1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:11,880 All right, Psalm 117, praise the Lord, all nations extol him, all 2 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,960 peoples, for great is his steadfast love toward us, and 3 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,960 the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. 4 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,000 Praise the Lord, and this is the word of the Lord. 5 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,240 All right. Good morning, Port City family 6 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:29,600 and friends. How are you doing this morning? 7 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,680 Good. My name is Kevin and I'm one of 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,120 the pastors here. I hope you guys are doing well. 9 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,720 Let me start with this. Delight, not duty. 10 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:46,600 Delight, not duty. Whether you're new here or have 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:51,440 been part of Port City for some time, our prayer is that Sunday 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,920 mornings would become a source of delight, not just something 13 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,360 that you do out of duty. If you're here today, out of 14 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,440 obligation because you feel like you should be or someone expects 15 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,000 you to be, I'm still glad that you're here. 16 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,480 So glad. But I also want to lovingly tell 17 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:13,520 you this. God is far more interested in 18 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,080 your delight in Him than in your duty to Him. 19 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:19,960 That's what we're going to talk about today. 20 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:26,880 Praise, true praise, doesn't flow from pressure, it flows 21 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:32,000 from pleasure in Him. Duty doesn't birth praise, 22 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:36,240 delight does. Psalm 1611 says you make known 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,840 to me the path of life. In your presence there is 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,680 fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures 25 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,080 forevermore. That doesn't sound like someone 26 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:50,320 who's not after your delight, does it? 27 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,920 Our God wants more joy for you. He wants more joy for me than we 28 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,200 want for ourselves. God is for your joy. 29 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:07,920 He wants you to find that joy can ultimately be found in and 30 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:12,280 only in Him and only in Him. If you're not feeling that this 31 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,720 morning, that's OK. I'm praying that as we open up 32 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:20,600 Psalm 117 together, God would stir up in us a deeper affection 33 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:25,960 and delight for who He is. Join me as we ask the Lord to do 34 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:31,080 just that. Heavenly Father, we thank You 35 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:36,400 for the gift of Your Word. God, as we open up Psalm 117, I 36 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,240 pray that You would remove any obstacles that would keep us 37 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:46,400 from seeing You as You are our highest joy and our greatest 38 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,640 good. Anything that I say, Lord, that 39 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:55,040 is not from you, I pray that it would fall away and be quickly 40 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,720 forgotten. Speak clearly. 41 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:02,480 God's stir hearts calls us to delight in you more. 42 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:07,320 Today in the beautiful and the powerful name of your son Jesus, 43 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:12,240 I pray, Amen. Think about a story that just 44 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,000 grabs you, Not one that you just enjoy, but one that speaks to 45 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:22,440 your soul in some way. Maybe it's a novel, maybe it's a 46 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:27,960 show or a movie. At first it just speaks to you, 47 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,040 but over time it starts to speak for you. 48 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,160 You hear the story and say, yes, that is beautiful, that's true, 49 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,120 it's good. I love that it's true and my 50 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:44,680 heart rejoices in it. For me, one of those stories is 51 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:46,760 wonder. I don't know if you're familiar 52 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:48,600 with the story. It's a book that turned into a 53 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,800 movie, but it's about this boy named August who has some 54 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:57,480 physical deformities and he leaves his home school 55 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,760 environment with his mom and he goes to school for the very 56 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,320 first time and it's middle school, nonetheless brutal. 57 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,800 So he's he's going about this adventure and after a difficult 58 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,800 year, he ends up winning over his classmates and he really 59 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,520 overcomes some significant personal obstacles. 60 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,920 At the end of year ceremony, the principal gives Augie the 61 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:23,280 school's highest award. And he says greatness lies not 62 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:27,560 in being strong, but in the right using of strength. 63 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,200 He or she is the greatest whose strength carries up the most 64 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:37,000 hearts by its attraction, by the attraction of his own. 65 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,040 That line gets me every time. I can watch that movie like 100 66 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:43,320 times and it would give me every time. 67 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,600 I believe the story is fictional, but the truth that it 68 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:51,400 shows is real. That story started to speak to 69 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,280 me before I ever really heard it and engaged with it, but now it 70 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:58,320 speaks for me. This summer we've been 71 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,760 journeying through the Psalms. Pastor Tanner said the very 72 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,440 outset of the series that our hope is that these Psalms would 73 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,440 not just speak to you, but that they would speak for you. 74 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,760 Psalm 117 does exactly that. It's rooted in a true story of 75 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:22,280 deliverance, and all the later generations didn't experience 76 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:26,120 that delivery first hand. They sang the song because it 77 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,360 became their song. You may not have walked through 78 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:35,480 the Red Sea, but you can still sing the song of salvation. 79 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:42,240 God's desire is that Psalm 117 would become your Psalm 2. 80 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,920 Psalm 117 is part of the halal psalms, which we've referenced 81 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,360 quite a bit. Psalms 113 through 118 make up 82 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,480 the halal songs. These were traditionally sung 83 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:58,920 during the Jewish Passover. Psalms 113 and 114 would be song 84 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:04,600 before the meal and then Psalms 115 through 118 would be sung 85 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:10,480 after the meal. So when Matthew 2630 says and 86 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,280 when they had sung A hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives, 87 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:16,600 it's referring to this very collection. 88 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:23,040 Psalm 117 was sung by Jesus the night that he was portrayed. 89 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,000 So Psalm 117 is a halal Psalm, but it's also the shortest 90 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,760 Psalm. In fact, it's the shortest 91 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:36,240 chapter in the entire Bible, just two verses. 92 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,400 But it's shortness is far outdone by its sweetness. 93 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:46,520 One scholar called it the peak of the halal Psalms, the high 94 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:52,120 point of the story, the goal of the discourse, the memorable 95 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,440 fault. In many ways, it is the very 96 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,520 climax of the song that Jesus sang before going to the cross. 97 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:02,560 Let's dive in and taste its goodness. 98 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,240 Psalm 117 gives us a very simple outline. 99 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:13,240 There is a call to praise in verse one followed by A cause to 100 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,160 praise in verse 2, a call, then A cause. 101 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:22,560 The first thing we encounter in Psalm 117 is a call to praise. 102 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,400 It says praise the Lord. As I mentioned earlier, Psalm 103 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:32,400 117 is one of the halal psalms, and the Hebrew word halal simply 104 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:38,560 means praise. 1 theologian described praise as boasting or 105 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:40,520 bragging on someone or something. 106 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,680 We used the word boast this morning in one of our songs, and 107 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,960 that's just a way to describe the act of praise. 108 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,760 These psalms were sung at Passover in celebration of the 109 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,440 God who delivered his people. They were bragging on their God. 110 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,360 In English we see the phrase praise the Lord both at the 111 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,720 beginning of the short Psalm and also at the very end. 112 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,920 Though the words are the same, the functions are a little bit 113 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,960 different. The opening praise the Lord is a 114 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:19,480 plea, a call to worship. The closing praise the Lord is a 115 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,600 proclamation, the actual expression of praise. 116 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,840 In verse one, the word describes an action. 117 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,000 In verse 2, it embodies an emotion. 118 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:37,039 The final phrase in the original Hebrew is Hallelujah, a deep, 119 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,400 heartfelt exclamation of worship. 120 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,320 To illustrate, think about the the words get out. 121 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,120 So there's two ways I might say get out. 122 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,720 One might be get out, like get out of the room, get out of my 123 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:52,880 presence. I might even point in a certain 124 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,640 direction. The other might be one that is 125 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,480 signifying surprise or excitement about something. 126 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,600 My wife might tell me something and I might say get out. 127 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,080 Those are two very different things. 128 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,720 That's what's happening with Praise the Lord in Psalm 117. 129 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,520 It functions both as a call to action and as an emotive 130 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,960 outpouring of joy. Let's continue looking at verse 131 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:26,000 one. Praise the Lord all nations, 132 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:32,280 extol him, all peoples. In Hebrew, this verse is a 133 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:36,040 poetic invitation. It's like a beautiful poem on 134 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:37,840 the cover of a wedding invitation. 135 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:40,880 But notice who this invitation is going out to? 136 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:47,320 All people, all nations. Don't think of modern 137 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,680 geopolitical nation states. Think of people, groups, 138 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:58,560 families, tribes, communities bound by a shared history, 139 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,680 culture and language. Defined this way, there are 140 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:05,400 about 17,000 people groups on the earth. 141 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:11,560 Here's 2 important observations. The first is that God desires 142 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:16,280 the praise of the nations. It's the first time in the Halal 143 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:21,480 Psalms that we see an invitation extended to all nations, but it 144 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,880 is completely consistent with the heartbeat of God throughout 145 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,640 Scripture. I'll just give you the bookends, 146 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:30,000 the beginning and the end of the Scripture in this regard. 147 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:35,800 At the beginning in Genesis 12, God calls Abram and makes him a 148 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:41,520 promise to bless him, and that in him all the families, all the 149 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,600 nations of the earth shall be blessed. 150 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:49,400 I'm going to bless you, Abram. I'm going to give you progeny, a 151 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:54,120 son through whom you will have ancestors. 152 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:55,800 This will be the son of your wife, Sarah. 153 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,840 And those ancestors, like the stars in the sky, will be more 154 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:04,080 than you can count. And through your family, all of 155 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,040 the families of the earth will be blessed. 156 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:12,560 God was going to bless not just Abram, but all nations. 157 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,520 And then at the end in Revelation 7, we see the 158 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,560 fulfillment of that promise. We read from Revelation 5 159 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:21,880 earlier, which also makes a similar reference. 160 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,600 Revelation 7 says a great multitude that no one could 161 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,480 number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and 162 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,440 languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, 163 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,200 clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and 164 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,640 crying out to crying out with a loud voice. 165 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,680 Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne into the 166 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:46,520 Lamb. God's promise to Abram will be 167 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,040 kept. Every nation, all the families 168 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,240 of the earth will be represented around the throne of God. 169 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:58,360 From beginning to end. God has always been pursuing the 170 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,560 nation's. All peoples have always been on 171 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,440 His heart. Second observations. 172 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,680 The nation's don't naturally desire to praise God. 173 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,880 They don't. Although God is for the nations, 174 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,240 the nations are not naturally for him. 175 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,840 Earlier in the Hillel Psalms, in chapter 115, the nations were 176 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,480 seen as mocking the people of God, saying where is their God? 177 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:27,280 Where is he? What's he doing? 178 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,600 Then in chapter 118, which we'll look at next week, there's a 179 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,000 picture of the nations surrounding the people of God 180 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,440 pressing in to destroy them. Think also of the nation of 181 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,960 Egypt that enslaved the Israelites for hundreds of years 182 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,920 and the Babylonians who captured them and sent them into exile in 183 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,320 a foreign land. These are the events that the 184 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,800 Jewish people had in mind when they celebrated Passover. 185 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,600 These are the events that the Jewish people had in mind when 186 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:04,440 they were singing this song. These Psalms celebrate God's 187 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:10,280 deliverance from the nations and then, astonishingly, invite even 188 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,840 those very nations to come and praise the Lord. 189 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:18,560 God extends friendship to those who oppose him. 190 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:24,480 In the 1950s, a group of five American missionaries, including 191 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,240 Nate St. and Jim Elliott, set out to share the gospel with a 192 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,800 remote and violent tribe in the Ecuadorian jungle, the Orani 193 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,360 people. This tribe was known for its 194 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:41,320 fierce hostility to outsiders, and many had died trying to 195 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,000 reach them. Despite the danger, these 196 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,920 missionaries believed that Christ had died for all the 197 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:53,840 nations, and they were compelled to go to share this gospel with 198 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,560 these people. They made contact slowly at 199 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,680 first, dropping gifts from an airplane and eventually landing 200 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:04,440 on a beach to meet the tribe. Not long after that, all five 201 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:10,640 men were speared to death by this tribe, the very people that 202 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,360 they were trying to reach. And that could have been the end 203 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:18,480 of the story, but it wasn't. Nate Saint's sister, Rachel St. 204 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:23,120 and Jim Elliott's widow, Elizabeth Elliott, returned to 205 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,760 the same tribe. They lived among the Arani, 206 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,400 learned their language, and eventually shared the Gospel 207 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,600 with the very people who had killed their loved ones. 208 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,560 And over time, miraculously, the tribe came to faith in Christ. 209 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,720 One of the very men who had killed Nate St. a warrior named 210 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:46,600 McCain, became a follower of Jesus and later a missionary 211 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,320 himself. He and Nate Saint's son Steve 212 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,480 formed a deep father like bond. Steve even referred to him as 213 00:14:55,480 --> 00:15:00,560 Grandfather. An enemy had become family, a 214 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:06,080 murderer had become a brother. A life taken in hate had made 215 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,400 way for love, grace, and eternal reconciliation. 216 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,600 Because these missionaries understood something about God, 217 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,160 who longed to turn his enemies into friends in our sin. 218 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,320 I want you to know that we are by default, we are all enemies 219 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:27,000 of God. But you're invited in the words. 220 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,760 Nations and peoples include every single one of us. 221 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:36,840 Psalm 117 is a universal invitation to every man, woman, 222 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:41,640 boy and girl to praise the one for whom they were created. 223 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,640 We were hard wired to praise. We do it all the time. 224 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:47,920 We brag about all sorts of things. 225 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:52,160 We brag about our kids. We brag about our favorite 226 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,440 sports teams. We brag about our favorite 227 00:15:55,440 --> 00:16:00,880 restaurants or vacation spots. Praise flows naturally from 228 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,600 delight. So the question is, do you 229 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,600 delight in the Lord? If your heart doesn't yet long 230 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,640 to praise God, know this. You're still being invited. 231 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:17,160 This song may not yet speak for you, but it is still speaking to 232 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:22,560 you. Secondly, you're invited. 233 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,400 You're called, rather, to invite others. 234 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,440 If your heart is already wrapped up in praising the Lord, Psalm 235 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:34,600 117 calls you to invite others in, all kinds of people in our 236 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:39,720 city and beyond, those who look like you and those who don't, 237 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,400 those who share some preference with you and those who don't. 238 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,760 Ask yourself, how can I more effectively brag on this God and 239 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:56,120 invite others to do the same? You're invited to worship Him, 240 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,680 but why should you? Why praise? 241 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,960 The psalmist gives us a clear reason. 242 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,040 It calls for praise. Look with me at verse 2 of Psalm 243 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:11,520 117. For great is his steadfast love 244 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,680 toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. 245 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:20,160 Praise the Lord. This verse gives us the reason 246 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,520 for praise. The calls behind the invitation 247 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,040 playing quietly in the background of this verse is a 248 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:28,640 foundational moment in Israel's history. 249 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,720 God's self revelation to Moses in Exodus 34. 250 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,280 Exodus 34, six and seven, says the Lord. 251 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:42,760 The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and 252 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:46,680 abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast 253 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:51,280 love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and 254 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,280 sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty. 255 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,480 Visiting the iniquity of the Father's on the children and the 256 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:01,400 children's children to the 3rd and the 4th generation, this 257 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:06,520 psalmist is echoing the very character of God as revealed in 258 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,400 that moment. He praises God's steadfast love 259 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,960 and faithfulness not just as abstract ideas, but as the 260 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,480 defining traits of who God is. These aren't merely things that 261 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:25,600 God does who He is. His actions flow from His 262 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:28,800 nature. He does what He does because He 263 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:32,480 is who He is. Throughout Israel's history, 264 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:36,160 whether in Egypt or in exile in the wilderness, God's love and 265 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:42,320 faithfulness never wavered. He preserved his people, He kept 266 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,400 his promises, and he proved himself again and again to be 267 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,960 dependable. This is what theologians call 268 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,880 covenant faithfulness. 1 commentator put it this way. 269 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,560 These two attributes, love and faithfulness, are paired 270 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:03,800 together to describe the Lord as absolutely dependable to fulfill 271 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,120 His promises. Absolutely dependable to fulfill 272 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:10,840 His promises. That's what the psalmist is 273 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,200 celebrating, and that's the God to whom the nations are being 274 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:18,880 invited to give praise. As the psalmist considers these 275 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,640 characteristics of the Lord, notice a couple things he 276 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:26,400 meditates on. The 1st is the greatness of his 277 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,880 steadfast love. The psalmist begins with God's 278 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:35,080 steadfast love, a love that is described as great. 279 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:41,880 Other translations render it as unfailing love, faithful love, 280 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,960 or even grace. When we hear great, when I hear 281 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,600 great, we often think in terms of size, and rightly so. 282 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,920 God's love is vast. It's beyond measure. 283 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,800 You and I cannot begin to grasp its full scope. 284 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,200 But the Hebrew word also conveys more than just size. 285 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:09,440 It speaks of power, specifically overcoming power. 286 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:14,000 The word translated in great, translated great in verse 2 is 287 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:19,280 the same word used in Exodus 17, verse 11 to describe how Israel 288 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:26,440 prevailed in battle against Amalek. 1711 of Exodus says 289 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,240 whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. 290 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:36,280 Israel was great. It's also used in Psalm 65 verse 291 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:43,080 3 where it says when iniquities prevail against me, you atone 292 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:49,240 for our transgressions. God's love is not just big, it's 293 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,200 strong. It prevails. 294 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:57,000 It triumphs over our enemies, It defeats despair. 295 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,880 It prevails over that which prevails over us all. 296 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:09,120 That's why we can sing grace, Grace, God's grace, grace that 297 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:15,000 is greater than all our sin. God's steadfast love is a 298 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,360 prevailing power in the lives of sinners from every nation, and 299 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:26,240 that power demands praise. Well, I love kid movies too. 300 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,080 Our kids are a little bit older, so we're watching some different 301 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:31,440 things in our house these days, but still got love for all the 302 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,720 the kid movies. One of the movies I love is 303 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,960 Avengers, and there's a scene in that movie where Loki, a 304 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:42,440 self-proclaimed God, is executing his plan to take over 305 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,480 the earth. He comes face to face with the 306 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,920 Incredible Hulk, who puts him in his place. 307 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,760 He comes and he picks up Loki and proceeds to just hammer him 308 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:54,400 on the ground like a dozen times. 309 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,360 Is wild. Just goes to town with him. 310 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,400 When Hulk is done, Loki's laying there stunned and he can't move. 311 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,320 As Hulk is walking away, he says puny God. 312 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,600 That's a picture of the prevailing love of God in your 313 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,680 life. He alone can defeat the lesser, 314 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,600 puny gods. These gods, whatever they may 315 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,320 be, dominate and control you in ways that you just can't seem to 316 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,120 escape. Maybe you're trying to escape 317 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:26,000 them this morning and you found that you just don't have the 318 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,160 power to do so. This Psalm reminds us that God's 319 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,800 steadfast love alone can prevail over your enemies. 320 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:40,160 Secondly, the endurance of his faithfulness is the second 321 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,280 meditation that we see from the psalmist. 322 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,040 He turns to God's faithfulness, A faithfulness that endures 323 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:52,800 forever. Genesis 15 is a place where we 324 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,000 find God making a covenant with Abram. 325 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,560 As a sign of that covenant, God instructed Abram to cut several 326 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,640 animals in half and lay the pieces opposite one another. 327 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,240 So cut in half, animals on both sides. 328 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:14,960 Then after a deep sleep had fallen on Abram, God alone, God 329 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,600 himself pass through, pass through the middle of the 330 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:22,920 animals. That's a way in, in those times 331 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,360 that a covenant would be established. 332 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:30,160 And what God was doing in that act was very powerful. 333 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,280 It was, it was, although it was symbolic. 334 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:37,000 He was saying may I be like these animals if I fail to keep 335 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,400 my promise. May I be like this if I don't do 336 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,880 what I say? And God kept his word. 337 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,800 He remained faithful to his people even when they were 338 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,360 completely and utterly unfaithful to Him. 339 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:52,760 And we see this all throughout Scripture. 340 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,560 Though Israel turned away again and again, God delivered them. 341 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,040 He delivered them from Egypt. He sustained them in the 342 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,000 wilderness, and he brought them home from exile. 343 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:09,080 His faithfulness endured. That's why Israel celebrated at 344 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,120 the Passover, and that's what the psalmist is celebrating 345 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:17,000 here, a God whose faithfulness is not momentary but eternal. 346 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,160 The prevailing power of God's love and the enduring nature of 347 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,080 His faithfulness find their ultimate expression at the 348 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:30,160 cross. Yes, this Psalm call recalls 349 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,720 God's deliverance from Egypt, but even more, it points 350 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,120 forward. It paints a picture of the kind 351 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:41,040 of God that he is. And it raises the question, what 352 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,960 would a God like this do to save people from all nations from the 353 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,800 ultimate slavery to sin, Satan, and death? 354 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:56,120 John 316 answers that question. For God so loved the world that 355 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:59,480 he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should 356 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:01,720 not perish but have eternal life. 357 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,480 The love and faithfulness the psalmist praises reaches their 358 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:12,120 highest expression when Jesus, the Son of God, died and for 359 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:16,080 sinners and rose again. That love prevails over sin. 360 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,640 That faithfulness endures forever. 361 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:25,400 So why praise? Because God's love is great. 362 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:30,160 It's prevailing because God's faithfulness is forever. 363 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:36,000 It's enduring because the cross is the ultimate expression of 364 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,800 both. Praise the Lord. 365 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:45,280 Imagine Jesus singing Psalm 117 with his disciples at the 366 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,600 conclusion of the Passover meal, following the very moment where 367 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,680 he instituted the new covenant in his blood. 368 00:25:53,520 --> 00:26:01,160 He was about to demonstrate just how great God's love was in a 369 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,840 very personal and a powerful way as he prepared to endure the 370 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:06,920 cross. The praise that would one day 371 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,600 rise from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation that we 372 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,920 read about in Psalm, in Revelation 7, that must have 373 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,840 been part of the joy set before him that we read about in 374 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,760 Hebrews 12/2. Jesus was torn, separated from 375 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,640 the Father so that we could be brought near. 376 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:29,480 Through His blood. We are invited in into a new and 377 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:34,920 eternal covenant, into redemption, into delight, into 378 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,960 true life. Life rooted in a right 379 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,960 relationship with your Creator. First, John 419 says that your 380 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,320 love for God, to the degree that you have it, can only come from 381 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:47,880 first realizing that He first loved you. 382 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:54,280 While we were still sinners, while we were enemies of God, 383 00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:02,280 Christ died for us. We find that it is actually 384 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,120 Jesus whose strength carries up the most hearts by the 385 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:10,200 attraction of his own. This can be your story. 386 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:15,760 Psalm 117 can be your story. God's love is not abstract. 387 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:20,280 It's personal. It's pursuing, It's prevailing. 388 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,520 His faithfulness has never failed his people. 389 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:26,960 And he invites you to drink deeply from the fountain of 390 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,560 life. The great Swiss theologian Carl 391 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:35,400 Ball, Carl Barth, when asked to summarize the most profound 392 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,880 theological truth he'd ever contemplated, answered simply, 393 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,320 Jesus loves me this. I know where the Bible tells me 394 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,120 so. So consider the love of God for 395 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,680 you. Contemplate His faithfulness and 396 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,880 receive the invitation. Come praise the Lord. 397 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:59,240 If you've never truly praised Him before, today could be the 398 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,720 day. If you see the greatness of His 399 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,160 love and faithfulness. Don't ways, don't wait. 400 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:09,160 Praise Him now if your heart has grown cold. 401 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,320 This text is a reminder love. Look again at who He is and 402 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:18,000 respond with praise. If your life has been changed by 403 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,320 Him, extend the invitation. Jesus commanded his followers in 404 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,840 Matthew chapter 28 to go and make disciples of all nations. 405 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,280 That's our call. You are now a part of God's 406 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,320 mission, calling all people to praise the Lord across the 407 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:39,400 street and around the world. Let's end with the words of 408 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:45,080 Isaac Watts echoing the global and eternal vision of Psalm 117. 409 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,440 From all that dwell below the skies, let the Creator's praise 410 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,840 arise. Let the Redeemer's name be sung 411 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,920 through every land by every tongue. 412 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,800 Eternal are thy mercies, Lord, Eternal truths attend thy word. 413 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,080 Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, till Suns shall 414 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,720 rise and set no more. Praise the Lord, let us pray. 415 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:19,560 God, we thank you for your great steadfast love and your eternal 416 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,640 faithfulness. God, you have shown that to us 417 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:27,160 in so many ways throughout history, in our own lives, God, 418 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,800 but supremely at the cross. God, you have an overcoming 419 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,080 power over our sins that we just we don't possess. 420 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:41,520 Lord, our sins dominate us, God, and the penalty of sin looms 421 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:43,600 over us. God, if we are not in you, but 422 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,840 we thank you that you are a conquer God, You prevail over 423 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,960 these things and you invite us to worship you. 424 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,400 I pray that we do that this morning in Christ name, Amen.