PM Psalm 105 The Only Fitting Response to the Lord's Providence and Care of His People

[0:00] It is good to remember what God has done. It is good to call to mind his great and glorious works of the past. Because it not only reminds us mentally of what God has done, but it has a tendency to stir deep thoughts within our hearts.

[0:18] To fan into a flame our affections. To call forth songs of praise.

[0:28] To encourage us to pray that what God has done in the past, he would do for us in the present and in the future.

[0:40] It reminds us where our hope is to be found. So Psalm 105, let us read these 45 verses together.

[0:51] Oh give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the peoples.

[1:04] Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

[1:18] Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his presence continually. Remember the wondrous works that he has done.

[1:30] His miracles and the judgments he uttered. O offspring of Abraham his servant. Children of Jacob his chosen ones.

[1:42] He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever.

[1:54] The word that he commanded for a thousand generations. The covenant that he made with Abraham. His sworn promise to Isaac.

[2:05] Which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute. To Israel as an everlasting covenant. Saying to you I will give the land of Canaan.

[2:16] As your portion for an inheritance. When they were few in number. Of little account.

[2:27] And sojourners in it. Wandering from nation to nation. From one kingdom to another people. He allowed no one to oppress them. He rebuked kings on their account.

[2:40] Saying. Touch not my anointed ones. Do my prophets no harm. When he summoned a famine in the land.

[2:52] And broke all supply of bread. He had sent a man ahead of them. Joseph. Joseph. Who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters.

[3:07] His neck was put in a collar of iron. Until what he had said came to pass. The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him.

[3:21] The ruler of the people set him free. He made him lord of his house. And ruler of all his possessions. To bind his princes at his pleasure.

[3:32] And to teach his elders wisdom. Then Israel came to Egypt. Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And the Lord made his people very fruitful.

[3:46] And made them stronger than their foes. He turned their hearts to hate his people. To deal craftily with his servants.

[3:58] He sent Moses his servant. And Aaron whom he had chosen. They performed his signs among them. And miracles in the land of Ham.

[4:11] He sent darkness and made the land dark. They did not rebel against his words. He turned their waters into blood. And cursed their fish to die.

[4:24] Their land swarmed with frogs. Even in the chambers of their kings. He spoke. And there came swarms of flies. And gnats throughout their country.

[4:37] He gave them hail for rain. And fiery lightning bolts through their land. He struck down their vines and fig trees. And shattered the trees of their country.

[4:50] He spoke. And the locusts came. Young locusts without number. Which devoured all the vegetation in their land. And ate up the fruit of their ground.

[5:03] He struck down all the firstborn in their land. And the first fruits of all their strength. Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold.

[5:15] And there was none among his tribes who stumbled. Egypt was glad when they departed. For dread of them had fallen upon it. He spread a cloud for a covering.

[5:29] And fire to give light by night. They asked. And he brought quail. And gave them bread from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock.

[5:41] And water gushed out. It flowed through the desert like a river. For he remembered his holy promise.

[5:52] And Abraham his servant. So he brought out his people with joy. His chosen ones with singing. And he gave them the lands of the nations.

[6:06] And they took possession of the fruit of the people's toil. That they might keep his statutes. And observe his laws.

[6:21] Praise the Lord. Amen. So Psalm 105. You'll see from the notice sheet that I've come up with a very catchy title for tonight's sermon.

[6:39] The only fitting response to the Lord's providence and care of his people. I want to guide our thoughts this evening through the 45 verses of Psalm 105.

[6:58] We won't be looking at every verse. Of course we won't individually. But as we approach the Psalm, I think it might be helpful to get a bird's eye view of the whole Psalm.

[7:09] And looking briefly at its various parts. And seeing how these parts fit together in this one song of praise to God.

[7:20] The Psalm can really be divided into two parts of unequal length. The first part is in verses 1 to 7. And what do we have in verses 1 to 7 of Psalm 105?

[7:36] Well we have a solemn call. To meditate on. To seek. To glorify or magnify. And to praise God.

[7:49] To praise this God who is so great. So gracious. And also so closely connected to his people.

[8:02] We are called to praise. To seek. To magnify. And to praise and give thanks to this God. Verses 1 to 7.

[8:14] And then the second part of the Psalm is the longer part. Really from verse 8 through to the end. And in this larger second part of the Psalm.

[8:27] We have a history or a historical narrative. Of the particular mercies of God. Shown to Israel. Over a period of about 400 years of Israel's history.

[8:41] So if part 1 in verses 1 to 7. Is a call to praise. To give thanks. To this God.

[8:52] Then part 2 in verses 8 to 40. Is the ground. Upon which that praise is based. It is the reasons.

[9:05] Why we should praise this God. And what are these grounds? What are these reasons? Well there are a number. And we'll try to. Split up the Psalm.

[9:16] Into these different groups. Or reasons. Why we should praise God. The first reason. Which is found in verses 8 to 11.

[9:28] Is. God's covenant. The promise. That God made. To Abraham. To Isaac. And confirmed.

[9:39] To Jacob. Or Israel. Verses 8 to 11. He remembers his covenant. Forever. The word that he commanded. For a thousand generations.

[9:51] The covenant that he made. With Abraham. His sworn promise. To Isaac. Which he confirmed. To Jacob. As a statute. To Israel. As an everlasting covenant.

[10:02] Saying. To you. I will give. The land of Canaan. As your portion. For an inheritance. So here's the first reason.

[10:13] Why. We should praise God. The psalmist says. God's covenant. With the patriarchs. Abraham. Isaac. And Jacob. And then the second reason.

[10:26] Why. We should praise God. Is found in verses 12. To 15. And this. Reason. Is the. Care. That God. Exercised.

[10:39] Towards his people. While. They were few in number. And strangers. And sojourners. In this world.

[10:50] Verses 12. To 15. When they were few in number. Of little account. Isn't this a lovely.

[11:01] Verse. To apply to ourselves. As a church. Perhaps feeling. Our fragility. Our weakness. What happens if. Somebody leaves.

[11:13] Or. Gets called away. On some. Errand. Or. Or. Or job. Or whatever. What will happen to us. What will happen to us.

[11:25] When they were few in number. Of little account. And sojourners. In it. Wandering from nation. To nation. From one kingdom. To another people.

[11:38] He. God. Allowed. No one. To oppress them. He rebuked kings. On their account. Saying.

[11:49] Touch not my. Anointed ones. Do my prophets. No harm. God took care. Of his people. And we see that.

[12:00] Through those. Historical narratives. Of the book. Of Genesis. In connection with. With Abraham. And Isaac. Particularly. And then the third.

[12:12] Reason why we should. Praise God. Is given in verses. 16. To 22. And this third. Reason has to do. With the advancement. Of Joseph. To be the shepherd.

[12:23] And savior. Of Israel. During. The time. Of famine. Look at these verses. Again. And notice. God's sovereignty. Here. The emphasis.

[12:35] On what God. Does. Famines. Famines. Don't just arise. God. Summoned. A famine. When he.

[12:48] Summoned. A famine. On the land. And broke. All supply. Of bread. He had sent. A man. Ahead of him. Joseph. Who was sold. As a slave.

[13:00] And then you remember. The wonderful. Record. Of the book. Of Genesis. In relation. To Joseph's life. How there were. So many setbacks.

[13:11] And difficulties. And hardships. The psalm. Picks this up. But God. Is still in control. Working all things. Together. For good. For the benefit.

[13:21] Of his people. His feet. Were hurt. With fetters. His neck. Was put. In a collar. Of iron. Until what he.

[13:32] Had said. Came to pass. The word. Of the Lord. The word. The word. The word. Tested him. There's a lesson. Isn't there. To be learned. For us. In these words.

[13:43] This is historical narrative. But it's full. Of pastoral counsel. And sound advice.

[13:54] When they face. Hardship and difficulty. When. Metaphorically speaking. Their feet. Were placed in fetters. And their neck. In a collar of iron.

[14:07] They have to exercise. Patience. And trust. Believing the word. Of God. In spite. Of the circumstances. That they feel.

[14:18] And experience. God's word. Is true. I will hold on. To the promise. Until. The time. That God. Has chosen.

[14:28] To favor me. With the fulfillment. Of it. Until. What he had said. Came to pass. The word. Of the Lord. Tested him.

[14:39] Would he be faithful. Would he. Remain true. Would he continue. To believe. And look to the Lord. Do you remember.

[14:49] How suddenly. And wonderfully. Joseph was. Eventually. Released. From the prison house. This is what. These verses. Are referring to. The king. The pharaoh. Sent and released him.

[15:02] The ruler. Of the people. Set him free. He made him. Lord. Of his house. And ruler. Of all his possessions. To bind his princes. At his pleasure.

[15:12] And to teach his elders. Wisdom. The wonderful providence. And care of God. For his people. In the life of Joseph. Whom he had sent ahead.

[15:23] Into Egypt. Before the famine struck. That he might. Deliver. And preserve. His people. In that.

[15:35] Egyptian. Storehouse. Peace. And then. The fourth. Reason. That the psalmist. Lists. For praising God.

[15:47] Is found. In verses 23. To 38. This is the. Perhaps the longest. Section. Or subsection. Of the psalm. Where we see.

[15:57] God. Increasing. His people. In Egypt. And then. At last. Delivering them. From Egypt. By way. Of inflicting.

[16:09] Several. Different. Plagues. On the Egyptians. By the way. Not all. Ten plagues. Are mentioned here. The plague. On the cattle. And the plague.

[16:20] Of boils. I think. Are the two. That are not. Mentioned. But. You get the picture. Of God. Rescuing. His people. Even when.

[16:31] The enemies. Of God's people. Turned their hearts. To hate. The Israelites. And to deal craftily. With the servants. That's.

[16:42] Basically. Summarising. That Pharaoh's. Treatment. Of persecution. And hardship. And throwing the. Baby boys. Into the. Into the Nile.

[16:53] In the days of. Baby Moses. And how. God. Preserved. The nation. And sent. Raised up.

[17:03] And sent. Moses. His servant. And Aaron. Him. He had chosen. And we read. Of the signs. And the miracles. In the land. Of Ham. In the land. Of Egypt. And then. The various.

[17:15] Signs. And miracles. They're not actually. Mentioned here. As plagues. But. They were. Actions.

[17:25] And deeds. Of God. That carried. A message. They were. Signs. And miracles. It seems. It seems. That the Egyptian. People themselves. Did not.

[17:36] Rebel. Against. The first. Miracle. Mentioned. He sent. Darkness. And made the land. Dark. They. Did not. Rebel. Against. His words. But.

[17:47] The Pharaoh. Hardened. His heart. And it took. More. Miracles. Before. Finally. The firstborn.

[17:57] Were struck down. As it says. In verse. 36. The firstfruits. Of all their strength. And then. God. Brought. Out. Israel.

[18:07] With silver. And gold. And there was none. Among his tribes. Who stumbled. And Egypt. Was glad. When they departed.

[18:18] For dread. Of them. Had fallen. Upon it. And then. The fifth. And final. Reason. Why we should praise God.

[18:28] Is found. In verses. 39. To 45. And these verses. Speak about. God's care. Of his people. In the wilderness. And beautiful.

[18:40] Words. These are. And then. Having. Cared. And provided. For his people. In the wilderness. He sets them. In the land. Of Canaan. And.

[18:51] He sets them there. For a reason. This is the great end. Of his redeeming work. This is the purpose. For which he brought them.

[19:03] To himself. Out of Egypt. And that was. That they might keep his statutes. And observe. His laws. So that is the psalm.

[19:16] And that is the ground. Covered. By the psalmist. What lessons. Can we learn. And take away from it.

[19:27] Well. You could almost preach a sermon. Every single verse. Or stanza. Of this. Psalm. I'll just mention.

[19:39] Three. Lessons. That we can learn. The first lesson. Has to do with. Praise. Prayer. And. Publishing. To use.

[19:50] The old. Fashioned. Word. In order to keep. The three p. Points. Praise God. For former mercies. Pray to God.

[20:01] For future mercies. And publish. God's. Famous. Mercies. It's the first. Lesson. That we can.

[20:12] Learn. See the first few verses. And. Notice in particular. The verbs. The. Imperatives. The. Action words. That. Come.

[20:23] Like a. Almost. Like out of a machine gun. One after the other. Praise for former mercies. Look at verse one. Oh give thanks. To the Lord.

[20:33] Verse two. Sing to him. Sing praises. To him. Verse three. Glory. In his holy name. Verse four. Remember the wondrous works. That he has done.

[20:44] His miracles. And the judgments. He uttered. We are to praise God. For the mercies. That he has given us.

[20:56] In time past. Are we a thankful people? You remember. Paul's description. Of the fallen world.

[21:08] At the beginning. Of his letter. To the Romans. They did not worship. God. As God. And then he adds. These words. Nor.

[21:20] We're thankful. It's a mark. Of our fallenness. That we do not. Return. Thanks. To God. Last Sunday.

[21:31] We were. Visiting. A church. Back home. In Northern Ireland. In Lisburn. Past. The pastor. Was. Preaching there.

[21:42] For the last time. After a ten year ministry. He had received a call. To a church. In the United States. And since we were home. We thought. Well I was at his induction service.

[21:52] Ten years ago. So I'll go back. And we'll visit. For that Sunday morning. To wish him well. On his last Sunday. At this church.

[22:02] Church. And for his future ministry. In the States. And he happened to be preaching. On. The ten lepers. Who were healed. By the Lord Jesus.

[22:14] But only one of them. Turned. To say thank you. After experiencing the healing. And he wasn't even a Jew. He was a Samaritan.

[22:26] To how astonished. The Lord Jesus was. And how he taught. Those around him. From this event. That we ought to be thankful.

[22:38] For the mercies. That we have received. From the Lord. Praise for former mercies. Pray for future mercies. Look at verse one.

[22:48] Call upon his name. Look at verse four. Seek the Lord. And his strength. Seek his presence. Seek his face. Seek his presence. Continually.

[22:59] Sunday. We stand in need. of mercy at all times. Mercy is only found from the Lord.

[23:14] He wants us to come to him and to ask him for the things that we have need of. Praise for former mercies, pray for future mercies and then publish his famous mercies.

[23:31] Verse 1, And make known his deeds among the peoples. And verse 2, Tell of all his wondrous works. God has done great things.

[23:49] And we ought to tell people this is a day of good news. We do wrong if we keep this to ourselves. We need to be more imaginative, more zealous, in speaking to others who need the Lord and his grace and mercy in their lives.

[24:11] How can we communicate effectively the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Do we love him enough to make his name known?

[24:22] Are we thankful for the mercies that we've received that we want to tell to others what a great and wonderful God we have and how good he has been to us?

[24:40] You remember the demoniac, one of the demoniacs which our Lord cured and healed and restored and how when Jesus was departing in the boat this transformed man wanted to follow the Lord Jesus.

[25:00] And the Lord Jesus said to him, no, you're not to come with me. I want you to stay where you are and tell to your family and friends what great things the Lord has done for you and how the Lord has had mercy upon your soul.

[25:21] Is that what the Lord is saying to us this evening? I want you to stay where you are and among your family and circle of friends and colleagues and neighbours I want you to tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how the Lord has had mercy upon you.

[25:44] Make known his deeds among the peoples. God will be with you as you seek to fulfil this injunction from his word. Tell of all his wondrous works you never know what fruit may come from that personal witness and testimony.

[26:04] Don't hold back. Praise God for former mercies pray for future mercies and publish God's famous mercies.

[26:17] The second lesson we can take away from this psalm is to do with the words in verse four verses three and four really three B and four three B says let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice seek the Lord and his strength seek his presence continually.

[26:41] And wrapped up in these few words there is a threefold seeking implied. Seek the Lord for mercy.

[26:55] Seek his strength for service. Seek his presence for your everlasting happiness. Seek the Lord for mercy.

[27:07] As I said before we all stand in mercy. The Christian life is a life of grace and mercy from the Lord. None of us can stand in our own merits.

[27:20] We are miserable hell deserving sinners. There go I but for the grace of God. we are debtors to mercy alone of covenant mercy I sing.

[27:37] Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice because with the Lord there is mercy. Do you need the mercy of the Lord?

[27:49] Have you received his forgiveness? Has the slate been wiped clean? Does it need to be wiped clean again? If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us to keep on cleansing us from all sin.

[28:15] Seek the Lord. I think it's this part of the psalm that reminds us of the true heart nature of true religion.

[28:29] It's not just a matter of attending church services or even mechanically reading the Bible and saying a set prayer. The Lord's prayer for example.

[28:41] There's more to it than that. There is a heart seeking after God. there is a fellowship.

[28:55] There is a communion with God that the soul longs for. You think of the words of Psalm 63 which capture this so vividly.

[29:08] O God you are my God earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you.

[29:21] My flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and glory because your steadfast love is better than life.

[29:39] My lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live. In your name I will lift up my hands. My mouth will be satisfied as with fat and rich food and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

[29:58] Is that a picture of your relationship with God? Is this how you seek the Lord? Lord? Is this what he means for you?

[30:09] Life can't go on without meeting him and holding fellowship and communion with him in his word and in his prayer and in prayer by his spirit.

[30:24] And then when we think of serving the Lord we need his strength. Seek the Lord and his strength that we might serve God in whatever work he has called us to do.

[30:39] Without me Jesus says you can do nothing. We need his power and strength to live for his glory.

[30:50] To say no to sin in all its forms. To deny ungodliness and worldly lusts as Paul says to Titus and that we might live soberly and righteously and godly in this present age while we wait for the appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

[31:15] We need his strength. The Christian life can only be lived in the strength of the Lord and this he gives us through the means of grace and particularly the reading of the word and seeking God's face and prayer.

[31:35] And then seek his presence it says seek his presence continually. Seek his face I think it says in the authorised version ever more because he is the one that makes life worth the living.

[31:55] He is the one who fills our cup till it overflows which is a picture of the joy and happiness that he gives to his people.

[32:09] Man's chief end we are taught in the shorter catechism's first question is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

[32:23] It's amazing isn't it that that is a Puritan document and yet the Puritans have this bad rap they have this stereotype image of being killjoys and miserable creatures but they knew joy they knew joy and the first thing they wanted to teach their children was the reason for you being here in this world is twofold it is to glorify God on the one hand and equally to enjoy this God forever.

[33:01] It's not a wonderful way to introduce religion for want of a better word to anybody. Not sure how theologically sound it was it's not in any free church shelter but we were taught when we were young if you want joy real joy wonderful joy let Jesus come into your heart.

[33:30] Our religion should not be desiccated of joy. Are we a joyful people? Seek his presence continually because in him we have the joy that we long for.

[33:53] And again this isn't something that's confined to the New Testament till after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ but even in the Old Testament and in the Psalms we find this theme repeatedly.

[34:06] Psalm 16 verse 11 you make known to me the path of life in your presence there is fullness of joy not just joy but fullness of joy and at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

[34:26] then lesson three and I've entitled this the goodness of God leads to repentance and I want you to see the note on which the psalm ends all these great works that God has done recorded meticulously by the psalmist for what end and for what purpose verse 45 that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws I suppose this is an Old Testament equivalent of Paul's words to the Thessalonians this is the will of God for you even your sanctification and this is the only fitting response to the providence and care of God for his people

[35:35] I like the way Derek Kidner concludes his comments on Psalm 105 he writes these words so the psalm ends on a positive note which it has sustained from the first dwelling wholly on the grace of God in these events and ignoring the sins of the redeemed which challenged it at every turn these will be the theme of the next psalm Psalm 106 meanwhile he writes the final verse shows why grace abounded not that sin might also abound to quote a New Testament equivalent of verse 45 but that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Romans 8 verse 4 here is the reason why

[36:41] God made a covenant and God kept his word and God fulfilled his promise and brought these people into this land that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws if you love me Jesus said keep my commandments and that ties into what we were thinking this morning doesn't it from the sermon on the mount Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 to 20 if you love me keep my commandments our attitude to the commandments of God is an indicator an index of our attitude to God himself the reason why he has saved us is that we might keep his statutes and observe his laws and by doing so bring glory and honor to his name because his law and his commandments are holy and righteous and good and spiritual and in observing them because he has saved and redeemed us because he has put his spirit within us to keep them by the power of the spirit is to make us like his son who came to delight in the law of the

[38:36] Lord and on whose heart the law was written may God bless these meditations on Psalm 105 to us and help us to put into practice some of the lessons that we can learn from it let us pray Okay.