Psalms 94:18

Psalms 94:18, “When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.”

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You can be certain of one thing. Human beings are sinners. Human beings are not perfect. Human beings will make mistakes. Even the Christian who desires and tries to serve the Lord and to do what is right is bound to fail from time to time.

You can guarantee it will happen that is why we depend on so much the mercy of God. One of the Almighty God’s great characteristics is that He is a merciful God. James 5:11 says, “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” Mercy has a lot to do with a person not getting what they deserve.

If God was not merciful He would simply cast a person into Hell as soon as they sin. That would be justice. That would be fair. That would be the right thing to do in response to the failure of a person to keep God’s law. But God is patient and kind and longsuffering He withholds his judgment and gives people time and opportunity and chance after chance to repent. Even Christians who should no better and sometimes fail God does the same with them. He chastises them instead of judging them. He works in their lives tenderly to get them to repent. Often we do not even face the full possible range of consequences for sins. That itself is mercy.

It is important to never forget how merciful God is. You can always count on God to be merciful to you when you ask him for mercy. God understands that we are weak and fail sinners that we are but dust and that we are dependant on His mercy.

Of course nothing shows the mercy of God more than the gospel of Jesus Christ Does. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God is so merciful that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for your sins. Jesus suffered the wrath of God so that you do not have to. That is mercy in its greatest form. This is a Christian should never go through life doubting their relationship with God, or doubting their opportunity to do great things for the Lord, or fearing that they might fail and that God will become wrathful and cast lightening bolts at them. God is very merciful towards us and you can’t on His mercy being shed in your life whenever you look to Him for mercy.

Psalms 94:19, “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”

There certainly is great comfort in thinking about God and in His mercy but not just in His mercy but thinking about anything about God. There is His grace, there is His great eternal love, there is the power of His forgiveness, there is all the great and mighty works which the Lord has done. There is God’s many precious promises that He has made. Oh there is great comfort and delight in thinking about God and the things of God.

One of the reasons some people are so miserable, so lonely, so fearful, so stressed out, so angry, so disappointed, so heart broken, and even sometimes so burnt out in life is because they fail to think about the right things.

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” The question is what things does your soul find comfort in. If you find comfort in in the things of this world, the things of this life, human love, material possessions pleasures and joys then you will always be disappointed. If you find comfort in the love of God, and the promises of God they your soul will always be comforted.

Psalms 94:20-23, “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.”

Very often in the world those who have power use their power to pass unjust and unfair law. One of the most common un fair laws that governments make is to tax people too much, to take away their hard earned money or possessions. Of course there are many more unfair laws that governments have made throughout history, laws against freedom of religion, laws against freedom of speech, even laws against the right to live.

Many times these are made for the purpose of opposing the truth. Wicked people hate the truth. The truth bothers their conscience. It reminds them of how filthy they are and of the coming judgment of God. And so they want to silence the voices of truth anyway that they can. Despite these things a Christian should know that God will always be there to protect us and to defend us. If something bad does happen then God allowed it to happen, most likely somehow to help spread the truth about Jesus Christ. Be patient, wait on the Lord, in the end the wicked will face the judgment of God. They are the ones who will ultimately suffer in the end when they are cast into hell. And we who believe in Jesus are the ones who will have eternal pleasure in the prescence of God.

Psalms 95:1-3, “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” This is the reason to praise God and to be thankful for God because He is great. These verses say God is a great King above all gods. A god is something that you worship, something that takes great importance in your life, something that consumes your thoughts and motivates your desires. Whatever your gods are God is greater than them. He created the world. He gave you live. He filled the universe with wonders. And most importantly He sent His son Jesus to die for your sins. There is no god greater than Jesus Christ.

Psalms 95:4-5, “In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.” One of the best ways to visualize the greatness of God is simply to look at all the things He as created. God is much greater than His creation. But his creation does help give us something to help us visualize just how great He is.

Psalms 95:6-11, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” The mistake that the children of Israel made in the days of Moses which resulted in them not entering into the promised land was rebellion on their heart. How important it is to submit yourself unto God. If you do not submit to God and to His will then you will not receive His blessings. Submission to God begins when a person kneels at the cross, when a person accepts Jesus as their Savior.

Psalms 96:1, “O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.”

Why a new song and not an old song? God likes things to d be new, wants things to be new and plans for things to be new. Revelation 21:5, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Something that is old wares out and breaks down and fades away. Something that is new is in perfection condition. Sometimes something that is old tends to lose its meaning to people, tends to become less appreciated by people. It is like the difference between a person newly saved and a person who has been saved a long time or the difference between a man and a woman newly fallen in love and a man and a woman who have been married for 40 years.

Psalms 96:2, “Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.”

The phrase from day to day is an important phrase to notice. It ties in with the idea of what Jesus said when He said to pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” Living for Jesus is one day at a time. Maybe you did great things for God yesterday. Maybe you praised the Lord yesterday. Maybe yesterday you read the Bible and prayed. Maybe yesterday you shared the gospel. But what about today? Shew forth His salvation from day to day.

Psalms 96:3-5 says, “Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.”

When we hear the Bible talk about false gods and idols we think of the little statues and figurines that people of old times use to have but the truth is even today the world is filled with people who bow down to and worship false gods. A god is something that you look too as your source for peace and joy and pleasure. A god is something that you look too for understanding about life. A god is something that is the object of your strongest and most intimate desires. A god is something that you look too and want to become your self. What things in your life fit these descriptions? Oh, yes in the world today we have the gods of science and the gods of fame, the gods of pleasure and even the gods of government. But whatever your gods may be, the one true living God, Jesus Christ, is greater than them all.

We know that Jesus is greater because it is him that created the heavens and the earth. We know that Jesus is greater because it is Jesus that died on the cross and shed His blood for our sins. We know that Jesus is greater because over in Jerusalem there is an empty tomb where he once lay for three days. We even know that he is greater because Jesus has a name above all names; a name that stands the test of time and rings out through history in the fabric of all generations to remind us of his great and glorious everlasting gospel.

Psalms 96:6-8 says, “Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.”

One of the key phrases in this verse is the phrase, in the beauty of holiness. The world does not understand holiness. Hollywood certainly does not. They mock holiness. They depict holiness as some that has no pleasure. Holiness means purity and perfection. This is why holiness and beauty go together. Sin corrupts. Sin destroys. Sin makes things ugly and vile. But Holiness makes things beautiful and desirable.

People like beauty. History gives fame to beautiful women. There is nothing wrong with beauty. But the greatest beauty of all is the beauty of the Holiness of God. Once you have seen the Holiness of God then you will understand beauty and then you will understand pleasure.

Psalms 96:10-13, “Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”

It is important to understand that God is in control that God is the ultimate authority that Jesus is the King of kings. The trees understand this, the oceans understand this, the earth itself understands this truth. Nature cries out that God reigns. Why does man not understand? Why is man so blind to the truth of God’s power? Because of sin.

There is however a solution to the sin problem; Jesus Christ. Those who accept Jesus as their savior have their eyes open. They are people who kneel in t heir hearts to Jesus who accept God’s great and ultimate authority over their lives.

Psalms 97:1-7 says, “The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.”

In these verses the LORD is using powerful imagery to help us to understand just how powerful he is. These verses talk about fire and lightening, clouds and darkness.

One of the obvious mistakes of worshiping a false god is that a false god can do nothing for you. a false god has no power. A false god cannot answer your prayers. A false god cannot save you from your sins. A false God cannot help you.

But Jesus is all powerful. Jesus is the one true living God. He is more powerful than the lightening and the fires, than the clouds and the darkness. Jesus can do anything. Jesus can answer any prayer. And Jesus can save any soul from their sins even the greatest of sinners. O How great God is.

Psalms 97:8-12, “Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”

We are told several things in these verses. One of the important things we are told is to rejoice. The word rejoice means to be joyful to be glad. It is the idea of a very strong and thorough joy. Most people find joy in all the wrong things. They find joy in their sinful pleasures and activities. What ever kind of joy is found in sinful pleasures it is not nearly as strong or as satisfying of a joy as is found in rejoicing in God and in His righteousness and in His judgments.

Psalms 98:1, “ A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.”

One of the main reasons we are thankful and to God and praise God and are full of joy and rejoicing is because of the great things he has done: things such as giving us eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ. The things that God does he does with His right hand, His holy arm.

Saying this is a way of emphasis the great power of God. Whenever God does this He does them with great power. It takes the Almighty power of God to save a soul from its sins, a soul that is blind to the truth, a soul that is determined to go its own way in life, a soul that is dead and without spiritual life. Only the great power of God can do this.

It should be noted that power and holiness have a great connection. The more holy you are the powerful you are. There is no one has holy as God is. And God is all powerful. To be holy means to be perfect. It has the idea of being without sin. That is why only Jesus had the power to come down to earth and die on the cross for our sins. Only He is without sin.

In a practical sense, the more holy a person is, the greater will be their influence for good in this world, the brighter will shine their testimony for the cross of Christ. This is what true power is, the ability to influence others to turn to the truth, to turn to Jesus, to change their lives from walking down a path of darkness and destruction to instead follow the narrow road of the cross that leads to the gates of heaven.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

If you are walking down the wrong path in life then you can change your direction today, right now. You can turn from your sins to Jesus, you can pray to the LORD and ask Christ into your heart and experience the power and the joy and the holiness of God.

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