PRAISE THE LORD!–PSALM 117:1-2
“O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”
Introduction:
This New Year is a good time to begin praising our Lord. If you have not trusted Him as your Savior, listen to what God has done in the life of His people and trust Him as your Savior.
I. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS MERCIFUL KINDNESS.
A. In His merciful kindness He has called sinner to repentance, Matthew 9:13, But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
1. John the Baptist preached it, Matthew 3:1-2, In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2-And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
2. Jesus preached it, Mark 1:14,15-“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15-And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
B. In His merciful kindness He has called sinners to Faith in His dear Son, Galatians 3:8, “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
1. The religions of this world have always CONTRADICTED God’s way of salvation PREACHING WORKS instead of faith, Galatians 3:10-11, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11- But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
2. God has always PREACHED FAITH as the means of salvation, Galatians 3:25, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
II. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS WONDERFUL WORD.
A. Israel did not believe God’s word, Psalm 106:24, “Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:”
1. They did not trust the Lord’s promise of salvation, Psalms 78:22, “Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:”
2. They saw but believed not His works, Psalms 78:32, “For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.”
B. Yet God continues to be faithful to His Word and sends healing and deliverance to mankind, Psalm 107:20-21, “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. 21-Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
C. It is God’s Word that give us hope, Psalm 130:5, “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”
1. The psalmist expected relief and comfort, believing it will come, Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
2. The Apostle Paul placed his hope in the unchanging Word of God, Hebrews 6:18, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”
III. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GREAT LOVE FOR US.
A. God loved Israel, Isaiah 63:8-10a, For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. 9- In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10- But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit:
1. He was their SAVIOR, Isaiah 43:3a, For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
2. He REDEEMED them out of trouble, Psalm 106:10, And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
3. But they REBELLED against Him, Psalm 107:10-11, Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; 11-Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
B. He has loved us with an everlasting love, Jeremiah 31:3, The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
1. God’s love continues with us until this hour, but DO NOT TRY HIS PATIENCE by continuing in unbelief, Hebrews 3:18-19, And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19- So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
2. His love continues to call men unto salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, Acts 2:39, For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
CONCLUSION:
We can praise Him for the salvation we have in Jesus Christ for His many blessing in our lives; but what about you? If you have never trusted Him you really can’t praise Him. Why don’t you trust Christ as your Savior right now?