8/11/19 - Psalm 29 - "Mighty is our God"

[0:00] Lord, the glory do His name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters.

[0:11] The God of glory thunders. The Lord over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

[0:25] The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf.

[0:39] And Syrian like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord sakes the wilderness.

[0:53] The Lord sakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth. And strips the forest bare. And in His temple all cry glory.

[1:08] The Lord sets enthroned over the flood. The Lord sets enthroned as King forever. May the Lord give strength to His people.

[1:23] May the Lord bless His people with peace. May the Lord bless His people with peace. The Lord is clothed with all majesty, power, glory, and honor.

[1:41] He is sovereign. He is king. And He is mighty in His power. And we've forgotten a lot of that.

[1:54] Haven't we? We have forgotten just how strong and mighty and wonderful He is. Our Puritan forefathers, the men who in the 1600s tried to reform the church, understood the power and the majesty and the glory of God.

[2:28] And those men who I have so greatly benefited from and whom I so greatly love, were clothed in power from on high because they understood who God was and who they were in relationship to Him.

[2:49] We need a recovery of who God is. I'm going to break this psalm up into three different parts.

[3:13] The first is God made heavenly beings for His glory. In verses 1-2. The second is God made nature for His glory.

[3:27] In verses 3-9. And the third and final point is going to be God made man for His glory. In verses 10-11.

[3:42] Verse 1. Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings. Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. What is required of all of creation?

[3:58] To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is what is required. We are to ascribe to the Lord.

[4:09] The glory. All of the glory. Do His name. And worship Him in the splendor of holiness. We are to acknowledge Him as King and Lord over our lives.

[4:22] To obey Him in perfect obedience. Every moment of every day. To breathe every breath for Him. So that He may get the full measure of His glory from His creation.

[4:38] If you freely give God the glory. The full measure of His glory that He demands from you.

[4:51] You will be pleasing to Him. However. However. If you withhold any part of that glory. Even the smallest part of that glory.

[5:05] He will be like a mighty storm toward you. And He will break you like a tree. He will lay you low. And He will get glory from you. Do you understand?

[5:18] God will get glory from you. Whether you choose to obey Him or not. Whether you choose to glorify Him or not. He will get glory from you. Because He rightly deserves that glory.

[5:36] Now how can a man. Or even a heavenly creature. Give glory to God. God. They give glory to God through worshiping Him.

[5:51] The angels in heaven are a wonderful example. Of how we are to worship. And glorify God. They worship in perfect harmony.

[6:04] Exactly as He is prescribed in His word. And they give Him full honor and glory. The worship we are to imitate. The worship we are to worship.

[6:14] Is like this. Down to Nehemiah. Chapter 9. Verse 6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone. Thou hast made heaven the heaven of heavens.

[6:26] With all their hosts. The earth. And all things that are therein. The seas and all that are therein. And thou preservest them all. The host of heaven worshipeth thee.

[6:39] Amen. Whenever we speak glory to God. This is how we are to praise Him.

[6:51] Blessing and honor and wisdom. And thanksgiving and honor and glory. And power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.

[7:01] Amen. We are to speak hallelujah constantly to God. For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. This is how the angels worship God.

[7:14] This is how they speak to Him continually in heaven. Amen. Amen. If you don't worship God in this way.

[7:29] With the attitude of the angels. With the motivation of the angels. If you don't worship God for who He truly is.

[7:41] And what He has done. In redemptive history. Then you don't worship Him truly at all. In fact you commit idolatry. Verse 2.

[7:59] Ascribe to the Lord the glory and do His name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. Ascribe to the Lord the glory and do His name.

[8:14] God's name alone is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. He alone. He is jealous for His name.

[8:26] He is jealous for His glory. He is jealous for the exaltation of His name. And He will be exalted. And He will be exalted in all splendor of holiness.

[8:43] That means that He will be exalted. To the maximum height of which He can be exalted. Point 2.

[8:57] God made nature for His glory. Verses 3-9. The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The God of glory thunders.

[9:11] The Lord over many waters. God is sovereign over nature. He controls it completely. And as creator of both the heavens and the earth.

[9:24] He claims complete ownership over it. The Lord is the true God. He is the living God. And an everlasting King.

[9:38] That His wrath the whole earth shall tremble. And the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, Even they shall perish from the earth.

[9:56] And from these heavens. He hath made the earth by His power. He hath established the earth by His wisdom. And hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion.

[10:08] In the Old Testament, Many of the surrounding countries, The surrounding Israel, Worshipped other gods.

[10:25] They worshipped these pagan gods. But what were they powerful to do? What were they able to do? Nothing. Not a thing.

[10:35] Because they didn't exist. But God, In contrast to the pagan deities, He possesses a power that is all powerful.

[10:47] Because without Him, Nothing would exist. He created everything that is, Everything that was, Everything that ever will be. Therefore, He claims right to rule Over the heavens and the earth.

[11:05] And He does as He pleases. And none can raise their hand against Him. And none can question what He does. Verse 4, The voice of the Lord is powerful.

[11:21] The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. One only needs to read the beginning of Genesis In the creation account.

[11:35] To find that God is powerful. To find that the voice of the Lord Is full of might and power and majesty. It was through His mighty voice That He brought the heavens and the earth Into creation.

[11:53] Into existence. His voice is full of majesty and power. The majesty of a king. The voice of a king Is the voice of our God.

[12:06] And He is one possessing infinite authority Over that which He governs. Verse 5, The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.

[12:20] The voice. The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. You see, The voice of God is powerful enough And mighty enough To lay low even the strongest of trees.

[12:40] Those referenced here, The cedars of Lebanon, Were among the mightiest of trees In all the land. Everyone knew how strong these trees were.

[12:56] And yet God, Just by the mere power of His voice. Just by a mere whisper of a word. He could lay low the tree to the ground.

[13:15] If He has that kind of power in His voice. If He has that kind of authority In that which He speaks. Then how much more authority does He have To lay low proud and arrogant men?

[13:39] Men who want to reign over others. Men who want everyone to know What they've done So that they can exalt their own name.

[13:51] How much more does God In His power Have the authority To put them on the ground On their knees before Him So that they may worship Him.

[14:10] He makes Lebanon To skip like a calf. And Syrian Like a wild ox In verse 6 He is not only able To move the trees In the forest.

[14:26] He is able to move Entire mountains Like Syrian And like Lebanon. He is able to make them Skip like a calf. These seemingly Unmovable mountains Quake with the authority Of His voice.

[14:43] And He is mightier Than the mountains. And He makes all these objects Come alive As if they were untamed Wild animals. That Is the extent Of His power.

[15:01] In verse 7 The voice of the Lord Flashes forth Flames of fire. The lightning Which flashes From heaven quickly And with great heat Is like the judgment Of God.

[15:18] Just as the Lord Uses the thunder Of His voice To bring warning And acknowledgement Of His majesty. He uses the flames Of fire To strike The hearts of men.

[15:31] So that they might melt. You see Men's hearts Are hardened Toward man. But when they are brought Before the heat Of the lightning Of God.

[15:50] The hearts of men Will melt Like a candle Before a flame. Charles Spurgeon Put it this way. How easily Could the Lord Destroy His rebellious Creatures With hot Thunderbolts.

[16:07] How gracious Is the hand Which spares Such great Offenders. When to Crush them Would be so easy. Flames of fire Attend the voice Of God In the gospel.

[16:21] Illuminating And melting The hearts Of men. By those He consumes Our lusts And kindles In us A holy flame Of ever Aspiring Love And holiness.

[16:36] God could deal Very harshly With men Over their Wickedness.

[16:50] There is no Reason Why He Should give Mercy Even the Smallest amount Of mercy To any Man. No one Is deserving Of any Kindness From God.

[17:03] I'm not And you're not. And yet Out of His Pure Love And mercy And graciousness He is chosen To love And to love To the fullest And most perfect Degree.

[17:27] In verse 8 The voice of the Lord Shakes the wilderness The voice The Lord Shakes the wilderness Of Tades. God's ability To move The wilderness Of the earth Is an example Of His power And authority Over it.

[17:51] The wilderness Is often A place of Protection For men When they're Trying to hide. Particularly Men who Try to Defy the laws Of man Will run To the forest So that they Can never Be found.

[18:11] And while There may be A degree Of protection For men From other Men A man Who is trying To hide From God From the Authority Of God Is a fool.

[18:28] You see God is Omnipresent. He is Everywhere And He Knows Everything. He cannot Be eluded. He cannot Be fooled.

[18:40] And those Who try to Escape His judgment Will come One day To know That there Is no place Where God Is not And that God Has authority Over even The most Remote Corners Of the Earth.

[18:59] Verse 9 The voice Of the Lord Makes the deer Give birth And strips The forest Bare And in His Temple All Cry Glory The Lord Provides Protection For the Animals Of the Earth In this Verse we Have the Example Of the Deer Which is So Easily Frightened That when Pregnant It cannot Find A place To give Birth That when Frightened It scatters From Place To place Cannot Find Anywhere To rest Its head But the Deer Is given Comfort By God Is given

[19:59] Comfort And rest So that It can Give birth To its Young Kindness Of God Toward Even the Most Insignificant Creatures Causes All of Those Assembled In His Holy Temple To praise Him With Shouts Of Glory Because Of His Care And His Mindfulness For even The least Of His Creation If God Can care For creatures Like the Deer How much More will He care For and Provide And protect The people Made in His image How much More Will He Care for His elect People Point

[21:04] Three God Created Man For His Glory Verses 10 And 11 How Wretched And Miserable And Vile Is The State And Condition Of Man Before Holy God Of All The Creatures In The Universe God Chose Man To Be His Greatest Creation To Be The Pinacle Of His Creation Because He Created Man In The Likeness Of Himself So That He Could Have An Even Fuller Manifestation Of His Glory But How Arrogant Disgusting Revolting And Horrid And How Unexcusable And Wicked Is Man For The Pride Of

[22:05] His Own Name And His Own Glory He Exalts Himself Above God And Rebels Against His Most Gracious Sovereign God When The Lord Made The Heavens When He Made The Sun And The Moon And The Stars They Obeyed His Voice When He Commanded Them When God Made Nature Nature Likewise Hearkened Unto The Voice Of The Almighty And Yet When God Created Man When God Told Adam And Eve In The Garden Of Eden Thou Shalt Not Eat Of The Fruit The Tree What Did They Do They

[23:05] Stuck Out Their Hand They Plucked The Fruit From The Tree And They Ate Of It And They Disobeyed God They Disobeyed God When God Commanded Man To Obey Him Man Pridefully Stomped His foot Down And Said No And Yet What Was God's Response To Adam And Eve In Their Wickedness He Clothed Them To Cover Their Nakedness And Their Humiliation He Allowed Them To Live Even Though They Deserved Immediate Death And

[24:05] Destruction He Applied The Worst Punishment To The Serpent The Father Of Lies The Devil Who Had Deceived The Woman And He Made A Way Of Redemption For Mankind Even Though They Deserved Only His Wrath And His Judgment And His Condemnation Theologian R.C.

[24:30] Sproul Put it This Way He Was Asked The Question One Time Why Was The Punishment For The Sin Of Adam And Eve So Severe And First Off He Looked At The Audience And He Said What's Wrong With You People This Is What's Wrong With The Church Today R.C.

[24:58] Sproul Said We Don't Know Who God Is And We Don't Know Who We Are If We Have Any Understanding Of Who God Is And Who We Are Then The Question Is Why Was The Punishment Not More Severe God Is Holy We've Forgotten That Haven't We He Is Holy And Yet He Is Merciful And Loving And Kind And Gentle And That Is Why He Was Able To Redeem Adam And Eve Verse 10 The

[25:59] Lord Sets Enthroned Over The Flood The Lord Sets Enthroned As King Forever In This Verse The Hebrew Word For Flood Is Used Only One Other Time In The Old Testament And That Is In Reference To The Global Flood Of Noah In Genesis 7 The Implication Of This Reference Is That God Is Powerful And Indeed Right In His Judgment Of Men And In Particular The Pouring Out Of Judgment Upon The Heads Of Wicked Men Such As Those Who Lived In The Time Of Noah You See God Was Just And Fair And Yes

[26:59] He Was Even Loving And Kind When He Flooded The Earth Several Thousand Years Ago And He Is Still Just And Loving And Fair And Kind With His Dealings Toward Men Now In Fact He Is Even More Loving And Kind Because He Has Given Us A Savior He Has Given Us Christ So It Is Even More Important To Realize That Noah In Doing All That God Commanded Him Through Building The Ark And Preaching Repentance To The People That He Was Acting As A Type

[27:59] Of Christ He Was Acting In A Way That Corresponded With How Christ Acted In The New Testament That Is What It Is To Be A Type Of Christ In Verse 11 May The Lord Give Strength To His People With Peace David's Prayer That God Would Give Strength And Peace To His People Was Not Fully Realized In The Days Of David Or Even In The Days Of The Prophets They Had To Wait Many Centuries For That Fulfillment To Come And It Came With The Coming Of The New Testament With

[29:00] Jesus Christ With The Pinnacle Of Redemptive History And The Death Resurrection And Ascension Of Christ You see Christ Is The Strength Of His People The Book of Romans Tells Us That For When We Were Yet Without Strength In Due Time Christ Died For The Ungodly Romans 5 Verse 6 The Elect People Of God Before Conversion Were Like The People Of Noah's Day And Every Desire Of Their Heart Was Only Evil Continually But With The Death Of Jesus Christ He Became Our Strength He Is Our Strength To Persevere In The Faith Till The End He Is Our Strength

[30:00] To Turn To God And Away From Sin In Repentance He Is Our Strength To Trust That We Have Been Clothed With Righteousness And Therefore That We Are As White As Snow Before God He Is Our Strength In All Are Is Of The Christian Life We Have No Strength Apart From Him And We Cannot Glorify God Even For A Moment Without His Strength Just As The Body Cannot Eat Cannot Drink Cannot Move Cannot Live Without Strength So Is The Christian Life So It Is With Christians That Without Jesus Christ We Cannot Live Or Stand Without

[31:01] Him We Have Nothing And We Are Nothing Except Wretched And Miserable Before A Mighty And Holy God In The Second Half Of Verse 11 David Prays That God Would Bless His People With Peace Jesus Christ Also Fulfilled This Prayer Romans 5 Verses 1 And 2 Says Therefore Being Justified By Faith We Have Peace With God Through Our Lord Jesus Christ By Whom Also We Have Access By Faith Into This Grace Wherein We Stand And Rejoice In Hope Of The Glory Of God And Likewise Philippians 4 7 Says In The

[32:01] Peace Of God Which Passeth All Understanding So Keep Your Hearts And Minds Through Jesus Christ Christ These Two Verses Are Evidence That We Have Peace With God Through Jesus Christ In Genesis Not Only Did God Provide Noah With An Ark To Flee From The Wrath To Come But He Also Provided For Him A Mountain Mount Ararat To Land On In A Fertile Ground To Live Upon So That He Could Be At Peace With God The Christian Has Not Only Been Given The Death Of Christ Although That Is Sufficient But

[33:03] God Time And Time Again Has Poured Upon His Grace Upon His People And He Is Continually Doing That Even Today Not Only Has The Death Of Christ Appeased The Wrath Of God God But The Christian Has Been Given A Mountain To Land On In Fertile Ground The Christian Has Been Given The Holy Spirit Which Is Like A Mountain On Which To Land And Find Rest And Comfort And The Christian Has Been Given Fertile Ground The Church The People Of God Gathered Uplift

[34:05] The Christian So That He Can Lay Down His Roots And Grow In The Faith In Closing I Would Like To Give A Word To Those Of You Who Believe In Christ I Have Some Questions For You That I Would Hope Would Penetrate Like An Arrow Deep Into Your Heart And Your Soul And Make You Consider The Glory Of God And Being Used As An Instrument For His Glory Where You Acknowledge The Power Of God And

[35:06] Continue To Bow The Knee To King Jesus Will You Obey His Voice Will You Turn To The Only Source Of Pure And Perfect Truth Will You Turn To The Word Of God The Holy Bible And Recognize It As True Inerrant And Infallible You See The Scripture Is No Different Than The Voice Of God That Spoke Literally And Audibly To God's People In The Time When It Was Written So Do Not Doubt The Power Of His Voice In This Precious And Holy And Wonderful Word To The Unbeliever Will You Acknowledge The Power Of God Will You Bow The Knee To The King Of Heaven And Earth

[36:06] Will You Obey His Voice The Voice Of God Is Mighty To Deliver And Mighty To Destroy Remember That Understand The Power Of His Voice Do Do Not Delay True And Right Worship Of Him In The Days Of Noah Men Were Given Many Years To Come To God And To Repent You Do Not Have That Much Time Very Likely So Come To Him Your Time For

[37:06] Obedience Is Now And When The Flood Of God's Judgment Comes Will You Drown Or Will You Enter The Ark Take Take Hold Of Your Salvation Take Hold Of Christ Do Not Be Like The Wicked Men Of Noah's Day Who Ignored His Preaching Run To The Ark While The Ground Is Still Dry Run Into The Arms Of Your Savior While His Arms Are Still Open What Hinders You What Stumbling Block Is Laid Before You Enter The Ark Of The Salvation Of Christ He Is

[38:07] The Ark Of Deliverance He Is The Only One Who Is Mighty To Preserve You From Destruction Oh Flee From The Wrath To Come And Enter The Ark Where The Skies Are Still Bright And His Mercy Signs Before The Rains Fall And The Door Of The Ark Is Closed Come And Enter Into The Ark Before The Flood Waters Swallow The Up Come To Him Let Us Pray Amen Amen