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The Perpetuity of Praise, Part 3 · CCC West Covina

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It was over 3000 years ago that the Psalms were written and
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compiled. Most of them written by the
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sweet Psalmist of Israel. King David in Jewish tradition
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tells us that the Psalms are just simply praises.
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The word means to to pluck with a string, and so most, if not
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all of the Psalms were were put to music that they might be sung
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in. The Psalms themselves emphasize
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the the majesty and the magnificence of God amidst the
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malady and misery of man. That's why the Psalm are so
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important to read on a daily basis.
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For most of us, our our days are filled with misery and heartache
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and pain, a lot like those written by the psalmist.
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And so through the reading of the Psalms, we begin to
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understand more about the the magnificence and the majesty of
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God and how he operates. There's 150 chapters in the book
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of Psalms. It's the longest, biggest book
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in the Bible. So turn with me, if you would,
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to Psalm 150. That's the last one.
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We'll begin our time there this morning.
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Psalm 150 verse #1 it says praise the Lord or Hallelujah,
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praise God in his sanctuary. Now maybe your translation says
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praise God in the assembly of the Saints, and both are true.
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The Bible tells us in Psalm 22 that God inhabits the praises of
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His people. And it is true that when we
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gather together as a body of believers, as Saints, we we give
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praise and honor to God. So we are to praise him among
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the assembly of the Saints. But the new American standard.
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The text that I use I think is closest to the translation when
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it says praise God in the sanctuary in in the temple.
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That's quite interesting because believe it or not, your body is
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a sanctuary. Paul says it this way in First
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Corinthians chapter 6 verse #19 Do you not know that your body
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is a sanctuary? Your body's a temple of the Holy
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Spirit. It was in you whom you have from
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God, and that you are not your own, for you have been bought
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with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
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body. So when the psalmist says praise
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the Lord in the sanctuary, in all reality, our whole lives as
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believers, our bodies are that sanctuary.
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And there's to be this continual praise of God in that sanctuary,
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in that temple where the Spirit of God him himself dwells.
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And then the last first says, Let everything that has breath
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praise the Lord. Let everything that hath breath
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praise the Lord. Why?
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Because praise truly is the beauty of the believer.
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Psalm 147 verse #1 tells us. For praise is pleasant and
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beautiful. Psalm 33 One says the same
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thing. Charles Spurgeon, who was a
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master of words and a master preacher, said this about the
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beauty of praise. He said what wings are to a bird
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and what fruit is to a tree, what the Rose is to the thorn.
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That is the praise to a child of God.
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What makes the the the bird beautiful is when it's in flight
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in its wings. What makes the tree beautiful is
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the fruit that it grows. And what makes the thorn
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beautiful is that it's attached to the Rose.
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And what Makes You Beautiful is when you live a life of praise.
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So Psalm 63 says this verse #4 So I will bless you as long as I
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live. I will lift up my hands in your
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name. My soul is satisfied as with
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Morrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
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So as long as I live, I I'm going to offer praises with
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joyful lips. It says over in Psalm 113 that
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Tim had read earlier. Praise the Lord, praise those
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servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
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Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and
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forever. From the rising of the sun to
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its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.
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From the rising of the sun to its setting, God's name is to be
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praised. So when you wake up in the
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morning and you see the sun arise, some of us like to sleep
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in so we don't see the sunrise, but the the godly person gets up
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before the sun comes up, but he wants to see the sunrise because
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you want to praise the Lord from the rising of the sun to its
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setting. In other words, praise is
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continual. Praise is perpetual.
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Praise is something that's ongoing.
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Praise never is out of season. Praise is never optional.
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It's always essential. Praise is a part of who we are.
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It beautifies us when we open our eyes in the morning.
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We we praise the Lord for bringing a safety through
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another night. We praise the Lord for the
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events coming that day. We praise the Lord for all
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that's going to happen in my family that day.
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And I get in and I, I take a shower and I praise the Lord
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that I have running water and that I have towels to dry off
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with. And for you ladies, you have a
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blow dryer to blow dry your hair.
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You praise the Lord for electricity to be able to turn
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it on from the rising of the sun to that setting.
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God's name is to be praised again.
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Charles Spurgeon, who has written so much about praise in
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his his book on the Psalms, The Treasury of David.
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And outside of that, he has written a a whole lot of books
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on the perfection of praise and the practice of praise.
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He says these words, and these are written in his devotional
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morning and evening on the date of July 31st, as he talks about
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First Chronicles 933, where the singers in the temple were to
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work faithfully, fervently, ferociously all throughout the
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day. They were to sing both day and
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night, for their work was never done.
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So Spurgeon would comment on that by saying these words.
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Well, was it so ordered in the temple that the sacred chant
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never ceased. Forever more did the singers
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praise the Lord, whose mercy endureth forever.
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As mercy did not cease to rule either by day or by night, so
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neither did music hush it's holy ministry.
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There is a lesson sweetly taught to thee in the ceaseless song of
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Zion's temple. Thou too art a constant debtor,
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and see thou to it that thy gratitude, like charity, never
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faileth. God's praise is constant in
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heaven, which is to be thy final dwelling place.
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Learn thou to practice the eternal Hallelujah around the
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earth. As the sun scatters his light,
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his beams awaken grateful believers to tune their morning
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hymn, so that by the priesthood of the Saints, perpetual praise
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is kept up at all hours. They clothe our globe in a
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mantle of Thanksgiving and girdled it with a golden belt of
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song. The Lord always deserves to be
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praised for what He is in Himself, for His works of
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creation and Providence, for His goodness towards His creatures,
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and especially for the transcended act of redemption
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and all the marvelous blessing flowing therefrom.
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And it's always beneficial to praise the Lord.
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It cheers the day and brightens the night.
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It lightens toil and softens sorrow, and over earthly
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gladness it sheds a sanctifying radiance which makes it less
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liable to blind us with its glare.
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Have we not something to sing about at this moment?
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Can we not weave a song out of our present joys, or our past
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deliverances, or our future hopes?
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He leaves us with a question. What do you have to praise the
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Lord for at this very moment? Psalm 119.
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The psalmist says these words. Psalm 119, verse #164 Seven
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times a day I will praise Thee. Does that mean that I set my
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clock for seven different times a day for an alarm to go off for
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me to say praise the Lord, or to thank Him for what happened over
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the last two hours? So at 8:00 I praise Him.
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At 10:00 I praise Him. At noon I praise Him.
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At 2 I praise Him. At 4:00 and 6:00 and 8:00 I
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praise Him. Seven times a day I praise the
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Lord. Is that what that means?
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No, now 7 is the number of completion.
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It's the number of perfection. The psalmist is saying my praise
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for thee will be complete. It will, it will encompass the
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the perfections of the day, the completion of the day.
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My life will be incomplete if I don't praise you, but my life
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will. My life will be complete if I do
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praise you. That's what he says.
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The psalmist understands perpetual praise.
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The psalmist understands the perpetuity of praise, that it's
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something that's lasting not just now through this life, but
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makes its way into eternal life. For praise truly will be the
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eternal service of those who dwell in the presence of the
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living God. Amen.
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Thank you again. It was Spurgeon who said these
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words. He says it is a great thing to
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praise Jesus Christ by day, but there is no music sweeter than
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the nightingales. And she praises God by night.
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His well to praise the Lord for His mercy when you are in
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health, but make sure that you do it when you are sick, for
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then your praise is more likely to be genuine when you are deep
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down in sorrow. Do not rob God of the gratitude
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that is due Him. Never stint Him of His revenue
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of praise. Whatever else goes short, Praise
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Him sometimes on the high sounding symbols with all your
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heart and being. But when you cannot do that,
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just sit and mean His praise and solemn silence in the deep quiet
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of your spirit. Because I want to say it would
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create an almost miraculous change in some people's lives if
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they made a point of speaking most of the precious things and
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least of the worries and ills. Why always the poverty, Why
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always the pains, Why always the dying child?
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Why always the husband's small wages?
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Why always the unkindness of a friend?
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Why not sometimes? Yes, and why not always the
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mercies of the Lord? That is praise, and it is to be
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our everyday garments. So true.
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We are looking at the pathway of praise, and we are still
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covering this topic, the perpetuity of praise, and giving
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you the principles that would allow you to continue on day
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after day, seven times a day or all day, lifting up your hands
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or making sure that as long as you live, you will praise the
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Lord. Giving you the principles that
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will help you understand that as you go through the day, God's
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power is available. And because God's power is
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available, His promises are undeniable.
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And because His promises are undeniable, His presence is
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unavoidable. And because His presence is
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unavoidable, then we know that His Providence is unsearchable,
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The Providence of God. Have you ever taken a moment and
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look back at your life and watched and seen all the things
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that God has done by bringing you where you are to this point
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today? It's so important to do that
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because as you look back and see what God has done, you're able
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to see how God is going to manifest Himself daily in your
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lives. That that's just so important.
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You read the Old Testament. They were written for our
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encouragement. Romans 15, four says why?
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Because you see how God led his people all throughout the
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wilderness wanderings, how He led the kings and the judges,
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how he led the priests and the prophets, how God was
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orchestrating everything, determining every event under
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the heavens to bring about His glory.
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The precision of His plan, the precision of His prophecy all
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being fulfilled so that he can say in Galatians 4, in the
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fullness of time, God sent forth the Son born of a woman, born
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under the law, that he might redeem his people in the
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fullness of time. In other words, at the perfect
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time, it was the right time. It was the, the, the specific
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time God had made a plan and that plan was to make sure that
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a son came at the right time and all the events, everything was
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right socially, everything was right politically, everything
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was right religiously. Israel was right where God
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wanted them to be so that he would send forth his son at the
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proper time. The Providence of God, it's,
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it's unsearchable, it's unfathomable.
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It goes way beyond anything we can imagine because God
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orchestrates all things and brings about his perfect plan.
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But as you travel the pathway of praise, there is times in which
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we we sin, there's disobedience on our part, There's times we
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think things we should never think about.
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We do things we should never do, and we realize that we've sinned
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against the Lord. So as you travel the pathway of
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praise, the 5th principle is this, that His pardon is
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invaluable. His pardon is invaluable.
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Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.
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Bless His holy name, bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none
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of his benefits. And the very first one the
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psalmist mentions is that he pardons all my iniquities.
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It is so, so valuable. It is so important to realize
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that God is the forgiver of man's sins.
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So no longer, no matter how long the journey or how many sins are
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committed in that journey, if we confess our sins, our God is
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faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
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all unrighteousness. That's why the psalmist says in
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in Psalm 32, How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
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whose sin is covered, How blessed is the man to whom the
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Lord does not impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no
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deceit. When I kept silent about my sin,
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my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
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For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.
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My vitality was drained away, as with the fever heat of summer.
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So wonder solemnly recorded in Proverbs 2928.
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Excuse me, 13 that he who covers his transgressions will not
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prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them shall find
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compassion. And here is David talking about
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the blessing that comes with the forgiveness of God.
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But while he hid his sin and concealed his sin, so he thought
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he was, the Lord knew. And so he testifies to the fact
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that God's hand was heavy upon him.
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He drained his couch with tears. Because you see, God doesn't
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allow his children to continue in sin without confessing the
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sin, without turning from the sin.
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And Dave is a classic example of that.
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He said God's hand was heavy upon me.
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Verse 5 So I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity.
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I did not hide. I said, I will confess my
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transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
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That is just so great, and therefore let everyone who is
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godly pray to you in a time when you may be found surely in a
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flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
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You are my hiding place, You preserve me from trouble.
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You surround me with songs of deliverance.
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The Bible says, and Isaiah 53 verse 4.
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Surely our grief see Himself bore, and our sorrows He
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carried. Yet we ourselves esteem Him
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stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
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But he was pierced through for our transgressions.
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He was crushed for our iniquities.
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The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by
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His scourging we are healed. All of us, like sheep have gone
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astray. Each of us has turned to his own
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way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on
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him. He was oppressed and he was
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afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
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Like a land that has led to slaughter, and like a sheep that
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a silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.
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By oppression and judgement He was taken away and asked for his
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his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the
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land of the living for the transgression of my people to
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whom the stroke was due. It just goes to show you that
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our Lord is the one who who forgives us all of our sins.
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I love what what Nehemiah said in Nehemiah chapter Chapter 9
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verse #17 You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and
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compassionate, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness.
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Micah would say in seven verse #18 Who was a God like you who
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pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious acts of his
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possession, who does not retain his anger forever?
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Psalm 85. Psalm 85, verse #3 You forgive
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the iniquity of your people. You covered all their sin.
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You withdrew all your fury. You turned away from your
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burning anger. Then over in Isaiah chapter,
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chapter 43, the prophet Isaiah records these words in verse 25.
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God says, I even I am the one who wipes out your
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transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your
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sins. Why is it I can continue down
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the pathway of praise, giving thanks, rejoicing in God?
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It's because His pardon is invaluable to me.
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I know that I will sin. I know that I will offend my
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God. I know that there's times going
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to come that I will not be pleasing to Him.
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And so I go to him and when I when I go to him, he so
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willingly forgives all of our transgressions.
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It's not that they are not already forgiven, because they
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are. Ephesians tells us that they
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were forgiven in the past, present and future.
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His forgiveness is all-encompassing and the very
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first words on the cross where Father forgive them for they
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know not what they are doing. And even though they necessarily
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weren't forgiven at that point, he was saying there's
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forgiveness. That's that's available to those
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who will come to me and repent of their sin and turn to me.
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I will forgive you. Even though He hung on the
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cross, but His purpose in coming was to cleanse us from our sin.
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And so when we give our lives to Christ positionally in Christ,
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we are totally forgiven of all of our sins.
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But the reason we confess our sins, the reason we forsake our
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sins is because we want the fellowship and the communion
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with God to be intimate and sweet.
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But because of my sin, I bring up a barrier between me and my
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God. It's it's like you and your
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children, right? As a father loves his children
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and is willing to forgive his his children.
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When a child sins against him, he is willing to forgive.
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He wants to forgive. He has forgiven.
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But the spirit of forgiveness doesn't mean that the Son is
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forgiven. He must come and repent of a
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sin. And when he does, the barrier
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that the Son put up is torn down.
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The sweetness of the communion then begins to happen and to
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flow because there's been repentance, there's been a
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confession of sin. So in a practical sense, not in
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a positional sense, because positionally we are, we are
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forgiven in Christ, but from a practical sense, from the sense
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of our communion and intimacy with Him.
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It comes because we go to Him and we confess our sins because
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we want to be right with our God.
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We don't want there to be a barrier between US and Him
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because we've erected the barrier of sin.
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So we go to Him and we ask forgiveness and confess our
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sins. The word confess means to say
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the same thing. So we say the same thing about
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our sin that God says about our sin.
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And we go to him, and he forgives so willingly, so
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freely, because that's the kind of God we serve.
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That's why along the pathway of praise, you must remember that
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His pardon is invaluable. It will cause you to praise Him
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all the more for His willingness to forgive you of all your sins.
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So as you travel, remember the power of God is available.
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The promises of God are undeniable.
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The presence of God is unavoidable.
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The Providence of God is unsearchable, His pardon
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invaluable. Invaluable.
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Remember in Matthew Chapter 9, when the paralyzed man was
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healed, they dropped him down through the roof.
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They couldn't get in because the crowds were so big around the
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house that the text literally says they unroofed the roof.
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And Can you imagine? Jesus is sitting in the house
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and he's teaching people about his Kingdom, and all of a sudden
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all of the dirt and the hay and wood come falling down upon all
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who are sitting there because the paralyzed man had to get in
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to see Jesus. And then they would lower him
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down right before him. And Jesus says to him, My son,
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your sins are forgiven. Well, why?
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And the Pharisees that were there began to say to
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themselves, This man blasphemes. And then the text says that
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Jesus knowing what they were thinking, that's just so good.
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I love that because you know, when I'm preaching, I have no
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idea what you're thinking, but the Lord does.
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He knows exactly what's on your mind right now.
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Those of you are thinking about lunch plans and those of you
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think about football plans this afternoon.
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He knows what's on your mind, but he knows what's on their
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mind. So he says, let me ask you guys
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a question. Which is easier to say your sins
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are forgiven or to take up your bed and walk?
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Well, the answer is simple, just say you're forgiven.
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Why? Because who's going to know?
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That's right? But if I say to you first take
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up your bed and walk and you don't walk, then you're a liar.
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You can't do anything. So the Son of Man says your sins
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are forgiven, but to prove to you his sons are his sins are
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forgiven, he says take up your bed and walk in.
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The paralyzed man takes up his bed and walks out of the house.
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So great. So in that from that context,
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Matthew takes us to the call of Matthew, and Matthew is a tax
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collector. He was below the sinners.
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He was below the prostitutes, He was, he was below the
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adulterers. He was the worst of the worst.
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And Jesus says follow me and Matthew leaves.
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It all follows Christ. And Matthew was so overwhelmed
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by the forgiveness of God, he invites all the tax gatherers
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and all the sinners that he knows to come to his house for
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dinner. And Jesus and the disciples dine
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with the tax gatherers and the sinners.
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And again the Pharisees are so upset because here he is dining
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with the filthy riffraff of the day and not dining with them,
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the religious elite of the day. And Jesus says you guys missed
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it. I've not come to call the
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righteous. I've come to call the sinners to
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repentance. That was his ministry.
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Our gods are forgiving God. And so as you travel the pathway
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of praise, there's going to come incidences and times and issues
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that will arise where you will sin against the Lord.
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That's why his pardon is so invaluable that you can go to
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him and say, God, please forgive me in my sin.
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And God does that. He wants to, he wants to
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fellowship with you more than you want the fellowship with
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him. And so he he longs for you.
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He wants to dwell in intimacy with you.
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His pardon is invaluable. Next, his provision is
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indescribable. His provision is indescribable.
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2nd Corinthians 915 Thanks being to God for his indescribable
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gift. Thanks being to God for his
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incomparable gift. Thanks being to God for His
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irresistible gift. What's the gift?
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The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Romans 623 The gift is eternal life.
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That's His provision, but his provision goes way beyond that
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because He is a son and a shield, Psalm 84 tells us, and
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that no good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk
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uprightly. Psalm 8411, what a beautiful
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verse. But our Lord's a son and the
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shield. He's a provider and a protector.
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And so because his, his provision is indescribable,
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because it is, how do you describe eternal life?
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How do you do that? How do you describe the the
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angels, Peter tells us, look down upon the redeemed and
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scratch their heads. They don't want to stand it.
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They don't get it. And yet we in our finite sinful
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minds expect to describe eternal life, describe the forgiveness
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of sins. We can't do that.
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It's indescribable. And so you you thank God for his
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provision of salvation. You go all the way back to
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Genesis 22. We've already talked about this
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where Abraham named that place Yabe Yuray, the Lord, my
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provider. The Lord would provide the
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substitute at the right moment, at the right time within His
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Providence so that you would not have to pay the price for your
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sin. God did that, His wonderful
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provision so indescribable. The Bible says that eternal life
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is imperishable. It tells us that our inheritance
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not only is imperishable, it's incorruptible.
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We, we don't understand that we, we live in the law of the second
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law of thermodynamics, where everything is getting worse and
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worse, not getting better and better.
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Everything is crumbling. Just look at your own life.
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You're getting older, you're not getting more fit, you're getting
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less fit. You know you're not getting
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stronger, you're getting weaker. Why?
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Because your body's breaking down.
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But yet eternal life is incorruptible.
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It's imperishable. The call of God, Romans 11/29 is
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irrevocable. The gifts and calling of God are
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irrevocable. God never takes it back.
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God says, you know, I know, I forgave you, but no more.
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I'm taking the gift of eternal life back from you.
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No, He didn't do that. It's it's the unchangeable God,
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the immutability of God, the greatness of God that allows us
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to be forgiven of our sins and that we are securing Him.
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The provision of God is indescribable.
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And we live in that realm because we want to try to
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explain to you all that eternal life means we just can't.
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It's the life with the eternal God in His presence forever and
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ever and ever. But it goes beyond an extended
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life. Why?
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Because the unbeliever, he will have an extended life in hell.
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His eternity will be spent in hell.
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But the eternal life is the quality of life that God gives.
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His children have a certain quality of life that those who
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are not as children do not have. They do not have that quality of
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life that springs from the inside out because of what God
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has done to cleanse their soul from their sin and give them
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eternal life. How great is that?
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His pardon is invaluable. His provision is indescribable.
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And let me give you one more and Lord willing, I'll finish it
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next week. His person is adorable, His
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person's worthy of adoration. And we've already talked to you
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about the person of praise and why it's so important to to bow
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before and the magi when they, when they came to the house,
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they bowed before the Lord and worshipped him out of adoration.
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There's something about our our Lord that makes him so
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incredibly majestic that we can't help but bow before him
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and worship him. The psalmist said in Psalm 97
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verse #12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give
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thanks to his holy name. Give praise and Thanksgiving to
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the holy name of God. I love what it says in in Psalm
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145. I would extol you, Oh my God, O
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King, I will bless your name forever and ever every day I
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will bless you and I will praise your name forever and ever.
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Four times the psalmist says I will do this, I will do this.
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I'm giving you my word. This is what I'm going to do all
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day long, forever and ever. I'm going to praise your name.
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Great is the Lord how to be praised, and His greatness is
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untraceable. One generation shall praise you,
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your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts on the
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glorious splendor of Your majesty.
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And on your wonderful works I will meditate.
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Men will speak of the power of your awesome acts, and I will
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tell of Your greatness. They will eagerly utter the
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memory of Your abundant goodness, and will shout
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joyfully of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and
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merciful, slow to anger, and great in loving kindness.
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The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over.
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All His works. All your works shall give thanks
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to you, O Lord, and your godly ones shall bless you.
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His person is adorable, worthy of adoration.
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When you can't think of anything to praise the Lord for that day,
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as you travel the pathway of praise, you always remember His
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holy name and give thanks to Him.
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You remember that He's the Lord, my Provider, the Lord, my
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Shepherd. He is the Lord of hosts, the one
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who fights for me and protects me.
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I thank Him for those things by thinking that he's a sovereign
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God of the universe who overrides everything because he
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rules over everything. That's who he is, Spurgeon said.
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These words we don't sing enough.
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My brothers and sisters, how often do I stir you up about the
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matter of prayer? But perhaps I might be just as
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earnest about the matter of praise.
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Do we sing as much as the birds do?
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Yet what have birds to sing about compared with us?
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Do you think we sing as much as the angels do?
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Yet they were never redeemed by the blood of Christ.
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He says many of our doubts and fears would fly away if we
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praised God more, and many of our trials and troubles would
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all together vanish if we began to sing of our mercies.
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Often times, depression of spirit that will not yield to a
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whole night of wrestling would yield to 10 minutes of
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Thanksgiving before God. The perpetuity of praise needs
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to be understood as you travel the pathway of praise.
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And because of what God has made available to you through His
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power and His presence, through His promises and through His
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provisions, through His pardon and through His person, we have
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no excuse not to praise the Lord.
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Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.
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Let's pray together. Father God, we thank you for
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today. We are grateful for all that you
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have done. Forgive us Lord, for going
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through days, nights, weeks without lifting our voices in
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praise. Our prayer, Father, is that we
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would be cloaked with the garment of praise every single
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day. You've formed us for yourself,
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and the people that you have formed for yourself will declare
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your praise. May we do that, Lord,
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constantly, continually, consistently, as we travel the
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pathway of praise until that day where we go home to be with the
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Christ and we'll live the life of eternal praise in your
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presence. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.