Sermon Central
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The Grace Of God
Contributed by Paul Etterling on May 10, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: An exploration of the Grace of God in the words of Psalm 113.
Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name [is] to be praised.
4 The LORD [is] high above all nations, [and] his glory above the heavens.
5 Who [is] like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
6 Who humbleth [himself] to behold [the things that are] in heaven, and in the earth!
7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, [and] lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
8 That he may set [him] with princes, [even] with the princes of his people.
9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
I. The Everlasting Lord (v. 1-3)
A. Praise must come from the servants of the Lord.
B. This Psalm calls us to establish praise toward the Lord that will never stop.
1. "Bless" is the same Hebrew word that is often translated as salute, praise, or to speak well of.
2. The name of the Lord ought to cause us to reflect upon His holiness and who He is.
(a) Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:
2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
(d) 1 Timothy 6:15
15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
The holiness of God is not to be conceived of as one attribute among others: it is rather a general term representing the conception of his consummate perfection and total glory. It is his infinite moral perfection crowning his infinite itelligence and power. There is a glory of each attribute viewed abstractedly, and a glory of the whole together. The intellectual nature is the essential basis of the moral. Infinite moral perfection is the crown of the Godhead. Holiness is the total glory thus crowned.
Hodge
C. The Lord is to be praised all the time.
1. Verse 2 establishes praise today and from this time forth
2. Verse 3 establishes praise as an everyday event.
3. Is your day filled with praise?
II. The Elevated Lord (v. 4-5)
A. The Lord is more powerful than any king or kingdom here on this earth.
1. We are called to worship the Lord in His holiness.
(a) Psalm 97:9
9 For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
B. The Lord’s Glory is incomparable.
1. The glory of the Lord is so great that even His name is great!
(a) Psalm 8:1
1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
III. The Empathetic Lord (v. 6-9)
A. Sympathy vs. Empathy
1. Sympathy is when we have emotions of compassion toward someone in their time of trouble or testing.
2. Empathy is when we have deep emotions of compassion that results from the understanding of having gone through the same trouble or testing ourselves.
When I am told of someone who has found out that they have cancer, I can sympathize with them. I sympathize because I have seen the problems that cancer as well as the treatments causes for them. However, I can not empathize with them. I can only empathize with someone who has cancer when I myself have been through the pain of cancer.
B. The humility of the Lord allows Him to be empathetic with us.
1. Jesus is the epitomy of God’s humility
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
