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everyone for our call to worship this evening you can turn in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 2 uh 1 Colossians chapter 1 Colossians 1 I'll read verses 9 to8 for this reason we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding that you may walk worthy of the Lord fully pleasing him being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God strengthen with all might according to his glorious power for all patience and longsuffering with joy giving thanks to the father who has qualified US to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in the light he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have Redemption through his blood the Forgiveness of sins he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn over all creation for by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things consist and he is the head of the body the church who is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in all things he may have the preeminence amen well please turn in your Trinity Salter to Psalm 1 Psalm 1 we'll stand as we sing together for all of amen let us pray blessed God and Holy Father we gather together on this Lord's day to call upon you to acknowledge your majesty and your glory and Your Excellence to say with the psalmist from Everlasting to Everlasting Thou Art God you are worthy to be praised worthy to be glorified worthy to be worshiped and we would ask tonight that your Holy Spirit would guide us and direct us and help us so that we may worship you in spirit and in truth that our worship may be acceptable that we may do so with godliness and with reverence and with great joy and Thanksgiving as as we Ponder as we consider all of the good things that you have done for us in and through the gospel of your son the Lord Jesus Christ we would pray God that as We Gather on the Lord's day but as We Gather or as we seek you each and every day you would be foremost in our thoughts and in our minds and in our hearts that we would strive to to glorify you in each and every day that we would seek to take every thought captive to The Obedience of Christ that we would indeed shine his lights in a crooked and perverse generation that we would hold forth that word of Truth give us Grace and help to this end most high God and be glorified in your Saints here we pray tonight for any and all who have come here outside of Christ we pray that as the word of God Goes Forth the spirit of God would accompany that bringing conviction for sin and shining the light upon the Excellence and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to save all who come unto the father through him how we thank you for christ and how we thank you for his finished work and how we thank you for his current session at the right hand of the Majesty of God on high and how we look forward to that day when he comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead and our hearts desire and Earnest pleas that each and everyone here would be prepared not with our own works or not with our own Good Deeds for certainly we have none but by the grace of God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ having had our our sins forgiven through his Precious Blood we pray for our children and for our young people you would surround them with your protection that they by Grace would remember their creator in their youth that they would walk in the fear of the Lord all their days and that you would keep them from many of the wicked things that the the parents or that their parents have committed we ask God that you would exercise your gracious restraint upon their young lives as we live in a very Wicked generation we pray father that you would just Shield them protect them and watch over them by the power of your Holy Spirit we ask tonight as we gather together in the the the the presence of a Thrice holy God that you would forgive us for our sins we praise you that as the Apostle says we've been conveyed or transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of your love and we praise you that the that the Forgiveness of sins is by the blood of Jesus and so we confess our transgression now and we would plead that mercy and that Merit of our savior and we would ask that you would cleanse us and wash us and purify us so that we may come into your presence in a manner that is consistent with your revealed will we ask our father that you would look with favor upon all of the temporal needs in our congregation we know there are many hurting many who do suffer and we just commit them to you and to the word of your grace and pray that you would watch over your people you would take good care of them and that though the outer man would Decay the inner man would be renewed day by day we also pray for your blessing upon the nation of Haiti we know God this hurricane has caused much uh havoc and damage there we just pray for your blessing upon the Saints of Christ in that in that land we pray for the Churches of Christ that they would have opportunity to minister the love of Christ to those in need we also pray for those along the Eastern Seaboard and for those who have been affected and we just to ask God in heaven that through such trials and through such uh tragedies you would use this as a means to cause Sinners to see their place before a Thrice holy God and may they hear the gospel of free and Sovereign Grace and may a multitude come out of Darkness into Marvelous Light proclaiming your praises and your excellencies and your majesty we ask for the preaching of the Gospel to go forth throughout the Earth we know that Christ has said and commissioned his Church to go therefore and to disciple the Nations and we pray that you would bless the missionary Enterprise we thank you for the brethren we pray for regularly and we would ask that you would watch over them and use them God to Proclaim your truth in foreign lands we pray for the gospel witness here in Canada that you would bless your churches those True Churches that do uh proclaim the gospel we pray that they would know peace and unity that they would know Prosperity not in some Wicked temporal sense that these fools preach but they would know spiritual prosperity in terms of God's presence in their midst we pray for other churches here in chillak and how we thank you that we're not alone in this community and we pray that through the the the concerted effort of each church that there would be just a movement of the spirit of the Living God in this town we know there are many that are outside of Christ and we pray that you would be pleased to constrain them by your grace and For Your Glory to come to taste and see that the Lord is indeed good we thank you for this opportunity to approach you we thank you for this opportunity to praise you we thank you God for this local church and pray your richest blessings would be be upon each and every one here and we ask these things through Christ Jesus our lord amen we'll please turn in your Trinity Himel to number 432 number 432 we'll stand as we sing together of my soul hallelu my my hallelu hallelu is to the end heart hallelu hallelu my hallelu all and for am hallelu he is amen we can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Ezekiel for our scripture reading this evening Ezekiel CH 27 Ezekiel chap 27 I'll begin reading in verse 1 the word of the Lord came again to me saying now son of man take up a lamentation for Ty and say to Ty you who are situated at the entrance of the sea Merchant of the peoples on many coastlands thus says the Lord God oh Ty you have said I am perfect in Beauty your borders are in the midst of the Seas your Builders have perfected your beauty they made all your planks of fur fur trees from senir they took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast of Oaks from Bashan they made your ores the company of asheritah inlaid your planks with ivory from the coasts of Cyprus fine embroider embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sale blue and purple from the coasts of Elisha was what covered you inhabitants of sidon and arvad were were your ores men your wise men O Tire were in you they became your Pilots Elders of gabal and its wise men were in you to your seams all the ships of the sea and their oresman were in you to Market your merchandise those from Persia Lydia and Libya were in your army as Men of War they hung shield and helmet in you they gave Splendor to you men of arvad with your company were on your walls all around and the men of of gamad were in your Towers they hung their shields on your walls all around they made your beauty perfect tares was your Merchant because of your many luxury goods they gave you silver iron tin and lead for your goods Javin tubal and meach were your Traders they Bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise those from the house of TOA traded for your wares with horses steeds and mules the men of denen were your Traders many Isles were the market of your land of your hand they brought you ivory tusks and ebonus payment Syria was your Merchant because of the abundance of goods you made they gave you fory your wears emeralds purple embroidery fine linen corals and rubies Judah and the land of Israel were your Traders they traded for your merchandise wheat of minth millet honey oil and Balm Damascus was your Merchant because of the abundance of goods you made because of your many luxury items with the wine of hbon and your white wool Dan and Javin paid for your wares traversing back and forth rod iron cassia and Cain were among your merchandise denen was your Merchant in saddlecloths for writing Arabia and all the princes of Kadar were your regular Merchants they traded with you in Lambs Rams and goats the merchants of Sheba and Rama were your Merchants they traded for your wares the choicest spices all kinds of precious stones and gold Heron can Eden the merchants of Sheba Assyria and kilad were your Merchants these were your merchants in Choice items in purple clothes in embroidered garments in chests of multicolored Apparel in sturdy woven cords which were in your Marketplace the ships of tarses were carriers of your merchandise you were filled and very glorious in the midst of the Seas your oresman brought you into many Waters but the East Wind broke you in the midst of the Seas your riches Wares and merchandise your Mariners and Pilots your cockers and merchandisers all your men of War who are in you and the entire company which is in your midst will fall into the midst of the Seas on the day of your ruin the common land will shake at the sound of the Cry of your Pilots all who handle the ore the Mariners all the pilots of the sea will come down from their ships and stand on the shore they will make their voice heard because of you they will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads they will roll about in ashes they will shave themselves completely bald because of you and uh gir themselves with sackcloth and weep for you with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing in their wailing for you they will take up a lamentation and lament for you what city is like Tire destroyed in the midst of the sea when your wares went out by sea you satisfied many people you enriched the kings of the Earth with your many luxury goods and your merchandise but you were broken by the Seas and the depths of the waters your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst all the inhabitants of the Isles will be astonished at you their kings will be greatly afraid and their countenance will be troubled the merchants among the peoples will hiss at you you will become a horror and be no more forever amen well as we have noted several times in our reading of the prophets the Lord God of Israel isn't simply the Lord God of Israel he is Sovereign over the Nations and through the prophet Ezekiel he addresses this land of TI pronouncing judgment upon them for their Rebellion against the living in the true God certainly Pride was the thing that animated them oy you have said I am perfect in Beauty boastful Nations will ultimately come against the Lord God most high and he will bring them to judgment and bring them to Destruction for their wretched Rebellion against his Sovereign rule well let us pray Our God and our father we thank you that you are the god of Heaven and Earth that you are sovereign over all the nations and as we look at the nations of the Earth this gives us great encouragement and great comfort for certainly God if things were left and into the hands of men men would make a mess of all things we see that is the case and we know and ultimately trust in the reality that as the the the the Book of Revelation tells us Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth and in this the people of God rejoice and in this the people of God trust and we pray and ask that you would just cause us to reflect upon these things even more so as we see the chaotic times that we live in we know that these are days when men call good evil and evil good and we pray for your intervention and we pray that you would indeed turn the hearts of men to your son the Lord Jesus Christ that they would heed and respond to David's words in Psalm 2 that they would know and kiss the son lest he be angry we pray father that you would just be merciful and extend your gracious gospel throughout the Earth and we ask these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you may turn in your Trinity himels again to number five 535 535 will stand as we sing together and pra to to heart s to in the he is my well please turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 103 Psalm 103 the focus of the psalmist in this particular Psalm is thanks giving for the mercy of God a good theme for us to consider on this Lord's Day Sabbath this evening as we enter into a new week certainly as God's people we ought to manifest a disposition of thankfulness that was the reason for the reading in Colossians 1 several times in that brief epistle the Apostle Paul tells the people of God they are to be thankful certainly as those who have received the grace of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ we ought to be a thankful lot and we ought to return praise to our God I'll begin reading in Psalm 103 at verse 1 a Psalm of David bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your iniquities who heals all your diseases who redeems your life from destruction who crowns you with loving kindness and Tender Mercies who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles the Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed he made known his ways to Moses his acts to the children of Israel the Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in Mercy he will not always strive with us nor will he keep his anger forever he has not dealt with us according to our sins nor punished us according to our iniquities for as the heavens are high above the Earth so great is his Mercy toward those who fear Him as far as the East is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us as a father pies his children so the Lord pies those who fear Him for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust as for man his days are like grass as a flower of the field so he flourishes for the wind passes over it and it is gone and its place remembers it no more but the mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting on those who fear Him and his righteousness to children's children to such as keep his Covenant and to those who remember his Commandments to do them the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all bless the Lord you his angels who excel in strength who do his word heeding the voice of his word bless the Lord all you his hosts you Ministers of his who do his pleasure bless the Lord all his Works in all places of his Dominion bless the Lord oh my soul well let us pray God we thank you for the written word we pray now for the Holy Spirit The Giver of the word we ask that he would help us to understand these things and move us to a thankfulness a disposition of of gratitude to The God Who has saved us by his grace and for his glory may we be an appreciative people in light of a crucified and Risen Savior may we indeed be able to look through the the the the trying times in which we live and see enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty of God on high our king of kings and our Lord of lords cause us as your people to reflect your goodness and cause us as your people to manifest thankfulness to you and may others see this and and may others be struck by this that we are a people who acknowledge the graciousness and the mercy and the kindness of our good God and we pray that you would be with us now forgiving us of all of our sins and our transgressions and encouraging Our Hearts by your grace and For Your Glory and we ask these things through Christ Our Lord amen well I I believe this Psalm breaks down to three primary uh Parts the first is the reminder to bless God in verses 1 and 2 David speaks to himself David talks to himself in these days of Bluetooth this is a a good thing Bluetooth enables us to be able to talk to ourselves without people thinking we're nuts because if they see us talking to ourselves in our vehicles typically they suspect that we're on the phone but those of us who have made it a practice of Talking to Ourselves for for for many years are are thankful for that that welcome relief that not everybody thinks we're nuts because we're you know moving our mouth in a in a car where we're the only ones but David reminds himself David calls upon himself to bless God verses 1 and two secondly he provides reasons for himself to bless God in other words not only does he remind himself but he gives him the father necessary to provoke and promote that blessing of God and then in the third place there is a recognition of the kingdom of God in verses 19 to 22 it's very intriguing he starts off by talking to him himself he starts off by reminding himself and then in verses 19 to 22 after highlighting the sovereignty of God most high he calls upon the entire created order to bless the Lord along with it so what begins as a soliloquy what begins as talking to oneself becomes a means by which David then calls upon Angels the hosts the ministers all of God's Works to bless His holy name now certainly the word bless bless as we understand it when it comes from God to us when he blesses us that means he prospers us he makes us happy he multiplies good things to us when we bless God it means to speak well of him it means to magnify his name this is the thrust in Ephesians 1 where the Apostle says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ so as God God blesses us we then bless him we don't give him things we don't uh add to him in any sense or shape whatsoever as if we could possibly add to God but we ascribe praise to him and at the root of all of this is a thankful heart a heart of gratitude for What the Lord Has Done in the lives of his people so let's look first at this reminder to bless God in verses 1 and two it's a Psalm of David the inscription there tells us as much now that's the first first verse in the Hebrew Bible unfortunately that at least my new King James doesn't number those subscri those superscriptions that Psalm of David is actually verse one it is inspired scripture you may have a chapter heading there that says praise for the Lord's mercies that's not inspired but the psalm of David is inspired it ought to be read it ought to be heard it ought to be listened to so it's David that man after God's Own Heart who is speaking praise to the Lord L notice he says bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name that's a very intriguing statement bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me other words God is so worthy and so excellent and So Glorious it's not just a part of us that ought to respond it's not just a Sunday part it's not just a a heart part it's not just a little part it's not just the religious aspect but he says bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me the Lord God most high has redeemed us the Lord God most high has saved us the Lord God most high has indeed forgiven us of our sins and as a result the people of God ought to bless the Lord not with just a part not with just a piece not with just a little bit and not just on one day but all that is within us ought to bless His holy name he practices this talking to himself elsewhere in Psalms 42 and 43 there he says why why are you cast down oh my soul hope thou in God David was no stranger to these soliloquies to this self- discussion to this encouragement and exhortation from himself to himself uh CH Spurgeon says Soul music is the very soul of Music the psalmist strikes the best key note when he begins with stirring up his inmost self to magnify the Lord he soliloquized holds self communion and exhorts himself as though he felt that dullness would all too soon steal over his faculties as indeed it will over us all unless we're diligently on the watch this is a helpful remedy to protect ourselves from falling prey to a laziness to a slothfulness to a forgetfulness this may need to be practiced in public worship we may need to talk to ourselves if you start opening your mouth and you start doing that and I know there's not Bluetooth here I might think you're a little nuts but we might need to talk to ourselves and say we're not supposed to think about tomorrow we're not supposed to be thinking about the debate tonight we're not supposed to be thinking about this contract this week we're supposed to be paying attention because God the Lord has promised his Blessing wherever is ga uh people gather together and wherever the preaching of the word comes we need to Rouse ourselves to attentiveness and we need to Rouse ourselves to a commitment to our Lord Martin Lloyd Jones says have you not realized that most of un your of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself I I love that David talks to himself Lloyd Jones says have you not realize the most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself now certainly you'd say well if I'm talking to myself I must be listening to myself but the priority is noteworthy we need to talk to ourselves we need to Rouse ourselves we need to say bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name and in case David didn't get it the first time David repeats it in verse two he says in verse two bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits isn't that something David acknowledges the propensity or the tendency within the heart part of a redeemed sinner to forget the Lord's benefits is it possible that we fall prey to that is it possible that we're not a more thankful people that we don't exercise this gratitude more faithfully and diligently that we don't Rouse ourselves up in the totality of our redeemed Humanity to bless the Lord because we Fallen prey to that we have forgotten the Lord's benefits perhaps in the mind of David is what God commanded Israel Deuteronomy chapter 6 you can turn there it's very important because I think the command is there for a reason well all commands are there for a reason but certainly the Lord saw the potential if Israel forgets God if Israel forgets his benefits then Israel is going to go astray notice in Deuteronomy chap 6 specifically at verse 12 well beginning in verse 10 so it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which he swore to your fathers to Abraham Isaac and Jacob to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build houses full of all good things which you did not fill heun out Wells which you did not dig Vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant when you have eaten and are full then beware lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage you see the Temptation you see the possible trajectory they reap the benefits of the god kindness of God they enjoy The Vineyards they enjoy the houses they enjoy the stuff and they forget the giver they forget the reality that it was the Lord who handed these things to them and there is a beware here beware of forgetting this uh this goodness of our god notice as well Deuteronomy 8:1 same idea beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his Commandments his judgments and his statutes which I command you today you see the close connection there beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his Commandments his judgments and his statutes which I command you today you forget God and you engage in Covenant breaking you remember God and hopefully you'll serve him adore him honor him and bless His holy name look at those Covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28 we've said much about those in recent days in our morning worship but specifically Deuteronomy chapter uh 28 verse 47 one of the aspects of the unfaithfulness of Israel is described in 28:47 because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you and hunger and thirst and nakedness and in need of everything and he will put a Yol of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you look at that because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything it's because they forgot it's because they thought that their hands had provided this it's that because they thought that they somehow were worthy of this or that they somehow deserve this and because they forgot God they did not serve god with joy and gladness of heart so back to our Psalm David Rouses his soul bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits Brethren you need to recognize in your own heart there is a tendency a PR uh propensity and yay maybe even the reality of a forgetfulness of who God is we need to Rouse ourselves we need to speak to ourselves we need to take the psalm and make it our own now note the second place the reasons to bless God the end of verse two he says forget not all his benefits it seems fitting that David will Now list his benefits it seems fitting in appropriate that David will now tell us or tell himself what God has done these are the reasons why you ought to bless the Lord these are the reasons you ought to praise the Lord these are the reasons you ought to Worship the Lord this this is the stuff that thankfulness feeds upon and note in the first place the spiritual blessing after saying forget not all his benefits we move into the reasons to bless God in verses 3 to 18 note that Chief Boon in verse three who forgives all your iniquities we could just stop right there couldn't we David could have stopped right there well he wants to magnify the mercy behind this forgiveness that's the bulk of the Psalm it is to magnify God for his mercies to David but think about that he says who forgives all your iniquities you know the heidleberg catechism many of you grew up memorizing it or going to classes and hearing it taught and expound it there is a pattern or a structure involved in that catechism that reflects Redemptive uh reality the first section deals with guilt our guilt before a holy God our sin before a holy God our our our breaking of his law the reality that we don't keep his law that we don't love God with all our heart soul mind and strength that we don't love our neighbors as ourselves guilt is the first section and then it moves on to Grace how God overcomes the guilt of man the sin of man the transgression of Man by his gracious activity in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ the application of redemption comes to vile guilty helpless Sinners it doesn't come to the upright it doesn't come to the polished it doesn't come to the well performed it rather comes to guilty Sinners guilty vile helpless we uh spotless Lamb of God was he full atonement can it be hallelujah what a savior and then after guilt and after Grace then comes what gratitude that is the redeemed Sinner's response to the goodness of our God gratitude we thank the Lord we praise the lord we bless the Lord we obey the Lord and all that he says by the spirit and according to his will Spurgeon comments on this aspect of forgiveness he says he selects a few of the choicest pearls from the casket of divine love threads them on a string of memory and hangs them about the neck of gratitude isn't this why we love Spurgeon that's a beautiful statement isn't it it's just so wonderful he selects a few of the choicest pearls from the casket of divine love threads them on the string of memory and hangs them about the neck of gratitude he says pardon sin is in our experience one of the chiefest bounds of Grace one of the earliest Gifts of Mercy in fact the needful preparation for enjoying all that follows it till iniquity is Forgiven healing Redemption and satisfaction are un unknown blessings so David starts with this conspicuous reference to the spiritual aspects of God's dealings with him but he doesn't stop there notice he goes on verse 3B who heals all your diseases now I don't think that's a a a general Maxim that every single person ought to apply that's a believer in Christ other words if you have cancer you have some terrible malady you can't come to Psalm 103: B and say well God hasn't healed my disease this isn't a Benny hin proof tax this isn't the health wealth and prosperity proof tax this is probably true in David's life and certainly it is a general principle in terms of God's faithfulness and his dealings with his people but we do error and we do come into some grief when we take these things and we press them and we prosecute them and we say that God is not fit or God is not legit with reference to his promise here no David is pronouncing a general Maxim who heals all your diseases again the experience of Israel was such they were protected by God while they were in Egypt from all of the various diseases that were in Egypt God brings them out and he tells them that those particular things denter and elephantiasis and all those wretched horrible things that were in Egypt they're not going to be upon you in the land of Canaan the land of promise that you inherit by God's grace and mercy notice not only the act to physical healing but he says in verse four who redeems your life from destruction the protection from Calamity I you know I wonder at times how many times we've been spared from a horrible car crash do you ever wonder that how many times we should have you know bought it humanly speaking how many times has God delivered us how many times has God redeemed our lives from destruction Again David knew this very very intimately because d David was hunted like a dog by Saul David knew what it was to be on the Run David knew what it was to be in danger toils trials tribulations and twice in David's history in scriptura for us he says that Yahweh has delivered me from every adversity prior to his incident with baath Sheba and even after the incident with baath Sheba and Uriah twice in his history David says the Lord has delivered me from every adversity he has delivered us as well he has preserved us he has kept us he keeps us safe notice in 4B who crowns you with loving kindness that's that HED that steadfast love with loving kindness and Tender Mercies he crowns us he doesn't just put a sock on our feet with it he crowns us with these things The Tender Mercies of God the loving kindness of God he causes to to fall Upon Us richly you see we need to appreciate that and I think that this Psalm promotes an appreciation of that that God in his dealings with Sinners is not miserly he's not Scrooge likee he doesn't just a portion out a few units but rather he is abundant the psalmist says that he is abundant he he beg Graces us this is Paul's language in Ephesians the the the god of Heaven and Earth has bestowed largely upon us uh and this is what what David is rehearsing As He blesses the Lord and then notice in verse 5 the provision of temporal Goods verse 5 who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles similar to what Jesus teaches us to pray doesn't he give us each day our Our Daily Bread David says this is the case David says that this happens he satisfies our mouth not just with things I love that Matthew Henry quote when I I I think it's at the the time when when Boaz invites Ruth to dip her bread in the in the in the vinegar to to make it tasty and and uh Matthew Henry says something to the effect that you know she could have just had the bread she could have just had the nourishment and the sustenance but but no you you have the taste with it you you Savor the goodness of it that's our God Brethren everything could have tasted like dirt everything could have provided the you know the the exact appropriate portions of protein and carbs and fiber we could have got you know daily biscuits that would have satisfied our nutral nutritional requirements but we would never had a steak grilled onions we never would had a mango or an avocado we never had those blessings from on high you see what David is saying God gives you these good things and you're not going to bless him you're not going to thank him you're not going to say God Almighty I love you and I want to return praise to you because you've given me not only that which is necessary to sustain life but it's delicious it's enjoyable I a wretched sinner that deserves the damnation of Hell get to Feast like a king in this lower World praise God is what David is saying from whom all blessings flow so those are the gifts received verses 3 to 5 notice the receivers of the gifts highlighted in verses 6 and S the Lord executes righteousness and justice for hope for all who are oppressed we're oppressed Brethren we're oppressed by the World by the flesh by the devil the most dangerous being the uh the flesh there's a time in a sense where we could go hide on an island and be away from the ravages of the world the devil isn't an omniscient omnipotent being so there may be a season or a time when he's not actually messing with us but we've always got this flesh we've always got this remaining corruption or if we're outside of Christ we have this reigning corruption and the Lord comes to deliver these mercies and these Graces and these benefits and these kindnesses to those who are oppressed the people of God described in verse 7 he made known his ways to Moses his acts to the children of Israel so the reasons to bless God involve the gifts received verses 3 to 5 the receivers of the gifts verses 6 to 7 and now note he's his emphasis is on The Giver of the gifts in verses 8 to8 18 this is the reason we bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me this is the reason we bless the Lord and forget not all his benefits because he's this God portrayed here for us in verses 8 to 18 notice in the first place he is the merciful and gracious God verse 8 the Lord is merciful and gracious now those words are very parallel aren't they mercy and Grace they're very closely connected mercy and in Grace Grace is I'm sure you've heard ad nauseum is unmerited favor it is God's gift to the recipient Mercy seems to contain the Nuance that this gracious gift comes to one who deserves punishment to one who deserves wrath and curse and Damnation but God deals with them mercifully God God shows him pity God shows him compassion Mercy seems to include not only the guilt but also the misery because of sin and so what the what I almost called him the Apostle because he sounds like Paul here but what David says in verse 8 Yahweh is merciful and gracious this is who he is God's Essence and attri God is his Essence God is his attributes he is merci beautiful and gracious and note what he says concerning this in verse 8 he is slow to anger and abounding in Mercy do you love that I've already pointed it out but our God doesn't just show us Mercy he abounds in it he abounds in it do look at us and say okay you get you know two portions today because I'm really upset with you no he's slow to anger and he abounds in Mercy do you understand that's your God I think this is a tough lesson for the people of God to get you mean I can come back to him even when I've sinned to whom shall you go when you've sinned it's like Peter to Jesus in John 6 when the Lord says are you going to Le me too and Peter says Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life this is where we must go it is to the god of Heaven and Earth who AB bounds in Mercy again Spurgeon he Bears no grudges the Lord would not have his people Harbor resentments and in his own course of action he sets them a grand example when the Lord has chastened his child he is done with his anger he is not punishing as a judge else might his wrath burn on but he is acting as a father and therefore after a few blows he ends the matter it's beautiful isn't it after a few blows he ends the matter he gives us the blows cuz he's a father who loves us right you spare the rod you hate the child according to Solomon well God loves the child so he gives him the blows the bless of the wound scour away evil according to Solomon in Proverbs 20 but after a few blows he ends the matter and presses his beloved one to his bosom as if nothing had happened now L you say well that's just Spurgeon with his poetic ability musing and and meditating and contemplating how do you know this is the case with reference to the scriptures themselves just look at Luke 15 just look at that account of that prodigal son just look at that account of that young man who's smelling like Pig smelling like sin looking like filth says I know what I'll do I'll go back to my father and I'll cast myself upon his Mercy now Brethren I do not believe the young man is converted here he is not saying I'm going to go and confess my sin and forsake it and live a life of righteousness and godliness he wants a hot meal he wants to be treated as one of his father's servants he knows this much about his father that his father hires day laborers and if the son with this mercenary Spirit comes back to him and says the right things then maybe he will get the place or position of a hired servant and he'll at least get to eat food each day that's the cont that's the situation and yet when he's a long way off the father sees him the father runs to him the father falls on him the father kisses him the father takes him back to his house the father o orders that a ring be put on his finger and orders that a robe be put on his back he orders that a fattened calf be slain so that they can celebrate and rejoice you see if you ever question the Abundant mercies of our God you're not reading the right Bible you need to read the scriptures because it displays for us not a miserly God but a very gracious God who abounds in Mercy Spurgeon goes on or if the offense lies too deep in the offender's nature to be thus overcome he continues to correct but he never ceases to love and he does not suffer his anger with his people to pass into the next world but receives his airing child into his glory praise God that he is the god of Psalm 103 so David sets forth that reality the attribute of God or the attributes of God Visa his mercy and his grace now look at what he does in verses 8 to8 he magnifies he says let's just put Mercy under the microscope now and let's parse it out let's dissect it you kids when you're growing up you take frogs and cut them up and put them under microscopes and and and and you check them out further you investigate it more comprehensively you've got your pencil and you've got your notepad or probably now you've got your iPhone or your computer or your tablet or whatever it is you're recording notes with but you you want to investigate the inner workings of that frog even more this is what David's doing here I've mentioned his Mercy I've mentioned that he abounds in his Mercy let's let's just explore this Mercy why would this be important for David why would David want to throw the the mercy of God under the microscope as it were and give it a further inspection because David is blessing the Lord because David is praising the Lord because David is expressing his gratitude and thankfulness to the Lord and as David rehearses not only the Lord's kindness he rehearses his own sinfulness and David knew that Mercy firsthand David knew that Mercy experientially David knew it when he was first brought out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and he knew it every step of the way he knew it when he fell into sin with baath Sheba he knew it when he fell into sin by murder he didn't fall he jumped into these sins and when he murdered Uriah and when the prophet Nathan comes to reprove him David understands this and he says I have sinned against Yahweh and the prophet says God has put away your sin he knew Mercy he understood mercy and he saw that he stood by Mercy notice David's rehearsal of the manifestation of God's mercy in verses 9 to18 just before we get to these particulars Ralph Davis makes this observation he says biblical prayer this is what Psalm 103 is biblical prayer seems to ponder God a good deal more than we are prone to do biblical prayer seems to ponder God a good deal more than we are prone to do in other words as we look at David and we can see him here in his prayer closet what's he doing he's pondering God you think perhaps there's a connection there the more that we Ponder God the more that we'll praise God the more that we know of God the more that we'll worship God other words is there a connection between Theology and doxology absolutely positively when we rehearse the attributes of God in the prayer closet when we consider as abounding Mercy to us in our misery and in our sin and in our edness when we see the power of God delivering us when we see the power of God preserving us when we see the power of God feeding us on a daily basis then hopefully we respond the way that David responds note in the first place his Mercy is such that he does not strive with us verse n he will not always strive with us nor will he keep his anger forever Brethren I think as parents we ought to model are parenting after what we find in Psalm 103 if your child has been chasing if your child has been disciplined if you have forgiven him then forgive him don't brood and emotionally punish him for six more months and make him feel bad because of what he's done that's not what God does penance is Rish forgiveness is Bible we don't have to walk around beating ourselves on the back but the Lord Christ took the punishment due for our sins the Lord Christ bled on our behalf the Lord Christ was buried and the Lord Christ was raised on the third day such that we don't have to put ashes in our soup to atone for our sins we don't have to erect poles and sit in the wilderness in order to atone for our sins the Lord Our God does not strive with us nor will he keep his anger forever notice secondly his Mercy is toward the undeserving verse 10 he has not dealt with us according to our sins nor punished us according to our iniquities in some sense it's tological the toogy is when you say the same thing over again and in a sense that's what this means his Mercy is toward the undeserving well by definition mercy comes to the undeserving other words the one that is shown Mercy deserves wrath deserves hell deserves judgment deserves condem dnation but God doesn't visit that upon him so we can say with verse 10 that Mercy is definitely toward the undeserving he has not dealt with us according to our sins isn't that your reality don't you understand that haven't you mused on that many times yourselves you know we hear of certain things going on in this world and often times as Christians we're quick to go wow that's terrible without reflecting upon ourselves we have sinned a great deal against against a holy God and he doesn't deserve or he hasn't we don't deserve this Mercy he has not dealt with us according to our sins nor has he punished us according to our iniquities notice as well his Mercy is infinite verse 11 God is his attributes God is his attributes and his Mercy is infinite as God is infinite note verse 11 for as the heavens are high above the Earth so great is his Mercy toward those who fear Him and I don't think Heavens there means you know Pluto once you get to Pluto then the mercy ends you know you're good until Pluto well I don't know Pluto is not a planet anymore so whatever the next the last I I know the planets I don't want to rehearse them though but Neptune right that's the almost last one now the heavens means the heavens of God his Mercy is infinite it doesn't wear out there's not a cap there's not a limitation you've used it all up you've exhausted the mercy of God no more for you too bad for you out you go his Mercy is infinite as the heavens are high above the Earth so great is his Mercy toward those who fear Him notice as well his Mercy is thorough verse 12 as far as the East is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us it's thorough he doesn't leave some there he doesn't leave some unatoned for he doesn't leave some Unforgiven but as far as the East is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us notice as well his Mercy is tender I think I love verse 13 it's probably not I don't think I love it I do love it but in my mind this is one of those those Bon upon above the Bon with reference to Psalm 103 as a father pies his children so the Lord pies those who fear him don't we need pity I mean we're pity pitiable creatures aren't we we're wretches and and the fact is is our God pities us look at Deuteronomy 1 for just a moment Deuteronomy chapter 1 beautiful image of what God is to Israel Deuteronomy chapter 1 specifically verse 26 nevertheless you would not I'm sorry verse 29 9 then I said to you do not be terrified or afraid of them the Lord your God who goes before you he will fight for you according to all he did for you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place you know how many times the children of Israel whined and grumbled and complained when they were in the wilderness do you know that in the wilderness this was a season of God's great blessing God's Great provision God's Great protection in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place aren't these images in our Bibles to promote in our hearts an appreciation for the fatherhood of God that he is what is described in Psalm 10313 as a father pies his children so the Lord Lord pies those who fear Him his Mercy is sympathetic verse 14 for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust I think at times brethren we need to rehearse this and we need to recall this and we need to understand this and we need to roll it in our minds and our hearts because we forget who God is we forget the reality set forth in Psalm 103 and instead of blessing the Lord instead of praising the Lord instead of thanking the lord we ask questions like where is the Lord why is the Lord doing this well the Lord is in this for your good he pies you he knows your frame he knows that you are but dust and then notice finally with reference to the mercy of God in the microscope his Mercy is enduring verses 15 to 18 as for man his days are like grass as a flower of the field so he flourishes for the wind pass passes over it and it is gone and its place remembers it no more but the mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting on those who fear Him man comes and man goes but the mercy of God is enduring and his righteousness to children's children to such as keep his Covenant and to those who remember his Commandments to do them SP Spurgeon again how vast the contrast between the Fading Flower and the Everlasting God how Wonder ful that his Mercy should link our Frailty with his eternity and make us everlasting too from old eternity the Lord viewed his people as objects of mercy and as such chose them to become partakers of his grace the doctrine of Eternal election is most delightful to those who have light to see it and love wherewith to accept it it is a theme for deepest thought and highest joy that Mercy endures forever so those are the reasons to bless after the reminder to bless finally and quickly notice the recognition of the kingdom of God verses 19-22 he speaks of the establishment of the Throne of the Lord verse 19a Yahweh has established his throne in heaven he notes the scope of his rule in verse 19B and his kingdom rules over all comprehensive sovereignty absolute uh a universal lordship there's not one square inch that's not under the direct control of our Sovereign God that right there is right there is a reason to bless a reason to praise a reason to celebrate and a reason to adore him but then he moves from that to call upon a universal summons to bless God verses 20 to 22 bless the Lord you his angels who excel in strength to do his word think about this David creature angels are creatures but they're of a higher order of creature so the lower lower order David says to the angels you need to bless the Lord that's not arrogance on David's part that's a recognition of the infinite worth and exceeding value and the glory of God most high not that the unfallen Angels needed to be reminded by David they're just saying absolutely we'll bless him we will bless him because he's worthy that is their job to bless God bless the Lord you his angels who excel in strength and who who do his word heeding the voice of his word bless the Lord all you his host you Ministers of his who do his pleasure bless the Lord all his works and all places of his dominion and then he ends where he begins bless the Lord oh my soul he's gone full circle he has rehearsed the reasons he has recognized the the kingdom and he calls upon all the inhabitants of the Earth all the created order to bless God and he ends with reminding himself once again to bless the lord well in conclusion I think there are several things and I don't mean a several half hour several but just a quick several things that we ought to consider with reference to Thanksgiving in the first place Thanksgiving Keeps Us in Good Company Thanksgiving Keeps Us in good company I don't mean particularly that tomorrow well I hope you're in good company I hope it's not misery and turmoil and chaos and throwing turkey legs at each other but the the idea is is that Thanksgiving Keeps Us in Good Company in other words when we're thankful to God we're where we're supposed to be we're with the men like David we with the men like Paul we're with the men like Peter we're with the men that instead of grumbling and in W whining and and complaining we're blessing the Lord we're in good company in terms of the Angels if the Angels never tire and never cease of saying holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts then certainly we ought to join in their company and praise the Lord God as well it keeps us in Good Company when all around us are are bickering complaining whining and getting sidetracked let us join the created host and bless the Lord I thought about this this morning I got up early and I was sitting there and I heard a bird tweeting outside it wasn't a crow crows seem to do their thing no matter what the situation is but it's been particularly you know rainy weather over the last few days I think you could explain yesterday as rainy weather and I heard this one sole bird singing away and I'm not a bird guy it's not something I didn't have a moment but I just thought you know that's kind of like a Christian who's thankful cuz everybody else in the world's whining rumbling complaining sniveling that one lone Christian is singing praise to God and the world's falling apart the world looks like a mess there's all kinds of things going on but there's that one bird chirping singing and praising the god of Heaven and Earth I think Christians are like that the the the thankful ones you you know them you've met them before they're they're thankful they they they sound like a bird when when all the other birds are doing whatever it is they do when the rains come Brethren Thanksgiving Keeps Us in Good Company secondly Thanksgiving directs us to God and keeps our eyes off of self and sin other words if we are thanking God or if we are blessing the Lord or if we are composing Psalm 103 guess what we're not doing when David was writing Psalm 103 he wasn't going into bath Sheba when David was writing Psalm 103 he wasn't having Uriah murdered on the field the battle this aspect of gratitude directs us to God and keeps our eyes off of self and sin one of the reasons why salvation is by Grace is to provoke and promote thankfulness on the part of the recipients you see if it wasn't by Grace we would be applauding ourselves we would be like Tire boasting in our Beauty we would be like Tire boasting in in our accomplishments we would be like all those devilish fiends that take pride in themselves but thankfulness directs us to the one who is worthy as well thirdly Thanksgiving keeps our eyes and our affections upon God very similar to number two but in some sense a shade different two directs us to God keeps our eyes off of self and sin three Thanksgiving keeps our eyes in affections upon God that's where they're supposed to be that's what we're supposed to be about that's the point in First Peter he calls you out of Darkness into Marvelous Light why so you can lay around on the couch eating Cheetos no he's called you out of Darkness Into The Marvelous Light that we may Proclaim his Praises that we may Proclaim his excellencies that's one of the reasons you've been saved yes so that you don't go to hell yes so that you don't suffer for the Wrath and Judgment of God but yes so that in Philippians 2 you are shining as lights in a crooked and perverse generation in fact turn there to Philippians chapter 2 and note this particular connection Philippians chapter 2 specifically I just referred to it verse 15 you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast or holding forth the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I may not run or or have not run in vain or labored in vain now note verse 14 do all things without complaining and disputing so that's the antithesis of verses 15 to 16 if you're doing all things with complaining and disputing you're not going to be blameless and harmless you're not going to be these children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation you're not going to be those shining as lights in the world there is a a close connection between the two parts of the verse do all things without complaining and disputing that you may be this sort of person guess what uh uh complaining and disputing keeps you from being guess what uh complaining and disputing keeps you from doing it keeps you from being the sort of man or woman that Paul envisages here in verses 15 and 16 so Thanksgiving keeps our eyes and affections upon God fourthly Thanksgiving promotes the proper disposition for God's children it puts him in a in a in a posture of praise to the Lord God it promotes the fear of God in his heart and as well it promotes dependence upon the Lord God and then finally Thanksgiving keeps us ever mindful of the blood of Jesus Christ you ever get that you know you you you say to someone one of the practices in our home is when we sit down to eat you know name one thing that you're thankful for really just one thing I mean we got do we have time because we got so much to be thankful for and in some sense I have this you know innate opposition to a Thanksgiving Day not because I'm anti- turkey or ham or anything like that but I just think every day ought to be Thanksgiving for a Christian I think every day ought to be blessed the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits so many times we forget his benefits so many times we just live as if there are no benefits so many times we forget the reality that Christ Our Savior shed his blood on our behalf certainly that's the the the position we're in when we when we opt for sin we're forgetting his benefits or we're purposefully shutting his benefits out so that we're not conscious of God so that we'll pursue this act of wickedness or treason Brethren take a davidic disposition and bless the Lord forget not his benefits Rouse your soul to a daily Thanksgiving not just October 10th but each and every day the believer ought to rise and praise God Almighty for his goodness his grace and that attribute that is on Full display in Psalm 103 his Mercy well let us pray Our Father we thank you for this your word and we thank you for this amplification of the the the mercy of God and I pray that you would help us to bless your Holy Name help us not to forget your benefits help us to remind ourselves and help help us to join that that that wonderful chorus of those who do indeed bless the Lord most high go with us and watch over us and grant us Grace to serve you as the Apostle says there in Philippians chapter 2 and we pray these things through Christ Our Lord amen well please take your Trinity Himel and turn to hymn number seven hymn number seven will stand and we'll sing together bless Glory GL Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give give you peace Father go with us may these things be true we call upon you we appeal to your grace and your abounding mercy to supply the things pronounced here in this text watch over us and keep us and cause your wonderful face to shine upon us and may we know your presence and your power in our lives daily we thank you for this sabbath day we thank you for your mercies to us we ask now that you would cause us to go in peace and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well please be seated