Joy to the World

We're going to begin by singing to God's praise now in Psalm 93 in the Scottish Psalter.

Psalm 93, it's on page 354 of the Psalm books.

We're going to sing the whole of this Psalm.

The Lord doth reign and clothed is he with majesty most bright, his works to show him

clothed to be and girt about with might.

We're going to sing the whole of this Psalm, the tune of Stroudwater.

The Lord doth reign and clothed is he with majesty most bright, his works to show him clothed

to be and girt about with might.

The world is also established that it cannot depart.

Thy throne is fixed of hope and life from everlasting heart.

The floods, O Lord, have lifted up.

They lifted up their voice.

The floods have lifted up their waves and made a mighty voice.

But yet the Lord that is on high is more of might by far than voice of many waters.

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For holiness forever, Lord, thy Christ be cometh well.

I will come to God in prayer.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Our Father in heaven, we do come with thanksgiving in our hearts to be able to sing praise to you.

That the Lord doth reign and clothe to see with majesty most bright.

We thank you that in all that glitters around us in these days and all the lights that we see in so many different forms.

We thank you that we come today to focus our attention on the one who is the light of the world.

The one who came into the world to give us the light that shines into our darkness.

And we pray that today we would see Jesus.

That we would know more of him and come to love him with all our hearts.

We thank you that, especially maybe at this time of year when there is so much going on around us.

That you give us this your day to be able to come aside for a time.

That in the busyness of our lives and in the hectic nature of our day-to-day lives just now.

That we have this your day.

A day that reminds us of the rest that you give and the blessing that is ours in Christ.

And so help us to be still in your presence at this time.

And to know that you are God.

That we would know you near us in every way.

That your hand be upon us for good.

That you would bless us young and old alike as we come to worship you this day.

Take care of us as well, Lord.

In the dangers of the day when it's slippy and icy outside.

Watch over each and every one of us.

And be with us in all our homes and our families.

As we look to you and seek your blessing on us.

Asking it all in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

But before the young ones go out to Sunday school.

Just say a wee word to you.

It's good to be able to come and just focus our attention on God's word today.

And in fact, every day we are to look to God's word.

And seek his blessing to us from it.

And maybe just now you're hearing lots of different stories from the Bible.

And especially the story of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So whether it's in school or nursery.

You'll be hearing all about the one who came into this world.

For sinners such as we are.

We are so thankful to have the good news of Jesus before us.

But as well as that, it's a busy time.

And we're often distracted as well.

There's many things that are just wanting our attention.

Many things will distract us from focusing on the good news of Jesus.

And one of the main things is, although it's a very good thing.

It's also something that can just lead us completely away.

And that is the idea of presence.

And what we want for Christmas.

How often have you been asked that question in these last few days?

What do you want for Christmas?

And I'm sure every one of you will have an idea maybe of what you want for Christmas.

Maybe you've got a very long list of things that you want for Christmas.

And it's nice sometimes to have an idea of what we want.

But sometimes it can just be distracting.

And you may be watching the telly.

You may be looking in magazines.

You may be looking online.

And you're seeing all these gifts being advertised.

And they're all just saying, buy me, buy me, buy me.

They're all saying, you need me.

I'm the most important thing that you need in your life just now.

And today as you go into Sunday school and creche, you're going to be hearing about the word covet in the Ten Commandments.

One of the commandments says, thou shalt not covet.

Now what does that word mean?

Well, covet means to really want something.

And especially to really want something that's not yours.

And you're going to hear a story about a man in the Old Testament called Ahab.

And he wanted something that somebody else had.

He wanted somebody else's field.

Because he thought, this is what I really need.

But it wasn't his.

And when he went to the man to ask for it, he said, no, you're not going to get it.

So what Ahab did was he took things into his own hands.

And he did a very silly thing, as you will hear about in Sunday school.

But it all came about because he had this covetousness in his heart.

He coveted what somebody else had.

And that's the danger that we have today as well.

And especially at this time of year that we look around and think, that's what I want.

That's what I really need in my life.

But what we really need is to keep our eyes on Jesus.

And to see that he is what we really need.

Not just at this time of year, but every day of our lives.

In the New Testament, there's a wonderful story about a man who was blind.

And Jesus asked him, what do you want me to do for you?

It was like he was asking, what do you want me to give to you?

And just before he met this blind man, two of his disciples had been asked the same thing.

James and John had been asked by Jesus the very same question.

He asked of them, what do you want me to do for you?

And what they wanted was glory for themselves.

They wanted to sit one at his right hand and one at his left in glory in heaven.

And Jesus was saying, you're asking for the wrong thing.

And so often that's the way we are when we're looking at this world.

We're asking Jesus for the wrong things.

But Bartimaeus, the man who was blind, is a great example to us.

When Jesus asked him the very same question, what do you want me to do for you?

He said, I want to see.

Not just to be able to see physically, but to be able to see Jesus.

And of everything that's going on in our lives just now, of all the busyness of life,

all the attractions that are all around us, may we have that longing and desire of Bartimaeus.

That we would see Jesus.

Keep your eyes on him.

And don't get distracted away by everything else that's going on around us.

Keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus.

And that the Lord would do that for us in the weeks and months and even years ahead.

That we would always look to him.

We're going to sing to God's praise again.

We're going to sing in Psalm 42 in the Scottish Psalter.

It's not on the notice sheet, but we're going to sing Psalm 42 in the Scottish Psalter, page 262.

Again, this psalm just speaks of our longing for the Lord.

We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 5 to God's praise.

And the tune is Glencairn.

Like as the heart for water brews,

Entharched and hunt and pray,

So pats my longing soul, O God,

That come to thee I may.

My soul for God, the living God,

Doth thirst when shall I near.

And to thy countenance approach,

And in God's sight appear.

My tears have unto me been me,

Both in the night and day.

While I love to be contenderly,

Where is thy God they see?

My soul is poor and I tend me,

When this I think upon.

Because that with the multitude I here to forth upon.

Because that with the multitude I here to forth upon.

With the multitude I have to forth upon.

With the multitude I have to forth upon.

With the multitude I have to forth upon.

With the multitude I have to forth upon.

With the multitude I have to forth upon.

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O why, why, why, hast thou my soul, why it be so dismayed?

Was God for I shall praise him yet, his countenances my name.

We turn together now to read in God's Word.

We're going to read two passages, one from the Old Testament and one from the New.

Our first reading is in the Old Testament in the book of Psalms.

We're going to read Psalm 98.

Psalm 98, we'll read the whole of this psalm, then we'll turn to the New Testament and to Luke, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

First reading, Psalm 98.

O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.

His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

The Lord has made known his salvation.

He has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn, make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar and all that fills it.

The world and those who dwell in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands.

Let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Now if you turn with me into the New Testament, to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

We're going to read from verse 22 down to verse 35.

Luke chapter 2 at verse 22.

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Luke 2 · chapter mention

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Luke 2 · chapter mention

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And we thank you that wherever we read,

we are always pointed to the one

who is the Savior of the world,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

We thank you that your word is fulfilled in him,

for he is the word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

And so we ask your blessing on your word to us this day.

As we approach it, O Lord,

may it not be a word that we become over accustomed with,

that we come over familiar with,

but there would always be a word

that speaks to us in season and out of season,

a word that reminds us of the world in which we live,

the chaos of it,

the wonder of the creation in the midst of all of it.

We see your beauty around us

and yet the dangers that surround us too.

But we thank you that your word reproves,

that your word challenges and convicts,

even as the psalmist says,

that your word is able to convict us,

to bring us to that knowledge of salvation.

It converts us, O Lord.

And we pray, Lord, for your mercy over us as a people,

to bring us to that point where we will be turned

from having our eyes fixed on the things of this world

to having our eyes fixed on the wonder and beauty

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so we pray your spirit to be with us

and to be with the preaching of your word

throughout all ends of the earth today.

As we have been reminded in the reading in the psalm,

that your wonder of your story is made known

throughout all the ends of the earth,

that there is the knowledge of the Lord

in so many ways and nations and people.

As the psalm says,

all ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

And we pray that that will be true more and more

as each and every day goes past,

that your salvation will be made known

to all the ends of the earth,

that every nation, tongue and tribe and creed of people

will hear and come to have a knowledge

of the Lord Jesus Christ,

but more than that,

to have a saving knowledge.

We know how our world needs you

and we pray, Lord, for our nations,

that you will turn us towards you,

that you will have mercy on us as a people,

that you, O Lord, will come in a day of your power.

We thank you for the assurance and the promise

that you are a God who hears your people

as we cry to you.

We offer up our prayers for one another

and for our communities,

for our people all around us, near and far.

That in all our different needs,

in all our different anxieties and worries,

in all our different illnesses and times of trial in our lives,

in all the sorrow and sadness that life so often brings,

that we'll be able to cast our cares upon you

as the one who cares for us.

And so hear our prayers for one another.

And Lord, we come praying for the work of the gospel

around us here,

thankful for the way the gospel goes out

and for the way that the ministry of the gospel goes on

in many practical ways as well.

We thank you for the service yesterday,

for the street pastors in the town,

and we do continue to pray for the work of street pastors.

Thankful for all who go out in the weekends

to be there to help those in different needs.

We pray them, especially for them,

over this festive season when the nights are so cold

and so many people are out and about.

We pray your protection over people

and for those who are out as street pastors,

Lord, that you will guide them and help them

in all that they do.

Give them strength and courage

and boldness as well

to proclaim the good news of Jesus

in the midst of a world that is perishing.

So Lord, be with them in that work,

not just now, but throughout the year as well.

Remember, Lord, the needs of our congregation as well.

Remember all our homes and our families,

those who mourn, those who are unwell,

those who are going through all kinds of difficulties just now,

Lord.

We pray that you will surround us

and uphold us and keep us.

Remember, we pray just now for Scott

as he sits exams in Edinburgh.

Lord, we thank you for his sharing of the stage

he's at in the call of ministry last Sunday evening.

We do pray for him over these days

as he comes to his last exam on Tuesday.

Give him clarity of thought and mind

and help in all things.

We thank you for his work and life and ministry

and pray for his family too.

Lord, look after them and care for them day by day.

Remember our presbytery and the wider work of the gospel

throughout our congregations.

Remember our youth.

Oh Lord, as we pray for the holiday club this coming week

and all the youth work that goes on throughout our presbytery.

May you bless Sunday schools, creches,

and youth work throughout the week as well.

We pray, Lord, your blessing on our young people

that you will be with them in their young years,

that they will come to praise you.

Remember our vacant congregations and our presbytery too.

We pray for North Tolstown,

especially with the meeting this week,

with a view to a call.

We pray for your leading and guiding for them

as a congregation and the one you will call as well.

May your hand be upon them to lead them and to guide them.

So remember the congregation in North Uist as well,

praying your blessing on all there too.

We do continue to remember our nation.

We pray for Jersey at this time

and then what has been such a tragic week for them

with the loss of the fishermen

and now this explosion in the last few hours as well.

Lord, we pray, Lord, for your help and your peace

and your grace upon them.

We know, Lord, we live in a world

of so many difficulties and trials.

And we do pray, Lord, for a day of your peace

and for your blessing over us.

Lord, hear our prayers as we come,

convicted and even in our own hearts

of how faithless we are at times.

But renew us, we pray,

and revive us as your people.

Quicken us, O Lord,

that we will come to praise you

and give glory to you with all our hearts.

Continue with us throughout this day.

Watch over us, bless us, and keep us

as we ask all with forgiveness of our sins.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, again, we'll sing to God's praise.

We're going to sing in Psalm 98,

the psalm we're going to be looking at

together this morning.

And we're singing in the Sing Psalms version.

Psalm 98.

We'll sing verse 1 to verse 4,

page 1 to 9 of the psalm books.

We'll sing a new song to the Lord

for wonders he has done.

His right hand and his holy arm,

the victory have won.

The Lord declared his saving work

and made it to be known

to all the nations of the world

his righteousness is shown.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 4,

and the tune is blocksome.

O sing a new song to the Lord

for wonders he has done.

His right hand and his holy arm,

the victory have won.

The Lord declared his saving work

and made it to be known.

To all the nations of the world

his righteousness is shown.

His steadfast love and faithfulness

he has remembered well.

The covenant he made with them

the eyes of Israel.

And all the nations of the earth

have seen what God has done.

Our God who brings deliverance

by his right hand alone.

Acclaim the Lord, all the earth

shout loudly and rejoice

to Him with our hearts.

Well, we can turn back together,

especially to our reading in the Old Testament

in the book of Psalms and Psalm 98.

We'll focus on this psalm for our time together this morning.

Read again at verse 3.

He has remembered his steadfast love

and faithfulness to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord.

All the earth break forth into joyous song

and sing praises.

It is a busy time of year,

and I'm sure maybe many of you feel it

in that sense of being.

It's a busy and a hectic time

when there's so many different things going on.

But it's also a time where we need to keep our focus

and keep our attention on what is truly important.

It's often a time of year when I'm reminded of the words of Jesus

as he looked around and surveyed the crowds.

It says in Matthew 9, verse 36,

Matthew 9:36

that when he saw the crowds,

he had compassion on them

because they were harassed and helpless

like sheep without a shepherd.

And even just as you walk around the town

or if you've been away recently

to any of the cities in the mainland

and you've been out and about in our busy streets

when people are dashing around

going to all the different shops,

perhaps you've had a sense of that feeling,

seeing a people who just seem to be harassed

and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

You just want to say,

you know, just come and sit down for a moment.

Come, let's have a cup of tea,

have a cup of coffee.

Just take the weight off your feet for a moment.

Let's just talk.

Let's just look at the world in which we live

and let's look at what's important.

And as we come to God's word,

we are reminded of what is truly important,

not just at this time of the year,

but on every occasion throughout the year.

But isn't it sad that at a time of year

when our attention and focus should be more so upon

a saviour who came into the world

that we are so easily distracted?

We often maybe hear about how early Christmas comes

every year when decorations start to go up,

when Christmas gifts start to appear in the shops

and adverts are there focusing on Christmas.

It's become so much commercialized in so many ways.

And our attention has been drawn away

from what's important.

You start having these conversations earlier

and earlier each year.

When can we put the Christmas decorations up?

Is it too soon?

But what about speaking about the Christmas story?

Is there a time when we can say to ourselves,

is it too early to speak about the Christmas story?

It's a very different kettle of fish altogether.

We don't put the Christmas story away

with the Christmas decorations each year.

The Christmas story is a story of salvation

and that's a story for all year round.

It's a story we are to hear all the time.

And the scriptures throughout remind us

of the promise of a saviour,

that God would send a saviour into this world.

Right throughout the Old Testament

and to the birth of the Lord Jesus

and right to the book of Revelation.

It's all a story about our redemption

through Jesus Christ,

a saviour who came for the world.

From the very beginning in the book of Genesis,

when we are reminded of how sin came into the world

and Jesus, the Lord spoke into that.

He said, I will put enmity between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring.

He shall bruise your head

and you shall bruise his heel.

How Satan had come in and deceived

and sin came into this world.

But then there is a gospel message,

the message of good news,

that God will provide a saviour.

And it runs like blood through our veins

as it runs throughout the Old Testament

into the New Testament.

It shows us the life that the Lord is able to give.

And throughout the Old and New Testament,

we're always being pointed towards the saviour who will come.

And Psalm 98 is one of those points

where we are seeing the psalmist expressing his delight,

that the Lord will make known to all the nations

the salvation that is being revealed

and about to be revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 98 is very much a psalm that reminds us

of the real joy that is to the world

and that that is through Jesus Christ.

You hear so many different songs,

maybe being played on the radio

or being sung out and about.

Even yesterday was the carol service in the town

where you're hearing all these different songs being sung.

And there's one maybe you hear from time to time.

It's called Joy to the World,

a hymn written by Isaac Watt.

And the hymn is based on this very psalm,

Psalm 98.

It's a paraphrase of the psalm.

It's a reminder that joy to the world

is found in the one who is king.

And the Lord is king over all.

And the Lord, the king,

has come into this world for our salvation.

Isaac Watt never intended it just to be

a hymn that would be sung at Christmas time,

although it is a time it seems to be brought to the fore.

Because it's a psalm that speaks

not just about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ,

it speaks also about how we need the Lord with us

in all our days.

And then as you see at the end of the psalm,

it speaks about the coming of the Lord in judgment.

So it's a wonderful psalm for this time of year

and for all year round

that we remind ourselves of the wonderful theme

and the thrust,

joy to the world.

The Lord is come.

Let earth receive her king.

And as we look around ourselves today

and we see the crowds harassed and helpless,

like sheep without a shepherd,

don't you just want to shout that praise?

Joy to the world.

The Lord is come.

Let the world, let the earth receive her king

to see and seek the Lord Jesus with all our hearts.

This psalm is a psalm that's then we see quoted

around the time of the birth of Jesus.

We see it quoted three times early on in the book of Luke.

In chapter 1, Mary's song, it's quoted there.

In Zacharias' prophecy, it's quoted there.

And also as we read in chapter 2 with Simeon,

being able to see the salvation that was promised,

we see it quoted there as well.

It's pointing us towards the Lord Jesus.

He has come for our salvation.

He has come to be judge over the world.

And I want us to focus on three things

and take three things from this psalm together today.

The first thing is the purpose of the psalm.

The second thing is we see the passion of the psalm.

And the third thing is the progression of the psalm.

So the first thing we see is the purpose.

And the purpose is so clear as you go throughout this psalm.

The purpose is to give praise to God.

To come and offer up our praise to God.

Like many of the psalms,

sometimes we struggle just to find the exact place

that it points to,

the exact maybe occasion that it points towards.

But from the outset of the psalm,

what is clear is that it's a sense of making a joyful noise to the Lord.

Sing to the Lord a new song,

for He has done marvelous things.

His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.

There is a sense that God has been with His people.

Maybe in a particular set of circumstances,

or maybe just in a general sense,

the psalmist is pointing us towards the fact

that salvation,

deliverance from all the dangers,

the wickedness of this world,

belongs to God.

And so the purpose from the outset

is the sense of bringing a praise to Him.

In the hymn, Joy to the World,

it resonates that theme throughout it,

that salvation is completely of God.

And when we think of just this time of year,

we're reminded again and again

that our salvation is come

in the person of Jesus Christ.

That in everything that's going on in our lives,

and all the dangers that we're in,

and everything that would lead us astray,

that God sent His Son into this world.

He sent Him as the light into the darkness,

to make His light shine upon His people,

to give them the hope that is found in Him.

And so the thrust of this psalm

is very much to see the Lord,

to recognize the Lord

as the one who is able to save.

Because what does salvation lead us to?

Where does a knowledge of salvation lead us to?

It leads us, as we saw last week,

it leads us to the cross.

It leads us to that place of darkness

where Christ gave His life.

It brings us to that place of sorrow.

But it also brings us beyond that.

Because we remember, He is risen.

He came, He gave His life,

He rose from the grave,

and He will come again.

And that's what we see in the purpose of this psalm.

It ties our whole lives together.

In the fact that the Lord has come,

the Lord lives with us,

He is risen,

and that He will come again.

And the more we see that,

the more we are led to praise God,

to give thanks to Him.

You know, as we come to worship God,

we will hear these words,

let us praise God together.

As we come and sing praise to Him,

we say, let us come and worship God.

Let us praise His name together in song.

We come and we sing praise to God.

And how we love to sing praise to God.

But there's a great difference between singing

and singing with conviction.

Singing with this knowledge of the one who we are singing about.

To sing the words, you know,

such the well-known psalm as Psalm 23.

If we were asked to sing it just now,

I'm sure you could sing it probably without even looking at the pages before you.

You know the words so well.

But there's such a difference between singing the words that you know well

and the Savior that you know well.

Because the more that you sing with a knowledge of the Savior,

the more your praise is full and complete.

And so the psalmist here is saying,

Sing to the Lord a new song.

Sing to Him of the wonders that He has done.

Convinced in the saving work of God.

In the book of Romans chapter 10 verse 14,

Romans 10:14

it says,

How then will we call on Him in whom they have not believed?

How can we offer up our praise if we have not fully believed,

if we are not fully convinced?

Well, the psalmist here is saying,

To come and know the Savior for yourself.

The purpose is to know that the Lord has provided His way to salvation.

Psalm 40 puts it like that as well.

He gives us a new song to sing.

He has put a new song in my mouth.

Our God to magnify, to praise.

And that is the longing of this psalm too,

that we would come and praise Him with all our hearts.

It is leading us to God.

It is leading us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The one who has brought salvation for us.

And how undeserving we are.

And yet He came for us.

And so often we feel our lives may be just a mess.

Our lives are just caught up in the ways of this world.

And we think,

Well, what can God do with me?

Well, God can do so much.

There was a story told about a sculptor who had ruined a huge piece of marble.

An enormous piece of marble.

And he'd started trying to sculpt it, but it just ended in disaster.

Everything had gone wrong for him.

And this was in Florence, in Italy.

And the sculptor just abandoned this work.

And it was left for almost a hundred years with no one almost daring to go near this piece.

It was an expensive, a valuable piece of marble.

But no one could see a way forward with it because of the mess that this sculptor had made.

Then in the year 1505, a young sculptor by the name of Michelangelo,

he started to look at this giant piece of marble.

And he started to get an impression in his mind of what he could do with it.

And he measured it carefully.

He looked around.

He saw all the imperfections in it.

But he started working on it.

And the image that came to his mind was David, the young shepherd.

And he worked away on this piece of marble for three years.

Chiseling away bit by bit.

Shaping it skillfully.

And finally, it was finished.

And out of this, what had been seen as a disaster to so many,

Michelangelo had created this wonderful sculpture.

And one of his students, when he saw it,

nine tons of marble shaped in this wonderful sculpture,

exclaimed, Master, the only thing it lacks is speech.

It was so impressive.

The only thing it lacked was speech.

It was so real.

But isn't there a greater story than that about the way God brings our lives,

how he works away at us?

It takes time.

Sometimes it takes years.

But in the mess that we have made of our own lives,

in all that we have done wrong,

God can come and chip away and shape us and form us

and make us into something beautiful,

but something that doesn't lack speech.

Because we have that.

He's able to put a new song within us,

to make us praise God.

And the reality for us all is that we're never the finished product.

He's still chipping away at us all,

shaping us, correcting us,

writing us, and putting us back on the right track again and again.

But the wonder of it is that the Lord has come.

He has made known his salvation.

It has been revealed to us as his people.

May we know more and more of the purpose of this psalm,

to see a Savior given for us,

a Savior given to so many people who are imperfect,

with every wrong chip in us,

so much wrong about us,

but God chipping away at us day after day.

The second thing we see about this psalm

is the passion of this psalm,

the passion that there is in this psalm.

And it just reminds us, as you look at these words,

the purpose is to show us God,

but then there's the passion

that runs through these words of what God has done.

For he has done marvelous things, it says.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness,

it says in verse 3.

Verse 4, make a joyful noise all the earth.

Sing praises to the Lord.

There is this passion that we are to sing with.

The Christian faith is very much a singing faith.

And as Christians, we are to be a singing people.

Our praise is expressed so much in song.

In whatever tongue we sing with,

whether it's in English or Gaelic,

or whatever other language we might be able to sing in,

we are to offer up praise to God.

Because there's a passion in our praise,

and there's a passion to our praise.

And the passion is the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because we're able to sing about God's victories.

The battles that we could never fight by ourselves.

The victories that he has won for us.

We start singing to the Lord.

No matter how low or defeated we might feel,

we can come and offer up our praise to God.

Psalm 42, which we sung together,

it's one of these Psalms that you just see this turning in it.

So often you find the Psalmist low or challenged

or in difficult circumstances.

But he says in Psalm 42,

why are you so downcast, O my soul?

He says, praise God.

And isn't it great as God's people,

that whatever goes on in our lives,

we can still come and say,

yet God is good.

That we can come and say it with passion.

We can say it with conviction.

Because we know the victory is in God.

It's not in ourselves.

So we sing about his victories.

We sing about his salvation.

Praise God, my soul,

the Psalmist so often says.

From our very soul,

we are to often up with passion

our praise to God.

We sing about his mercy

and his faithfulness.

We sing about his steadfast love,

how he has remembered us.

Even as we were singing together last week

at the Lord's table,

we come and remember him.

We come and rejoice in him.

We come and give all glory to him.

And we do so today again.

He has remembered his steadfast love

and faithfulness to the house of Israel.

In verse 3,

all ends of the earth

have seen the salvation of God.

He has made himself known to us.

And so the question is,

are we singing with passion?

Are we singing with that passion

and praise to the Lord?

You know, there's times

when we can lose our song.

When we don't feel like singing.

It means we've lost something else,

so if that's the way we feel.

It brings us to realize

we're losing our vision of God.

We're losing our sight on him.

We're looking at the troubles

that surround us.

We're looking at maybe the wickedness

of our own hearts.

And we feel,

how can I offer up praise to God?

And yet we are to come

with passion and conviction

to sing to him.

The psalm,

like so many other psalms,

they refocus our attention.

They point us back

to the Lord of our salvation,

to the God who is good,

whose steadfast love

goes on and on.

Sing to the Lord

a new song, he says.

And isn't it interesting

how when you sometimes look around

the things of this world

and you see how song plays

such an important part

in people's lives.

Often strikes me

how when you see

maybe films more so,

but other times

it's seeing footage

of old films

where you have maybe soldiers

or slaves

or workers doing a very hard work

or sailors in difficult conditions.

You look around

and you see people

going through

all these hard experiences,

these hard jobs,

but what you so often see

is they sing.

It is song

that keeps them going.

And yet how as God's people

we have a greater song to sing.

The song of salvation.

The song of the one

who is the Lord

who has come

to be with us.

Born into this world

for the salvation

of his people.

And we are to sing

with passion.

To sing the song

that keeps us going.

To sing the songs

through all our trials,

through all our experiences.

And that's the beauty

of the Psalms.

They speak into

our circumstances,

into the reality

of our lives.

They don't hide

the things that are difficult.

They don't shy away

from the trials

and temptations

of this world.

They focus on them

in order to bring us

to see the Lord Jesus.

To see how he has come

to save us

from our sins.

What he has done

is worthy

of all our praise.

But again,

we see the sin

that so easily

clings to us.

But when we come

to sing

the song of salvation,

we are reminded

that he has come

to deal with

all our sins.

Look at it

in this way

as somebody

once highlighted.

A story about

a national park

where there was

many trees growing,

but there was

this one particular

oak tree

that was,

if you looked at it,

just seemed to be

surrounded by this vine

that had grown

all around it.

and the vine

had started growing

and over a long

period of time

the talons

of the vine

were just reaching

out and out

and surrounding

the whole tree.

And it almost seemed

like this vine

was starting to crush

into the oak tree.

It was going to

take the life

out of this tree.

But the gardeners

had seen

what was happening.

And if you looked

closely

you could see

that the gardeners

had dealt

with a problem.

They had dealt

with it down

at the root

of the vine

with one precise

cut

the vine's

root

had been cut

into

and it was

being killed.

And although

to the eyes

of those

who were passing

it seemed

like this vine

was still holding

on and clinging

to the oak

and crushing it,

the life was gone

out of the vine.

And over time

the vine

would gradually

fall away.

And that's

sometimes the way

we can look

at our own lives too.

Where we see

the sin

that so easily

clings to us.

And where focus

is on that

and can seem

to be just

crushing in on us.

But as we focus

our attention

on the one

who has remembered

us with his

steadfast love

we remember

that he has cut

that source

to our sin

that he has dealt

with it.

Yes we'll sin.

Yes we'll still

go on

and it seems

that it's clinging

to us.

But the wonder

of his salvation

is that he has

dealt with our sin.

And so we are able

to praise

the Lord

our God.

The final thing

and just briefly

that we see

with this psalm

is the progression

of this psalm.

It's a psalm

not just

for this season.

It's a psalm

for every season

of our life

for every day

of our life.

It's a psalm

that reminds us

of the battles

that we're in

but the victory

that is the Lord's.

We may not be

in the same battle

as the psalmist

was focusing on

but we may be

in a very similar battle.

We're all in the same

battle against sin.

And it's why

the likes of Paul

in Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

reminds us

how much we need

the Lord.

And he says there

in Ephesians 6

that wonderful passage

on the whole armor

of God

he says

put on

the whole armor

of God

that you may be able

to stand

against the schemes

of the devil.

For we do not wrestle

against flesh

and blood

but against the rulers

against the authorities

against the cosmic powers

over this present darkness

against the spiritual

forces of evil

in the heavenly places.

we are all

in this battle.

But the progression

of this psalm

is it reminds us

that we go on

in the strength

of the Lord.

We go on

through him.

You see the progression

of this psalm

and how it's quoted

in those early chapters

of Luke

reminding us

of the fulfillment

that there is

in the coming

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the psalm

also goes on

as you see

towards the end

where it says

in verse 9

before the Lord

for he comes

to judge the earth.

He is coming

again.

And so this psalm

is reminding us

to go on

in his strength.

To go on

reminding ourselves

that when the Lord

came

there was a choir

of angels

that proclaimed

his coming.

That's as you see

in the early chapters

of Luke

the angels

sang glory

to God

in the highest

and on earth

peace

and goodwill

to all men.

We go on

in that knowledge

that Christ

has come.

Joy to the world

the Lord

has come.

Let earth

receive

her king.

That is the king

that we are

to look to today.

So do you rejoice

in God today?

Or are you saying

why should I

rejoice

in God today?

Well if you look

through

verse 1

to verse 3

of this psalm

you see

six reasons

given

for singing

praise to God.

The psalmist

puts it in

six different ways.

He says

he has done

marvelous things.

Can you not

say that today?

He says

his right hand

and his holy arm

have worked

salvation.

Can you not

put your confidence

in that today?

He has made

known

his salvation.

Can we not

say that today

as we come

before the word

of God

his salvation

is made known.

He has revealed

his righteousness

in the sight

of the nations.

It's seen

around

the world.

He has remembered

his people

with steadfast

love.

As we saw

last week

as we saw

in the Lord's

supper we

remembered that

how he has

remembered

his people

with steadfast

love.

And all

the ends

of the earth

have seen

the salvation

of the Lord.

The Lord

makes known

to people

far

and wide.

How often

have we

boasted

or heard

people boasting

in gifts

and purchases

that they have

made saying

oh you need

this.

What a difference

this will make

in your life.

Oh it's pricey

but it's worth

every penny.

Well how much

more we have

to rejoice

and boast

in the Lord

who has come

to make himself

known.

And if we know

this for ourselves

how much more

we are to show

that forth

in our praise

of him.

just remember

Simeon

and the joy

that he had

that we read

of in Luke

where it says

Lord now you

are letting

your servant

depart in peace

according to

your word

for my eyes

have seen

your salvation.

It is the only

way that we

can ever

depart in peace

if we

behold

the wonder

of this

salvation.

The saviour

who came

into the world

joy

to the world

the Lord

has come

let earth

receive

her king.

May we

receive

this king

anew today

and keep

our eyes

fixed

on him

in the busyness

of this life

in the busyness

of this season

may we know

the joy

of salvation

that is in him.

Let us pray.

Our Father

in heaven

we do thank you

for your word

and the way

we are able

to sing

your praise

we thank you

that you put

a song

in our mouth

that song

of salvation

and help us

Lord

to rejoice

in you

and to know

the joy

that you are

able to give

in salvation

and the peace

that is ours

through looking

and focusing

on and trusting

in the Lord

Jesus Christ

to have

even the peace

of Simeon

who was

able to say

those great words

your servant

is able

to depart

in peace

for my eyes

have seen

your salvation

may we see

with eyes

of faith

ourselves

as we ask

it in Jesus

name

Amen

we sing

to God's

praise

and conclusion

in this

psalm

psalm 98

at the end

of the psalm

verse 5

down to the end

page 129

of the psalm books

psalm 98

at verse 5

with harp

make music

to the Lord

with harp

his praises

sing

with trumpet

and with horn

rejoice

before the Lord

the King

let earth

and all

in them

rejoice

triumphantly

let streams

clap hands

and mountains

sing

together

joyfully

we'll sing

these last

three stanzas

to God's

praise

and the tune

is Gainsborough

with harp

make music

to the Lord

with harp

his praises

sing

with trumpet

and with horn

rejoice

before the Lord

the King

let earth

the sea

and all

in them

rejoice

thy

heart

humbly

let streams

clap hands

and mountains

sing

together

joyfully

now let

them sing

before the Lord

who comes

to judge

the earth

he'll judge

the world

in righteousness

the people's

heaven

is

through

after the benediction

I'll go to the door

to my right

we'll close

with a benediction

now may grace

mercy and peace

from God

Father

Son

and Holy Spirit

rest upon

and abide

with you all

now and forevermore

Amen

Christ

amen

while

tonight

we're

eles

and

their

those

are

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.