Tim Badger - Class 4: Responding to God

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   This is the 2018 Day with the Word. Our speaker is Brother Tim Badger. This topic for the day is Closer to Our God, the Book of Psalms. This is Class 4, entitled His Heart is Steadfast, Responding to God. The reading was Psalm 112, 111, and 112. Brother Tim.

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   Well, good afternoon, brothers and sisters. Again, hopefully we're not too dozy from lunch and being towards the end of our day together. But what we want to do in this final session is sort of a little bit different than what we've been doing. We're going to be focusing on two psalms in particular and gaining our exhortation out of those two psalms, Psalm 111 and 112. And you'll see it links really well and really clearly with the focus on praise that we are looking at. We're going to take that a step further and realize that there's a number of psalms in the collection of psalms that we have that are very instructive from the point of view of just practical discipleship. And Psalm 111 and 112 are a classic example of that. And helping us to sort of take a step closer from pouring our hearts out to God and other lament or praise to actually doing the will of God in our life and reflecting it as a way of praising Him. Praising Him by the way we live and the way we reflect His character.

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   So we want to just have a look at that. I'm having a Bible open to Psalm 111. And you'll notice that the opening words are really similar to the psalms that we were looking at earlier. In fact, 111 and 112 and 113 all start with Hallelujah as well.

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   So Psalm 111 says this in verse 1, Praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Now here's another example of someone who's openly and deliberately praising God. And in this case, this one is doing so in the middle of the congregation. In the face of everyone else who can hear them. This person says, I'm going to stand up and praise God in the middle of the assembly. And of course, we actually know that that's precisely what the Lord Jesus Christ is going to do too. Hebrews 1 or Hebrews chapter 2 quotes this as quotes and evidence that Christ will stand up and praise God amongst His brethren in the assembly, in the great congregation taken from Psalm 22. So Christ is going to do it and we are meant to and designed to do it as well. To praise God amongst one another with His whole heart.

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   Well, what we want to do is have a look at what this psalm is all about and what this person is praising God for. Let's get some more detail on that. What's driving and motivating this person to say these things about God in the assembly and the congregation? Well, what we're going to do is explore that in a minute. But first of all, we need to sort of understand where this psalm fits in the context of the collection. Now remember, by now we should be fairly certain that the arrangement of the psalms has a real direct purpose. They weren't haphazard.

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   Someone's really put them together with thought under divine inspiration. And it happens that this psalm, 111, works in tandem or connection with Psalm 112. They form a pair that cannot be separated. They are intended to go together, put side by side. Now the first clue that gives us proof for that is that they both happen to be acrostic psalms. So both Psalm 111 and 112 have a half of a verse for every Hebrew letter. And the last verse has a couple in itself. But this psalm goes through every Hebrew letter and there's half a verse that applies to each Hebrew letter as you go through. Which means you end up with right about 11 verses in the psalm to fit the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Now both of those psalms do it. What are some other acrostic psalms that you guys know about?

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   119. Right, that's the the one that we know the most. It's used for teaching Hebrew language because it follows the alphabet so clearly. And you have, does anyone know how many verses per letter are in Psalm 119? Eight verses per every Hebrew letter in Psalm 119. So whereas Psalm 111 and 12 are very condensed, there's there's half a verse for each letter roughly. In Psalm 119 there's eight verses per letter. When someone does that we sort of ask the question why why did they do that in Hebrew?

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   And probably the only really clear answer for that is for the purpose of memorization. And also to show you that the construction of this psalm is very precise and deliberate in terms of what it's trying to convey. So that should just clue us in that there's some extra effort put into this psalm in terms of its flow of thought deliberately using the Hebrew alphabet. Well it's significant that we said Psalm 119 because it's connected. These two psalms are connected to Psalm 119 in a way that you might not have been aware of before. Psalm 111 which are acrostic and Psalm 119 which is also acrostic are two bookends that kind of hold together a collection of psalms that are known as the Hallel Psalms. We often connect them with Passover and what Jesus probably sung when the disciples were at Passover when they went out and sung a hymn. It would have been from this collection of psalms. Psalm 113 to 118. Now we call that collection and the Jewish people call that collection the Egyptian Hallel. And Psalm 111 finds its place in 112 at the beginning of that collection. That's significant for a couple of reasons in pulling out the lessons behind it. Well why do we call these the Egyptian Hallel Psalms? Well the reason is this collection of psalms particularly commemorate the Passover and coming out of Egypt. So let's just illustrate that so you're aware of how it works. As you go through Psalm 113 to 118 you find the themes of Passover and out of Egypt, Exodus, Salvation and Redemption in a way that you don't find in other collections of psalms in that

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   in that degree. So for example let's pull out Psalm 114 verse 1. This is a clear one that we'll just put in place. These are well recognized as commemorating deliverance from Egypt but here's a clear reference to that. Verse 1 of Psalm 114. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became his sanctuary and Israel his dominion. So there's a clear precise reference to the fact of Egypt coming out of Israel. And each psalm in this little collection has a focus on some way on redemption and thanks to God for what his people has done. Or thanks to God for what he has done for his people I should say.

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    So does that make sense? That's where these psalms are found. Now we with the psalmist and the way this is collected will point us to clues by looking at the type of psalms. So because we have these two acrostics, we know that there's a collection in between. We already know anyway that those psalms go together.

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    So the question is, well right, what's the point of putting these acrostics on either end of the Egyptian Hallel Psalms? The ones particularly celebrating deliverance from Egypt.

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    Well, brothers and sisters, the reason seems to be, and we'll see this as we go through, is that these psalms, 111, 112, which we can almost consider as one psalm, in Psalm 119, have the purpose of teaching as bookends or a frame to the Hallel Psalms, how the people of God must live in response to the deliverance from Egypt. You see, it's one thing to commemorate deliverance from Egypt's brothers and sisters, and that's what the Hallel Psalms do. It's another thing entirely to live in response to that deliverance that has been given, right? And that's true for us as well. It's one thing, of course, to commemorate deliverance from Egypt on Sunday mornings and wherever else we do that together. It's another thing entirely, as important as commemoration is, to put that into practice and to live it. And psalm, the acrostic psalms on either end are crucial in illustrating what it means to live in response to the deliverance that's commemorated in the Hallel Psalms.

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    And we're going to see that particularly with Psalm 111 and 112. Let's go to 111. And pick this apart a little bit further. So he's praising God. Well, what's he praising God for in this psalm? As we've read in verse 1, he's going to praise the Lord with his whole heart, which is a beautiful expression. Well, we get a clue in verse 2. Why is he praising God?

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    The works of Yahweh are great, studied by all those who have pleasure in them. So the works are the key theme so far in this psalm that gives a reason for praise. Well, what are we actually talking about? What's the clue? Well, there's a little hint in verse 3. His work is honorable and glorious, and his righteousness endures forever. Ah, so this gives us a little clue. What is he talking about when it comes to the works that he's praising God for? Well, it's connected somehow to God's righteousness, righteousness, right? There's a connection to righteousness in these works that he has in mind.

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    Well, let's read on. Look what it says in verse 4. And do you notice the repetition of the word works? This is one of the little keys to look for in the psalms. The works of the Lord in verse 2, verse 3, verse 4, verse 6, and verse 7. There's a real emphasis on this, but what works are we talking about?

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    Look at verse 4. He has made his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and full of compassion. And he's given food to those who fear him. He will ever be mindful of his covenant. He's declared to his people the power of his works in giving them the heritage of the nations. So you see, what's happening here is that this psalmist is very, very in tune with the fact that the God he worships is a practical God. He does things for his people. And it's not just the big things like deliverance from Egypt.

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    It's the providing of food to those who need it. His gracious and compassionate works. That's the things that this psalmist is focusing on. And of course, anytime we're doing this, this is great instruction for us to find things to be praising God for in our own life too. Now, you can see the little echoes there that must be referring in some sense to the Passover in Egypt. Verse 5. Where's the reference to coming out of Egypt in verse 5? Possibly. Just a shout out of it.

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    Absolutely. The covenant is a really strong, important one. What else there hints that this is referring to that series of events? Food. Yep, there's the manna, right? So there's a little Egyptian sort of flavor in there too, coming out of Egypt. Maybe you don't call it Egyptian flavor, but you know what I mean.

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    I think it tastes like coriander food. Okay, getting it off topic. Verse 6. He has declared to his people the power of his works and giving them the heritage of the nations. So that's clearly coming out and getting into the promised land, giving them the heritage of the nations. Right. Well, he goes on about these works. And look what he focuses on now.

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    Verse 7. The works of his hand are verity and justice. All his precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness. Now, here's the crux of it, right? Here's where the work really comes to the fore of what he's got in mind. He has sent redemption to his people. He has commanded his covenant forever.

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    However, holy and awesome is his name. So there's the focus, brothers and sisters, that there's redemption here. That's what he's talking about. The works of God that he's focusing on is redemption. And that's the cause for praise. It always has been for the people of God when they focus on that. And when we're thinking on Sunday mornings, but any time during the week, let's not limit it to Sunday morning for half an hour, the greatness of God's works, we need to especially be mindful, brothers and sisters, day by day of the covenant and redemption that we have through Christ.

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    And that's what this psalmist is finding reason to praise God for. In fact, his whole heart is stirred up. As ours can be when we reflect in that way. And the important point here is that God is extremely practical. You know, when it goes back, if we just go back in the psalm and say in verse 2, the works of Yahweh are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.

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    You might be inclined to think that, like, this is good cause to just do Bible study. And true, true that is. But the sense of this studied by all those who have pleasure in them is not just for the purpose of academic knowledge. It's clearly that these two psalms are going to show us that this is not just for study's sake.

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    This is for practical outworking's sake. To appreciate redemption from Egypt, this psalm is teaching us, is to show it practically in our life. Because God himself is practical. And that's what he does. He's gracious and full of compassion. He gives. But there's another element that we want to focus on in this psalm that comes out if we just mark it in or underline.

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    And it's a quality of God that I want us just to think about this morning that this psalm brings to view. And that is the stability of our God. His unchangingness. Do you notice his emphasis on that? Look at verse 3. His righteousness endures forever. Verse 4. His works are to be remembered.

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    They're not forgotten. They don't change. Verse 5. He'll ever be mindful of his covenant. For a little short psalm, this is quite a real concentration focusing on this quality of God. His unchangingness. The stability of God. His precepts are short. They stand fast forever and ever. He commanded his covenant forever. And his praise endures forever.

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    So this person has stopped and reflected on the stability of God. And that, brothers and sisters, alone is something that also can be something that we praise God for. That he is a stable God. The God that we believe in, brothers and sisters, despite all the ups and downs of all of the book of Psalms and the story of his people.

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    Despite all of that, the reality is we believe in a God who never changes. That's what he says in one of the prophets. He says, I do not change. Therefore, you're not consumed, O Jacob. I'm not a man, he says elsewhere, that I should change my mind in that sense. God does not change.

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    He's always there. He's the rock of our salvation. When in the Psalms you have these amazing images of the voice of God that causes the mountains to skip like lambs. You know that imagery in the Psalms? You think, wow, what does that mean to us? But what that does mean, brothers and sisters, is for Israelites, the mountains were like this awesome metaphor of who God is.

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    They don't move. So when it says that the voice of God makes the mountains skip like lambs, they are showing the utter power that they believe in, that God has. That his very voice can make the mountains move. For them, that was a big metaphor, that God is like those mountains, that never changes.

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    And that's what the psalmist here is praising God for. And we're going to see what that means if we appreciate that in the God that we believe in and follow. Well, what's the response to all these qualities of God? Well, have a look at verse 10. This is actually an extremely significant verse, brothers and sisters, from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the wisdom writings in the Old Testament.

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    Look at this, verse 10. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. That's the very first proverb in the whole collection of proverbs that we have. That's the opening, this is it. And it's also the ending of the book of Ecclesiastes, isn't it? Fear God and keep his commandments. This is the crux of what discipleship is getting at.

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    The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who do his commandments. His praise endures forever. So when we look at this psalm, it's saying at the end of it, look, the response to understanding these things about God and praising him is to fear him. And this is also, by the way, brothers and sisters, a great verse in Psalm to illustrate to us what it means to fear God.

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    It is not to be afraid of him from a cowering point of view. Does that have its place at some point in conversion? Yes. When people are realizing that they're in fearful expectation of judgment and they need to be on the Lord's side. But when you are on the Lord's side, brothers and sisters, it doesn't continue in a state of fear and cowering.

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    This psalm is telling us that to fear Yahweh, there's a real respect for his graciousness and his compassion. A reverence for a God who never changes. That's what fear is all about. It's a classic psalm that shows what it is. A profound love and reverence for the qualities of God. And we're privileged to have a God like this.

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    And he engenders those qualities in us. Now, here's the connection to Psalm 112. Did you notice that the way that psalm ends is the same way Psalm 112 starts? Praise Yahweh. Praise ye Yahweh. Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments. Now, that is automatically a link to the ending of Psalm 111, brothers and sisters.

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    That's worth marking in to show us that these are deliberately designed to go together. And there's a powerful message in these two psalms. A teaching and instructive message. Where Psalm 111 leaves off is where Psalm 112 picks up. And it's focusing on those who fear God. Now, there's other things that link these psalms together.

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    And I want to show you this because this becomes an extraordinarily amazing and powerful little set of psalms. Now, this is going to be on a handout, so you don't have to scratch this all down. But I want to show you this. This might be a little bit smaller at the back.

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    It's fine. Okay. Good. You have a look at this. This is absolutely, it's kind of one of those things where you kind of look at it and you like fall off your seat. Because you're like, wow, I could read these psalms a whole bunch of times. And I've never noticed until I started to try and pick it up.

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    Look at this. They both start with hallelujah, for sure. One starts with one who praises God and delights in his works. The other one is one who fears God and delights in his commandments. But look at this. His righteousness endures forever. Who was that talking about in Psalm 111? Whose righteousness endures forever?

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    God. Look what it says in verse 3 and 9. I want to have a look at Psalm 112. Now this should make us sit up and... This Psalm 112 is a psalm praising a godly man. Now that seems weird to say that. But it is, brothers and sisters. And there's a reason for that.

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    Look what it says. Praise Yahweh. Blessed is the man, verse 1, who fears Yahweh and delights greatly in his commandments. And it's all about this godly man. Or sister. Look at verse 2. His descendants will be mighty on the earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house.

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    And his righteousness endures forever. And it says it again in verse 9. His righteousness endures forever. Now that's a staggering comparison, brothers and sisters. Because over here, this is a quality of God. His righteousness endures forever. Now the psalmist has boldly taken that very phrase in Hebrew. And said that applies to one who has utmost faith in God.

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    That person's righteousness will endure forever. And that seems a bold thing to do. That you take an expression that would say, yes, that makes sense with God. The psalmist is now saying, no. This also applies to those who are righteous and believe and follow God and fear the Lord. Lord, your righteousness endures forever.

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    We don't normally talk like that. But brothers and sisters, the reality is that is absolutely true. Romans 8. We were looking at this last night. It was just popped in my head. Romans 8 says, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Your righteousness endures forever.

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    If you follow the Lord Jesus Christ, fear the Lord and keep his commandments. That's in there. That's an extraordinarily bold statement. This applies to God. This applies to the godly man. Look at this one. God is gracious and merciful. That's exactly the expression that's used of the godly man in Psalm 112. Gracious and merciful.

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    It says of God that he gives food to those who fear him. It says of this godly man in Psalm 112 that he deals graciously in lands. That's the same quality that's being picked up and reflected, mirrored in the godly person. Justice is a quality of God. It is also a quality of the godly man.

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    His precepts are sure, stand fast forever and ever. The godly man, his heart is steadfast. His heart is established. He will not be afraid. Do you see the quality coming through? So what this is building to is a real interesting exhortation. He has sent redemption to his people. Well, this godly man has dispersed abroad and given to the poor.

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    This ends with the fear of the Lord and this begins with the fear of the Lord. This ends with a positive response to God. And if you've noticed, this ends with a negative response to God. Have a look. The last verse of Psalm 112. The wicked, all this, the wicked will see and be grieved.

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    He'll gnash his teeth and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish. A total contrast to the ending of Psalm 111. What are we being told, brothers and sisters? That's great. It's definitely deliberate. And it's bold in some senses, isn't it? What we're being told, brothers and sisters, is this. Here's what the Psalms are doing.

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    Psalm 111 is about God. Psalm 112 is about a godly man or woman. Psalm 111, you can say, is the works of God. And Psalm 112 is about the works of godliness worked out in an individual. Practical speaking. You can say that Psalm 111 commemorates the qualities of God. And Psalm 112 demonstrates the qualities of God.

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    That's exactly the point of these two Psalms on either end, or the groups of Psalms on either end of the halal. That's deliverance from Egypt. This is how you need to respond. It's not just good enough commemorating. As much as we should praise God, that has to work out in a praise that's shown in our life.

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    See, this is the thing that Psalms kind of brings the attention, is that praising God, brothers and sisters, in our ecclesia, doesn't just come from our music, and doesn't just come from our songbook and our prayers. No. An ecclesia who praises God is an ecclesia that reflects the character, kindness, compassion, surety, stability of God.

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    That's how we praise God too. Let's never forget that. That's how this person is praising God. He's praising Him not in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. That's what's happening in these two Psalms. That if this is what we commemorate, this is what we praise God for, then Psalm 112 says, well, then we need to demonstrate those qualities of God in our life.

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    And that's the encouragement that it's giving to us. So Psalm 111 is what God has done for you, us, collectively. And Psalm 112 is what we, as men and women of God, are called to do in response. Interesting, isn't it? That this is a hymn of praise for the godly man. Now, this makes sense now.

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    Why would you have a hymn, Psalm 112, or a psalm that commemorates a godly man? Only because, brothers and sisters, that godly man is completely and utterly reflecting the character of God. It's not about that individual. It's about how that individual reflects God. And it's the qualities of God that's seen in us that deserves that praise or gets that praise.

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    And so it's not about us in the end. It's actually about the God manifestation that's taking place in our own hearts and minds and our actions. And that is one of the cores behind these two psalms.

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    Well, brothers and sisters, it's clear then, isn't it, that when it says in Psalm 111, he who delights greatly in his commandments is not one who merely studies, memorizes, and is interested in God's commandments from an interest point of view. This is one who is interested in reflecting those things that they know to be right.

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    So it says in this psalm that in the house of this man is wealth and riches. And clearly, in a sense, the overall view of the Old Testament instructions is if you do follow God, then typically you will find prosperity in some way. But we know that's not always true. And some of the psalms lament that very fact.

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    But the point is that this obviously has spiritual overtones to wealth and rich that is associated with coming into the promised land, our promised land. And that's what God will do. That's what's in the house of this godly person. Wealth and riches and the redemption in Christ. Do you know, it's interesting too, isn't it, that one of the things that this person is reflecting in Psalm 112 is the very stability of God that we saw in Psalm 111.

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    Do you see that? Look at verse 6. It's just worth highlighting this little point. It's something to be encouraged by. When we feel wobbly in the truth, we can come back to this and say, no, my God never changes and I do not need to be afraid. And I can come to Him in prayer.

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    Look at verse 6. Surely, He will never be shaken. That's exactly the point of Psalm 111 in God's character. The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. Everlasting. He will not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord who is also steadfast. Psalm 111. His heart is established. He will not be afraid until He sees His desire upon His enemies.

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    Now, just out of interesting, brothers and sisters, we're going to take a little moment to examine this. It happened to be when I was looking at, some time ago, the book of Esther, which is just amazing. And there's a little expression in the book of Esther that says, when the Jews were given authority by King Ahasuerus to stand up and defend themselves, and when that decree went out that kind of reversed everything that Haman had put into place, it says that the Jews had light and joy and gladness, which always struck me as like, what?

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    They had light. Like, candles? I don't know. Like, it's a funny little expression in the book of Esther. But it's also found in this song. Did you notice that? Look what it says.

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    I'm just finding it myself. Verse 4. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness. He is gracious and full of compassion and righteous. Now, just come to Esther.

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    I'll show you where this is. Come to Esther, chapter 8. Look at verse 15. This is when the great reversal has taken place under the influence of Mordecai and Esther. So, verse 15. So, Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple.

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    and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad and the Jews had light and gladness joy and honor. Now, interestingly, Psalm 112 says the one who fears God, well, that person will have light that shows up in the darkness. And that's what happened in the story of Esther for the whole Jews nationally.

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    But, brothers and sisters, what's amazing about this is that it draws to attention one of the individuals who is clearly embedded as an example in Psalm 112. And that is Mordecai. It's an extraordinary truth that Mordecai is a living example of everything in Psalm 112. Look at, just put this into place. Look at verse 10 of Psalm 112.

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    Who does this make you think of? There's no, there's not one person that fits this other than you know who. The wicked, I'm almost all right, getting a little excited. Verse 10, the wicked will see it and be grieved. So, when the wicked sees the stability and godliness of this one individual, it says the wicked will see it and hate it.

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    He'll gnash his teeth and melt away. the desire of the wicked shall perish. You couldn't have a better summary of Haman in all of scripture. There he is. That's exact, it's the Haman and Mordecai thing playing out. And if you go through it, I've also given this on a handout. I'll just kind of illustrate this because I find it exciting, but also practical because here's someone that lives this that we can now take Psalm 12 and go to Mordecai and look at how he played this out in his life.

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    Right? Just a few little connections here. You can look at these. I'm just going to scan over them so you get the idea. Look at it. Psalm 112 says, his descendants or his seed is the Hebrew, will be mighty on the earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed. That's exactly what you find at the end of Esther.

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    The Jews themselves overpowered those who hated him. Fear fell on all people. Then the Jews had rest from the enemies. And Mordecai, the last thing you find happening in Esther is basically Mordecai speaking peace to all his seed. That's the generation of the upright being blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house.

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    Well, that's incredible what happens to Mordecai. I think you know the story. That's exactly what happens. He was appointed over all the house of Haman and he was royal apparel, blue and white, great crown of gold and garments of fine linen and purple. And there's the light in the darkness that comes up in chapter 8 verse 16 which is what happened under Mordecai's influence in Esther.

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    He is gracious and full of compassion and righteous and that's exactly the qualities of Mordecai. Sorry. Settle down. Look what it says. Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his descendants. That's, by the way, look what it says in Psalm 112.

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    A good man deals graciously in lands. He's dispersed abroad and given to the poor. Did you know that Purim, they give gifts to each other, right? And to the poor people. Now, when Purim, if you read the record, we won't do this for the sake of time and Esther, but if you read the record, originally Purim didn't have those gifts.

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    They set the dates, this was going to be Purim, but then Mordecai comes along and says, actually what we're going to do is give gifts to the poor. That's Mordecai. Gracious land, he's generous, he disperses abroad and gives to the poor. Psalm 1112. Right? He will guide his affairs with discretion. I don't think we need to say anything about that because we know so well that's exactly the quality of Mordecai in the whole book of Esther all the way through.

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    And it does, it does go on. We won't do all those, but Haman is at the end. But here's the point, brothers and sisters, this is just an exciting example of where the biblical truth of Psalm 112 reflecting the God that we worship is acted out in an individual who we know. Mordecai, he lives that.

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    So to praise God and his attributes of stability and graciousness and lending, brothers and sisters, Mordecai is telling us in Psalm 112 that our commission is to live those qualities in our life, in our interactions with our brothers and sisters. It's not just good enough to commemorate. We need to demonstrate. Philippians chapter 2, brothers and sisters, has a verse that we're sort of familiar with from time to time.

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    And that verse is work out your salvation with fear and trembling. And I feel that sometimes we can misquote that verse or at least give it the wrong slant. Because it can almost sound like, and sometimes we can use it like, Paul is saying, well you know what, you've got to work really hard and you've got to figure it out and eventually you'll get that salvation.

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    That is not at all what Paul is saying in that verse, brothers and sisters. To work out your salvation in that sense, what he's saying is to outwork your salvation. So you've been given redemption in Christ and you need to show it like you believe it in your life. You need to outwork that salvation.

81. 36:11

    And we know that's clearly what he's saying because he says earlier in the chapter to live as if you're worthy of the calling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying. He's not trying to say you need to work and figure out your salvation so you eventually get there. No. Quite the opposite.

82. 36:26

    He makes that really clear in chapter 3. But he's saying you need to outwork your salvation. This is it. This is the God you believe in and the promise and the redemption that you know has been given to you. So show it and reflect it in your life. And that exhortation is right there in Psalm 111 and 112.

83. 36:47

    So it asks us a number of little questions doesn't it brethren and sisters? Reflecting God that's what these two psalms are talking to us about. And that's a little question for us to ask. Do we reflect God? This is God manifestation Psalm 111 and 112. But it's almost like there's a mirror of each other that's another way to look at it that is mirroring.

84. 37:07

    Are we mirroring God like Psalm 111 and 112 are telling us? Do you know brothers and sisters when we show grace to our brothers and sisters we're merely demonstrating and reflecting the grace that God's shown to us in the first place. And when we do that we're demonstrating a character of God. And if we're doing that brothers and sisters then that praises God by our actions.

85. 37:40

    When we have compassion on someone who's sinned and got out of the way we mirror the compassion that God shows to us. That's what Psalm 111 and 112 are saying. And brothers and sisters we could say when we show courage and constancy in our faith despite problems and Mordecai had problems all the Jews did then we're mirroring God's character of constancy and stability and we can hold on to that.

86. 38:14

    When we demonstrate hatred for evil we are reflecting and mirroring God's abhorrence of evil and that's why it's so important to do so and to show that and to act on it in our life and all of those things are illustrated in those two acrostic Psalms that start off the commemoration of redemption from Egypt.

87. 38:39

    I feel brothers and sisters in a sense what Psalm 112 is doing is showing us what it means to be in the image of God truly not just physically but really showing the image of God almost restoring what it was meant to be in Genesis 1 and 2 and 3. Possibly this verse fits in too and I think it's a useful one to think about in this context.

88. 39:04

    2 Corinthians 3 verse 18 captures the sense of these two Psalms but we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord Psalm 111 are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord and that is essentially the message of those two Psalms that we have before us.

89. 39:34

    So brothers and sisters let's take these messages from the Psalms in our weekend together to be strengthened to trust in Him to use these Psalms and all that they teach us to draw closer to Him in our discipleship because He wants us to and all through the ages the faithful men and women of old have held on to God in this way by putting these things into practice pouring out our laments to God praising God deliberately not just incidentally incidentally and realizing that when we do all that God has called us to reflect it in our own life and to be strengthened and encouraged to do so.

90. 40:15

    He is the God of our salvation and He will never be shaken. Re Florida Florida Thank you.