Sing Praises to Him
Psalm 33:1-5 NASB
“Sing for joy in the
Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to
the upright.
Give thanks to the
Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him
with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new
song;
Play skillfully with a
shout of joy.
For the word of the
Lord is upright,
And all His work is
done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness
and justice;
The earth is full of
the lovingkindness of the Lord.”
Sometimes the cares of this world can get us down.
Sometimes, when we see all the evil that is going on all around us, we can get
discouraged and disheartened.
Often, when we see all the evil that is now permeating the
church, and our governments, and the people of the world, and even the people
of God, it saddens our hearts, and it seems overwhelming. And, we can end up
focusing our thoughts solely on what ails the world and the church, and we can
forget to praise the Lord for his goodness to us through it all.
This is not saying that we should not proclaim the truth and
expose the lies of the evil one. We definitely need to be doing that,
especially now. But, we have to be so careful that we don’t do that to the
exclusion of praise and thanksgiving to God for what he has done and is doing
even in the midst of all this madness that is going on in our world and in the
church.
We have to be so careful that we don’t lose sight of God’s sovereignty
in the midst of all this craziness. For, he is still God. And, he is still on
the throne. And, his purposes will be accomplished no matter what else is going
on.
God, in his sovereignty, not only allows evil to exist, but
he allows it to tempt those who are his. He doesn’t tempt us, but he allows us
to be tempted by evil. He has not yet destroyed evil, although one day he will.
He allows evil to exist and to hurt people, too. But, he is loving and patient,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,
which is why he has not yet brought the judgment against all evil that he has
promised is coming. He wants as many to be saved as possible.
Stand in Awe of Him
Psalm 33:6-12 NASB
“By the word of the
Lord the heavens were made,
And by the breath of
His mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters
of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deeps
in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear
the Lord;
Let all the
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it
was done;
He commanded, and it
stood fast.
The Lord nullifies the
counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the
plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the
Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart
from generation to generation.
Blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has
chosen for His own inheritance.”
But, even in the midst of this evil crazy world, God is at
work moving in people’s hearts and lives. And, he is changing people’s lives.
He is moving them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so
that they can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by
faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18). And, that is cause for much rejoicing!
And, he is working all things together for good (his good)
for those who love him (who obey him) and who have been called according to his
purposes (Rom. 8:28). And, his purposes are that we walk (in conduct, in
practice) with him, and to his righteousness, and that we no longer live
according to our sinful flesh (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
Yet, what Satan means for evil in our lives, God intends for
good, “to preserve many people alive” (Gen. 50:20). So, He will bring good to
us out of our trials, if we will surrender our lives to him, and if we will
submit to his purposes.
Through it all, the Lord is with those of us who are his by
faith in Jesus Christ – a faith that is evidenced by repentance, submission and
obedience to Christ (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
Through all the suffering going on in the world, and through
all the evil that is permeating our societies and the church in our day, we can
raise a banner cry, proclaiming the holiness of God, and exalting his name
above all other names, and above all other gods. We can tell of his goodness
and of his mercy and grace – a grace that delivers us from our slavery to sin.
Amen!
We can proclaim to the world his justice, his righteousness
and his faithfulness. And, we can call people to repentance and to faith in
Jesus Christ so that they can be saved from their sins and have eternal life
with God. But, we need to tell them the truth about sin, judgment, and
salvation, and not feed them lies which will coddle them in their sins.
He Understands Their
Works
Psalm 33:13-17 NASB
“The Lord looks from
heaven;
He sees all the sons
of men;
From His dwelling
place He looks out
On all the inhabitants
of the earth,
He who fashions the
hearts of them all,
He who understands all
their works.
The king is not saved
by a mighty army;
A warrior is not
delivered by great strength.
A horse is a false
hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver
anyone by its great strength.”
Contrary to popular opinion, God still sees when we sin
against him. If we are his, by faith in him – a faith that is actively being
lived out in our lives day by day – our sins are forgiven. But, if we are
living our lives to our flesh, to do what we want, while claiming faith in
Jesus Christ, and while claiming that his grace covers over all our sin, or that
God can’t even see our sin, then we need to know that the New Testament makes
it quite clear that God can still see when we sin, and he says if we live to
sin, we will die in our sin.
And, he wants us to know that we are not saved from our sins
and bound for heaven on a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We are not
saved by our good works done in the flesh, either. Nothing done in the flesh
can save us from our sins or guarantee us heaven. And a “faith” in Jesus Christ
that does not submit to him as Lord, and that does not repent of sin, and that
does not walk with him in holiness and to his righteousness, in obedience to
his commands, is not a faith that will save you, for it is still flesh.
On Those Who Fear Him
Psalm 33:18-22 NASB
“Behold, the eye of
the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope for
His lovingkindness,
To deliver their soul
from death
And to keep them alive
in famine.
Our soul waits for the
Lord;
He is our help and our
shield.
For our heart rejoices
in Him,
Because we trust in
His holy name.
Let Your
lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have
hoped in You.”
The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, and he saves
us from our sins. He delivers us from our slavery (addiction) to sin, and he
empowers us and strengthens us to walk daily in his holiness and righteousness.
He gives us all that we need to live godly and holy lives, set apart from the
world of sin and unto God and to his purposes (Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Rom.
6:1-23).
And, those who fear him are those who honor him as the holy
God that he is, who show him respect, reverence and obedience to his commands.
They are those who are walking in the ways of the Lord and not in the ways of
this sinful world. He delivers them from their slavery to sin, and from the
punishment of sin, and he promises them eternal life (Rom. 2:6-8; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom.
6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
In Conclusion
So, don’t let the cares of this world get you down. Don’t
let them take you out. Have faith in God and in his sovereignty and rejoice in
him and give him all the praise that he deserves. Trust him even in the bad
times, and rely on his love and grace to see you through every circumstance
that comes your way. And, keep on teaching the truth and exposing the lies so
that many can come to true faith in Jesus Christ and be delivered from their
bondage to sin.
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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