you nor forsake you.
• Like His promise that He will return to judge the living and the dead.
• Like His promise that the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air.
• Like His promise that we will always be with the Lord.

Can you praise Him for such a revealed work even though it has yet to happen?

Tommy would sing it every time he leads the singing:
“The sky shall unfold Preparing His entrance The stars shall applaud Him With thunders of praise. The sweet light in His eyes shall Shall enhance those awaiting And we shall behold Him Then face to face”

Or the hymn of old:
“Mine eyes have seen the glory Of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage Where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lightening Of His terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on. He has sounded form the trumpet That shall never call retreat. He is sifting out the hearts of men Before His judgment-seat. Oh, be swift, my soul To answer him be jubilant, my feet. Our God is marching on. Glory, Glory hallelujah! Glory, Glory hallelujah! Glory, Glory hallelujah! Our God is marching on”

There’s a mighty deed that deserves His praise.

When the Psalmist says “Praise Him in His mighty deeds”
There is no limit to the time we could spend satisfying that command.

• Should we spend time on His MIRACULOUS DEEDS?
• Should we focus more on His PROVIDENTIAL DEEDS?
• Should we sing rather of His MERCIFUL, GRACIOUS, SAVING AND REDEEMING DEEDS?
• Should we sing more of His JUST AND HOLY DEEDS OF JUDGMENT?

YOU GET THE IDEA.

Where should we praise Him?
• Everywhere but especially in His sanctuary.

Why should we praise Him?
• Well that list is endless.

3) HOW?

(2b) “Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.”

• Preacher, when I sing, how loud should I sing?
• Preacher, how long should we sing?
• Preacher, how many songs should we sing?
• Preacher, how often should we sing?

And to questions like those the Psalmist would
Answer your question with a question.

He would say, well that all depends.
Depends on what?

Well it depends on how great God is.

• If He isn’t great then He certainly doesn’t deserve loud songs.
• If He isn’t great then He certainly doesn’t deserve long songs or multiple songs.

He only deserves praise according to His greatness.

SO HOW GREAT IS HE?

Well I can’t define that.
The Psalmist simply calls it “excellent greatness”

In the Hebrew it is: ROBE GODEL

ROBE = abundance or multitude or even greatness
GODEL = magnificence or stoutness can even be translated arrogance (though accurate when applied to God)

It’s His:
• Abundant Magnificence
• Great Stoutness
• Excellent Greatness

It is a way of saying that He is more than we can describe.
He isn’t just great He is exceedingly great.
He isn’t just magnificent He is abundantly magnificent.

It is what Moses sang after God delivered them through the Red Sea
Exodus 15:11 “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?”

Or like Isaiah recorded?
Isaiah 40:25-26 “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”

HE IS A GREAT GOD.

Well if He is that great then what type of praise does He deserve?
• He deserves more than a half-hearted song.
• He deserves more than a sigh and a moan.
• He deserves more than a broken lamb or a bruised sacrifice.

As He spoke through Malachi that “I am a great King!”

Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.”

Or as we read in the Psalms:
Psalms 29:2 “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.”

He deserves the finest of praise!

I am always mesmerized by some of the mighty praise services
That occurred in Israel during the Old Testament.

Do you remember when Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant into the temple?
1 Kings 8:5 “And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.”

That is a phenomenal reality.

God deserves great praise is the point.
• Sing loud!
• Sing long!
• Sing over and over!

Do it everywhere, but especially here!

And do it because of all His mighty deeds.

Those are the Elements of praise.
#2 THE INSTRUMENTS OF PRAISE
Psalms 150:3-5

Here we come to that famous list of instruments
Whereby the Psalmist told us to praise God.

• We see “trumpet”
• We see “harp”
• We see “lyre” (guitar)
• We see “timbrel” (tambourine)
• We see “stringed instruments”
• We see “pipe” (flute)
• We see “loud cymbals”
• We see “resounding cymbals”

That list causes me to love it when someone says, “I don’t like drums in the church” or “I don’t want a piano in the church” or “I don’t like singing to a guitar”

And the THEOLOGICAL answer to such objections is: SO WHAT!

It causes one to marvel at those who see instruments in the church
As something sinful or wrong.

They say it’s because instruments are not mentioned in the New Testament and therefore we shouldn’t use them.

They fail to comment on the lack of indoor plumbing
Or air conditioning in the New Testament either.

I could point out to you:
Ephesians 5:18-20 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”

When Paul says to sing with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”

That word he uses there that is translated “psalms”

In the Greek that is the word PSALMOS and it is defined as
“a striking or a twanging as when one strikes the chords of a musical instrument.”

But beyond that.
• Instruments are called for in the Old Testament
• Instruments are clearly used in heaven,

The only logical deduction we would make as to their absence now
Would be if God commanded us to stop.

Rather, it is implied, not forbidden.
And it is important because God commands them.

He created music.
He created man’s ability to play music.
And all music is to His glory.

One thing you also notice in this list of instruments is that while there is a wide variety of instruments mentioned, nothing is said of genre or style.

That is to say we don’t know
If God prefers classical music or country music or polka.

Most people typically assume God desires the type of music they like.
But we really aren’t told here.

The focus of the passage is not on the style of the music
But rather on the object of the music.

• “PRAISE HIM with trumpet sound”
• “PRAISE HIM with harp and lyre.”
• “PRAISE HIM with timbrel and dancing;”
• “PRAISE HIM with stringed instruments and pipe;”
• “PRAISE HIM with loud cymbals;”
• “PRAISE HIM with resounding cymbals.”

I’m not particularly concerned about the style of music you select,
But I am concerned about the object of it.

The objective here is
• To sing songs that direct you to His glory.
• To sing songs that direct you to His praise.

This is why we love “Theologically Informed Music”
Songs that sing of the marvelous works of God.

I loved what Ken Ham said in his sermon at
The Truth Matters conference about church music.
Regarding music: “We should sing the best of the old and the best of the new. What typically happens is we sing none of the old and the worst of the new.”

There are songs that direct our hearts to the glory of God in every age
And they ought to be sung.

But if they fail to direct your heart to the glory of God
They should be omitted,
I don’t care how familiar or catchy or traditional they are.

The object is God.
And every instrument we can play is meant to bring glory to Him.

The Elements of Praise, The Instruments of Praise
#3 THE AUDIENCE OF PRAISE
Psalms 150:6

And this is the famous verse and the perfect end to the book of Psalms.

Here the Psalmist speaks of “everything that has breath”

What is being spoken of here is everything that speaks words.

You are familiar with that passage in 2 Timothy where we read that the Scripture is “God-breathed”

• What happens when you speak is that your diaphragm pushes air from your lunges.
• That air picks up sounds from the vibrations of your voice box and then those sounds are shaped by your tongue and mouth and lips and you make sounds.
• But what we are hearing is actually your breath.

And here the Psalmist is saying that
Everything that speaks should speak the praises of God.

And we think of all the things that our mouths are often used for.

Sinful things like:
• Cursing and bitterness.
• Gossip and slander.

Or even beneficial things like:
• Preaching or teaching
• Instruction or warnings

And while we should certainly avoid the first list
And while everyone might not be called to the things on the second list
(at least not all the time)

Every mouth and every tongue is called to praise the Lord.

It is the most basic reason for why
God gave you the ability to communicate.
It is that you might be able to sing praise to Him.

It is a duty that you will never cease to fulfill.
For all eternity you will be called upon to sing the praises of God.

Revelation 5:13 “And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

All eternity will be about the praises of God.
And in that day we will do it better!

“When this pour lisping stammering tongue lies silent in the grave, then with sweeter nobler song, I’ll sing Thy power to save.”

AND IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY
Then you are failing to use your mouth for its most noble purpose.

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD”

And then after all has been said.
• After 150 Psalms.
• After 2461 verses.
• After discussing all manner of subjects and situations.

The book of Psalms concludes with a simple command.
“Praise the LORD!”

If you get that, then you get the point.
If you fail to do that, then you’ve missed the point.

So Tonight we end with a song of praise.

Download Here:

Praise the LORD! We Win!
Psalms 149
January 29, 2023

Tonight we come to the 149th Psalm.
It is the 4th of the 5 “Hallelujah Psalms”

And tonight we study the one which might be the most obvious reason
We know to shout Hallelujah!
TONIGHT WE SING SONGS OF VICTORY!

And I think perhaps the best thing to do tonight
Is to simply jump right into the Psalm.

It breaks down into 2 main points rather easily.
#1 REJOICE IN EXPERIENCED VICTORY
Psalms 149:1-4

When you read the Psalm as a whole it is obviously
A Psalm that focuses on victory, even military victory.

In verse 6 they even pull out their “two-edged sword”.

And the Psalm begins with the congregation
Being called upon to praise God
For the victory they have recently enjoyed.

They are called to “Praise the LORD!”
FOR if you’ve studied any of the victories of Israel

You know that everyone only occurred because of the hand of God.

• Very often outmatched…
• Very often outnumbered…
• Very often overwhelmed…
• And then God would grant the improbable victory.

Certainly God is praised for every victory.

Psalms 33:13-22 “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You.”

God has always been the only hope of Israel.

Well here they have won a new battle
So they are encouraged to “Sing to the LORD a new song”
• New victories call for new celebrations.
• New deliverances call for new praise.

And the entire congregation is to join in:
They are to sing “His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.”

All of Israel is called to stop what they are doing
And take a moment to praise their God.

(2-3) “Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.”

• You’ve got gladness and rejoicing.
• You’ve got praise and dancing.
• You’ve got tambourines and guitars.

It is a congregational celebration after the great victory.

We think of that ICONIC PICTURE of the streets of New York after WWII was over and people celebrating in the streets and that one soldier kissing that nurse in Time Square.

Everyone around is celebrating and dancing and even kissing.

THAT IS THE PICTURE HERE.

We think of such times in the past:
TURN TO: EXODUS 15:1-21

It is the celebration of Israel.
• They are singing the song of Moses.
• Miriam has all the women dancing.
• It is a glorious time of deliverance.

Or this mighty victory:
1 Samuel 18:6-7 “It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”

That is the type of celebration the Psalmist calls for.
• Get up Israel!
• Sing to the LORD!
• He has granted you a great victory.

Certainly this reveals a relief from oppressors.
• The Egyptians will never bother you again…
• The great Philistine is dead…

THAT ALONE IS REASON TO CELEBRATE.

But even more than that:

It’s not just what the victory accomplished,
But also what the victory meant.

The God of the universe came down to help YOU in battle.
What honor that God has poured upon YOU
To take such an interest in YOUR battle.

(4) “For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.”

God just did something for Israel that He didn’t do for everyone.
• He singled them out for favor.
• He singled them out for deliverance.
• He singled them out for salvation.

We read that story of Jacob and his sons and how he loved Joseph more because he was the son of his old age and how he clothed Joseph in that “coat of many colors”.

His favor towards Joseph was obvious,
Even to the point that it incited the other brothers to jealousy.

Well God treated all of Israel as His Joseph.
“He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.”

He singled them out.
He showed them His favor.

AND THIS IS PURE GRACE:
• Who was Abram that God should choose to bless him?
• Who was Moses that God should choose to elevate him?
• Who was David that God should choose to anoint him?
• Who was Israel that God should choose to exalt them?

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Or you could read again that 16th chapter of Ezekiel
• Where Israel is seen as that “throw away baby”
• Who was left out in the field abandoned to die,
• But God saw them and rescued them and adorned them with beauty.

That is the calling of the opening of this Psalm.

“Praise the LORD!”
• He favored us!
• He delivered us!
• He granted us victory over our enemies!

• Sing to Him
• Dance for Him
• Play the timbrel and lyre for Him
• Celebrate the victory which He has granted

“For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;”

They may have actually wondered for a while if God still cared for them.
They may have grown wearied after years of making bricks in Egypt.

But God intervened!
He led them out with a mighty hand!
He drowned the Egyptians in the sea!

He does love us!
He does favor us!
We are His people!

SING TO HIM!

That is the spirit of the opening of this Psalm.

Rejoice in Experienced Victory!
#2 REJOICE IN EXPECTED VICTORY
Psalms 149:5-9

The tone of the Psalm changes now
With the introduction of the word “Let”

Which implies something that should be done from this time forward.
“Let the godly ones exult in glory;”

The idea here is that they exult in future glory.

“godly ones” here is a great term.
• We are NOT just talking about people who live “good lives”.
• We are talking about people who have chosen God over the things of this
world.

We learned in 1 John that you’re either of God OR of the devil.
You are either godly people OR you are worldly people.

The reference here is to people who have forsaken this world
That they might hang on to the promise of God.

And the Psalmist says that those people should “exult in glory”

It is the truth reiterated regarding Abraham:
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

These people can smile at the future.

The Psalmist also calls them to “sing for joy on their beds.”
• It is the night before the battle.
• It is the night before the upcoming turmoil.

But they now have no fear.
• They know that their God is for them.
• They know they are favored.
• They know the victory will be secured by Him.

So the night before the battle as they lay on their beds
There is no fear, only excitement.
They know they will win for God is for them.

And as they awaken in the morning:
(6) “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand,”
• They wake up tomorrow ready for battle and filled with praise.
• They know God will grant the victory.
• They are His favored children.

And they will go forth:
(7-9a) “To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples, To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron, To execute on them the judgment written;”

IT IS A PICTURE OF THE CONQUEST.

God delivered them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and let it be know that they are His people.

Now they arise to take Canaan and no one can stand before them for God is on their side.

• They go to “execute vengeance on the nations”
• They go to execute “punishment on the people”
• They go “to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron”
• They go “to execute on them the judgment written”

We saw this truth this Wednesday night
As we studied Genesis with the youth.

As God was promising to give the land of Canaan to Abraham He said:
Genesis 15:13-16 “God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

God said that Abram’s descendants would return.
We know they would return and kill the Canaanites.

And here God says why it did not happen in the days of Abram,
But would be over 400 years later;
“for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

I had an Old Testament professor during my brief time at seminary who asked “Was God ethical to order the annihilation of all the people of Canaan?”

You know it’s this view that
• We had all these poor innocent people in Canaan
• And God just sort of blind-sided them with death
• And kicked them out of the land.

But what we find in Scripture is that those people
Should have been judged long before they actually were.

God allowed those people to survive long past what they deserved.
And once their iniquity was complete He judged them.

ONLY
• He DIDN’T judge them with a flood like in Noah’s day.
• And He DIDN’T judge them with fire from heaven like with Sodom.

No, God judged them with the armies of Israel.
• They were God’s flood.
• They were God’s fire.
• They were God’s sword.

We think of the truth Paul revealed to the Romans:
Romans 9:18-24 “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”

God patiently endured Pharaoh until it was time to show His power
And then He was perfectly just in destroying him.

God had also patiently endured the idolatrous Canaanites
Who managed to serve the purpose
To preserve and prepare the land of Canaan for His people.

And then God used Israel as His method of judgment upon them.

And you can go read the book of Joshua and see how God toppled
• Jericho and Ai
• And the Hittite
• And the Amorite
• And the Canaanite
• And the Perizzite
• And the Hivite
• And the Jebusite.

Those were sinners who had refused to repent
And who had ignored the testimony of creation
And had bowed down to worship foreign Gods.

And God unleashed judgment upon them with the armies of Israel.

And here you have Israel on the eve before those battles
Celebrating the certain victory.

And the Psalmist says:
“This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!”

This was an honor which God bestowed upon Israel.

They were His people and He honored them with victory in battle.

And so you see the driving force behind this Psalm of praise.

• Israel is called to Praise the Lord for the victories they have experienced and
for those they are about to.

• They are honored people who have received both the favor of God’s victory
and the honor of being God’s forces of judgment.

That’s what this Psalm calls them to praise God for.

The question that arises now is:
HOW DOES THE CHURCH SING THIS SONG?
We don’t slay the wicked.

Some see this as an “end times” type of song
About some future day in which we join Christ in slaying His enemies.

BUT THIS IS NOT AN ESCATALOGICAL PSALM
This is NOT looking forward to the coming judgment of the wicked.

When Christ returns to judge the living and the dead
It is NOT the church who takes up the sword and slaughters the wicked.

That judgment will be poured out at the hands of the holy angels.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

So we DON’T read this Psalm and then begin to look for the day
When we take up the sword to strike down wicked men.

BUT THE CHURCH DOES STILL SING THIS SONG!

DO WE NOT STILL REJOICE IN EXPERIENCED SALVATION?

Are we not aware of what we are?
• No better than Abram the pagan…
• No less significant than the youngest brother David…
• No less useable than the 80 year old shepherd Moses…

Titus 3:3 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

Yet, what God did for Israel, He also did for us.
He saved us!
He set us free!

He granted us victory!
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Psalmist called for Israel to praise God saying:
“He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation”
• We spoke of Israel being clothed in Joseph’s coat of many colors.
• And yet we have been wrapped in the righteous robe of Jesus.

He has covered us with more beauty than imaginable.

TURN TO:
EPHESIANS 1:1-14

KEEP READING:
EPHESIANS 2:1-22

Just take that in!

• That is our Exodus!
• That our passing through the Red Sea!
• God delivered us from our sin and clothed us with salvation.

We are justified in the works of Jesus.
• Certainly we can sing that new song!
• Certainly we can join Moses in singing and Miriam in dancing!
• Certainly we can outdo the celebration in Times Square!

We have been granted the victory and so much more.

And yet that’s not all.
WE ALSO REJOICE IN EXPECTED VICTORY

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”

Paul speaks of “triumph in Christ”

The Roman triumph was a unique picture.

William Barclay wrote:
“In [Paul’s] mind is the picture of Roman Triumph and of Christ as a universal conqueror. The highest honor which could be given to a victorious Roman general was a Triumph. To attain it he must satisfy certain conditions. He must have been the actual commander-in-chief in the field. The campaign must have been completely finished, the region pacified and the victorious troops brought home. Five thousand of the enemy at least must have fallen in one engagement. A positive extension of territory must have been gained, and not merely a disaster retrieved or an attack repelled. And the victory must have been won over a foreign foe and not in a civil war.
In a Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol in the following order. First came the state officials and the senate. Then came the trumpeters. Then were carried the spoils taken from the conquered land. For instance, when Titus conquered Jerusalem, the seven-branched candlestick, the golden table of the shew-bread and the golden trumpets were carried through the streets of Rome. Then came pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships. There followed the white bull for the sacrifice which would be made. Then there walked the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains, shortly to be flung into prison and in all probability almost immediately to be executed. Then came the lictors bearing their rods, followed by the musicians with their lyres; then the priests swinging their censers with the sweet-smelling incense burning in them. After that came the general himself. He stood in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was clad in a purple tunic embroidered with golden palm leaves, and over it a purple toga marked out with golden stars. In his hand he held an ivory scepter with the Roan eagle at its top and over his head a slave held the crown of Jupiter. After him rode his family; and finally came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting lo triumphe! Their cry of triumph. As the procession moved through the streets, all decorated and garlanded, amid the cheering crowds, it made a tremendous day which might happen only once in a lifetime.
That is the picture that is in Paul’s mind, He sees Christ marching in triumph throughout the world, and himself in that conquering train. It is a triumph which, Paul is certain, nothing can stop.”
(cited in MacArthur’s commentary of 2 Corinthians, pg. 68-69)

Paul knew that everywhere he went
The gates of hell could not prevail against him.

He would write later in the same letter:
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

And that is our picture here as well.
• We are not carrying a literal “two-edged sword”.
• We carry the spiritual one which is SHARPER THAN any two-edged sword.

And we take that word to the nations
• And we battled against “speculations and every lofty thing raised up
against the knowledge of God”
• And “we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”
• And “we are ready to punish all disobedience”

IT IS A SPIRITUAL CONQUEST.
We are talking the word of God and applying it to men’s hearts
And seeing the strongholds of the enemy broken.

Captives are set free.
Sinners are forgiven.
Satan is defeated.

And it all comes with this ultimate promise:
Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

We think of the parables of Jesus regarding the kingdom.

Matthew 13:31-33 “He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.” He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

• The kingdom may have looked insignificant, especially in Jesus’ day, but it would soon cover the whole world and it will.

How will such an insignificant beginning turn into such a glorious end?
“like leaven”

The kingdom spreads from person to person and from heart to heart.
One shares the gospel with another
And that person shares the gospel with someone else.

And it can’t be stopped.
WE WIN!

And just as the Psalmist says, “This is an honor for all His godly ones.”

• Preaching the gospel is NOT JUST an obligation…
• Preaching the gospel is NOT JUST a duty…
• Preaching the gospel IS AN HONOR.

God has entrusted to us these magnificent powerful words
Which set sinners free from the bonds of the devil.

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:20-21
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

It is really a remarkable thing when you think about it.

So we praise the LORD too for victories He has given
And victories He will yet give.

We are also on conquest and we will prevail.
We are more than conquerors.
And Christ always leads us in triumph.

Praise the LORD!

Download Here:

The Selfish Missionary
Jonah 4:1-11
January 29, 2023

This morning will be the last time we study the book of Jonah.
That is NOT because we are concluding the story.

Namely because the story has no conclusion.

It is not hard to see all the parallels between the book of Jonah
And the story of the Prodigal son which Jesus gave in Luke 15.

One might even refer to the book of Jonah as “The Ballad of the Older Brother”.

The stories are nearly identical.
THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT
• Where the story of the prodigal focuses on the rejoicing of God when a sinner
repents,
• The story of Jonah focuses on the anger of the self-righteous at the mercy of
God.

BUT THE SETTING IS THE SAME.

It is fitting then, that like the parable of the Prodigal son,
The book of Jonah also has no end.

We don’t know how the story of the Prodigal ends.
• The story ends with the father pleading with the older son
• To come in to the banquet and celebrate at the return of the younger brother.
• We aren’t told in that story what the older brother does.

And the same is with the book of Jonah.
• It ends with a question.

(11) “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

But we are never told how Jonah responded.

And while I think we have enough information to
Make a pretty accurate assumption as to what Jonah decided,
Jonah’s response is NOT the point of the story.

You don’t need to know how Jonah responded
In order to learn what God is seeking to teach you.

Well let’s quickly walk through how we got to this point.

1. Jonah was a prophet and God told him to go and cry against Nineveh because their sin had offended Him.
2. But, as we learned, Jonah hated the Ninevites, he hated the mercy of God, and he hated the gospel that offered that mercy to them.
3. So Jonah fled from God and set sail for Tarshish.
4. God then sent a storm on the sea to prevent Jonah from escaping.
5. The sailors cast lots to find out whose fault this storm was and the lot fell to Jonah.
6. When they asked him what to do, he told them to throw him overboard.
7. Jonah would rather die than see the Ninevites warned of the coming judgment.
8. So Jonah was thrown overboard and as he sank, God taught him about the importance of mercy.
9. Jonah cried out to God from the depths of the sea, and God showed Jonah mercy by sending a great fish to swallow him and save him.
10. Because of God’s mercy Jonah sensed an obligation to fulfill his vows to the LORD and Jonah agreed to go to Nineveh and deliver the message.
11. When Jonah got to Nineveh he did as pathetic of a job of preaching the gospel as we’ve ever seen.

The entire message was, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown”
• No explanation why
• No explanation how
• No explanation of how to respond
• No offer of mercy

And yet, God’s word was enough and the entire city repented of their sin.

And we ended chapter 3 with
This amazing demonstration of the mercy of God.

Jonah 3:10 “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.”

We have seen God’s mercy on display in many situations,
But this one may be the most remarkable.

• This cruel and pagan and bloody city
• Possibly 600,000 of them
• They repent and God forgives them all.

If the story had ended there
We would be expected to simply rejoice in what occurred.

It’s like when you read the story of the prodigal son.

We read:
Luke 15:22-24 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

And if that story ended there we would also simply rejoice.

But that story continues
• By telling us that the older brother who was working in the field,
• Heard all the commotion and grabbed a servant for an explanation.
• When the servant told him about the father’s mercy WE READ:

Luke 15:28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.”

Well, in like manner, the story of Jonah continues as well.

We have called our study of the book of Jonah, “A Heart Out Of Rhythm”
We have said that Jonah’s heart was out of rhythm with God’s heart.

And now as we come to the final chapter of the book,
It is time for you to begin to ponder
Just exactly what Jonah’s problem was.

• You could read chapter 1 and say: A LACK OF OBEDIENCE
• You could say: A LACK OF MERCY OR COMPASSION
• Maybe you would say: RACISM
• Maybe you would say: HALF-HEARTED

All of those things are true of Jonah,
But none of those things are the root problem.
All of those things are merely symptoms of the real problem.

Let’s look at this final chapter and learn about the heart of Jonah.

3 things
#1 JONAH’S SOUR PRAYER
Jonah 4:1-4

We read the words right off the bat that remind us of that older brother.
“But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.”

The implication is that Jonah is unhappy at their repentance
Because he knows that God is a merciful God.

He doesn’t want the Ninevites saved.

That should be obvious just from his preaching.
Never was there a leaner gospel presentation than the one Jonah gave.
• He had purposely withheld information about repentance.
• He had purposely withheld information about God’s mercy.
• He gave them the bare minimum.

But as we saw last week, God’s word has so much power,
THE NINEVITES REPENTED ANYWAY.

And Jonah is angry.
He is angry because he knows God and he knows what God will do.

(2) “He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD…”

Have you ever asked God “please”?
He must really really want it.

What does he want?
“Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.”

• Jonah is certainly upset that the Ninevites responded to the message.
• He is certainly upset that God has shown them mercy.

So what is it that Jonah wants God to do for him?
(3) “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

THERE HE IS AGAIN.
For the second time Jonah chooses death over the salvation of the Ninevites.
• (The first time he opted to simply be thrown into the sea)

So here is Jonah, so displeased with the saving work of God
That Jonah would rather die than see the Ninevites receive mercy.

It is so much like that older brother in the parable of the prodigal.

And just like in that parable, we have God rationalizing with Jonah.

(4) “The LORD said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

There’s the question we all love when we are being irrational.

God simply asks Jonah for the evidence.
• Where is the evidence that you’d like to present which proves I was wrong in extending to mercy to these people who humbled themselves before Me?

Of course you’ll notice that Jonah had NO ANSWER.
In verse 5 he simply WALKS AWAY.

But what we see here is that Jonah’s sour heart
Never really departed.

He went to Nineveh out of obligation to God,
But he has totally missed the point of missions altogether.

Jonah hates that God saves sinners.

When I was a kid there was a boy named Donnie who lived next door to my grandparents and we hung out every day. He also got a ride with me and my grandpa from school every day. One day we got in a fight at school and I told him, “You’re not getting a ride with us today.” And when my grandpa pulled up Donnie ran up to him and said, “Hey Bobba can I have a ride?” And my grandpa said, “Sure, hope on in.” I was infuriated. I was mad at his audacity to think he deserved a ride, I was mad that my grandpa didn’t even ask my permission. I was mad that I had to ride home with Donnie.

That is Jonah.
God, if You’re going to let them live, then just kill me
Because I don’t even want to share the same earth with them.

And so he offers that sour prayer that God would just take his life.

Jonah’s Sour Prayer
#2 JONAH’S SELFISH POUT
Jonah 4:5-8

I don’t know if we have any certified pouters in the audience this morning,
But I know exactly what pouting looks like when I see it.

God asked Jonah if he had a good reason but Jonah couldn’t answer.

And when reason is not on your side
The only tool you have left is manipulation.

So Jonah is now going to manipulate God.

(5) “Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen to the city.”

This is interesting.
• God has already said He was not going to destroy the Ninevites.
• Jonah already knows about the compassion of God.

But, maybe if I pout, and God sees how unhappy this has made me,
Maybe then He’ll go ahead give me what I want.

So Jonah leaves the city and sets up a camp east of it
• And has decided to wait and watch for God to annihilate them.
• I guess he’s planning on waiting for 40 days.
• He’s just going to sit there with his arms crossed and his bottom lip pooched out until God gives in and bends to his will.

Now I do think there is something WORTH DISCUSSING right here.

You are all aware of Lance’s situation and have been praying for him.

One of the things I have been discussing with Amy is something God taught me during the days when Carrie was really sick and that is to pray boldly.

I was most convicted by the passage where Jesus says:
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

• I’m evil and even I know how to give good gifts to my kids.
• God reminded me that He is good
• And when I ask I should believe that He will answer and grant what is good.

Of course we could go from there to the Persistent widow in Luke 18
• Who keeps going in front of that unrighteous judge wanting justice
• And eventually because of her persistence he grants her request.
• We are told that that particular parable is to teach us that we “ought to pray at
all times and not to lose heart.”

Jesus talks about that widow and then says:
Luke 18:6-8 “And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

We notice that persistence was a sign of that woman’s faith.
And when Jesus gave that parable
He asked if He would find that kind of “faith on the earth?”

We think of the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15
• Who had the demon-possessed daughter.
• She came to Jesus and He ignored her
• So she started shouting at the disciples.
• Then Jesus basically told the woman “No” saying, “I was sent only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
• She still won’t stop
• So He gets even more direct saying, “It is not good to take the children’s
bread and throw it to the dogs”
• And she still won’t stop.

And in response to her persistence Jesus says:
Matthew 15:28 “Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

And you see again an example of persistent prayer.
Jesus doesn’t call that woman arrogant or selfish or obnoxious.
He says her “faith is great”.

And so we learn that when we have a request before God
We should be bold and persistent and full of faith.

I bring that up because one could argue that
This is what JONAH IS DOING.

• He’s certainly persistent.
• He’s certainly bold.
• And he’s going to sit right here until God gives him what he wants.

NOW MY QUESTION IS:
What is the difference between that widow or that Syrophoenician woman and Jonah?

HERE IT IS:
• The widow and the Syrophoenician woman both prayed according to the nature
and character of God.

• Jonah prayed contrary to the character and nature of God.

Those two women called on God to be who He has revealed Himself to be. Jonah wanted God to break character and be something He is not.

JONAH WANTED GOD TO BE LIKE HIM.

WE ARE most certainly called to boldly approach the throne.
WE ARE given examples of relentless prayer.
WE ARE told that persistence in prayer is a picture of faith.

But that prayer must be consistent with God’s nature and God’s will.

You cannot manipulate God to be something He is not
Or to do something against His nature
Just because you want Him to.

BUT WHEN YOU PRAY ACCORDING TO HIS WILL
Then by all means pray with boldness and pesistence.

Jonah is off the mark here because
• He is totally out of touch with who God is
• And He is ignoring what God has revealed that He will do.

Well, God has a lesson to teach Jonah.
This, by the way, is object lesson #2 for Jonah.

LESSON #1 involved sinking in the water and being swallowed by a fish.
• That lesson was to teach Jonah THE VALUE OF MERCY.

LESSON #2 involves a weed, a worm, and a wind.
• This lesson will be to teach Jonah THE REASON FOR MERCY.

Jonah learned how good mercy feels
When that fish saved him from the depths.
Now Jonah is about to be taught why we are called to offer mercy.

So you see God’s intervention again.

GOD APPOINTS A WEED
(6) “So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.”

• Apparently Jonah wasn’t any better of a carpenter than he was a missionary because the shelter he built didn’t offer him much relief from the sun.

• So God causes this plant to grow and cover that shelter and make a nice little shady oasis out of the place.

“And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.”

(He has to think God is bending to his will)

GOD APPOINTS A WORM
(7) “But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered.”

• No sooner does Jonah get accustomed to his new shady life then does God move in to annihilate it.

• God sends a worm to eat that plant and the plant withered and died.

So now Jonah is back to square one.

And perhaps he would have just ignored this and let it go,
BUT GOD WASN’T FINISHED.

GOD APPOINTS A WIND
(8) “When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

The “scorching east wind” referred to here is also known as a Sirocco.
• It is a wind that originates in northern Africa
• And picks up moisture as it crosses the Mediterranean sea.
• It is hot and humid and incredibly strong.
• It was known as an annihilator of crops.
• One website says it can reach hurricane speeds during the summer.

And again, in our story, this is quite interesting.

Jonah has been sitting here east of the city
Waiting for God’s judgment to fall on the city,
But the only natural disaster that has occurred is hitting Jonah.

(Nineveh hasn’t been punished yet, but Jonah has been punished twice)

Jonah is facing the elements with no relief.

“and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

Well this is now #3

You have to see God’s mercy there even for Jonah
Because at this point we’d be tempted to say, “Fine, just die already.”

But God has a lesson for Jonah.
• So Jonah has voiced his discomfort and asked to die.
• Jonah then resorts to pouting
• And when that doesn’t work he wants to die again.

Jonah’s Sour Prayer, Jonah’s Selfish Pout
#3 JONAH’S SPIRITUAL PROBLEM
Jonah 4:9-11

God comes to Jonah with yet another question.

(9) “Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?”

• When God asked him that about Nineveh, Jonah had no response.
• BUT THIS TIME, Jonah is armed and ready.

He says, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.”

• Yes, God, as a matter of fact I do have a good reason.
• I loved that plant.
• I needed that plant.
• That plant benefited me.

Those are all selfish reasons,
But we understand where Jonah is coming from.

AND THEN COMES THE LESSON.

Now, before we get to it,
When we started this morning I told you it was time to begin to consider what Jonah’s problem was.

Obedience? Compassion? Racism? Effort?

What is the problem of Jonah?

Well let’s look at GOD’S RESPONSE to Jonah’s anger.
(10-11) “Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

• So Jonah you loved that plant.
• You had compassion on that plant.

Let’s examine your involvement in the existence of that plant.

• Did you create that plant? No
• Did you plant that plant? No
• Did you cultivate that plant? No
• We know you didn’t protect it from worms.

So your effort towards that plant was ZERO.

Ok, well, let’s consider the significance of that plant.

• Was it at least a plant that made a huge difference in the natural created order?
• I mean, was it a plant that had long provided shade for an entire civilization?
• Was it plant that provided food for many people?
• Was it a landmark like one of those Giant Sequoias that should just be preserved?

NO!
It “came up overnight and perished overnight.”

It was absolutely and totally insignificant.

And yet, you are upset that I poured out judgment
On that insignificant plan which you had no hand in producing.

NOW, “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

You see the contrast.
• The plant was insignificant – the city was great
• The plant was one – the city held 120,000 children (600,000 total)
• There was no intimate knowledge of the plant – God knew everyone in that city
• Jonah did nothing to create the plant – God created every single one of those people.

And so God has brought a matter of justice to Jonah.
If you have the right to have compassion for a plant,
Do I not have the right to have compassion for a city?

Here we are back to the PRODIGAL SON story again.
Can you see the father pleading with that older brother?

Luke 15:31-32 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

DO YOU SEE THE POINT YET?
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM YET?

Jonah and that older brother have the exact same problem.
THEY HAVE NO LOVE FOR THE FATHER

Listen, I’m NOT going to tell you that “It’s ok not to love people”.
Clearly it is the second greatest commandment.

• We are called to love people.
• We are called to lay down our life for our friends.
• We are called to love the lost.

But I also understand that we are fallen creatures
And sometimes that is a hard thing to do.

There are people in this world who are difficult to love.

You know people right here in this town who are hard to love.
• They are people that maybe offend you or irritate you
• Or people who you see as bringing no value to the society,
• Maybe they are even a corrupting influence.

And if truth be told, if you found out that they died today,
Your heart would not grieve.

There are people across the world that perhaps you feel the same way about.
• Maybe it’s a nation that houses terrorists like Isis.
• Maybe it’s a people like politicians or Hollywood whom you blame for the degradation of our society.
• Maybe it’s godless people who have done vile things.

And again, if God saw fit to utterly judge them
You might even rejoice in their fall.

And it is incredibly difficult then to say that you love those people.
• We think of abortion doctors…
• We think of sex traffickers…
• We think of drag queens who read stories to children…
• We think of people who engage in mass shootings…
• We think of drunk drivers who kill people…
• We think of people who call to tell you your car’s extended warranty has expired…

YOU GET THE POINT.
It is people who run up against our values of right and wrong.

And it is hard to go to people like that and offer them mercy.

SO IF THEY ARE HARD TO LOVE
HOW CAN YOU BE EXPECTED TO GO TO THEM?

BECAUSE GOD LOVES THEM

This is why I showed you that sermon excerpt from “Ten Shekels And A Shirt” this morning before the announcements.

As Paris Reidhead spoke of going to Africa and being frustrated because the Africans loved their sin and wanted to stay in it and he found his message was ignored and he wanted to come home.

But God reminded him, “I didn’t send you out there for them. I sent you out there for Me! Do I not have the right to receive the reward of my suffering?”

And Reidhead said that moment “changed it all and righted it all for no longer was he now serving man, he was serving the living God”.

Do you understand this about missions?
So often we treat it like it is our mission
And we employ God’s help and God’s power
To make our mission a success.

But God is not on our mission, we are on God’s mission.

And God has His children, His elect scattered all over this globe.
• We don’t know who they are, but He does.
• And He has ordained that the gospel we preach would be the means that would awaken His children and call them home.

And so the mission has been given.
Our God
Our Savior
The One who shed His blood for us on the cross
• Has commissioned us to go into the whole world and preach His gospel that we might locate and call His children home to Him.

Do you love God enough to search for His lost children?

Paul gave insight into his missionary zeal:
Romans 15:15-16 “But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

• Paul remembered “the grace given that was given to me”
• He understood his own debt before God.
• And so he goes out to minister the gospel, “so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable”

What was Paul hoping to give to God as an offering?
He was hoping to bring home His lost children.
• What an offering!
• What a gift!
• What a present to the Father!

THIS IS THE REASON FOR MERCY.
• We show mercy because our Father is merciful.
• We show mercy because it pleases God.
• We show mercy because we love God.

This is the second time some of us have studied Jonah in the last year.
Our Sunday School class sent through it a few months ago.

And when studying Jonah then my heart was convicted by a passage
That I had never really thought of before.

It’s actually Jesus’ teaching on the end times.
Matthew 24:9-14 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Jesus is talking about the end.
And you know that the closer we get to the end THE WORSE THINGS are going to become.
• False prophets will arise…and they have.
• Evil men will grow more bold…and they have.
• Societies will grow more corrupt…and they have.

GOD SAID IT WOULD HAPPEN.

But there’s a verse in there that stopped me in my tracks.
It is verse 12, which says, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”

That hit me between the eyes
Because that is what so easily happens to me.

AS I WATCH SOCIETY
• The commitment to the church becomes less and less.
• Commitment to marriage is less and less.
• Parents no longer know how to raise children and children are allowed to run wild without discipline.
• Husbands don’t love their wives and wives don’t submit to their husbands.
• Men become effeminate, feminism is on the rise.

• Marijuana is legalized, gambling is glamorized, alcohol is routine, sex is just something people do.

• Kids lie and cheat in school, the culture loses it’s work ethic, people quit taking pride in their work, rudeness abounds, politicians are corrupt, the media lies.
• Foul language is more and more common

You get the point – “lawlessness is increased”
To the point you don’t even want to be around these people any more.

Now CERTAINLY a lawless culture
Will pay the penalty of the wrath of God for their lawlessness.

But that wasn’t the problem God wanted to deal with me about.

Jesus said, “because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”

And I’m here to tell you that this is what was happening to me.
MY LOVE WAS GROWING COLD.

BUT LISTEN, it’s not just a lack of love for those in sin.

When you fail to obey the great commission to share the gospel with the lost, it reveals a lack of love for God.

Jonah’s love for God had grown so cold
That he actually rooted for the destruction of God’s children.

How far out of rhythm can a heart become
That our love for God can become so cold
That we no longer care about those whom the Father loves?

Church the DRIVING FORCE of our missionary involvement
MUST BE OUR LOVE FOR GOD.

And anyone who says,
• “I won’t share the gospel with my neighbor…”
• Or, “I’m not going to that nation…”
• Or, “I’m not giving to that mission…”
• Or, “I’m not praying for the lost…”

Anyone who says that must answer the question of God to Jonah:
“Should I not have compassion on _____________.”

And if you can give God a good reason
• Why He should not have compassion on His children
• Then you have just found an acceptable excuse as to why you don’t have to be involved in the great commission.

We call Jonah The Selfish Missionary
Because the opposite of love is self and that was Jonah.

The missionary who didn’t love God.

And yet, this terrible missionary has many of us beat
Because at least he went and shared the message.

How many today don’t even do that.

So before we condemn Jonah as a terrible missionary we first have to ask, “Have I even shared the message?”

SO THIS MORNING church I am challenging your love for God.
I am challenging my love for God.

And the measuring line will be our mercy toward sinners.

Download Here:

Praise The LORD! We’re The People of God
Psalms 148
January 22, 2023

As you know we are in the final segment of the book of Psalms.
Psalms 146-150 are called “The Hallelujah Psalms”

Each Psalm begins and ends the same way, with the phrase “Praise the LORD!”
Or in Hebrew “Hallelujah!”

These Psalms do a wonderful job of reminding us
Of the expectation of praise.

Psalms 29:9 “The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Psalms 84:4 “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”

And certainly any glimpse we are given of heaven in the book of the Revelation we see that to be the case.
• Whether it’s the 4 living creatures of chapter 4 who do not cease to praise the holiness of God…
• Whether it’s the 24 elders who fall on their faces in worship every time they are mentioned…
• Whether it’s the great multitude of angels who praise continually…
• Whether it’s the multitude of the redeemed who voice the praise…

There is no doubt that praise is the language of Heaven.
Everything in His temple says “Glory!”
Those in heaven are ever praising God.

And we say that if praise is the constant language of heaven
We certainly do not wish to neglect it on earth.

These final Psalms help us to remember the PRIORITY of praise.

And tonight we come to the 148th.

The Psalm easily breaks into 2 categories and that is how we will study it tonight.
#1 THE OBLIGATION OF THE HEAVENS
Psalms 148:1-6

We notice that telling phrase at the beginning of the Psalm which says, “Praise the LORD from the heavens;”

And then we see listed
Everything that from an earthly perspective is HIGH and EXALTED.

If you are standing on earth, everything listed here dwells above you.

“Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!”

It is literally everything that is high & exalted & which dwells above us.
• Whether that is the clouds or the sun or the stars or the angelic beings which dwell in the heavenlies.

And we know that people on earth throughout the ages of worshiped these things because of their status.
• Certainly men have worshiped angels (demons).
• Certainly men have worshiped the sun and moon (Egypt)
• We see men today worship the stars (horoscopes)

Men have been tempted throughout the ages
To worship these things because of their position.

BUT HERE WE FIND that all of these things
Are called and COMMANDED TO WORSHIP GOD.

They are all called to “Praise Him”

I suppose it does pose a bit of a question:
HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THE SUN PRAISE GOD?

• We understand how an angel might praise God, but how would the sun do it?
• It has no mouth, it has no voice.
• How does the sun praise God?

I would answer that the sun PRAISES God
The exact same way the sun PREACHES about God.

How does the sun preach about God?
Psalms 19:1-6 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

We’ve talked about general revelation of which the sun is an integral part.
• But the sun “pours forth speech” and “reveals knowledge” about God.
• There is no audible voice,
• But the sun preaches about the faithfulness of God.

HOW?
Because the sun does exactly what it was created to do.
And in this way the sun proclaims the wisdom and faithfulness of God.

And the sun would praise God in THE EXACT SAME WAY,
By fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.

The sun does exactly what it was created to do
And thus it praises God
Through it’s submission and obedience to His divine design.

NOW HUMANS, who are made in the image of God,
COULD LEARN A THING OR TWO FROM THAT.

Our praise is NOT JUST the vocal song of our lips,
But also when we live our lives according to the design of our maker.

Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;”

That is the plan of God.
That is also a form of praise to God.
In many ways this is HIGHER PRAISE than you sing with your lips.

We remember Jesus quoting Isaiah and saying:
Matthew 15:8-9 “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

Praise can be an empty thing
If it is not accompanied with the right life of obedience.

We are reminded of the admonition of Amos:
Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. “But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Praise for God moves beyond just a well hit note in the middle of a song.
Praise involves the fulfillment of the purpose for which you were created.

And for inspiration just look at the sun and moon and stars
Who praise Him continually by fulfilling their role.

The things in the heavens are called to praise.

BUT THE PSALMIST DOESN’T STOP THERE.
He gives his reason WHY.

(5-6) “Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.”

Here there is one main reason why the heavens are commanded to praise.
FOR THEIR EXISTANCE

Their INITIAL EXISTANCE – “For He commanded and they were created”
And their CONTINUED EXISTANCE – “He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.”

We often times speak of Him as both CREATOR and SUSTAINER.
Those are the reasons listed here.

FIRST that God, by His own power and sovereign prerogative created the heavens.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

• Isaiah says, God “created the heavens and stretched them out.” (42:5)
• He also says God “marked off the heavens by the span” (40:12)
• Isaiah says He “stretches out the heavens like a curtain” (40:22)
• We have the account of Him making the sun and the moon and the stars.

If it were not for God they would not exist.
He conceived of them.
He created them.

• There was no Big Bang…
• There has not been some evolutionary process in the cosmos…
• God made these things by His spoken word.

And certainly He is praised for that.

Even in the heavens He is praised for that.
Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

So certainly the creation of the heavens
Demands the praise of the heavens.
They wouldn’t even exist without Him.

BUT their continued existence is also a reason for their praise.
For they continue to exist because of Him.

“He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.”

That is to say that
• God has determined that the sun should remain, so it remains.
• God has determined that the stars should remain, so they remain.

There is such a great deception on the earth today
That incites fear that somehow the planet
Is under a threat of being ruined by the creature.

It is true that you can make your habitat less desirable to live in if you trash it. No one is denying that it is a wise move to take care of your surroundings.
Things like conservation make perfect sense.

But the notion that somehow we can threaten the existence
Of what God is sustaining is absurd.

God determined for it to last and it will last as long as God wants it to last.

Jeremiah 31:35-37 “Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the LORD, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever.” Thus says the LORD, “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done,” declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 33:20-22 “Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. ‘As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

God’s created order IS SO FIXED that
God actually uses it as PROOF that He will keep other promises.

He not only created the heavens, but He sustains the heavens.

And for this, the heavens are commanded to praise Him.

THE MAIN POINT of these first 6 verses is an obvious one.

That the highest and most exalted things you can see
• Are still beneath God
• They owe their existence to God
• They are called to praise God

THAT IS TRUE.

And if that is true for the highest heavens,
Then certainly that is true on earth,

Which leads to the next point.

The Obligation of the Heavens
#2 THE OBLIGATION OF THE EARTH
Psalms 148:7-14

There the point is seen.
If the highest heavens are commanded to praise
Then certainly the earth is commanded to praise.

Though it is not included in this Psalm certainly we could go A STEP FURTHER
And say if the things on earth are commanded to praise
Then certainly the things under the earth are commanded to praise.

Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

So you understand the progression of the Psalm.

So here we see the call to the earth.
(7) “Praise the LORD from the earth”

Just as we were given a list things in the heavenlies that should praise,

NOW WE LOOK AROUND THE EARTH
And see another list of things that should praise.

• Everything from the created earth
• To the animals on the earth,
• Even to the weather that occurs on the earth.

It is all called to praise God.

And we could easily point out that they should praise God
For the SAME REASONS the heavenlies praise Him.

Surely they can also praise for their existence.
That God CREATED them and SUSTAINS them.

2 Peter 3:5-7 “For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

We will all stay as long as God desires.

AND YOU EVEN SEE AGAIN
How such inanimate things declare the praise of God.

(8) “Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;”

• When fire burns it does so at the command of God.
• When hail falls, when snow covers,
• When clouds send forth rain,
• When winds blow,
• They do so at the command of God.

They fulfill their purpose to the praise and glory of God.

That is all a form of praise and God deserves it.
IN FACT GOD DEMANDS IT.

But the real focus and obvious climax of the Psalm
Occurs when get beyond the physical creation
And to the pinnacle of God’s creation which is humanity.

(11-12) “Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children.”

And again the point is not hard to discern.
God calls for all peoples to praise Him.

I don’t care who you are.
• No one is so important that he is not obligated to bow his knee to God.
• No one is so small that he will go unnoticed in his praise to God.

All men of all positions are commanded to praise.
It is the intention of God.

And it would be a foolish thing to resist that purpose.
• Like fire that refuses to burn…
• Like a sun that refuses to shine…
• Like wind that won’t blow…

All of those things would be a contradiction to their purpose
And so is a man who won’t praise his Maker.

THIS IS REALLY FOUNDATIONAL.
He made us and we are made to the praise of His glory.
• He made us in His image and we are expected to reflect Him.
• He made us with a soul that we might know and worship Him.

A failure to do this brings the sure and certain wrath of God.

Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Angels were removed from heaven for failing to praise God
Someday men will be destroyed from the earth for the same sin.

We are called to praise.

But our obligation actually moves beyond just gratitude for our existence.

For while we are certainly called to praise Him for our existence
We are also called to praise Him
For the grace which He has bestowed upon us.

(13-14) “Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven. And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!”

Here we find Two More Reasons that we
(more so than the rest of creation) are called to praise.

“For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.”

The first reason given is very simply that we praise God
Because He is the very pinnacle of the pyramid of praise.

• If you should choose to worship the clouds you are stopping far short of the highest form of glory.

• If you should choose to worship the sun or the moon you are stopping far short of the highest form of glory.

• If you should choose to get your guidance from the stars you are setting for advice far short of the highest form of glory.

1 Corinthians 15:39-41 “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.”

Not ever star shines as bright as the other.
And none of them shine as God shines.

He is the highest form of glory
And therefore deserves the highest praise of all.

In fact, the Psalmist says “For His name alone is exalted”

By comparison, nothing else has any glory at all.

Isaiah pointed it out:
TURN TO: Isaiah 40:18-26

He said it again:
Isaiah 46:5-9 “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? “Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it. “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him from his distress. “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,”

Jeremiah pointed it out as well:
TURN TO: Jeremiah 10:6-16

You see it in all those passages.
Nothing and no one compares.

And humans are the part of creation
That is given the mental capacity to recognize that.

We see at creation that “man became a living soul.”

So we more than any other aspect of creation
Are called to praise God as the highest and most glorious.

He is the top, the pinnacle, the highest One.
• Not only did He create all things…
• Not only does He sustain all things…
• BUT HE IS ABOVE AND BEFORE ALL THINGS!

PRAISE HIM.

And yet there is STILL ANOTHER REASON
Why humanity, specifically His people, are called to praise.

Jeremiah actually alluded to it that passage we read:
Jeremiah 10:16 “The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.”

Not only is God above all in every possible way,
But at the same time He is called “The portion of Jacob”

And Israel is called “the tribe of His inheritance”

The point being made there is that not only is He God,
But He is OUR GOD AND WE ARE HIS PEOPLE.

(14) “And He has lifted up a horn for His people…”

A “horn” is a symbol of power.

You may remember when we studied Zechariah how God spoke of breaking the nations that had afflicted Israel.

Zechariah 1:18-21 “Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

God spoke of the power of those nations and how He would break them.

But for His people “He has lifted up a horn”

The implication here is that God has made Israel a people.
God has empowered them to be a nation.

• It is a remarkable reality when you read the Genesis account. You have all the nations together as one and all people speak the same language.

• And then they try to earn their salvation by building a tower to heaven but God scatters them by confusing their language and instantly God makes many distinct peoples.

• And then out of one of those peoples God chooses Abram. Abram is not a nation, there’s not even a chance he could be a nation. But God determines to make a people out of him.

• And God lifts up the horn of Abram and eventually he has a grandson named Jacob whom God will change his name to Israel.

HOW DID THEY BECOME A PEOPLE?
GOD DID IT.

HOW DID THE CHURCH COME ABOUT?
How did all these people from every tribe and tongue all of a sudden become one people?

GOD DID IT.
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

And certainly we are called to praise Him for that.
Peter said we should “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

He has made us a people!
He has raised us up!
PRAISE HIM!

AND NOT JUST FOR THAT.

(14) “And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for His godly ones;”

Here the Psalmist speaks of some HONOR that His people have received.

We might see that at times in Israel in the Old Testament.
• There were times under David and Solomon where Israel could be called a people of honor.
• But those times were few and far between.

But we DON’T SEE the church as a people honored
Or praised in the world.

So what is the Psalmist talking about here?
What is our honor?

He goes on to say, “Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.”

This is our honor. This is our praise.
It is our ability to walk in nearness to God.

OF ALL OF CREATION
Only man was made a living soul.

AND OF ALL MEN
Only the redeemed are allowed to draw near to God.

And those who do should see this not as an accomplishment,
But as a blessing of sovereign grace.

And if you are allowed to draw near to God the praise Him!

And that is how this Psalm ends:
“Praise the LORD!”

And that is why we say that Psalm 148 teaches:
“Praise the LORD! We Are The People of God”

And nothing and no one in all the created order
Is more obligated to bring God praise than us.

• If the heavenlies are expected to praise then certainly the earth.
• And if the earth is expected to praise then certainly humanity.
• And if humanity is expected to praise the certainly the redeemed.

AND THAT IS US.
SO WE PRAISE HIM!

1. We praise Him for our existence.
• Both our initial existence and our continued existence.
2. We praise Him because He is higher and more worthy of praise than any other thing.
3. And we praise Him because He has made us a people and brought us near to Him.

We “Praise the LORD!”