The Graciousness and Mercy of God
Psalm 95 |
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Introduction: Many Bible students believe that Psalm 95-100 are one prophetic poem. Each Psalm is a Messianic Psalm as each has a subject which establishes shows the coming kingdom of the Messiah. Each Psalm shows a different aspect of the Millennium kingdom which Jesus the Messiah ruling. - 95th Psalm asserts that Jehovah’s Godhead and power over all nature and compels Israel to serve Him. Psalm 95 and 96 is the message preached at the beginning of the Tribulation. - 96th Psalm the subject is compelling all the nations of earth to join His service, because the Messiah comes to judge both the Jew and Gentile - 97th Psalm Jehovah God reigns of all the world and the idols are deserted and the Just One is glorified. - 98th Psalm God does marvelous things and has given deliverance to Israel. All the ends of the earth has seen His salvation. The Messiah has returned to earth at the end of the Tribulation. - 99th Psalm shows the Lord ruling sitting between the cherubim. The Lord is seen as great in Zion and high above all the people. Moses and Aaron are among His priests and Samuel are among those who call upon the Lord. Christ is setting up His promised Kingdom to Israel. - 100th Psalm reveal the whole earth worshiping the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom. I. Psalm 95 is calling on people to acknowledge the Lord as the great King above all. Psalm 95:1 A. Other Psalm has the same theme. Psalm 47, 93, 96-99 The truth is stated that God is the rock of our Salvation and therefore is to be praised. To all the people God the Messiah is presented as the Savior. B. The truth of God’s salvation is given as the reason to worship the Lord. 1. Worship begins with thanksgiving. You can easily identify a thankful Christian. He will be praising God from whom all blessing flow as the hymn states. ILLUS: My mother was a thankful woman. You could not speak with her for more than a few minutes until she is saying how blessed she is. In January 2008 when I talked with her she was in a rest home. She told me how blessed she was to be in a new room with a window where she could look out and see birds and deer come to feed in the afternoon. She said she was blessed because God answered her prayers. She was earlier in a room with a cantankerous woman who played the TV all night and had a bitter and mean spirit. She said God answered her prayers and the woman she is now with a such a sweet lady. She is a picture of a true thankful Christian. She praises God all day....and was a pleasure to be around her. 2. We are told to come and sing before the Lord and to make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. (v1) Often our singing is simply going through the motions. We do not sing with the enthusiasm that should accompany singing to the rock of our salvation. This Psalm should remind us of what a wonderful thing it is to be saved and of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. We should show how much it means in our singing. Verse 2 Beckons us to come before His presence with thanksgiving. Like Hebrews 10:19-26 the Lord is calling us to assembly ourselves together in worship. The verse says "make a joyful noise unto the Lord with psalms." The word "presence" means in Hebrew "face." The statement literally means to stand before His face being in His very presence. True worship is aware of God presence and is addressed to Him. Further, you cannot worship God without thanking Him for his salvation. True worship first acknowledges that God gives us salvation and secondly we express out thanksgiving to Him for salvation. (V1-2) C. The greatness of Jehovah God is the reason He should be praised, because He is the great King above all gods. V3. 1. This statement about being the great King over all gods means little to us, but it was understood by the Jews who had a history of worshiping false gods and idols. Thus, God is compared to the pitiful idol gods of man’s invention, shown to be nothing. All false gods are vengefully and do not show mercy and grace. The cults and churches that have a works based theology have little to praise their false gods for. Their gods demand works and strict obedience. They do not show mercy and grace. If you displease them, if you fail, they reject you immediately. You see, they require those that worship them to be righteous in themselves. Yet, our true God and Creator is a loving God. Paul made that clear in Romans 5, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8) Romans 3:10 proclaims the true state of man, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) False religion tells man that he can become righteous by doing good works. But if the man falls short, his god will disown him. 2. The Gentiles and Israel worshiped false gods of the sun, moon, star and idols made with hands. Yet God is the creator of all things....He made the sun and stars and even the materials of the idol and the men who invented them. Thus God is THE King above all. 3. The evidence of the greatest of God is seen in His creation. (V4) God’s power over the universe is absolute. Even in the deep places, the interior of the earth is His power shown. God sees and controls even what man cannot see as the interior of our earth. His power is there keeping the earth together. I think it could be a reference to gravity. The greatness of God is seen in that He freely offers salvation to sinful men who do not deserve it. He offers those that believe to become the children of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and the assurance of heaven when die. His blessings, mercy, and grace proclaim His greatness. 4. He says His hand are the strength of the hills. In Job 22:25 it says, "Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver." (Job 22:25) The word "strength" is the same word translated "plenty" in Job 22:25. It refers to treasure and seems to speak of the riches of the mountains. 5. Both the sea and the dry land are God’s as He created them with His hands. (V5) D. Because of God’s greatness and being our Creator we are called to worship and humble ourselves before Him. 1. Worshiping God and humbling ourselves before Him is hard for some people. It goes against our pride. 2. But the fact is....we are His, made by Him for His purpose. Is the thing made greater than its creator? Who are we and where did we come from? Are we not God’s own creation and who are we compared to Him? He spoke the universe into existence. His greatness and power demands that the sensible thing to do is accept who we are and worship God. This is reality. What power does a man have? The answer is NONE. 3. Jehovah is our God....believe or not, accept it or not...the fact is we are His people in His pasture the earth. All we have, even the breath we breath, comes from God. What do you have that God did not make? NOTHING! (V7a) We are His sheep in His hand. II. Because God is our creator...We are to listen to His voice. (V7b) A. God’s message is clear. Do not harden your heart against Him to provoke Him. (V8) 1. The illustration is when God delivered the Children of Israel from Egypt from their captives, they murmured against Him and showing they were ungrateful. As God directed them through the wilderness towards the promise land....they complained showing no respect for God are were they thankful. All they were interested in was food and the creature comforts. 2. God had promise them a land flowing with milk and honey....could they not endure a little difficulty in getting to God’s promise place for them? Is it not interesting that God had brought the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt performing great miracles, and had promise to give them a land of milk and honey. Yet, a Kadesh-Barnea when the 8 of spies returned and reported it was a wonderful land, but was inhabited with mighty men and giants they refused to go into the land and let God honor His promise. Folks, they had seen the miracles of God yet would not accept His greatness and power. Joshua and Caleb beckoned the Israelites to go and take the land. He said "let us go at once, and possess it, for we are able to overcome it." The men of the Israel replied "We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." God’s preachers even today find the same attitude. We proclaim the promises of God, and few believe and accept God at His word. B. Even when the children of Israel saw God’s mighty hand at work for them...they the tempted God by their murmurings. Instead of seeing God’s power and recognizing it they instead wanted God to prove Him to them. Can you see the picture. Puny little foolish men, wanted the Creator of the Universe to prove Himself to them!! How foolish and silly and an the unmediated gall they had. But my friend, men are doing today just like they did then. Instead of recognizing our wonderful and graceful God....they tempted Him and wanted Him to prove Himself to them. C. God speaking in Verse 10. Referring to the wilderness wandering of Israel which as the result of the unbelief and hardening of their heart God put up with them. (v10) It grieved God to see their rejection of His mercy and grace, and of the great blessing He was offering them. 1. All who at Kadesh Barnea who would not believe the good report brought by Joshua and Caleb who spied out the Canaan land...they died in the wilderness and never saw God’s blessings and promise. Sometimes is almost becomes more than I can bear to offer God’s grace to people who reject Him. 2. They believed the skies who had no faith and would not believe God and accept His promise. Does it not address the sinfulness of man, that he willingly believes the false report and rejects God’s truth. They had no fear of God and no respect for him. They used their own faulty wisdom and it killed ever one of them to the man. 3. The same thing is happening today. Men reject God’s promises with little or no thought as to who God is. They will not bow themselves and humble themselves to God’s wonderful will and purpose for their lives. Instead like Israel...some are wandering around in their own power, confused, desolate of spirit and without hope. 4. Men who harden their hearts against God and His truth are in grave error....making a fatal mistake in not accepting the "ways of God." D. The last verse is a chilling one. (V11) 1. God hates pride in man. He says, "Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest." 2. There is no salvation for the proud. God says "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. . ." (Proverbs 6:16-17) 3. God says, "And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." (Isaiah 13:11) 4. Jeremiah warning unbelieving Judah saying, "Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee." (Jeremiah 50:31) Pride and unbelief will bear its fruit and reap its just reward. Conclusion: Paul address this gross sin... "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." (James 4:6) The question is simple and the answer should be clear... do we want the blessings of God that comes from accepting who we are and stopping to fight with God. Or will be choose to reject Him, to relish in our pride and have the wrath of Almighty God fall on us. I think the wise man knows what He should do.... I think the fool will not be changed.
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