The Short Psalm With the Wide Span

Now we're going to begin worship singing in Psalm 108, that's on page 146, and the

tune is Stuttgart, singing verses 1 to 7.

We'll sing to the double verse 7, down to I will measure with my hand.

O Lord God, my heart is steadfast, and with all my soul I'll sing. Harp and lyre I will awaken, and my song the dawn will bring.

These verses to the end of verse 7, and if you can stand, please stand to sing.

O Lord God, my heart is steadfast, and with all my soul I'll sing.

Harp and lyre I will awaken, and my song the dawn will bring.

Lord my heart among the nations, I will ever give you praise.

In the midst of all the peoples, I will sing of you always.

Lord, whose steadfast love is one less, greater than the heavens high.

But your faithfulness towards us reaches even to the sky.

God, my heart of the highest heavens, be exalted, O my God.

And through all the earth, the earth, let your glory tread abroad.

God, my heart of the highest heavens, be exalted, O my God.

I will distribute in triumph, every part of Chicken's land.

And the whole of Sacrothed Valley, I will measure with my hand.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Now let's pray together.

We're praying especially for the young ones, for the tweenies, and for the Sunday school particularly.

Lord, our God, we thank you for these reminders and your word that we are here to glorify your name, to sing praises to you, to call upon your name, to read your word, and to hear its meaning.

Amen.

We thank you today, O Lord, that we have this privilege, this opportunity given to us once again.

Amen.

Amen.

We thank you for the freedom that we have to gather here to worship you together this morning.

Amen.

Amen.

Bless us, we pray, each one of us.

Amen.

Bless us together as a congregation.

Amen.

We pray today for our young ones.

We ask, Lord, that you would bless them.

Bless them as they receive the teaching of your word from week to week and day to day.

Bless them here today and bless them in their own families and in the various ways in which they receive the teaching that is necessary for them to grow morally and spiritually in a way that is appropriate and pleasing to you.

And we ask, O Lord, that you would protect them, that you would shield them with your own power, with your own guidance and strength from the many things that are in the world that would seek to draw them away from God and from his word.

And we ask that you would graciously, Lord, hear us as we pray for them.

And in all of these things, we pray that they will grow up to be a people who will glorify your name and publicly proclaim you as their Lord and their God.

Hear us now, we pray, and pardon our sin for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Now, yesterday was called April Fool's Day.

I don't know where April Fool's Day came from, how the practice actually started.

I try to look it up, as I do usually on Google for these sort of things.

But, you know, the origin where it started is really unclear.

So we don't know where April Fool's Day really came from, from the practice.

But April Fool's Day is a time when people try to have some pranks or jokes against others, hopefully good ones, hopefully ones that are not harmful.

But April Fool's Day has been about that down through the years.

Now, the word fool in the Bible is actually used over 80 times throughout the Bible.

Many of them are in the book of Psalms, and especially in the book of Proverbs, which is a book to do with wisdom and learning wisdom and the importance of wisdom.

And the way the Bible uses the word fool is not so much stupidity as such.

It's actually to do more with not having wisdom or not wanting the wisdom that God Himself wants to give us and gives us in His Word.

And I've got three places in the Bible where the word fool is used.

And I want you to try and remember these because they're very simple verses, but they're very important.

And you can find many others as well.

First of all, in Psalms 14 and 53, if you look at the first verse of each of these Psalms, you'll find them exactly the same,

which says, the fool says in his heart, there is no God.

So there is God telling us that people who actually say there is no God, God does not exist.

The Bible says they lack wisdom.

They have that foolishness that just wants to ignore God, ignore His Word, and therefore live without the advantage of that teaching.

So remember, whenever you hear somebody saying, God does not exist.

I don't believe in God.

I don't believe He exists.

Well, go to the Bible, see what God thinks of that, pray for them.

But remember, God is saying that's foolishness.

That's lack of wisdom.

That's really closing your mind to the things that are really important.

That's the first place in the Bible, Psalms 14 and 53.

The fool says in his heart, there is no God.

Secondly, Proverbs 18 and verse 2.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

You come across people like that, don't you, in life?

All they want to do is tell you what they think themselves and insist that what they think themselves must be right.

And they're closed their minds, their ears to every other opinion.

Even if you keep talking to them and try and get them off that track, all they'll do is just come back with the same stuff.

Well, the Bible calls that foolishness.

It takes no pleasure in understanding.

One of the things that is really important for us, whether we're young ones or older ones, is that we try and always add to our understanding.

That we give our minds especially to the things the Bible teaches us so that our understanding grows.

Our understanding about God, understanding about why things are as they are in the world,

understanding about ourselves, understanding about Jesus, why Jesus came, what Jesus did, where Jesus is now.

Understanding these things is so important.

That's why the Bible is saying that a fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

And one of the important things there is that we learn to listen.

Not just to talk all the time, expressing our own opinion and our own view of things.

That's what foolishness does.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding.

So that's two.

The third one is in the New Testament in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Here's a story about somebody who was rich, somebody who actually had a lot of ground,

and that ground produced a lot more and kept on producing.

What did he say to himself?

He said, I'll build bigger barns.

I'll store all this stuff.

And I'll say to my soul, relax.

You've got all this laid up for many years.

Just take your time.

Enjoy life.

God said to him, you fool.

Tonight, your soul is required of you.

And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

You see, when God calls anybody a fool, we should really listen to what that is saying.

Because here is God saying to us, life is not about how many things we possess.

Life is not about just relaxing and taking it easy.

Life is about preparing for eternity, for the future.

And especially for the time that we leave this world and need to go to eternity.

God said to him, you fool.

Tonight, your soul will be required of you.

That man was going to die that very night.

And he wasn't ready to die.

He was just looking at the things he had all around him.

And God said, you're a fool.

Think of the things that you've laid up.

Who is going to possess them?

So, these are three places in the Bible.

See if you can find other places.

You can ask your teachers or leaders other places in the Bible where the word fool is used.

And you'll find that it's mostly along the same lines as these three verses.

So, let's now say the Lord's Prayer together.

Amen.

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Now, our next Psalm of Praise, Psalm 67.

Psalm 67 in the Scottish Psalter.

That's on page 300.

And that's the first version of the Psalm.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Shine on us with thy face.

That the earth, thy way, and nations all may know thy saving grace.

So, all the Psalms we're singing today have to do with the gospel going out throughout the world.

Or God's call to the whole world to come and put their trust in him.

So, Psalm 67 is the same.

The earth, thy fruit shall yield.

Our God shall blessing send.

God shall us bless.

Men shall him fear unto earth's utmost end.

Psalm 67.

The tune this time is Selma.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Shine on us with thy face.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Shine on us with thy face.

Love the earth, thy way, and nations all may know thy saving grace.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Shine on us with thy face

Love the earth, thy way, and nations all

May know thy saving grace

Let people praise thee, Lord

Let people all be praised

O let the nations be found

In songs their voices raise

Love justly people judge

Honor and rule nations all

Let people praise thee, Lord

Let them praise thee, Lord

Great and small

The earth, her fruit shall heal

Her God shall bless his name

God shall not bless, men shall end here

Unto earth that was paid

Now, our reading from God's Word today

is from Paul's letter to the Romans

Romans 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

and reading the verses 1 to 13

So Romans chapter 15 and from the beginning

Romans 15 · chapter mention

We who are strong have an obligation

to bear with the failings of the weak

and not to please ourselves

Let each of us please his neighbour for his good

to build him up

For Christ did not please himself

But as it is written

The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me

For whatever was written in former days

was written for our instruction

That through endurance

and through the encouragement of the Scriptures

we might have hope

May the God of endurance and encouragement

grant you to live in such harmony with one another

in accord with Christ Jesus

That together you may with one voice

glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Therefore welcome one another

as Christ has welcomed you

for the glory of God

For I tell you that Christ became a servant

to the circumcised

to show God's truthfulness

in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs

and in order that the Gentiles

might glorify God for his mercy

As it is written

Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles

and sing to your name

And again it is said

Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people

And again

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles

And let all the peoples extol him

And again Isaiah says

The root of Jesse will come

Even he who arises to rule the Gentiles

In him will the Gentiles hope

May the God of hope

Fill you with all joy and peace in believing

So that by the power of the Holy Spirit

You may abound in hope

Amen

May God bless

A reading of that portion of his word

Let's call upon him again in prayer

Let's pray

Amen

O Lord our God

We give thanks for the hope

That you have brought into being

Through your resurrection from the dead

We bless you today

That that is the foundation

Of your people's hope

For you tell us in your word

And our own experience tells us

That the things of this world

Cannot be foundational

To a proper and lasting hope

A hope that will be fulfilled

Ultimately in heaven

O Lord our God

We thank you today

For the reality

Of those things

For which we give you praise

We thank you

That they are

As real to your people

As anything that they can see

Physically in this life

And we bless you Lord

That you have provided them for us

In your own salvation

So that we might live

As your people

So that we might

Not only praise you ourselves

But that we might

Promote your great name

And that we might seek

That the gospel

Would reach forth into the world

With this great message of hope

And we thank you today

That the gospel is

Being sounded forth

We pray that it may increase

More and more

O Lord

So that many will come

Even today

To hear

For the first time

And especially to hear

Savingly

Of the hope

Of eternal life

In the Lord Jesus Christ

We thank you Lord

Today that

He came into this world

Specifically

To die

And to rise again

From the dead

Three days later

And we give thanks

That he is now

At the right hand of glory

That he ministers

To his people

Through his spirit

And Lord

We ask that today

We may know

Of that benefit

Of that ministry

For ourselves

Bless us here today

As a congregation

We pray

Bless all those

Who are with us

Who are visiting

At this time

Be pleased to

Bless them

In their time

With us

And with their families

Bless all those

Who are away from us

As well at this time

Be pleased

O Lord

To be with them

And to accompany them

In their time of holiday

Be with our children

As they take a break

From school

And with our teachers

Too

As they look forward

To time off

We pray

Lord

That you would

Refresh them

That you would

Further encourage them

And give them

Lord

More and more

To know of

The faithfulness

Of God himself

Who is true

To all his promises

And who will never

Let his people

Other than

Have his promises

Fulfilled for them

We ask Lord

Today

That you would

Bless us

As a congregation

We pray

Your blessing

For all age groups

That we represent

As a congregation

And we ask

That in all our

Variety of need

Lord

That you would

Be pleased

To provide us

With your blessing

Lord

We need your blessing

For every step of life

We need your blessing

Even from the youngest days

Through to our old age

We thank you

That your blessing

Is assured

And brought to us

In your word

As that which is

Guaranteed

To all those

Who place their trust

In you

We ask oh Lord

That as we have

Been reading

And as we're thinking

Today of the gospel

Going forth into the world

That the nations

May come under

The rule of Christ

We pray that your kingdom

Will indeed come

That your will

Be done on earth

As it is in heaven

And we ask

That you would

Enable us to

Continue to pray

In that regard

And not to lose heart

Or be discouraged

As we find Lord

So much around us

That is opposed to you

So much that is closed

To the demands of God

To the rights

And the claims

Of Christ himself

As Lord

We pray oh Lord

That you would

Continue to encourage

Your people

To reach forth

And to continue

To pray

For the turning around

Of the world

In which we live

And we ask today

Oh Lord

That you would

Grant blessing

To us as a nation

We pray that in these

Challenging times

That you would bless

Those who govern us

For you have required

Of us Lord

That we constantly

Bear in mind

And pray for those

Who rule over us

And we do pray

For them Lord

Today

Whatever our

Political persuasions

May be

You have called upon us

To pray

For those in authority

That we may live

Peaceable lives

That we may have

The gospel

Advantageously

Given

That place

In our minds

And in our lives

And we ask

Oh Lord

That you would bless

Therefore

Those who are in

Government over us

In Scotland

And in Westminster

We pray for them

We pray for

Our first minister

We pray for

Our prime minister

We ask that you

Bless their cabinets

We pray that

Lord you would

Give them that wisdom

To look to you

And to look to your word

To regard the things

Of God

As of utmost importance

To give place

To your laws

And your precepts

Gracious Lord

We long for the day

When we will find

Righteousness

Marking us

And exalting us

Again as a people

We pray that that

May be our great

Concern as your people

That we will see

Righteousness restored

In our midst

As a nation

And that truth

Will no longer

Be fallen in the streets

We ask Lord

That you would

Give those who

Rule over us

A regard for truth

Not their own

Version of the truth

Not their own

Political party's

Version of the truth

But the truth

Of your word

The truth of the gospel

The truth of your laws

The truth of those

Things that are firm

And sure

And that are given

To us as a people

For our betterment

And for our

Our wholeness

And the things of life

We pray your blessing

Today for those

Who are

Today grieving

Who miss loved ones

For whom

The reality of death

Is a present

Experience in their families

Bless them we pray

We ask that your blessing

Will be with all those

Who look upon

Times gone by

As times of

Sorrow and bereavement

And loss

Oh Lord today

We pray that

You would again

Enable them to

Know your encouragement

To know the direction

And the comfort

Of your word

And to realize

Oh God again

That you are

At all times

Faithful and worthy

To be trusted in

Remember those

Of our number

Who are in hospital

At this time

Who are ill

In care homes

Or at home

We pray for them

Oh Lord

We ask that you

Be pleased

To bless them

We think especially

Oh Lord

In these days

Of the Graham family

William and Morag

And William's time

In hospital

We pray for him

For his recovery

Pray for Morag

As she supports him

And for the family

We ask oh Lord

That you'd bless them

In the days to come

Be pleased to hear

All those who are

Praying for them

We ask too

That you'd bless those

Oh Lord

Of the congregation

Who have bad news

In recent times

Who have difficult

Challenges now to face

In regard to their health

We pray

That you'd bless them

And encourage them too

And we do ask oh Lord

That you would

Graciously help us all

Whenever the turnings

Of life

Are difficult

And challenging for us

Help us to turn to you

Help us to turn

To your cross

To your death

To your resurrection

To your person

Help us to draw

All our encouragement

From the Christ

Who knows us

Who knows our position

So well

Who is able to

Give us support

In all our circumstances

So help us Lord

We pray to take

All our concerns

To your throne

Of grace

That we may obtain mercy

And find grace

To help

In time of need

We ask oh Lord

Now that you would

Continue to bless us here

And we pray

That as we turn

To your word

Once again

So we may know

The guidance

The instruction

Of your spirit

Coming to lay your word

Upon our hearts

Giving us to be

To rejoice

And to be glad

That you are God

And to take us

As your people

Here as we pray

Pardoning our sin

For Jesus' sake

Amen

Let's sing once again

Before we turn

To God's word

We're singing this

In this time

Psalm 86

Psalm 86

In the Scottish Psalter

Page 341

Verses 6 to 11

And the tune is

Ayrshire

Hear Lord

My prayer

And to the voice

Of my request

Attend

In troublous times

I'll call on thee

For thou wilt

Answer send

Lord there is none

Among the gods

That may with thee

Compare

And like the works

Which thou hast done

Not any work

Is there

Psalm 86

Psalms 86:6–11

Verses 6 to 11

To God's praise

Hear Lord

My prayer

Unto the voice

Of my request

Lord there is none

Among the gods

But there is none

Among the gods

That may with thee

That may with thee

Compare

And like the works

Which thou hast done

Not any work is there

All the ancient truth

All the ancient truth

Thou hast done

And worship reverently

And worship reverently

Before thy face

A day O Lord

Thy name shall glorify

Because the Lord

Because the Lord

Exceeding day

And works by thee

Are done

Which are to thee

And my love

And my love

And my love

But God

Thou hast

Thou shalt

Alone

In thee

I pray

And in thy truth

O Lord

Then what will I

And in thy truth

O Lord

Then what will I

Unite my heart

Thou die thy dear

Then what will I

And in thy life

And in my heart

And in thy life

And in thy life

And in thy life

Now please turn with me

To the book of Psalms

The book of Psalms

The book of Psalms

And Psalm 117

Psalm 117

In the book of Psalms

Psalm 117 in the book of Psalms

Praise the Lord all nations

Extol him all peoples

For great is his steadfast love towards us

And the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever

Praise the Lord

Well you'll be aware I'm sure that this is the shortest psalm in length

In the whole of the Psalter

But while it is the shortest psalm in length

It is one of the broadest in width

Because it encompasses all the nations in the call that goes out from it

To praise the Lord

Praise the Lord all nations

Extol him all peoples

And that has a significance for ourselves that goes on in its significance and importance

Because it's not just a call to all the nations

As we'll see it's a call that goes out from God

To incorporate ourselves in the praising of God

As well as to have that actually go out to the nations

And we can think of these things as we sing this short psalm

It's important always to think through the things that we're singing

Even if we're very familiar with them

And of course being very familiar with the Psalms as we are

The danger with that is that we'll sing just like a kind of rote or parrot fashion

We know the words, we sing them through

And they slip out of our minds without really thinking deeply of what they mean

And it's so important for us that whenever we sing praise to God

That we're thinking deeply of the words we're singing

Of the meaning they carry

And of how we apply that to ourselves

The psalm is used as we saw when we read through Romans 15 earlier

The psalm is used there

And it's used there in regard to all the nations coming to share

In the Old Testament promises to God's people

So there's no longer the Jewish people

It has now come to incorporate the Gentiles

Which we are, most of us were, and are, other than Jewish people

But now all peoples are being incorporated into the church of God

To sing His praises, to know His salvation in Jesus Christ

And it's fitting, I think, as we today think of Muriel

Our own Muriel who's here for only today's, her last Sunday with us

And we're going to finish our service today

A prayer specifically for Muriel as she returns to Cambodia

And this psalm is a psalm that Muriel knows very well, of course

Because she is one of those people who puts it into action

In terms of carrying the gospel and the teaching of the gospel

Through to other nations as well

Such as in Cambodia, where she shortly will be going back to

So let's look at this psalm very briefly

Here's a single directive and also two reasons

A single directive or call to all people to praise the Lord

Praise the Lord all nations

Extol Him all peoples

It's leaving nobody out

It's not leaving any nation out

Any people of any background

That's the first thing

There's a single call or directive to all peoples to praise God

Secondly, it gives us two reasons

Why the Lord's people especially should praise Him

Because here are the people of Israel

The Lord's covenant people

And in verse 2 you find the two reasons

He gives for praising Him

First of all, great is His steadfast love towards us

And secondly, the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever

In other words, these are two primary topics

In the reasons why we are called to praise the Lord

We are called to praise the Lord

Because of His steadfast love to His people

And because He is always continually faithful towards us

Well, look first of all at this call

Or this directive to all people to praise the Lord

Now that of course anticipates the New Testament itself

The call that goes out from the New Testament

For example, Acts chapter 17

Acts 17 · chapter mention

You'll recall that that's the great chapter of Paul in Athens

And Paul addressing the heathen pagan people of Athens

Bringing them the message of the gospel

And wonderfully working that through into how he addresses them

But in verse 30 of Acts chapter 17

Acts 17 · chapter mention

In verse 17 you find the apostles saying

That we must not think that the Lord is like gold or silver and stone

Formed by the art and imagination of man

The times of ignorance God overlooked

But now He commands all people everywhere to repent

Because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness

By a man whom He has appointed

And of this He has given assurance to all

By raising Him from the dead

In other words, the resurrection of Jesus is fitted in exactly and foundationally

To the call of the gospel

To go out to all the nations

In order to come and place their trust and their confidence in this Christ

To repent of sin and to turn to Him believingly

In the Old Testament in the likes of Psalm 117 has become

If you like embodied in the person of Christ

As the basis of this great call of the gospel

To come, repent of our sin and turn to the Lord and praise the Lord

In other words, Paul is incorporating Psalm 117

Not just to actually give us a reminder that the gospel must go forth to all the Gentiles

As well as having come to the Jews already

It incorporates a mandate for our evangelism

Psalm 117 is magnificently evangelistic

Because there you have an Old Testament passage

Into which you find Jesus

Placed by the apostle in the likes of the chapter we read in Romans 15

But that comes home to ourselves

Because as we'll see the reasons why we have to call upon all people

To praise the Lord

It's all to do with Christ

He has raised Him from the dead

This Jesus who died on the cross

And this is the mandate we have

To go forth with the gospel

To call upon all people to come and place their trust, their confidence in God

Now I know what you're saying

You're immediately saying

Well, when you go out with that gospel

You meet with this kind of opposition

This kind of response

Why should I trust in your God?

Why should your God be better than any other God?

Why should it not be the God Muslims believe in?

Why should it not be Buddhism?

Why should it not be atheism?

Well, we as a people, as a Christian people

Believe in freedom of religion

We believe that people, as they choose whichever God

Or no God at all to believe in or to trust in

That's a freedom given them

In the way that we, as a nation

Have freedom of religion as an important concept

We are not in the business of forcing people to believe what we believe

What we would want them to believe

Nevertheless, that means

That does not mean that freedom of religion

Does not mean in our multi-faith setting

That we ought not to evangelize

That it's actually wrong in some way or other

To try and get people of other religions

Or no religion at all

To come and place their trust in Jesus Christ

We believe that we are not in the way

We believe that we are not in the way

We believe that we are not in the way

We believe that we are not in the way

We believe that we are not in the way

No one comes to the Father except through Him

And because that is the case

We have that mandate to go forth and to evangelize

And to actually call upon the world to come

And place their trust and their confidence

In this God, in this Jesus, in this Savior

And that is where we come across the idea that is very current at the moment

Which is called conversion therapy

And you will find a clamor for the introduction of laws

Which would ban so-called conversion therapy

Now that gives the impression that when we are thinking of conversion as Christians

We are thinking of forcing people into believing what we believe

I was across at the Nicholson a couple of weeks ago there

And one of the questions, there were very many questions the class was asking

I was talking about what it is to be a Christian minister

What does a minister do?

And amongst the many, many good questions that the pupils had

One was this

Would you force an atheist to believe what you believe?

And of course my response to that was

No, we don't force anyone to believe

Whether they are atheists or otherwise

We don't force anybody to believe what we believe

We don't force anybody to believe in Christ

In fact, we couldn't anyway

And if we tried to do it, it would just be damaging

Remember your catechism, children maybe

Your catechism

Catechism 31

What is effectual calling?

It's one of the ones I dreaded being asked to repeat in Sunday school

Because it's the longest

I think in the whole of the catechism

And especially when you are learning it in Gaelic

It wasn't easy to remember it

Nevertheless, it was so useful to remember it

Because effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit

And then it goes on to tell us what's involved in effectual calling

That's God calling us and uniting us to Jesus for our salvation

And what the Spirit of God does in our hearts when He does that

When we are effectually called is

He convinces us of our sin and misery

He instructs or enlightens our mind in the knowledge of Christ

And He renews our will

Three things

Three things, the threefold elements of our effectual calling

But the third one is what's important for us just now

When we are saying we don't force people

Or try to force people into being Christians

And to believe in what we believe

God when He comes to actually bring us to know Himself

He doesn't force our minds

He renews our minds

And your mind is never as free

As it is when God sets it free

And don't listen to the things that you find out in the world

There are people that say

Actually you Christians are the ones with the closed minds

You're not prepared to listen to other alternatives

Yes, we've tried all the alternatives

We know what the alternatives are

They're not the way, the truth and the life

But Jesus is, the Lord is

His death is, His resurrection is

His return to judge the world

Is part of all that we come to believe in

How do we come to believe in it?

Not because somebody forces our minds

But because God renews our mind

He opens our mind

He gives us a mind that we didn't have before

And when you come to have your mind renewed by the Holy Spirit

What does the Catechon go on to say?

Thereby, He persuades and enables us

To embrace Jesus Christ

As He is offered in the Gospel

It's not my business today

To try and force anybody here to become a Christian

To actually be converted

To come to believe in Christ

My business is to preach the Gospel that says

Here is God's call to come to trust in Jesus

Here is God's provision in the cross

And in the resurrection of Christ

Trust in Him

Place your faith in Him

Whether you do that or not

Is your responsibility

I can't force you

Not what I want to force you

But I can try

To persuasively present Christ to you

And your need of Christ

And all that is in Christ that you have to do without

When you don't accept Him

When you don't present

When you don't have

As He presents Himself to you

When you don't receive Him

And trust in Him

So we are not in the business of forcing minds

And that is an important matter

In the current day and age in which we live

Now this psalm is really saying to us

Actually that God's kingship

Extends over the whole of creation

Now it doesn't matter whether you or I

Or hundreds or millions of people

Would come to actually not acknowledge that

When we would come and say

Well I don't believe in that

I don't want that

Well that's fine

It doesn't actually do anything

To displace this truth

This still remains true

However many people choose not to believe it

God is still the king

God still reigns

You and I are still answerable to God

Whether people choose to believe otherwise

Or you and I choose to believe it or not

Praise the Lord

All peoples

He has a universal right

To be praised

And that means

Praised by you and by me individually as well

How can it possibly

Be cruel

Or intolerable

To present a God who is essentially good

Who calls us to eternal life

Who calls upon us to leave our ways of sin

And enter the ways of righteousness

How can that be cruelty?

You know the cruelty would be

If I stood in a pulpit today and said

There are big chunks of the Bible

You don't need to believe anymore

That's cruelty

That's intolerable

That's just providing people with a cushion

On which they can sleep all the way through life

And then wake up to the reality and eternity in hell

Praise the Lord

All you nations

God's rights

Extend over all human life

Over all human beings

And what we have to constantly remember of course

Is that

There is no greater privilege given to us

Than to know God

And to praise God

It's such an immense privilege

We can't possibly take it in

In our own puny minds

But it is such an immense privilege

That God

Brings us to know himself

And to know why he is worthy of our praise

And that takes us to our second point

There are two reasons why the Lord's people

Should praise him

First of all

For his steadfast love

The greatest of steadfast love toward us

Now you know that

The steadfast love of the Lord

Often mentioned in the Old Testament

This is an important word

It's a covenant word

It's a word that means love

But love that's steadfast

Or in the Old Word

Which I think is also good

The Old AV word

Is loving kindness

It's not just love

In the sense of something that goes out

Without really affecting your life much

It's loving kindness

It's actually bringing you things

Which are beneficial

Which will actually be good for you

That's what the love of the Lord does

That's what the love of the Lord is

It is loving kindness

It is doing good

It is providing life

It is rescuing from death

The steadfast love

Of the Lord toward us

Is the first point

Why he calls upon us

To praise him

It's the foundation of

A covenant relationship

With himself

Where God

Comes to

Take us as his people

And we take him as our God

That's what

The essence

The core of

The covenant is

That God's people have with him

He is their God

And will be their God

They are his people

And will be his people

In other words

Great here

Is more than just

To do with size

The word in Hebrew

That's used here

Is the root of a word

That's used in the Old Testament

For warrior

For somebody as great

In might as a warrior

And what it means really

Is to prevail

It's used

Psalm 65

Psalms 65:3

Verse 3 for example

Our iniquities prevail against us

But as for our transgressions

You will atone for them

In other words

That's just saying

The power of sin is great

It has us in its grip

But Lord

You are the one

Who prevails over that

While sin prevails against us

You outdo that

In providing atonement for us

So this really is saying to us

The steadfast love of the Lord

Is great

It prevails

It conquers

What a wonderful emphasis

That is for you today

When you know the Lord

As your Savior

And as your God

You are placing your trust

In someone

Who has such a love

Such a commitment in love

Such a covenant love

As is mighty love

A love that can't possibly go wrong

A love that will achieve

Its objective

Come what may

Where has that been shown to us

Most clearly

Well it's in the death

And resurrection of Jesus

Isn't it?

God so loved the world

That he gave his only begotten son

That whoever believes in him

Should not perish

But have everlasting

Or eternal life

God has demonstrated his love to us

Paul says to the Romans

In that while we were yet sinners

Christ died for us

Who died for us?

Christ died for us

Who is Christ?

The Son of God

Does anyone doubt the love of God?

Does anyone doubt the power of God's love?

Does anyone doubt the mightiness

The all-mightiness

Of the steadfast love of the Lord

When you look at the cross

And you say

Not just that's love

But that's powerful love

That's love that conquers death

That's love that deals with sin

That's love that brings us righteousness

That love that atones for sin

That's the love that rescues

From the grip of death

Praise the Lord

All you peoples

Why?

Because his steadfast love toward us

Is great

The steadfast love of the Lord

Where are you today?

With regard to your relationship

To this truth or to this God

Do you know the steadfast love for yourself?

Are you trusting in a love

That's somehow less than this love?

A love that can never achieve

What this love has achieved for God's people?

His steadfast love toward us is great

And you know when

When I think of my own love

When you think of your own love

And when you think of how easily it's deflected

How often it fails

How often it wanes

How often it may grow cold

How often it fluctuates

What a huge advantage you have as a Christian

To know that your life

Is founded on and fed by

God's steadfast love

A love that does not change

A love that will be the same

For all eternity

Praise the Lord

Why?

For his steadfast love

His powerful love

His great love

Is great, it's powerful, it's mighty

Toward us

And then his faithfulness

Endures forever

And that of course is tied up with his love being steadfast

The faithfulness of God

And the love of God

Are aspects as we experience God

As our Saviour

Aspects of the same

Grace of God

Grace that flows from

His love

The grace, the kindness

And also the faithfulness of God

Here as well

Remember in Hebrews

Hebrews 10:23

Chapter 10 verse 23

You have an emphasis there on

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope

Without wavering

And sometimes you find these words are so challenging

Because you say, well, that must leave me out

Because I often waver in my hope

I don't have that same steady hope

In God and in his promises that I ought to have

How can I actually meet the terms of that verse that says

Let us not waver in hope

Well, the verse finishes

For he is faithful

Who has promised

Your continuance in hope

Living a hopeful life by faith in Christ

It's not based on the strength of your hope

Your hope is not based on itself

It's not based on your faithfulness

It's not based on the quality of your prayer life

It's not based on the quality of the congregation you belong to

Your hope is based on this

The faithfulness of God

Let us hold fast, he says

To the profession of our hope

The confession of our hope

Because he is faithful

And you can depend on that faithfulness

You can depend on that

But absolutely

And entirely throughout life

He is faithful

He is faithful

Who has promised

He says here

The faithfulness of the Lord

Endures forever

There's one great passage in the Bible

That I think is

A really tremendous passage in the context

And it's in the

Lamentations of Jeremiah

It's not a book perhaps that we

Very often refer to

Or preach from

But in chapter 3

Of Jeremiah

Remember Jeremiah had faced

The greatest disaster of his life

The arrival of the Babylonians

Who wrecked Jerusalem

Wrecked the temple

Took people captive

Plundered it

Absolutely devastated

Vandalized it

And here he is

In lamentations

Sitting down

And crying his heart out to God

Asking serious questions of God

And telling us about the depth of his sorrow

Then he comes in chapter 22

Of this verse

Of this chapter

Verse 22 of this chapter rather

My soul continually remembers it

My affliction and my wanderings

My soul is bowed down within me

But this I call to mind

And therefore I have hope

What does he call to mind?

What is it that gives him hope?

What is it that pierces the darkness

Of his agony at this time?

This is it

The steadfast love of the Lord

Never ceases

His mercies never come to an end

They are new every morning

Great is your faithfulness

The Lord is my portion

Says my soul

Therefore I will hope in him

I know it's easy to say

In pulpits

You know it doesn't matter what happens

In your life

God is steadfast

God is faithful

But that is true

And I have to apply it to my own life

And you have to apply it to yours

When the difficult times come

When the challenges come

When the pains come

When the afflictions come

When all of these things actually

Sometimes unexpectedly come upon us

What do we turn to?

What do we do then

In our grief of soul?

The steadfast love of the Lord

Is from everlasting to everlasting

We remind ourselves that God

Does not make mistakes

That God is always

As he says here

Faithful and steadfast

All through

And that we need to come

Anew to place our trust in him

And in his word that tells us

Now we need to take this back

To the beginning of the psalm

Here are the two points

The steadfast love of the Lord toward us

And the faithfulness of the Lord

Endures forever

The reasons why the Lord's people are to praise him

There are other reasons

But these are the two in the psalm

Now we take that back to the first verse

Praise the Lord all nations

Extol him all peoples

And you need to feed that

Feed that into the call of the gospel

Into the evangelistic exercises and endeavors of God's people

Why do you go out with the gospel?

Why are we concerned to actually bring the gospel to people around us in this town

Or wherever it is we belong?

What is it that we seek to convey to them?

What is it we seek to bring to them in seeking to instruct their minds meaningfully?

Well this

The steadfast love of God is great

And the faithfulness of God endures forever

Therefore come and place your trust in him

You see these are arguments that the Bible gives us

That we feed into our evangelism

And say this is the God we actually serve

And this is the God we commend to you

Not the God of the caricatures you find all too often in public life

But the God

Who loves and who is faithful

To the extent of giving his only begotten son

And raising him from the dead

That we might have hope

And so that's our task

Go he says

And make disciples of all nations

On the basis of what?

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me

This is Jesus shortly before his ascension

Therefore, therefore because this is who I am

Because these are the great truths of God

Go and make disciples of all nations

Baptizing them

In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit

Teaching them to observe

All things that I have commanded you

And lo, I am with you

To the end of the age

And that's a promise

And a fact

That's based on God's steadfast love and faithfulness

What is our great concern today?

What is your great concern?

Surely it is to know God for yourself

To be like those people

In John chapter 4

John 4 · chapter mention

To whom the woman of Samaria

Of Samaria

Spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ

That she had come to know

As she sat at that well

Near Sychar

Come and see a man

Who told me all things that ever I did

Can this not be the Christ?

So they went out of the town

And they believed in him

Many of them believed in him

And they said to the woman

Now we believe

Not just because of what you said

But we have heard him for ourselves

And know that this is indeed the Christ

The Saviour of the world

Now isn't that what you're saying?

You're not going to base your life

Merely on what someone else tells you

Not even from the pulpit

You're going to come to him for yourself

Aren't you?

You're going to listen to him for yourself

You're going to embrace him yourself

With your own mind

And with your own will

As God will enable you

And you're going to say

Well now I know

Now I believe

Now I accept him

Because I've come to know him

For myself

And may God bless these thoughts

On his word today to us

We're going to sing now to God's praise

Our final psalm today is Psalm 47

And that's on page 62

We're singing to a tune Warrington

Singing verses 1 to 9

That's the whole of Psalm 47

As you find it there on page 62

All nations

Clap your hands and shout

Let joyful cries to God ring out

How awesome is the Lord most high

Great King who rules the earth throughout

Psalm 47

And we'll sing the whole psalm

End

Time

On John还是 2 through 1, Psalm 49

And we'll sing the whole psalm

plopнее song

How awesome is the Lord most high,

With he through rules we e'er through love.

He hath subdued beneath our feet

The nations who hath been our foes

In blessing Jacob whom we love

The heaven is which for us he chose

God hath gone up with showers of joy

The Lord hath made the trumpet sound

Sing, praise, sing, praise to God most high

To God the King that plays the world

For God is King of all the earth

Sing sounds of praise to him alone

For whose the nations from on high

He sits upon his holy throne

The leaders of the nations come

To yield and stand to Abram's war

To him below the shields of man

Exalted in the midst of Lord

Will you please take your seats for a moment?

Muriel, I can speak to you directly from here

Even though I'm not facing you at the front here

I know you didn't want to make this a big thing

But we are pleased to be able to commend you to God

As you return shortly to Cambodia

Let me just assure you if you need any assurance

Of our love for you

Of our prayers for you

That they will follow you

And of our prayers for you

As you go back to Cambodia

And as you serve the Lord there

We pray that you may know

More and more of his presence each day

Of his blessing upon your life

His blessing upon your work as well for him

In Cambodia

And you leave, as I say, with our love

And our prayers

And we thank you for your time with us here

For the times you've taken

To tell us about your work

Both for the congregation as a whole

And also for the young folks

When you spoke to them a few weeks ago

At the Sunday school

We appreciate all of that very much

And please keep sending us your newsletter

Even though I have to apologize

For the few times that I respond to that

By email

But we do take delight in receiving

News of your work

From time to time

As you send us your newsletter

So please do be assured

We will continue to remember you in prayer

And we're going to pray for Muriel

And finish the service with prayer

And then that'll include the benediction

And afterwards please allow me

To get to the main door

To shake hands with you then

Let's stand now for prayer

Almighty God we give thanks

For the gospel

We give thanks for those you call

To proclaim the gospel

To be workers in the gospel

In the name of Christ

We pray now Lord for Muriel

We thank you for her months with us here

With her family elsewhere

We pray that you'd bless her now

As she anticipates leaving

To go back to Cambodia

We thank you for the strength

Of her call

For her love for you

And for her desire to serve you there

We pray that she will see much blessing

Oh Lord in days to come

We pray that your protective care

Will be with her in her travels

And in all that she does for you

When she returns to Cambodia

Be with her Lord

As we commend her to you once again

We commend her to you

And to the word of your grace

And we pray that

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

The love of God the Father

And the communion of the Holy Spirit

Will be with us now

Forevermore

Amen

That little table

Good

Thank you

What have you come to?

Whether to man

Notchuss

Will be with us

So

Thank you

That little table

If we want to come to you

And we make everyone

It's time to bathroom

And it's time tomadı

And we let our job

There's life

The world

Hang her

Throughout

And it's time to

Campaign

ioni

It's time to

And the MC

Trim

And

It entered