Psalm 145 - Dr John Hay

[0:00] So we shall commence the worship of God this morning by singing from Psalm 124. 124, we're singing the first version.

[0:12] 124, we're singing the first version.

[0:42] The Lord be on our side, Israel thou say. I thought the Lord be on our side when men rose up to slaves.

[1:05] They had us swallowed quick when us, their us can't trust in vain.

[1:17] Wonders of color as our soul has sunk beneath the stream.

[1:30] Then had the waters swelling high, O what our soul may weigh.

[1:43] Blessed be the Lord, due to their teeth, us cannot pour a frame.

[1:56] Our soul's escape, and as a bird, our job the fowler's stay.

[2:09] The spirit of thunder broken is, and we will save the dark.

[2:23] How should an old salvation dwell, is in Jehovah's name.

[2:36] His name who did the country ate, and to the earth did bring.

[2:48] Amen. Amen. Lord and Father, we thank you again that we come into this place of worship and praise, where you call us to come. And Lord, we have that feeling as the psalmist himself, as one so escaped from the foulest snare.

[3:07] Lord, whose souls might have been lost in eternity, but were not for your grace, Lord. And we thank you. We bless you that though we do not free ourselves from the snares of this world yet, in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have freed us from that prison of sin.

[3:27] And Lord, have set us free to run in the path of your commands. We thank you, Lord God, that we have your word before us today. And we thank you, Lord, that your truth will be preached here, as it will be preached in many places.

[3:43] And we ask, Lord, that you would reveal yourself through your truth today. We thank you that, Lord, as we came in this morning, we could see you revealing yourself in creation.

[3:55] And we thank you, Lord, that you reveal yourself through your providences, through the way you work in the lives of men and women in this world, and in the course of events. And we thank you, Lord, that supremely you reveal yourself through your scripture.

[4:11] Lord, we are aware there are many who are blind to what your creation reveals. There are those who are deaf to what you say to them through the providences of life.

[4:23] There are those, Lord, who have their hearts hardened against your word. We pray, Lord, that none of us here today would be in that category.

[4:34] But that, Lord, you would melt our hearts as, Lord, we see the beauty of Christ revealed in scripture. As, Lord, we grasp the great truths of the great love that you have, Lord, for us, and send in Christ, the giant on the cross.

[4:52] That those who are totally unworthy might be made worthy in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord, that though we are tainted and indeed so full of sin, that, Lord, we hardly reflect your image.

[5:08] Yet, Lord, you see your people as righteous, as perfect in Christ because of Christ's righteousness. Indeed, Lord, we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ when we trust in him.

[5:22] And, Lord, we pray that today we will get a great sense of your righteousness in this place. And that we would be aware that we are in the presence of a holy and a righteous God, one who calls us to holiness.

[5:37] We pray, Lord, that you would bless your church today throughout the world. That, Lord, your church would be seen as a place holy, set apart.

[5:48] Your people would be seen as different and walking in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ and not in the ways of the world. We pray, Lord God, that you would bless the spreading of your gospel.

[6:02] And we pray, Father, that you would follow up your people. We pray, Lord, for your blessing upon your church, wherever it is struggling and suffering at these times.

[6:14] We remember again Syria and Iraq, where there is so much conflict. And yet we thank you that even there, Lord God, you are at work. We thank you, Father, that you are speaking to men and women of their eternal souls.

[6:28] You are showing men and women the emptiness of a false religion that does not answer the very basic needs of men, to be washed clean and to be made holy.

[6:42] And we pray, Father, that you would continue to turn men into Christ in that part of the world. Lord God, we pray for your blessing upon your gospel, wherever it is spoken today.

[6:56] And we pray, Lord, for your blessing upon those who rule over us in our country. That, Lord, you might speak to them of their eternal souls, that you would give them a concern for where they will be in eternity and not where they will get to in this world.

[7:13] But, Lord, the things and the power of this world, that power just simply pass away. But we thank you, Lord, that your kingdom and your word stand forever.

[7:24] I turn on Nathan back to you again, we ask. And may we once again be honest people who love your truth, who love your word, and who live by it.

[7:35] These things we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Now, boys and girls, come down to the front. Dr. Hayes is going to speak to you. Well, it's a pleasure to be here.

[7:50] Let me just see of that psalm we sang together. Oh, do you like to remember the war? And I remember when the war ended, in Glasgow, one of the Glasgow newspapers, now we've done Glasgow, Glasgow Bulletin, printed on its front page, Psalm 124, now Israel may say that truly, if that the Lord is not in my mouth, then cruel men against us, too, he's saying, that he's seductive, to make of us their prayers.

[8:28] Classroom newspaper, front page, acknowledge God. Now, turn to the kids, it's not what I'm talking about. I think I'll bring down a van next Sunday and we'll take you to Boone, to see anyone else.

[8:44] I think you can go to the church there. We don't have any children in Boone church before. But I've got here something I carry in my pocket. I'm more vulnerable.

[8:56] Some of you should know what you're wearing. But this is the one thing that we must know. Girls, can you tell me what it is? What do you think it is?

[9:09] Any people do it? No. Come on. Oops. Wait, wait, wait. Boone, it's a beautiful thing. Do you want to use a pen?

[9:23] No. I was going to use that one. Yes. We've got to do that. It's too bad. No, I'm sorry if you can't see it. I'm a bit dizzy.

[9:33] No, I'm going to show you this special screwdriver because that's the end of the screw and that's the end of the turn. But we've got something special.

[9:47] Do you want to hold it? Hold it back in. Do you want to hold it? No. No. Touch the bed. No. No. No. No. No. No.

[9:58] No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. It did, but not the way it's not. It's not that it's strong. No. But I'll show you this.

[10:08] It's a testing screwdriver. And so, if you put that end on one part of the circuit and touch the other end, the light goes on. Right? It does end.

[10:18] The light goes on like that. So, do you want to test it? Hold on in and then touch it. See if the light goes on. There you are.

[10:29] Take your hands off. Yeah. Yeah. There it is. Now I'll show you something special. If you three hold hands on each other. That's it. You hold my hand here. Now, if I hold that bit and you touch the end, the light goes on.

[10:43] See that? Take your hands off. Because I think it's right. Right? That bit and you touch the end. That light goes on. See that? Take your hands off. Because I think it's right. Right.

[10:54] But I can't do it as well. Do hold hands and keep it out. Do all the hold hands. Right? Do all the hold hands. Right? Do all the hold hands. Right? When are we at them? That's it? That's it?

[11:05] Do all the hold hands. Right? That's funny. I can't wait. Do all the hold hands. Do all the hold hands. Do all the hold hands. Do they have to be here? That's it? Are they all of them in the hands? Right?

[11:16] Do you hold my hands? No? No. Now, you let go of this. The light goes out.

[11:36] So this is a testing screw, and it goes right through you. See how many do it really? Try to come up.

[11:47] We'll read the time 10. How many do we have? How many do we have? How many do we have?

[11:59] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 2, 9, 1 more. Now, you all have to do it. Now, you can see how many do we have?

[12:13] This is a test. Now, you have to do it. Now, you have to do it. Now, you have to do it. Now, you have to do it.

[12:25] Now, you have to do it. Now, you're going to hold your hands. Now, if I hold it here, and then I'll hold it.

[12:37] Now, you have to do it. Now, you have to do it. Now, when you hold it, and then I'll touch it. Tell me if it goes on. Now, you have to do it.

[12:49] Now, that means must be going right around all of you. You've got to try out yourselves. That's not one of you. You have to touch your hands. Oh, yes, yes, there you are.

[13:01] That's it. Now, that shows me that electricity can run around. If there's a hot, if you open your hands over there, the light goes out.

[13:17] And I was thinking that that's just the way the Lord works with these people. To know there's a lovely verse it says, Behold how they love one another.

[13:33] Now, there are two people here. Supposing one of you doesn't love other people. It's as if you're stopping the Lord.

[13:47] We are sitting there. All love the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we all share in this Holy Spirit. And people can see that. People know when we're following the Lord Jesus Christ.

[14:03] And people know when there's only one person not following the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll attack once more. Right. Two times. Open one hand.

[14:15] You hold the other hand. And then we're all holding hands again. Ready. Are we all holding hands? Is it lift? Let go and see. Take your hand off and see it.

[14:27] Let's go out. And touch again. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, there we are. So that shows me that we're all alive.

[14:39] That's good for me. I wasn't sure in the end of it. But we're very good in our church. Not just you. It's everybody.

[14:50] In this church grown-ups as well. We depend on the love of God working in our midst. We need to know that we're all loving the Lord Jesus.

[15:05] And He is loving through us. And that's how we knew. In the New Testament he said, We're all loving how they love one another.

[15:16] Because I really think to them that as people trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, we showed His love. And never decided, I am just a good, how much they love one another.

[15:30] So if you remember when you come to church, you've got to be especially kind to people, especially the people that you love when you get school.

[15:42] Sometimes people get good. And you try and help. Sometimes it's quite difficult. But like this, God's Holy Spirit will work through us.

[15:59] We are in heaven. And then He will say, Behold, how Jesus loves people. How He loves people. Because God's Holy Spirit is in us through Jesus.

[16:13] Okay? And then we go. Now, next Psalm 145. Psalm 145, which I read the whole psalm.

[16:27] A psalm of praise of David. I will exalt you, my God the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever.

[16:41] Great is the Lord, the most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can find. One generation will commend your works to another. They will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty.

[16:54] And I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works. And I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

[17:08] The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all. He has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O Lord.

[17:19] Your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. So that all men might know of your mighty acts. And the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

[17:31] Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made.

[17:44] The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you. And you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

[17:58] The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving towards all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him. To all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him.

[18:12] He hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him. But all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.

[18:23] Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever. Amen. We are now going to sing two verses from Psalm 1 and 4 and 5.

[18:34] Verses 8 and 9. We will sing these verses in Gaelic. I will read them again here. The Lord is gracious and compassionate. Slow to anger and rich in love.

[18:45] The Lord is good to all. He has compassion on all he has made. I have 생각 my new faith w留 in him. The Republic says Really Hospistle and deval I want them to You kara hogs from halli. Always earth to all have you made. He will plead us nomort isöset.

[18:56] 노 hasheel The Lord has made the word之間 different needs of his twinné Troops from halli. Thank you.

[19:30] Thank you.

[20:00] Thank you.

[20:30] Thank you.

[21:00] Thank you.

[21:30] Thank you.

[22:00] Thank you.

[22:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[23:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[24:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[25:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[26:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[27:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[28:02] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[28:14] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you.

[28:26] Thank you. Thank you.

[28:56] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy.

[29:11] The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his words. I've memorized very many lots of scripture, but that one is easy because we sang it.

[29:26] I think I'd like to have children, but I'd love to teach it to you all that I wrote. The Lord is precious. And these words, to me, in music, I sing when I'm dull or disheartened or puzzled because to me they are a refreshing anchor to me.

[29:52] Now it seems as if man has built within him a desire to have a God. And over generations of different cultures cultures here and there men have or accepted or imagined gods.

[30:12] And so, in fact, was God of Israel when under Moses and under persecution and Pharaoh they turned to God and God and God revealed himself to them as their God.

[30:34] Chosen by him. Go before Pharaoh, said he Moses, and I will reveal my glory. And so Pharaoh was a powerful man in the world in those days had to yield to the miraculous power that came through Moses.

[31:00] And Pharaoh, in the end, had to yield and let my people go. And so God was revealing himself as a God of might.

[31:13] but more than that he was revealing himself as the only God. And more mysterious than that the chosen God of the people of Israel.

[31:30] Now at first they believed that he was just their God. The surrounding nations had gods, gods of Moab and Edom, the gods they worshipped, when they were sometimes embodied like the Pharaohs.

[31:46] God was revealing himself to his people, firstly, as their God. And then amazingly they tried to realize he was the universal, all-powerful God.

[32:03] And that they were his chosen people. That, of course, happened through the Revelation and Gildan, their experience or their deliverance and the wanderings and the wilderness.

[32:16] And during these 40 years, under Moses, they became welded into a nation, more than that, a nation that God had chosen.

[32:29] Now, how then did other people develop their notions of God? Well, largely it's because of imagination, storytelling, the gods of Baal, they all had stories about things he had done, and the stories of the various nations, as I mentioned, in Edom, and the countries that they met had all got their gods, and lined up against the God of Israel, and the mind of the God of Dagon, where the Ark of the Covenant was put in the temple of Dagon, and in the morning he was found smashed on the floor, because the true God was the good of himself.

[33:24] However, as God revealed himself, what thought he did, to these fears, people, they had a very idea of what that God was like, in different times of God, gods were doing very bizarre things sometimes, but people who had been with their gods gradually became quite like them, and I feel that that's happened today as well.

[33:50] The Muslim religion is quite a higher-minded immoral one in many ways, but there are those today who claim that if they go and worship with their God and commune with him, they come out commissioned to kill maim and bother.

[34:16] What kind of God have they been worshipped with? God has been telling them that the more people are being killed, the greater the glory will be to their God.

[34:34] It is said, in fact, even in the Quran, those who died, martyrs for him, young men, will be received in heaven with 70 virgins. that's their reward.

[34:47] And you think, hold on a minute, what kind of God is this? Now, we are programmed nowadays to defer to other people's religions, to their beliefs, and that's a really very conscious about criticizing any other religion's gods, and probably quite rightly so, it's not good to go public these things.

[35:15] But what kind of God? As a time, it's a Buddhist country, of course, we've seen massive statues of the Buddha.

[35:28] Now, I am going to be critical here because I'm a Christian, I can't help this, but Psalm 135, Isaiah chapter 46, these are chapters of the Bible that point out that statues of stone of iron and gold made by men, they hear but they hear not.

[35:54] Mouths that they can't speak, they put you, put them where you put them, and they can only move if you live them.

[36:05] And so, in these religions, it's not attacking with God alone, it's pointing out how useless it is. Isaiah cries out, what can you do when you're worshipping inanimate objects?

[36:23] what kind of person comes from communion with idols of stone? Now, we have here, in the text we have this morning, morning, the Lord is gracious and full of communion.

[36:43] This psalmist has been with God. From the very beginning of the psalm, he's praising God, he has been with God, and he is displaying the kind of God he's been with.

[37:01] It's possible maybe this man born in Muslim times, and Muslims came along approximately 1600 years after the time of the psalms, that he could have ended up coming from the kind of God who wanted him to go and massacre hundreds and hundreds of non-Jews, but he didn't.

[37:31] And the wonder is that this book of ours that we read here, the Bible, the book of Psalms in particular, has been bequeathed to us, it's been given to us by the Jews.

[37:46] It's a Jewish book, and it's strange that in the title it says, you can see it says, a tehillim of David, and tehillim is a word meaning praise, and a particular form of this verse, this verse has become the title for the book of Psalms.

[38:08] Right at the front where it says, I've taken David, he came by the title and put it across all the book of Psalms. This is a leading psalm in many sentences of the Bible, and it's come from somebody who has been with God.

[38:29] Many religions feel that religion is a matter of describing, defining, my goddesses, you must sign that, you must agree that.

[38:43] And of course we do wish to define our belief, but what is far more important is that having found the truth, we stick with it, we go to it, we draw strength from it.

[39:03] And so when I was a boy, scripture union, singing these verses, I didn't know for a second that I'd be in this wild diamond of Harris, at the age of 86, speaking of these words, because everything has changed at second.

[39:22] the God we're speaking and worshiping, that God has not changed. I am here to demonstrate, to witness, gladly say, that my God is full of compassion and slow to anger.

[39:47] And you can see that too if you have experienced God, you can say these words as your Lord. God is slowly to anger and to fall great mercy.

[40:03] Now that, I find, doesn't exist in other religions. Mercy, God holding out his love to us, God redeeming us and sin, God enfolding you and me and his love, his mercy and compassion and fear more.

[40:28] What kind of God are we talking about? We're not talking about a God who says, go and blow up 24 people. We're speaking about God who says, go into the world and love all mankind.

[40:44] I do tend to hear sometimes in the morning, if you're not sleeping well, a program that we need to sleep before called Prayer for the Day.

[40:54] Maybe you heard it too. Last week, quite often, it was a lady called Elaine Stonkey. She is a professor in Oxford.

[41:09] When it came to Tuesday last week, it was the 500th anniversary of Luther nearing his 95 pieces to the door of the church in Wittenberg.

[41:27] And she, knowing that, glowed, she overflowed with praise, obviously, knowing that of Jesus Christ.

[41:40] It was a day when her hat you could have made civil warding Catholics of the process. You could have pointed out all the evils of one and the mistakes of the other.

[41:54] But she did it. She praised the Lord Jesus Christ. And from that time, when it was quarter to six in the morning, there was praise and joy.

[42:08] God because she herself had come from communion with a God who was gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, rich in love, the Lord good to all, and his tender mercies over all his works.

[42:34] and as I read these words, the music is in my mind as well, and I rejoice at the goodness of God.

[42:48] He is good. Because I grew up in an average church of Scotland with a nominal Christian home, but into it, that be there, I have to say it's the 1930s, God was using in my home town at Paisley, one or two good churches, and the Scripture Union, and Crusaders.

[43:17] Both these agencies have a huge influence on my life, because they taught me this course for a start, and many, many others. What I'm getting at is this, faith in God means faith in our God.

[43:38] Faith in our God changes us. Faith in other gods changes them. I'm not sure it changes them for good.

[43:53] In fact, it's the opposite. But the nearer you are, to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the nearer you are to him, the more you begin to use these words as your own.

[44:12] I know that God is compassionate because he's been compassionate to me. He's so to anger because he's forgiven me so much that I've done.

[44:24] And so the word of God becomes my word too. And one of the joys I have is the shortest book of the Bible is the third of John and in it John says I thank God when I hear my children follow Christ.

[44:50] So to me as I see the scriptures more and more clearly that remains my pride and joy to God dear God show yourself to those who follow me to those that you here this morning because it's a privilege to speak about the Lord Jesus Christ you here this morning and tell you I don't think you need many groups to come from the maignan to come to the isle of Harris to speak of Christ because here his name has been praised and worshipped for generations and I feel certain here this morning the same thing you are here and you can say these words you have this testimony yourself the

[45:58] Lord is gracious isn't he yes he is full of compassion yes he is do you not feel this warmth when you sit with the Bible when you have a quiet time of prayer do you not feel the warmth of history because if you are God you have chosen one I am his triumph and I rejoice I can see these things he has become my testimony the Lord has compassion slow to his tender mercies over all his works yes you might go to university you might get a PhD you might become a BD Master of Theology but the youngest person here this morning may have far far more than that he may know in his heart know deep down

[47:10] Jesus bless me this I know not just for the Bible but I know in my heart Jesus Christ has saved me and these works then at the end this morning become the works from the psalmist and they were used in the singing in the temple of course and the special temple choir and this psalm we can see is in a very strongly poetic form letters of the altar come into it but even if we don't see these parts of it we can say I will exalt you my God the King I will praise your name forever and ever every day I will praise you and extol it ever and ever that's your heritage and that's my heritage

[48:21] I wish I had time to teach you that truth but I haven't so I leave you with me for especially he he's a different generation he's two generations dying for me what can I give him give him his precious your God is gracious your God is compassionate your God is slow to anger your God rich in love rich so we rejoice one another this morning at the fact that God's leading us the kind of God we worship is the true God for a start is the only God not more than that he's a wonderful wonderful

[49:24] God there was a program many years ago TV you have to be old to remember that was the week that was quite irrelevant very clever David Foster the amateur and towards the end of that series he ran a sort of witch magazine style review of religions and so for several weeks the program would focus on a religion Hindu religion a brief description or it was about what was like in the end he came to the choice of the best religion looked at and just stuff the Christianity won this was an atheist looking at religions and he said the thing that swung it Christianity had rewards that totally awaited all the world

[50:31] Christian reward is to be with God forever to have soon forgiven to live in the light of his countenance and he had to say looking at all the religions of the world Christianity has got the best and he didn't know the power of God that we do we have chosen the religion because God chose you chose me why I don't know I don't know why he chose me you don't know why but his sovereign will before the foundation of the world he chose you in Christ so I sing this morning Psalm 145 just read it through have a little special look at verse 8 and say

[51:36] God I stand in awe of your goodness your compassion and your love for me there was a lovely chorus at the end strip between up there amongst hills my savior died pierced by those cruel who was crucified Lord Jesus thou hast done all this for me from now on I will live only for thee we have a mighty God of wonderful Savior and he warms our hearts to join together to see God thank you who will I can judge through his you to him