I love the Lord because...

We're going to do the Bible reading now, so if you'd like to open your Bibles or your devices or Don's favourite app to Psalm 32.

That's right, Don, I pay attention to those talks.

Psalm 32, reading the whole chapter.

A mascal of David.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in his spirit there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.

My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

Salah.

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.

I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Salah.

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found.

Surely in the rush of great waters they shall not reach him.

You are a hiding place for me.

You preserve me from trouble.

You surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Salah.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Be not like a horse or a mule without understanding,

which must be curbed with bitten bridle, or it will not stay near you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

I play bowls.

I've just brought these two bowls along to grade that.

The bowls have a big, big round side and a little side.

The little side is the one that's biased.

In other words, if you bowl it, you want it so the little ring is going towards the jack, the kitty.

Okay?

But if you happen to not think what you're doing,

and you're holding it the same way, and you forget the check,

you'll roll a wrong bias.

When you roll a wrong bias at bowls, everybody knows about it.

They all give a big shout and name and shame you,

and you have to put a dollar in the box that goes to charity.

So it's a name and shame situation,

and I lead on a Friday with a couple of brothers,

and here I try to get as close as I can to that jack.

And if I can get my three bowls really close to the jack,

I think it's great.

The only trouble is it becomes a target then for everybody else,

and they want to knock me off.

My opponents want to get rid of it.

Okay.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, I think it's a good example for a Christian to keep their eyes on the goal,

to always have your bias towards Christ,

and to get close to him, as close as possible.

But there are times, and there will be times,

when we forget to check our bias.

We move our eyes onto something that's tempting us,

and before long we know we've moved away with the temptation.

We enter into the temptation.

We turn away from Christ

to satisfy our own desires.

But it's never pleasant when you're found out,

and everyone seems to notice it,

and especially the Lord himself.

Let's pray.

Father,

sometimes silly examples,

everyday life examples,

can give us a lesson

of where we should be aiming

in this life.

and I pray today

that by your spirit

you might open our eyes

to see the truth

as it is in Jesus,

the truth as it is in his word.

We thank you

that his word lives

and abides forever,

and it will be effectual today

in each of our hearts.

And I pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

One day,

when I was playing against this fellow,

I played against him a number of times,

but hadn't for a long time.

He happened to pick up my bowl,

and on all bowls I have a symbol.

Everybody has their own symbol.

I identify them as theirs in particular.

And this fellow this day,

he picked up mine.

It's pretty hard to read mine.

And he said,

what's this PS 116?

I said,

oh,

it's my favourite psalm.

I said,

I love the Lord because...

He said,

oh.

The conversation finished.

So,

my message today

is just based on these five words.

I love the Lord because...

Three headings.

You've got them there on your sheet.

I love...

King David loved the Lord because...

I love the Lord because...

But the question is,

do you love the Lord because...

King David loved the Lord.

But what does the word love mean?

Love's always been on the agenda,

countless songs have been written about love.

One of the songs I used to love singing was,

love is a many splendid thing.

And one of the lines says,

out of the morning mist two lovers kissed

and the world stood still.

Wow.

That's some kiss.

I remember the first date I had with my wife June,

who was to be my wife.

When I kissed a good night,

I knew that was the girl I was going to marry.

And I did.

I'd kissed plenty of girls before,

but this one.

Wow.

It was a kiss to drill the dream on.

However, that's not

the sort of love that God

inspired King David to write about.

Vines, one of the word commentators says,

love can only be known from the action it prompts.

Actions towards the object of our love.

King David says,

I love the Lord because...

But King David didn't always love the Lord.

It was only because the Lord first loved him

at a young age.

God inspired him to write many songs.

You remember, if you remember the children's dress

I did here some weeks ago in Psalm 14,

when it talked about,

that the Lord looks down from heaven

upon the children and men

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek God.

They've all turned aside.

They have together become corrupt.

There's none who does good.

No, not one.

Not even David.

And yet he said he loves God.

He loves the Lord.

And that was David.

But he was one of those none.

He was not righteous before the living God.

He was a sinner just like you and I.

But now,

as a saved sinner,

he loves the Lord.

You here this morning,

remember,

he was inspired to write Psalm 23.

Another five word.

The Lord is my shepherd.

Now,

here in our text,

it's not from Psalm 23,

or 32 I should say,

but from my bowls.

I love the Lord

because.

It's very revealing when you think about it.

It's very revealing when you think about it.

Because why

does he love the Lord?

Well,

if you've got Psalm 32

open in your Bibles,

you'll see

he loves the Lord

for who he is.

That's the first thing.

Not for what he's done first,

but for who he is.

David knows him

as the creator

of the heavens

and the earth,

the sea

and the skies

and every living soul

that breathes.

Every living creature.

He's the sustainer.

He's the controller.

He has everything

under his sovereign hand.

He's the one

who makes the sun to rise

and the moon to rise

and set.

The rain to fall,

the dust to rise.

He keeps the great oceans

within its bounds

that he has set.

Yes,

he's the creator.

He's the sustainer.

Psalm 24,

if you have a look at that,

it says here

in this verse

one and two,

the earth is the Lord's

and all its fullness,

the world

and those

who dwell therein,

for he has founded it

upon the seas

and established it

upon the waters.

Down in verse seven,

lift up your heads,

O your gates,

and be lifted up,

your everlasting doors,

and the king of glory

shall come in.

Who is this king of glory?

The Lord strong

and mighty,

the Lord mighty

in battle.

Lift up your heads,

O your gates.

Lift up your

everlasting doors,

and the king of glory

shall come in.

Who is this king of glory?

The Lord of hosts.

He is the king of glory.

David knew him

as he is

the king of glory.

He knows the Lord

and the Lord knows him.

He knows every word

and thought and deed

that King David

ever committed.

David loves the Lord

for who he is

and he loves the Lord

for what he has done.

You remember

about that

wrong bias?

You can be

balding the same ball.

You can look

as though you're

approaching the bat

the same way.

You can get down

and you balde smoothly off

and you forget to check

and the ball goes

away from

where it's designed

to go.

You remember

the occasion

of David's wrong bias,

particularly wrong bias.

in 2 Samuel 11,

there was David.

He should have been

out on the battlefield

but he wasn't

and he's just

walking around

his parapet

and he happened

to glance over

the side

and what happened?

He sees this beautiful

married woman

down there

naked,

Bathsheba.

Instead of walking away,

he gets his servants

to go and get that woman.

And he commits adultery

with that woman

and sends her back

to her house.

And a few months later

she tells him,

sends a message

and says,

I'm pregnant.

I'm carrying your child.

And so what's he going

to do?

He calls her husband

out of the army.

He's fighting the battles.

He's fighting

King David's battles

and he calls him

to come home

and David gives him

a feast,

asks him about the battle

and then says,

well, you go back

to your own house now

and then go back

to the battle

but he wouldn't do it.

He said, no.

He said, all the armies

are in tents.

He said, I'm not going to go.

He just slept there

with the servants.

David tried to get him

to do it a couple of times

but he wouldn't do it

and eventually

David writes a note.

He sends it off

to Joab,

his commander,

and he says,

put this man,

Uriah,

in the forefront

of the battle

and leave him

and of course

Uriah gets killed.

David not only

committed adultery,

tried to cover it up,

commits murder

and after this lady

has mourned

for his loss

for husband,

he takes this lady

for his own wife.

He thinks he can

get away with it

but everybody knows.

His servants

knew what he had done.

No doubt

his other wives knew.

Women seemed

to know these things.

His children

must have known.

God knew

and he sent Nathan

the prophet along

and this child

is born to David

and Bathsheba

and Nathan

comes along

and he tells him

this story

about this rich man

had all his sheep

and the poor man

had one little

ewe lamb

and the rich man

wanted to put on

a feast for somebody

so he took

the one little

ewe lamb

and killed it

and David

as the king

was incensed

he said

he should die

and Nathan said

you are the man.

You are the man.

It cost David,

it cost Bathsheba

the death

of their child.

But you know

God in his mercy

reinstated

this child

of his.

David was a believer

he had a wrong bias

and he committed

a great sin

and a great crime

and so David

writes

a psalm

psalm.

Some believe

that this

psalm

comes after

Psalm 51

not chronological order

in the scriptures

here

but it comes

after Psalm 51

you remember

Psalm 51

where David

confesses his sin

he says

Lord

I was born in sin

and shapen

and iniquity

and in sin

did my mother

conceive me

he said

against you

and you only

have I sinned

and done this

evil in your sight

he didn't say

against Uriah

he didn't say

against Bathsheba

he didn't say

against his family

and friends

and against the

nation

but his first

thought was

against God

he'd sinned

and done this

evil in his sight

and then David

later on

writes this

psalm

he loves

the Lord

because

blessed is he

whose transgression

is forgiven

whose sin

is covered

blessed is the man

to whom the Lord

does not impute

iniquity

and in whose spirit

there is no guile

or no deceit

so David

loves the Lord

because he

has been

forgiven

but he also

loves the Lord

for what he

is

he is

doing

now look at

psalm 32

and verse 6

for this cause

everyone who

is godly

shall pray

to you

in the time

when you

may be found

surely in a

flood of great

waters

they shall not

come near him

you are my

hiding place

you shall preserve

me from trouble

you shall surround

me with songs

of deliverance

David knows

this great

work

that's going

that God

is doing

in him

and for him

he prays

to the Lord

he's not

worried about

all the attacks

that are going

to come upon

him

because he

knows he

has a hiding

place in his

God

and he loves

the Lord

for where

he will be

for all

eternity

in psalm 23

we all know

it ends up

with

and I shall

be in the

house of the

Lord

forever

so David

had great

cause to

say

I love

the Lord

because

but myself

I love

the Lord

because

one of the

reasons I put

it on my

bowels

because it

has so much

meaning for

me

I love

the Lord

because he

heard my

cry and my

supplication

because he

inclined his

ear unto me

therefore I'll

call upon him

all the days

of my life

what a blessing

that has been

to me

Vine says

love

love

can only

be known

by the

action it

prompts

I was like

David

a sinner

against the

holy God

but now

I am saved

by his

grace

and I too

thank him

for who he is

for what he's

done on the

cross

and going to

Calvary

and bearing my

sins and

iniquities

in his body

on that tree

by going to

the grave

and rising

again

and ascending

on high

and forgiving

my sins

I thank him

and I love

him for what

he is doing

interceding

in my life

providing all

my needs

according to

his riches

in glory

and he's

working in me

to will

and to do

of his good

pleasure

I thank him

and praise him

and love him

for the assurance

that I will be

with him

and all his

people in

heaven forever

you remember

Romans 8

1 says

there is therefore

now no condemnation

to those that are

in Christ Jesus

for the law

of the spirit

of life

in Christ Jesus

made me free

from the law

of sin and death

in verses 28

through 30

all things

work together

for good

to those

who love God

to those

who are called

according to his

purpose

and you know

that's

that's the reason

why

I love

the Lord

but I do

put down

some wrong

biases

I must tell

you

people at

Bowles

when I do

it at Bowles

they all

give a big

shout

they all

name and

shame me

but in

real life

I do put

down

wrong

biases

and I

have to

pay the

price

when I

sin

true love

for the

Lord

shows

itself

in

heartfelt

repentance

and a

renewed

love

for

Christ

you remember

in 1 John

it says

if we

confess

our sins

he's

faithful

and just

to forgive

us our

sins

and cleanse

us from

all

unrighteousness

Gareth

reminded the

children about

that this

morning

I love

the Lord

for his

word

his word

is a lamp

under my

feet and

a light

under my

path

I love

the assembly

of his

people

you here

today

as we

come to

worship him

in spirit

and in

truth

I love

telling other

people

about the

mercies

of the

Lord

when that

man picked

up my

bold

and asked

me what

that

PS116

was

I said

I love

the Lord

because that

was the

end of the

conversation

with him

but there

will be

other

opportunities

and I

hope I'll

be able to

tell him

about the

love of

Christ

I was

no king

but now

I am a

king and

priest

and God

and I

love the

Lord

because

of all

this

but the

big question

this morning

is

King David

is not

here

I'm here

but I'm

on my

way out

but what

about you

do you

love the

Lord

because

I mean

it's a

very personal

question

isn't it

one day

we're all

going to

have to

stand before

the living

God

and we

are going

to have

to give

an account

of our

lives

the only

ones that

are going

to heaven

are those

who love

the Lord

Jesus

who are

first loved

by him

and then

love him

for all

eternity

the only

ones going

to heaven

are those

who have

been shown

their sins

and their

need of

repentance

and faith

and they've

got down

on their

knees

and they've

said

Lord

forgive me

my sin

is against

you

and you

only have

a sin

and done

this evil

in your

sight

and let

me tell

you

until God

convicts

you that

your sin

your lies

your deceit

and all

those other

things that

you do

that are

contrary to

God's will

unless you

see that

they're against

the holy

God

you'll never

see your

sin

whilst ever

we compare

ourselves with

other people

and try to

say well I'm

not as bad

as they are

you'll have

a wrong

bias all

the time

you'll never

come to

Christ

but we

really need

to see that

this sin

is against

the holy

God

before whom

we will

stand

and when

he asked

you why

should I

let you

into my

kingdom

what are

you going

to say

oh I

wasn't as bad

as the other

blokes

I never

committed

adultery

I never

murdered

anybody

I must

told a

few

lies

stretched

the truth

a bit

and may

have been

a bit

deceitful

and probably

didn't honour

my father

and my mother

I ought to

have done

and I

didn't worry

about you

know meeting

on Sundays

with the people

he said

you know

the kids

were playing

sport

it was more

important

for me

to take

to the

sport

more

important

to have

the family

barbecue

more

important

to meet

with the

family

than to

come to

church

but I'm

not a

bad

bloke

well let

me tell

you it

won't cut

the mustard

I think

that was

the saying

I don't

know what

the saying

is today

but it

won't pass

the pub

test

it won't

pass

the Lord

love can

only be

known by

the action

it prompts

so

unbeliever

do you

love the

Lord for

the simple

reason

you don't

love the

Lord for

the simple

reason that

you don't

know him

now

you don't

have a

personal

relationship

with him

you're still

in your

sin and

without God

and without

hope in

this world

or that

to come

you're

alienated

from the

household of

God

your only

hope is

escaping

God's

wrath

is

eternity

in hell

and eternity

in hell

is to be

found in

the love

and mercy

of God

himself

so fall

on your

knees

turn your

heart

towards

him

have

your

bias

towards

him

who

loved

the world

so much

that he

gave

himself

and you'll

know

the joy

of having

sins

forgiven

past

present

and future

and then

and only

then will

you be

able to

say

with

King

David

and me

and all

other

sinners

here today

I love

the Lord

because

let's

pray

father we're

grateful to

be here

to know

that there

is a

God

who reigns

over all

things

the creator

of all

things

the sustainer

of all

things

the one

who

gives us

every breath

that we

breathe

the one

who knows

our thoughts

and the

intents of

our hearts

and yet

you

send a

word like

this today

to encourage

the believer

to continue

to love

the Lord

to have a

bias towards

him continually

and to

stay as

close as

possible

to the

Lord

Jesus

to love

his word

and to

love his

people

but Lord

you've also

given hope

to those

who today

even in

this very

room

who don't

know you

that today

is the day

of salvation

today if

they hear

his voice

as they

have done

let them

not harden

their hearts

but turn

to you

to bow

the knee

to you

and to

acknowledge

their sin

before you

and to

say

Lord

forgive me

and Father

to hear

your voice

and to hear

the voice

of the Lord

Jesus on

the cross

saying Father

forgive them

for they

know not

what they

do

and oh

Lord

may each

of these

who have

come here

unsaved

know the

joy of

your

salvation

and they

may rejoice

forever

with the

saints in

glory

for Christ's

sake

Amen