Forget Not All His Benefits (Psalm 103)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:05.400 Our passage this evening will be from Psalm one hundred and three. Psalm one 2 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:09.750 hundred and three, listen, for this is the word of the Lord. 3 00:00:12.429 --> 00:00:18.269 Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me. Bless his 4 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:23.980 holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits, 5 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:30.460 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems 6 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:36.409 your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 7 00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:42.450 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. 8 00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:49.409 The Lord Works Righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known 9 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:54.200 his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord 10 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:59.719 Is Merciful and Gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He 11 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:03.920 will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does 12 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.870 not deal with US according to our sins, nor repay us according to our 13 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:12.829 iniquities. For As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great 14 00:01:12.950 --> 00:01:18.189 is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. As far as the East 15 00:01:18.310 --> 00:01:22.579 is from the West, so far dos he remove our transgressions from us. 16 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:27.700 As a father shows compassion and to his children, so the Lord shows compassion 17 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:34.489 to those who fear him, for he knows our frame. He remembers that 18 00:01:34.689 --> 00:01:38.810 we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass. He 19 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:44.489 flourishes like a flower of the field, for the wind passes over it and 20 00:01:44.609 --> 00:01:49.560 it is gone and it's places knows it not no more. But the steadfast 21 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:55.359 love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him and 22 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:59.879 his righteousness, to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember 23 00:01:59.959 --> 00:02:05.310 to do his commandments. The Lord has established His throne in the heavens and 24 00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:10.789 his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, Ohe you, his angels, 25 00:02:12.389 --> 00:02:15.060 you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word. 26 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:20.460 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will. 27 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:23.699 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion. 28 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:34.969 Bless the Lord, Oh my soul. This one hundred and third psalm is 29 00:02:36.889 --> 00:02:43.810 quite an amazing him right, it's a song, it's a prayer of David. 30 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:47.840 But before I get to this psalm, can I just take a couple 31 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:53.560 minutes and give us something of an overview to the book of Psalms. Did 32 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.960 you know there's a structure to the book as a whole? In fact, 33 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:02.710 it's broken up not as one book but as five books. The PSALTER has 34 00:03:02.789 --> 00:03:09.629 five books running throughout it, which gives an overall structure to the Book of 35 00:03:09.710 --> 00:03:15.819 Psalms. This isn't just a random collection of songs and prayers and and and 36 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:20.500 hymns. Right. There's a structure. There's a flow, for this flow 37 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:25.060 largely follows the history of Israel. If you look at Book One, Psalms 38 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:31.490 One through forty one, they are largely written by King David and they focus 39 00:03:31.729 --> 00:03:39.090 on his kingship. Book too, which goes through psalm seventy two, begins 40 00:03:39.129 --> 00:03:46.159 to look away from David, as that book ends with David's last Psalm, 41 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:51.080 the last Psalm he ever wrote, Psalms Seventy two, which is a prayer 42 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:57.469 for his son and the reign of his son. Book three ends on a 43 00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:02.550 much less hopeful context. It concludes with much less hope. As book three 44 00:04:02.590 --> 00:04:06.069 comes to an end, God's promises to David seemed to have fallen short. 45 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:15.259 Psalm eighty nine ends with this confusion crying out. Where has your steadfast love 46 00:04:15.420 --> 00:04:21.220 gone, Oh God? The confusion which concludes book three is ultimately answered then 47 00:04:21.939 --> 00:04:29.370 by book four and into book five. Psalm one hundred three comes here in 48 00:04:29.529 --> 00:04:32.529 book for, then, as an answer to this confusion. Where is the 49 00:04:32.610 --> 00:04:41.120 steadfast love of God? And therefore this Fourth Book of the Psalms Form something 50 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:45.680 of a core to the entire psalter as its answering these questions raised at the 51 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:50.040 end of book three in the context of Israel's failure in her obedience to the 52 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:58.949 Lord, in light of Israel's exile from the Promised Land, book for answers 53 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:03.189 the questions of Psalm Eighty nine, which ask has God failed? Has God 54 00:05:03.230 --> 00:05:09.699 failed to keep his promise to David? Has God lied to David? What 55 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:14.660 is become of his promise to give King David a son who will rule forever? 56 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:20.649 And so book for begins with Psalm Ninety. Psalm Ninety, which which 57 00:05:20.689 --> 00:05:28.490 answers this question by looking back. It's a psalm of Moses. Psalm Ninety 58 00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:31.889 looks back beyond the days of David to the days of Moses and it declares 59 00:05:31.930 --> 00:05:35.439 that God has been faithful, God has been a dwelling place for his people 60 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:41.360 for all generations, so that even when Israel's removed from the promised land. 61 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:48.120 Even then, like Israel wandering in the Wilderness, God has not abandoned his 62 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:54.709 people. God will return, God will look upon his people in favor once 63 00:05:54.750 --> 00:05:59.750 again. So if books one through three look at David and look at his 64 00:05:59.829 --> 00:06:03.230 kingship and look at, ultimately, the failure of this human king to provide 65 00:06:03.269 --> 00:06:11.459 a permanent rest for his people, then books four and five answer the failure 66 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:15.860 of King David and his sons by looking instead to the Lord's reign, the 67 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:20.689 Lord's rule, the Lord's kingship. This is the Lord who anointed David in 68 00:06:20.689 --> 00:06:26.610 the first place. So that over and over again throughout book for you find 69 00:06:26.689 --> 00:06:30.129 the refrain our God reigns, it's our God who rules, it's our God 70 00:06:30.170 --> 00:06:35.040 who is on the throne. So the book four points our eyes beyond the 71 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:41.560 appearance of chaos. Look what Israel's going through in her history at this point, 72 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.670 being removed from the land, being in exile. Yet they can call 73 00:06:46.790 --> 00:06:51.069 out to God with these kinds of refrains, our God is on the throne. 74 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:59.829 As the people of God are persecuted in this world, it appears as 75 00:06:59.910 --> 00:07:03.420 though God is ultimately not ruling, as though he's not reigning. If his 76 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:09.819 own beloved people are filled with disease, if his people are filled with death, 77 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:16.810 doesn't it appear as though God is helpless to stop it? But here, 78 00:07:16.889 --> 00:07:23.250 in Psalm one hundred and three, God announces not what appears to be 79 00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:29.410 true, but what is actually true. Here we're given a prophetic glimpse of 80 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:33.759 the reality of the Lord's rule and reign over his kingdom. Here and now, 81 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:41.560 this psalm is is is deep, it's it's rich, it's profound, 82 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.990 for this psalm delves into the hearts, into the character of our Lord. 83 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:53.230 We're told not only of his rule, of his power, but also of 84 00:07:53.350 --> 00:08:00.259 his nature. We're not only told of his sovereignty governing all things, but 85 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:05.579 also of his mercy. For notice what these words are ultimately doing. What 86 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:11.100 function are these words performing? We're told of God's character through this Psalm, 87 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:16.089 yes, but it's not a lecture on the attributes of God. What is 88 00:08:16.170 --> 00:08:22.730 it? It's a song. We're told of God's power and his rule, 89 00:08:22.769 --> 00:08:28.079 but not as students in a classroom, as a prayer, as an act 90 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:35.200 of worship. And the depth and scope of the Psalm is even more profound 91 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:39.000 given where it begins. Look at first one. How does this Psalm Begin? 92 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:48.149 It begins as David's address to WHO, to himself. Bless the Lord, 93 00:08:48.190 --> 00:08:52.870 Oh my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 94 00:08:54.509 --> 00:08:56.539 It's a call that worship. Right, like a lot of psalms, 95 00:08:56.580 --> 00:09:01.100 begin with a call to worship, but here David is first calling himself to 96 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:09.100 worship, and from here the Psalm will take an extensive journey. For David 97 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:13.690 doesn't simply address himself in this psalm. He will also address at the end 98 00:09:13.049 --> 00:09:20.330 the angels. He will call upon the heavenly hosts, telling them to worship 99 00:09:20.370 --> 00:09:24.240 the Lord. He will call upon them to bless the Lord. He will 100 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:31.080 call upon the works of the Lord to bless the Lord. So he's not 101 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:37.720 just talking to himself. He's calling upon all creation, both heaven and earth, 102 00:09:37.750 --> 00:09:45.789 to bless the Lord. Ultimately, this psalm is calling all of creation, 103 00:09:46.190 --> 00:09:50.509 from his own soul to the very heavenly assembly, to join him in 104 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:54.500 what he's already doing in this salng right, he begins by blessing the Lord 105 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.179 because ultimately this is a psalm to the Lord, a psalm that we are 106 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:05.620 being called to participate in as well, to add our amends to these words. 107 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:11.370 So this psalm begins with a an inward counsel, right, as he 108 00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:15.529 tells to himself, bless the Lord, Oh my soul, all that is 109 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:18.450 within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, 110 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:22.840 and forget not all his benefits. When I want us to get a 111 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:30.480 sense of here, it's just how how natural David's words are. Right, 112 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.080 because they may sound strange, they may sound a little foreign to us. 113 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:37.269 I mean, who who really talks to themself like this? Who addresses their 114 00:10:37.350 --> 00:10:43.350 own soul? If you overheard someone in the McDonald's booth next to you addressing 115 00:10:43.429 --> 00:10:50.539 their soul, what would you think of that person? But notice how natural 116 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.419 it is, because this is something that we do all the time. We 117 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:58.659 don't verbalize it, but we're constantly talking to ourselves. Our thoughts form a 118 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:07.809 constant monolog conversation within our heads. Are Our minds are never silent. They 119 00:11:07.929 --> 00:11:13.809 form this moment by moment narration of our lives. So do you see how 120 00:11:13.809 --> 00:11:18.080 appropriate it would be that that worship would be a part of this inner dialog 121 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:24.840 of our hearts? For we were created for this purpose, to worship the 122 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:31.799 Lord, to bless, to glorify him. There's nothing more natural to who 123 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:37.190 we were created to be then to bless the Lord and to worship him as 124 00:11:37.230 --> 00:11:43.070 those created in the image of God. Worship of our hearts is more natural 125 00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:48.139 to who you truly are, then sin. Sin Is Unnatural. Right, 126 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:54.580 death is unnatural. But in worship we are called now to participate in heavenly 127 00:11:54.659 --> 00:12:01.690 realities. We're called to image, here and now that worship that's already taking 128 00:12:01.730 --> 00:12:05.490 place in heaven. As he brews twelve reminds us, you have come to 129 00:12:05.690 --> 00:12:09.330 Mount Zion, to the city of the Living God. Not You will come, 130 00:12:09.889 --> 00:12:13.929 he says, you have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels 131 00:12:13.970 --> 00:12:18.919 in festal gathering. That's what we don't see in our worship, but that's 132 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:24.480 the reality of our worship. This is what's already true of you. As 133 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:28.360 we bless the Lord in our souls, we are participating here and now in 134 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:35.750 that eternal in that heavenly worship. And this on then goes on to highlight 135 00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:43.190 specifically why? Why are we to join with David's Soul in worship? Well, 136 00:12:43.190 --> 00:12:46.059 it's because of who we are blessing. He calls us to bless the 137 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:52.019 Lord. Forget not all his benefits and then he lists them right. Who 138 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:56.500 forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life 139 00:12:56.500 --> 00:13:01.610 from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies 140 00:13:01.649 --> 00:13:05.129 you with good so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles? The Lord 141 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:15.279 Works Righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. As the reasons for praising 142 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:22.320 God grow and grow, blessing upon blessing is attributed to the Lord. It's 143 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.549 the attributes of God which are being exalted here. Bless the Lord, for 144 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:33.269 God is the gracious judge who pardons, he's the great physician who heals, 145 00:13:33.309 --> 00:13:39.789 he is the strong redeemer who rescues from the grave. He is the benevolent 146 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:48.740 king who sets his crown of steadfast love upon us. Our God is loving, 147 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:54.460 he is Gracious, he is Merciful. And as you hear our Lord 148 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:58.409 described in this way, doesn't your heart join with David in blessing the Lord? 149 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:07.169 Does this activity of the Lord describe the work of the Lord in Your 150 00:14:07.289 --> 00:14:16.320 Life? Well, yes and no. Right, yes, we know what 151 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:20.759 it is for the Lord to forgive our iniquity. Of course we know that. 152 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.309 Right this is the heart of the Gospel Message that in Christ our sins 153 00:14:24.350 --> 00:14:35.070 are forgiven. But does the Lord really heal all your diseases? Can we 154 00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:41.580 really say that our youth is renewed like the Eagles? Does God really redeem 155 00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:48.860 our lives from the pit? Well, is David just exaggerating here? We 156 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:54.570 know that people still get sick, that even God's people get struck with with 157 00:14:54.049 --> 00:15:00.210 terminal diseases. We know what it's like to get old, for our bodies 158 00:15:00.250 --> 00:15:03.610 to deteriorate. We know what it is to bury a loved one in the 159 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:09.240 grave. So we still get sick, we still get old and frail and 160 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:16.360 we still die. How can we bless the Lord then, for these specific 161 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:22.429 things? Well, is this psalm suggesting that our walk with the Lord in 162 00:15:22.549 --> 00:15:28.230 this life is to be free from trouble, that for those who rest in 163 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:33.389 God, life is a paradise and a vacation? Well, no, because 164 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:37.700 look at what this praise is highlighting. What it's high like is how the 165 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:46.379 Lord answers our most fundamental problems. This praise highlights the full view of the 166 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:54.250 adversity we face in this life. If we praise God for pardoning our iniquity, 167 00:15:56.529 --> 00:16:02.610 it's because we're confessing that we are guilty before him. If we praise 168 00:16:02.690 --> 00:16:07.879 God for healing, then we praise him for healing us from disease, not 169 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:14.559 the absence of all sickness. We wouldn't need healing if we weren't sick. 170 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:19.470 We wouldn't need renewal if we didn't know what it was to grow weak and 171 00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:26.269 frail. We wouldn't praise God for redeeming us from the pit if we didn't 172 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:30.509 first have to put on our own grave clothes and enter into the pit. 173 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:37.059 Here we're being called to praise God for for who he is, for his 174 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:45.379 attributes, because they are in stark contrast to our own. God Is Gracious, 175 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:51.409 Right, merciful, healing, renewing and redeeming. Which means what about 176 00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:56.690 us? It means that we are full of sin. It means that we 177 00:16:56.769 --> 00:17:00.720 are full of disease, that we are aging and weak and that our lives 178 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:07.720 are on a bullet train to the grave. Our condition is not flattering. 179 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:14.759 As sons and daughters of Adam, we are reminded of our status, as 180 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:21.349 verse fourteen tells us, he knows our frame. He remembers that we are 181 00:17:21.470 --> 00:17:26.589 dust. This was the judgment for Sim which which God pronounced on Adam and 182 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:30.140 his descendants. You are dust, and too dust. You shall return back 183 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:37.859 in Genesis three, and verses fifteen and sixteen here give us a proper perspective 184 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:42.779 of this unnatural state. As for man, his days are like grass. 185 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:48.529 He flourishes like a flower of the field, for the wind passes over it 186 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:53.809 and it's gone. Its place knows it no more. It's because of the 187 00:17:53.930 --> 00:17:59.920 curse that we die. It's not natural. It's the result of Adam's sin 188 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:07.519 and the point of knowing who we are so that we would know who our 189 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:12.750 God is. The frailty of man is what's contrasted with the the Everlasting Love, 190 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:21.029 the everlasting faithfulness of God, where we wither and die. Verse Seventeen 191 00:18:21.069 --> 00:18:25.589 picks right up, but the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to 192 00:18:25.789 --> 00:18:30.579 everlasting. So then, this is still a psalm of God's grace and God's 193 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:36.220 mercy. God knows of our weak and sinful condition, and it's our condition 194 00:18:36.420 --> 00:18:41.289 is told to us in light of his mercy, of his abundant and steadfast 195 00:18:41.369 --> 00:18:48.049 love, for he made known his ways to Moses verse seven, his acts 196 00:18:48.089 --> 00:18:52.809 to the people of Israel. The Lord Is Merciful and Gracious, slow to 197 00:18:52.930 --> 00:19:00.160 anger and abounding in steadfast love, and these two verses should sound, sorry, 198 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:04.799 sort of familiar to us. Moses is mentioned in verse seven, and 199 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:11.789 Verse Eight is a quote that appears twice during the lifetime of Moses. Here 200 00:19:11.829 --> 00:19:15.670 we are shown that the compassion of the Lord, his patience and steadfast love 201 00:19:15.750 --> 00:19:21.190 has an actual context for these words. When Israel fashioned a golden calf for 202 00:19:21.269 --> 00:19:26.619 herself, when Israel refused to enter the promised land and and turned back towards 203 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:32.259 Egypt. So serious were these sins that both times the Lord threatened to to 204 00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:37.339 just wipe out Israel and start anew with Moses. But both times Moses interceded 205 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:41.450 for the people, and both times the Lord declared himself to be Merciful, 206 00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:51.569 Gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. But that graciousness only 207 00:19:51.690 --> 00:19:56.640 makes sense a light of what Israel deserved for her sin. Likewise, our 208 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:00.160 gratitude and our praise of God, God has depend upon us knowing what we 209 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:07.069 deserve and therefore how gracious God has been to us. So we are to 210 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:14.509 rejoice because we have not received what we deserve. He will not always Chid, 211 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:17.630 nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with US 212 00:20:17.670 --> 00:20:21.779 according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. As high 213 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:25.539 as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward 214 00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:27.940 those who fear him. As far as the East is from the West, 215 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:34.730 so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion 216 00:20:34.809 --> 00:20:40.250 to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 217 00:20:41.289 --> 00:20:45.369 Praise God, then, that he doesn't deal with US according to our sins. 218 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:49.920 As we reflect on our sins and how offensive our sins are to our 219 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:56.680 holy God, if even our own righteous deeds are still filthy rags before him, 220 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:00.480 do you see how much greater, how much better, your God is? 221 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:06.829 The more we see how sinful and greedy and prideful we are, the 222 00:21:06.990 --> 00:21:11.589 greater we see the grace and the love and the mercy of our heavenly father. 223 00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:17.990 As those under the bondage of sin, to hear this message of forgiveness, 224 00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:22.980 to hear this message of deliverance and and freedom, is the greatest news 225 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:30.980 we could imagine. As far as the East is from the West, so 226 00:21:30.259 --> 00:21:37.970 far does he remove our transgressions from us. Even in this psalm even in 227 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:44.450 this worship. Here we are directed to Christ, to the grace and the 228 00:21:44.609 --> 00:21:48.599 forgiveness that's found in him, for it's in Christ that the Lord removes our 229 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:56.119 transgressions from us, because the Psalm reminds us that God is still righteous right. 230 00:21:56.319 --> 00:22:00.509 His grace, His mercy does not make him any less holy or any 231 00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:07.829 less righteous. As verse Seventeen says, the steadfast love of the Lord is 232 00:22:07.950 --> 00:22:11.190 from everlasting to everlasting, on those who fear Him and his righteousness, to 233 00:22:11.230 --> 00:22:15.299 children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 234 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:26.819 This Psalm affirms both God's holiness and His grace and his mercy. For 235 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:33.250 the righteousness of God to deal with us in a gracious manner, both God's 236 00:22:33.250 --> 00:22:38.730 righteousness, his Justice and His mercy have to be upheld, and it's in 237 00:22:38.769 --> 00:22:45.640 the perfect righteousness of Christ, then, that our sin is forgiven, as 238 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:49.839 Christ took the perfect penalty for sin, as Christ remembered all the commandments of 239 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:55.599 the Lord and obeyed him perfectly. Then we are to find our righteousness in 240 00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:00.950 him, because it's only in Christ that we can stand before our heavenly father. 241 00:23:02.190 --> 00:23:04.630 It's only in Christ that we stand in the grace and mercy and steadfast 242 00:23:04.710 --> 00:23:10.869 love of our Lord. It's only in Christ that our sins and transgressions can 243 00:23:10.910 --> 00:23:12.500 be removed from us, as far as the East is from the West. 244 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:19.059 And don't you see, then, this is what brings God ultimate glory and 245 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:25.259 worship and praise, not only from us but, as David Calls, the 246 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:30.650 heavens, even among the hosts of Heaven to praise God for this kind of 247 00:23:30.809 --> 00:23:37.410 steadfast love. Therefore, this is a psalm which looks forward to Christ and 248 00:23:37.529 --> 00:23:42.640 it also looks upward to heaven, as David Calls The heavenly hosts, as 249 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:48.200 well as all of creation to bless the Lord with him. When we praise 250 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:53.640 the Lord, then we are participating in that kind of heavenly worship, as 251 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.470 he rewswelve reminds us. You have come to Bounce Zion, to the city 252 00:23:57.509 --> 00:24:03.069 of the Living God, they heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels and festal gathering, 253 00:24:03.509 --> 00:24:06.789 to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to 254 00:24:06.950 --> 00:24:10.019 God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made 255 00:24:10.099 --> 00:24:14.579 perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant into the sprinkled 256 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:18.339 blood. That speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Let us 257 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:23.220 therefore bless the Lord, along with David, with our souls, with our 258 00:24:23.289 --> 00:24:33.369 whole being. Let us do so in all circumstances and be encouraged. Be 259 00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:41.160 encouraged that even David, even David who wrote this song, has to remind 260 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:47.640 himself, he has to exhort his own soul to worship the Lord, as 261 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:51.480 natural as worship is to who we truly are, to what we were created 262 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.430 to be as image bearers of God, as natural as worship is to that 263 00:24:55.589 --> 00:25:02.789 relationship, we still need to be encouraged to worship the Lord. We still 264 00:25:02.910 --> 00:25:07.180 need to be reminded to worship him, we still need to be called and 265 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:15.619 drawn to him in worship, for we so easily set our minds on earthly 266 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:22.289 things and away from Christ. We need this kind of exhortation because it's not 267 00:25:22.410 --> 00:25:26.930 only when times are good that the Lord is blessing us. It's not only 268 00:25:27.049 --> 00:25:34.759 when we have youth and health that the Lord is being faithful. It's more 269 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:38.559 often than the removal of these things which truly directs our eyes to heaven. 270 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:44.799 It's at the law loss of our wealth, at the loss of our health, 271 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:51.349 that the loss of our happiness that our eyes are directed forward and upward, 272 00:25:52.710 --> 00:25:57.230 forward to Christ's return, upward to the heavenly reality of our eternal citizenship. 273 00:25:59.829 --> 00:26:04.900 For what good things in this world can compare to the eternal, imperishable 274 00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:11.819 inheritance we have in the Kingdom of Heaven? Truly, the love of the 275 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:17.299 Lord is immeasurable, so that even on our darkest day, even as our 276 00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:22.809 eyes close in death, even in this we are compelled to praise and to 277 00:26:22.970 --> 00:26:29.210 bless the Lord, because this is what he will do. He is a 278 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:34.880 restorer from the pit itself, which means that we first have to to die. 279 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:38.400 It means that we first have to suffer, it means that we first 280 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:45.480 have to get sick and Keel over for the Lord to truly bless us as 281 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:49.349 he's blessed Christ in his resurrection. Since he is the first fruits of the 282 00:26:49.430 --> 00:26:53.950 resurrection, you can be sure that you will be with him by faith and 283 00:26:55.109 --> 00:26:57.750 by trusting in your Lord. Where he is, you will be as well, 284 00:26:59.910 --> 00:27:04.579 for your salvation is secure. Your Life is hidden with Christ in God. 285 00:27:06.740 --> Amen.