Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our creation, praise Him till the very end.
And this chapter talks about it. Now, Psalm 145, we believe that David probably wrote about the time that he had faced Goliath. And obviously, the book of Psalms was a hymnbook, obviously. But Psalm 146, 147, 148, 149, and 150 are all Psalms of praise.
They were songs that were sung individually, but they were also on special occasions, songs that were sung back to back. And we're going to deal today with Psalm 146 in just two areas, really, our praise and our trust. And so, we're going to take a break in all that we do right here at the beginning of the year, and we're going to take a Sunday and we're going to praise. And I want to encourage you at the end of the message, we're going to give you a chance to praise. Let's pray. Lord, I love you.
Thank you for all that you've done. Please bless us in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Number one today in Psalm 146, our praise. Look at verse one, praise ye the Lord.
Now, he gets a little bit more specific. Notice next, we see the center of my praise. He says, praise the Lord, O my soul. Our soul is the center of our praise. Listen to me, the soul can praise even when the body can't. The soul can praise even when the mind doesn't want to. Our soul is what has been redeemed in salvation. Our soul is eternal.
Satan can attack my body, he can oppress my mind, he can influence my attitude, he can even empty my wallet, but he can't touch my soul. And I want to encourage you today, your soul and my soul, if you've been saved by the grace of God, we have much to praise God for. The center of our praise. By the way, a lot of people, they only praise when they feel like it. They only praise when they're around other people that praise.
It's not about the mind, it's not about the will, it's not about the emotions. It's our soul. It's who we are. We have much to praise God for. Notice secondly, not just the center of my praise, but the continuance of my praise. What does he say in verse two? While I live, will I praise the Lord? That means this, while I live, I have something to praise God for. Are you alive today?
Lord, I hope so. If you're not, raise your hand. We'll call an ambulance. If you're dead, raise your hand.
I don't see any hands. I didn't say if you feel dead. I mean, if you are dead. What does it mean?
It means if I'm alive, I should be grateful. Now, you all are getting a little bit slow this morning. Now, we're going to have to pick this thing up. The slower you get, the slower I get. That's right, yeah. There it goes, Terry.
What is he saying? If I have breath, I'm blessed. You know, the Bible says for me to live is Christ. Number three, I want you to see the commitment of my praise. Not just the center of my praise, my soul. Not just the continuance of my praise, my life. But notice 30 said, I will sing praises unto my God, notice this, while I have any being. That means at the very end, to the very last breath, I'm going to praise God. Listen to me, this is praising God to the very end. This is praising God till you take your last breath. This is praising God in the deathbed, in the hospital bed. This is the body breaking down, the heart giving out, the lungs shutting off, but praising God to the end. May I say something?
Oftentimes, it's one of the hardest places to praise. But I'm going to tell you something. I've watched a lot, and, you know, one thing that you think about, I'm just so thankful for how God used him here all these years, and all that we, you know, what he did. I can't tell you how many boys and girls probably got saved, buses that he's driven, buses that he's captained, and all these different things. And there's probably 70 to 80% of this church, you have no idea, you never got to meet Burtis Hampton. Burtis was one of our deacons.
But I'm going to tell you something. I watched Burtis faithfully serve God through trials, through losing children, through everything. I watched him faithfully serve God for years. And it got down to the very end, he began to lose his eyesight. He began to go blind, then he began where he couldn't breathe, and his blood counts were down. And I remember Burtis pulling oxygen tanks into the services.
I remember it got so bad at the end that Burtis is pulling oxygen tanks, and somebody's pulling Burtis because he couldn't see. I've sat in the house where he couldn't breathe, and I've talked to him, but I'm here to tell you, Burtis didn't just praise God when he had the energy to run the bus. He didn't just praise God when he was able to be here in church, when he had oxygen, when he couldn't see, when he couldn't talk, when he couldn't breathe. While he still had being, he praised God.
That's a commitment. I hope you and I are committed to praise God that way. Praise ye the Lord.
As part of this songbook, we have the first stanza of the next five chapters. He talks about our trust. Who do you trust? Who have you put your trust in?
Who are you dependent upon? Now, I'm going to preach on praise today, and this is every little line of a verse, and I'm going to give them to you. And if you can't praise at the end of this, then your appraiser is broke. I want you to notice first he gives us the frailty of man. Look at verse three. Put not your trust in princes. Number one, he says this, man's authority is limited. Now, why does he bring up princes?
Here in the next phrase, he brings up just men in general. But he says here first, listen, don't trust in princes. You see, princes are individuals that they have position. They have resources. They have wealth.
They have clout. Princes have authority on earth, but God has authority in heaven. Man's authority is limited.
They might be princes, but he is King of kings and Lord of lords. So let me just tell you right now, if you have any of your dependence and any of your trust centered on anything earthly or human, you are in for a disappointment. Man's authority is limited. Notice second, he said man's ability is limited. He said, nor in the Son of Man. That's humanity.
Notice what he says. In whom there is no help. Listen, man's authority is limited.
And can I tell you something about us? Man's ability is limited. There is no real help. Man's ability is limited. Man's resources are limited. Man's wisdom is limited. Man's knowledge is limited. Everything about man is limited.
And everything about God is limitless. God can help you when men can't. God can direct you when men don't know what to do.
God knows the future, man doesn't. God knows your limits, men don't. It means this, you better put your trust in something a lot bigger than a person.
You better put your trust in something a lot more stable than circumstances. Man's authority is limited. Man's ability is limited.
Notice number three, man's age is limited. Look what he says in verse four, his breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth. You see, when you put your trust in an individual, they might die.
Man's time is limited, man's breath is limited. Can I tell you who doesn't die? God doesn't die. Can I tell you who is eternal?
God's eternal. Now I want you to notice this last phrase, I thought this was good. He talks about man dying.
Notice what he says. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth in that very day, that very day, his thoughts perish. Now I tell you, I might read it wrong, but I'm going to tell you what I thought about that. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with people, some of you here, Nick, we've had these conversations about heaven, what's this going to be like, what's that's going to be like, why did this happen on earth, why is God allowing this, why is this whatever.
Can I tell you something? I believe with all my heart after I read this verse that the day that we die, the day we're done here on earth, and by the way, when you're saved, you don't see death. You only see the shadow of death. God defeated death. So in Psalm 23, David says, I don't have to face death. All I have to face is what looks like death to everyone else. It's just a shadow.
It can't hurt you. It's not real. Absent from the bodies present with the Lord. But I believe that the moment we take our last breath on earth, our thoughts perish. It's not going to matter. All these things that I'm going to ask God to explain to me, you probably aren't even going to care when you get there.
You won't even remember it when you get there. Our thoughts are all going to be on Him. He says the frailty of man. Don't trust man. Listen, man's authority is limited. Man's ability is limited.
Even man's age is limited. But He doesn't just give us the frailty of man. Last, He gives us the faithfulness of God.
I want you to notice number one, and I love this, He shows us the help that He gives. Look at verse 9. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. The faithfulness of God.
That means the help that He gives. Jacob was a deceiver. Jacob was a trickster. Everything Abraham had came from God.
Everything Isaac had came from Abraham. But everything Jacob had, he got himself. He manipulated.
He tricked. He didn't get it from God. He didn't even get it from dad or grandpa. He got it all through his own means. And before it was all said and done, Jacob had everything but one thing, and that was the blessing of God. And Jacob finds himself in the middle of the night wrestling the angel of the Lord. And he says to that angel, I'm not going to let you go until you bless me. Somewhere in the middle of that night, God became Jacob's help.
Look at me. Jacob had always been his own help. Let me tell you something about the God of Jacob. He gives help.
See, a lot of you, a lot of us think we can help ourselves. But let me tell you something about the faithfulness of our God. It's the help that He gives. Notice number two, it's the hope that He is. Look at verse five, whose hope is in the Lord his God. Not just my help, my hope. Let me say this, God doesn't give us hope. He is our hope. Quit asking God for hope. If He's your Savior, you already have hope. Ask Him for the ability to see what you already have. Listen to me, you don't need to find hope.
You just need to find God. He is our hope. Notice number three, we see the power that He has. Look at verse six, which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is. He made heaven, that's everything above us. He made earth, that's everything that we're on. And beneath us, He made the sea, that's all oceans, all bodies of water. And notice that, He and all that therein is. Everything in the heaven, everything on the earth, everything in the sea, God made it all. He is that kind of power.
You better trust that. Can I tell you something man didn't make? Man didn't make the heavens. Can I tell you something man didn't make? Man didn't make the earth. Now man's trying to ruin the earth, but man didn't make the earth. Can I tell you something else man doesn't make? He doesn't make the sea.
In fact, there is like 70% of our oceans has never even been seen by an individual. It's too deep for us to even get to. That's who we're talking about, the power. Notice this, which keepeth truth forever.
The power that He has. Notice number four, we see the justice that He executes. Look at verse seven, which executeth judgment for the oppressed. You know, our judicial system might be messed up. There might be judges and politicians that are corrupt at times.
I know that's hard to believe. But aren't you glad I don't have to rest on their judgment? Aren't you glad they're not the final authority? Real judgment is gonna be executed by God. Justice here on earth might have you oppressed, but God says, I'm gonna execute judgment for the oppressed. Notice number five, we see the supply that He provides. Look what He says here in verse seven, which giveth food to the hungry. Don't even get me started on how God has provided for me. And every one of us could stand up and take all day to tell everyone else how God has provided for you.
Let's not get stuck on all the provisions we think we don't have. Let's have some praise today for the provisions, if I can get it out, for the provisions that God has given. If you got a car in that parking lot, you're blessed. Half the people on this world don't have any means of transportation. If you have clothes on, we're blessed.
Some of you didn't even get that. I said, if you have a car, you're blessed. If you have clothes on, we're blessed. I don't care how you look at it, we're blessed.
Keep those clothes on. The supply He provides, number six, I want you to see the freedom He gives. Now listen, I can make a sermon on every one of these.
Aren't you glad I'm not? Number six, the freedom He gives. Look at verse seven, the Lord looseth the prisoners. We become prisoners to a lot of things in life. You might be a prisoner today to bitterness, to laziness, to apathy, to hurt, even a prisoner to a substance, to an addiction.
You may be angry, hurt, even paralyzed by injustices that have influenced your life. Can I tell you something? We have people sitting right here in this building that have been in jail. We have people sitting right here in this building that have been addicted to alcohol. We have people sitting right here in this building that have been addicted to drugs. Some of you know what it was like.
Some of you remember where you were. And can I say something today? If anybody ought to have some praise for a holy God, it's you. And just because you're sitting here and say, well, I've never tasted alcohol, which I haven't.
And I've never even smoked a cigarette, which I haven't. Can I tell you something? We get prisoners to a whole lot of other things in our life. And let me tell you something about God. If you're here and you're impressed and you feel like you're in some kind of prison bars that you might've created in your own life, God frees the imprisoned.
He sets you free. May I say number seven, the discernment that he delivers. Look, if you would have verse eight. It says, the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.
Now this is a prophetic statement. One of the things that would show when the Messiah is here and that he is the Messiah is that he would be able to open the eyes of the blind. But spiritually speaking, God still opens the eyes of the blind. You and I were blind in our trespasses and sin. We were in darkness till we heard the light of his gospel.
And may I say something? God still opens eyes. Just because you got saved doesn't mean you don't still need your eyes opened. And it's called discernment. And God can help you with that.
Some of you are struggling. What do I do? Where do I go? Do I take this job? Do I not take this job? Do I move here? Do I not move here? Do I make this move?
Do I not do this? Listen, can I tell you something? God will give discernment if you will allow.
May I say number eight? We see the encouragement that he brings. Look at verse eight. The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down.
You don't have to put your hand up. Anybody here bowed down today? Anybody here a little worn out today? I was talking with a precious lady. She's been coming here to our church. As I was coming in, pray, my husband has dementia and some other things. And I told her, I said, I'm praying for you.
She says, I need it. You bowed down today? You got a load on you today? Has life gotten to you?
Has some of the circumstances that have been happening? Can I tell you something? I might not always know when you go through that. And I might not be able to raise you up when you go through that. And there might not be any individuals around when you need it the most.
But you don't need individuals and you don't even need me. If you have Christ, if you've been saved, can I tell you something? God raises up those that are bowed down.
May I say number nine? We see the love he bestows. The Lord loveth the righteous. Remember, we are not righteous because we had righteousness. We are righteous in the eyes of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. And the fact that the God of creation loves us.
I could spend all day on that. Number 10, I want you to see the protection that he offers. Verse nine, the Lord preserveth the strangers.
That word preserve means to keep alive. Protection. You know how much protection God probably gives you and me that we never, ever see?
Look at me, and I'm not trying to be dramatic and I'm not trying to be like just overly. And we can make a point on everything and say, you know what, you ought to be up here at this offer. I'm not here to guilt anybody or manipulate you. I don't preach so people will come to the altar. And listen, this altar, I've heard people say, well, the altar is a worship of man. Listen, this altar ain't a worship of man.
We better make sure that's right real clear. This altar is to worship God. And this altar is for you to publicly say to God, I'm gonna humble myself, get there. I believe that I've got a decision to make. You can make it in your seat.
You can make it here, just make it. But I will tell you this, all of us probably, if we were honest, ought to get in this altar and we ought to praise God for about six hours for all the accidents, all the things that didn't happen to us. Well, we want to blame God when one thing does happen. We want to blame God when a tragedy happens. I've sat with people that had unbelievable tragedies and they get mad at God about it. And what you want to say is, hey, where was your thanks for the last 40 years until this happened?
You didn't thank God for 40 years every day that this accident didn't happen. And the one day it does, now we're mad at God. Can you imagine what God puts up with from us? How little we appreciate and how quick we are to get angry?
May I say number 11, I want you to see the compassion that he feels. Verse nine, it says, he relieveth the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. What's interesting right now, you and I would see a wicked generation that seems to be getting everything they want. And then you have people that serve God, gone to church, worked faithfully, paid their bills. They don't have mansions, they don't have boats.
They're not famous on movies or anything like that. And what happens? They get to the point they can't get out. The widows, the fatherless, orphans, different things. We think that they don't have any. Can I tell you what God says?
Hey, those wicked, I'm gonna turn them upside down. But let me tell you who God loves and has compassion for. And it's the ones that you think have nothing. I want you to notice number 12, the authority that he possesses. Look at verse 10, the Lord shall reign forever. Even, even, even, even thy God. It's not just that God's gonna reign eternal, it's personal. Your God, your God, it's gonna reign eternal.
Now I love this verse, look at this verse. O Zion unto all generations, God's in charge. He always will be in charge. He was in charge when my dad is alive, he's in charge when my dad's not alive.
He's in charge while I'm here, he's gonna be in charge if I'm not here. And I may I say something to every generation, guess who is going to be in charge? God will. Look what it says, unto all generations, praise ye the Lord. Now I gotta tell you what's interesting, I thought, you know, as I was reading, I thought, you know, what about this, these Old Testament names for God? And I just, I said, I'm gonna do a little bit of research here and I'm gonna look at some of these names and just this one chapter, all these different things that it's given that we're to praise God for.
Don't put your trust in man. Man's authority is limited, man's ability is limited, man's age is limited, but everything that we have just seen is limitless. This is who you ought to trust, this is who you ought to depend on, this is who we are to praise. Praise ye the Lord as it begins, praise ye the Lord as it ends, praise God as long as you have being. If you're on oxygen, if you can't see, if you're laying on a death bed, you just keep praising God because he's gonna be king while you're alive, he's gonna be king when you die and when you take your next step in glory, he's gonna be king eternal.
So I thought, well, I'm gonna do a little research and I'm gonna see here and so as I went all the way back down through it, I couldn't believe it. I looked in verse five and happy is he that hath God with Jacob for his help, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there. I go to verse five, whose hope is in the Lord is God, Jehovah Ra, the Lord is my shepherd, the power that he has, El Shaddai, Lord God Almighty in verse six, which made heaven, earth and the sea, the justice that he executes, El Olam, the everlasting God, Elohim, God, Elquanna, jealous, God is jealous, he is going to execute judgment. I go to verse seven, the supply that he provides, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide, the freedom that he gives in verse seven, the Lord lucid the prisoners, Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace, the discernment he delivers, the Lord open at the eyes of the blind, Jehovah Mecishtim, the Lord who sanctifies you, the encouragement that he brings, Jehovah Rapha, verse eight, the Lord that heals, the love he bestows, the Lord loveth the righteous, Jehovah Tsitkenu, the Lord our righteousness, verse 10, the protection that he offers, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner, verse 11, I mean verse nine, the compassion that he feels, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, he's our Lord. You go to verse 12, verse 10, the Lord shall reign forever, El Elyon, the most high God, Adonai, my master, Yahweh, Jehovah, El Olam, the everlasting God. I'll look at verse 10, the Lord Jehovah, who it means shall, he is, he was, he always will be, the Lord Jehovah shall reign forever, El Olam, the everlasting God, even thy God, Adonai, master, El Olam, the most high God, O Zion unto all generations, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there to all generations, praise ye the Lord, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, everywhere you look in here, every name of God, listen, you and I have something to praise God for.
We need to get off our little pity party, we need to get, you know, sometimes we sit on a newspaper and dangle our feet, that's how low we are. Can I tell you something, today on a rainy day and an overcast day and we've had some cold this week and all day, can I tell you something? We have a lot to praise God for. And I'm asking you today to set aside your trials and set aside your troubles and set aside the thing that always seems to take our focus, and can I ask you today, could you praise God a little bit? Can you praise you the Lord? Praise you the Lord. God's been good to me, He's been good to you. Let's bow our heads, I appreciate you listening today.
I wanna ask, not everybody can, but I think there oughta be some, you oughta find a place at the altar today. You oughta say, God, you've been so good to me, listen, I can do this, I can get up there and I can praise you. God, I wanna praise you that you've protected my family. God, I wanna praise you. The other week, my son drove here and you kept him safe. Hey, the other day, my daughter had a wreck and you kept her safe and that didn't always happen, God, and you would still be a good God if it didn't, but I wanna thank you and praise you for that. God, I wanna thank you.
I went to that doctor and he had that report, and God, it wasn't what I thought, so I'm thankful. But you can come here today and say, God, I got that report and it was worse than I thought, but I wanna praise you for it, because you're not just God when it's good, you're God when it's bad. I don't know about you, we got a lot to praise God for. I've got a wife to praise God for, I've got three wonderful boys to praise God for, I have the best church in the world to praise God for, I've got the best staff I've ever seen in my life to praise God for, and if I just start thinking about what I can praise God for, you gotta praise God for those kids, praise God for those children, praise God you have toys to pick up, praise God that you have a house to clean up, praise God you have a car to change the oil on.
Thank God you have it. Thank God for where you live, whether you live in a trailer, whether you live in a tent, whether you live in a house, we've got something to praise God for. This is what we're supposed to do. God didn't save us for us to complain, He saved us for us to praise. I wanna ask you to stand all over the building as we sing this song, Lord, I pray that you'd bless. Lord, I can imagine how wonderful this makes you feel if people begin to just purposely praise you.
You probably get so little of it at church sometimes. May you get it today as you deserve. Lord, man is frail, but you are faithful. And I thank you for that. Lord, I pray you'd bless.
Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kirtland Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192, or via the web at kirtlandbaptistchurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. We'll see you next time on Kirtland Baptist Church.
