I'll mention again, I have a handout that I got off the internet, which I found very helpful. I used some thoughts from that and interjected them in the message this morning. If you'd like to get one after the service, there's some up here. If they're all gone, we can make copies. Psalm 147, I'd like to read it in its entirety. Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our God, for it is pleasant, and praise is comely. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem. He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken and hard, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars. He calleth them all by names. Great is our Lord, and of great power His understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek, he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp unto our God, who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him. and those that hope in his mercy. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem. Praise thy God, O Zion. For he has strengthened the bars of thy gates. He hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. "'He sendeth forth his commandment upon the earth, "'his word runneth very swiftly. "'He giveth snow like wool, "'he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. "'He casteth forth his ice like morsels, "'and who can stand before his cold? "'He sendeth out his word and melteth them. "'He causeth his wind to blow and the waters flow. "'He showeth his word unto Jacob, "'his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation, for as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. The book of Psalms is the songbook given by God through the Spirit to the nation of Israel, a nation whom he loved and knew like no other nation. Look at verse 20. He hath not dealt so with any nation, And as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise you, the Lord. The book of Amos says of Israel, you only have I known of all nations. God sovereignly chose a nation out. He revealed his judgments to them. He, through the prophets, he gave his word. And in giving his word, he gave them a song book because Singing unto the Lord is good, it's pleasant, it's comely. You see, millions over the centuries have found salvation. They found comfort, direction, and healing for broken hearts and broken lives by reading the book of Psalms. There's something very interesting about the book of Psalms because you can see into the heart of the saints. I think one reason that they are so favored is that some books take a lot of historical background to relate to them and to understand, and certainly you need that to clearly understand the Psalms. As a matter of fact, many of them have a preface that dates to antiquity and is believed to be inspired just as the psalm, and that preface tells the context of the psalm. You'll find that in some of them. So it is good to know the context of a psalm, but so often we can just go in and we can see into the heart of a saint of old how he struggled and cried out to God, he or she, and how the Lord heard them and the Lord blessed him. As we think of the word Psalms, I've kind of got an acronym, it's not a simple one, but it takes the word Psalms, but I kind of elaborate on each of the letters more than giving you one particular word, but perhaps it will help you a little bit. Let's take the letter P in the word Psalms, and we find that the book of Psalms is a book of praise and prayers in poetic form. Now I've often taught you that in English poetry, of course we have meter and there's accents in the book of Psalms in the Hebrew, it does have a meter, it has a particular cadence to it as it were, and they were sung of course, but in the Hebrew thought instead of rhyming words, They would say the same thing in different words, the same principle idea. Just in our passage, let me give you a few. Look at verse 9. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Both of them are dealing with him, providing for creatures. Look at verse 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. In other words, God is not concerned about the power or the ability of a horse or the ability and skill of human beings and their use of their legs. He is concerned about the glory of his name being honored. But you see the same principle idea. Look at verse 16. He give us snow like wool. He scattered the hoarfrost like ashes. The same thought, verse 18, he sendeth out his word and melteth him, he causeth his wind to blow and the waters flow. And so you'll find in some or more, there's different types of form. And if you ever take a class at John Leland, we'll teach you those. There's a lot of different forms of poetry used in the book of Psalms, but keep that in mind. When you read the book of Psalms, think, is this kind of saying the same thing, but in different words? And you'll find that mentioned many times, which was one of the basic forms, but there are others. And so we think of the letter P, we think of praise, we think of prayers and given in poetic form. And then the book of Psalms, we think of the letter S are indeed Psalms. They are sung. They were sung by the nation. You see, many sing the Psalms today. We have some that we have put to song that we use in Vacation Bible School. Some churches use the Psalms very much. We would probably be wise to do that and to give praise directly to God. Many of our songs today are just about Christian experience. These are more directed, most of them, direct praise to God and direct prayers to Him. But there are songs of salvation and also the struggle of the saints. You look in the book of Psalms and you realize that, hey, other Christians have problems. Even Psalm 22, which is the Psalm of our Lord, and we'll say more about it in a minute. But upon the cross, he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And so Jesus on the cross sensed lowliness. He sensed a forsaking, though he knew in his heart that God had not fully forsaken him, but because he had become sin for us, he experienced this, you see. And so we find these experiences of those saints of old. And so songs of salvation and the struggles of saints. And then for the letter A. Acts of worship, acknowledgements of the great works of God. You'll find, if you study history, that the Psalms were used in the tabernacle worship and then in the temple worship. David divided the Levites that were gifted in song into 24 courses. And there was always a particular group of Levites that had charge of the musical worship of God and for a particular time. And we find that they would, some of the songs were written by musicians that led a particular group. We'll say something about that in a minute. And so worship was a great part of the worship of God, or excuse me, singing was a great part of the worship of God. Let me say this, the Bible doesn't teach the idea of you having a gift and an ability to sing, and that's the only time you sing. In other words, it is part of worship. So let me just encourage you, when we sing, if you just stand up and stand there, and you don't take a hymnal out, you don't sing. then you're not singing praises unto God. The whole congregation sang. The whole congregation should sing. It's not, well, I don't know how to sing. No, it's you lift up your voice unto God. You praise Him to the best of your ability. It's not that you have to sing a special, but all of the congregation should sing, and it lifts up our hearts. Preachers have learned this, and I've been to preacher conferences where the preachers didn't necessarily have good voices, but all of them knew that you were to sing. And so when they had the congregational hymn, it's like the roof would almost lift off, and it stirs your heart up and stirs your mind. Now, if me, as a pastor, and I'm up here, I'm beginning to preach, and half the congregation are just standing there stone-faced when we're singing the congregational hymn, it's not much of an encouragement to get stirred up about the things of God. And we should give praise unto God. He doesn't say anything about praise you the Lord if you're gifted in singing. The Bible gives this command to all. It is an act of worship. We acknowledge His great works. Look what He says in verse 3. He healeth the broken in heart. He binds up their wounds. Also He telleth the number of the stars. He calleth them by their names. Many of the works of God. are proclaimed. Then we come to the letter L, P-S-A-L, Lessons of Righteousness and Godly Wisdom. Matter of fact, the very first Psalm, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners. In the congregation of the righteous, the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. That is instruction to receive. That is a lesson to learn about the godly and his meditation on the Word of God, his walk of life, his fruitfulness, lessons of righteousness. And then the letter M. There are many Psalms and portions of Psalms that are what we call Messianic. Messianic means that they are prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mentioned Psalm 22. Psalm 22, if you read every verse, is applicable to Jesus as He hung on the cross. Psalm 23 is the resurrected Savior walking as a shepherd. Psalm 24 is the risen Savior who ascended into heaven and is ruling and reigning till He makes His enemies His footstool. Psalm 22 is the psalm of His crucifixion. Psalm 23 is our living risen Lord walking with us by His Spirit as Lord of heaven and earth. Psalm 24 is King. And so you see that many others, Psalm 16 at the end, the prophecy of his resurrection. Psalm 110 that he is after the priesthood of Melchizedek. Many different Psalms are messianic. They are prophecies. Psalm 2 is when the kings join together and they come against the Christ and he's crucified. But God resurrects him and he sets his son on the holy hill of Zion. And we find that he is set on high upon the throne in heaven. And then we find the final S is the Spirit's exaltation. through the saints whom God chose of the names and works and mercies of God. Many names, we don't, if you want to get the paper and see that, many names of God are used throughout Psalms. Many of the works of God are proclaimed. Many of the mercies of God are given and the spirit gave these unto the authors. Now let's say something about the authors. There are about eight different human authors. First of all, of course, David. David wrote about 75 Psalms. He was called in the 2 Samuel 23 one, the sweet Psalmist of Israel. David was very musically inclined. He played the harp and he wrote many of the Psalms. We see shepherd Psalms and David certainly knew what a shepherd was. And he shepherded, he was a shepherd to sheep and then he was shepherd to a nation. And so we find that he wrote some 75 of the Psalms. The oldest author is Moses. He wrote Psalm 90. Moses, of course, we remember of the children of Israel, you see. And then we find after Moses, Solomon. Solomon wrote Psalm 72 and Psalm 127. Asaph, he was the chief of the Levitical musicians appointed by David to oversee the song service in the tabernacle. He wrote 12 Psalms. King Hezekiah, 10 Psalms. Ethan, who also was a musician in the time of Solomon, he wrote Psalm 89. Heman, Psalm 88, who also was a Levitical musician. And then the sons of Korah, look at this. Cor, who rebelled against God, and remember when the ground swallowed up Cor and those that were with him? Well, some of his descendants, God was gracious to them and they wrote ten Psalms. And so you have, I think, about eight different human authors And so it is over a span of time. Obviously Moses wrote his when he was alive, some 1500 BC, a ballpark figure. David about 1000 BC. Some of these go on even to the time of the captivity and post-exilic time. In other words, they cover the history of Israel. And then they were composed, compiled together. Some, of course, came at later time, but they were all put together in this book we call the book of Psalms. Now if you refer to a particular Psalm, it is not Psalms 23, it is Psalm 23. It is the book of Psalms, but to refer to them correctly, if you refer to an individual Psalm, you use it in the singular. Now something else, you may not have noticed this. But it shows you the beauty and the wisdom of God. There are five different sections in the book of Psalms. I don't have time to go into the details and prove that to you. But there are five different sections. And each section corresponds with the first five books of the Bible. The first five books of the Bible written by Moses and called the Pentateuch. And so, for instance, you have chapters 1 through 41 correspond to the book of Genesis. We find then that chapters 42 through 72, the book of Exodus. 73 to 89, the book of Leviticus. 90 through 106, the book of Numbers. And then 107 through the end of the book of Psalms, chapter 150, the book of Deuteronomy. Now, I want to look at those in just a minute and we'll see how that correlates. But first of all, I want you to see something. I want us to look at verse one. I picked out this psalm because of what it says in verse 1 in particular. It says, Praise ye the Lord. Now who's that talking to? Who's that speaking to? Praise ye the Lord. It's speaking to God's people. For it is good to sing praises unto our God. It is good to God, it's acceptable to God, and it's good and joyful to the child of God. These statements can be taken in both ways. He says it's good to sing praises unto our God, for it is pleasant, which means delightful, And praise is comely, which means beautiful. Now what God is saying, in other words, it's delightful to God and pleasing to God, and it is delightful and pleasing to the child of God. If our heart is right, if we are in the Spirit, it is a joyful thing to sing Psalms. And we certainly should come before the Lord with singing and with praise. Our text tells us that this is something good and something great. You see, we are to sing in the Spirit. We are to be in the Spirit. Matter of fact, Ephesians, the book of Ephesians, gives one of the evidences of being filled with the Spirit, the very first one, is that of singing. And he gives it in the context of the people of God. In other words, if you come into the worship service, of an assembly, and the people of God join in praise, join in song, join in heart, join in praise. And you know that their hearts are filled with joy, you know they're singing, and all are lifting up their voices unto God. And if it is of the heart, and it is led of the Spirit of God, you see, and it brings glory and honor unto Him. The book of Ephesians puts it this way. Speaking to yourselves, now, In the Greek, it's a little bit ambiguous to us as we see that. It is good to sing at all times. But in this context, it doesn't mean walking around and singing in your house. Now that's good. I'm just saying this particular verse is singing among yourselves. In other words, edifying one another as you'll find in the book of Colossians. It's talking in the context of the house of God. Speaking to yourselves in psalms, there you go, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. And so God wants us, one of the aspects of worship is singing, singing glory to God, and corporate worship. We have specials, we have choirs, but we have corporate worship. We sing unto the Lord. Then there's spirit-led songs that people have written. And there are indeed spiritual songs in the early church. Some just spontaneously would get up and begin to sing praise unto God. And so singing is good. Now let's look at Psalm 40. I want you to see something. David wrote some 75 of the Psalms. Look at Psalm 40, which is the Psalm of David. You'll notice some of these are prefaced, and this is to the chief musician, a Psalm of David. Psalm 40, we could read a lot, but let's just read the first three verses of Psalm 40. He says, I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. Now look at this, He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock. and establish my goings. Now look what he says here in verse three, get your Bibles open, Psalms chapter 40 verse three. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord. You see our singing, our praise, the book of Corinthians tells about those coming in among the saints. And they are judged of all. Now it doesn't mean that they feel like everybody's condemning them. It means that they hear the singing. They hear the message. They see the participation. They see the joy. And they say, you know what? They're acting like the person they're here to worship is real. I mean, they're singing with joy in their hearts and they're convicted. And then falling down, they call upon the Lord. And so people can be convicted by our worship and by our praise and trust into the Lord, trust the Lord. Then we find the same thing in heaven. If you don't like singing, you're not gonna like heaven. Listen to the Psalm, Revelation chapter five, verse nine. Speaking of the saints in heaven, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. So in heaven the saints are singing, Thy will be done on earth. as it is in heaven. In heaven the saints sing glory to God. God's will needs to be done that way on earth. We need to sing unto the Lord. Now as we think of this, chapters as I mentioned, chapters 1 through 41 correspond to the book of Genesis. The chief word that comes up in this section is the word man. We find it right at the beginning, the godly man and the ungodly man. We find blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. And so, corresponding to the book of Genesis, it tells us of the creation of man and of man's fall into sin. We find that these chapters have the theme of talking about man. Look with me in Psalm chapter 8. Psalm chapter 8 and a question is asked. Let's go to Psalm 8. And listen what David asked as he sits under the stars. In verse 3, we know it's in the evening because he can see the moon and the stars. In Psalm 8, we'll begin at verse 3. No doubt remembering when he was out with the sheep. looking up at the clear sky, away from the cities, away from all of these things where you can see the heavens. He said, when I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man? that thou art mindful of him, the son of man that thou visitest him. So he's saying, who are we? What are we? You know, today, and I'll be mentioning that tonight, man thinks of himself as being of such great worth. And he emphasizes the great worth of man. Many Christians, they put forth all of these things about the great worth of man. Well, the Bible says, if a man does not have love, he's nothing. Now we are in the image of God and we are those whom God did do a work among man, but I want you to understand sin has brought man to a state of not being profitable. Sin has brought man to a state where he has lost that value in that state wherein God created him in. And so we can't boast of the great worth of man and the great might and the power of man. What makes man significant is God's love, God's redemption, God's restoration, because Man's sin has brought him low, has distorted God. You might think of it like a picture. You have this picture that's worth millions and millions of dollars, but when it is marred, when it is distorted, its price and value is greatly taken down. And so what is man that thou art mindful of him? He realizes the frailty of man, but yet we see in this a messianic promise. Look what he says here in verses 5 and 6. Thou has put all things under his feet. Now keep that in mind and go with me to the book of Hebrews chapter two. We will give you an example how these Psalms are, they have messianic prophecies. Speaking of Jesus, go to Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two and verses six through nine. Hebrews chapter two and verses six through nine. One in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? We just read that. That's David. or the son of man that thou visitest him. Now look at this. Thou madest him a little lower than the angels. Thou crownest him with glory and honor and did set him over the works of thy hands. Thou has put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that he put all in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things under him, but we see Jesus. who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste death for every man." So here we see that Jesus restored the dignity to man. Jesus restores in redemption this glory, and he ascends into heaven, and he is Lord over heaven and earth, according to the flesh, one born of the seed of David. And so we see the exaltation of the Messiah. Then going back to the Psalms. Let's go to Psalm 14. Psalm 14. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done aboundable works. There is none that doeth good. Have you heard that? There's none that doeth good. Let's continue verse two of Psalm 14. The Lord looketh down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They're all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. This is the Psalm quoted in Romans chapter three. You see, and it concerns man. It concerns his sinfulness. Go with me to Psalm 39, Psalm 39. Dealing with the section that corresponds to Genesis. Psalm 39, beginning at verse 5. Follow with me in your Bibles. Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreath, and mine ages as nothing before thee. Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a vain show, surely they are disquieted in vain. He heapeth up riches and knoweth not Who shall gather them? And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee. And so we see what it says concerning man here in Psalm 39. Then we come to the next section, verses, excuse me, Psalms 42 through 72 that deal with the exodus. The chief word here is deliverance because the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt. And we find the deliverance of God as a theme through this section. Go with me to chapter 44. Follow with me and let's see how God commands deliverance. In chapter 44, I think I'll just read the particular verse for time's sake. Look with me at verse four of chapter 44. Thou art my King, O God. Command deliverances for Jacob. And so the theme through this section, Psalms 44, 42 through 72 is that of deliverance. Go with me to Psalm 54, Psalm 54. And we want to note in it, verse seven, Psalm 54. Matter of fact, this is a short Psalm. Let's read it in its entirety, Psalm 54. The Psalmist cries out by the spirit, And this, of course, is Psalm of David. It tells the history in the prefix. Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. Note the parallelism there. You'll be reminded of what I preached to you about judgment. What is parallel to the word save is the word judge. Hear my prayer, O God. Give ear to the words of my mouth, for strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul. They have not set God before them. Behold, God is mine helper. The Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies. Cut them off in thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto thee. I will praise thy name, O Lord, for it is good. Now verse seven. for he had delivered me out of all trouble. And mine eye has seen his desire upon my enemies. Listen to me this morning. God will help you. God will deliver you. He delivered the saints of old. He'll deliver you. That's what this Psalm is telling us. Look at Psalm 59 verses one and two. Psalm 59 verses 1 and 2. Many of the battles in the Old Testament were in the natural realm. We have battles more in the spiritual realm and God will deliver us from our spiritual enemies. God will help us. And then chapter 72, this is all in the section that corresponds to Exodus. The theme is that of deliverance in Psalm 72, verses 12 and 13. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also in him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor needy and shall save the souls of the needy. God is a God that delivers the broken, the contrite, God delivers us. And so we see deliverance is the second section that corresponds to Exodus. Then the third section of Psalms is Psalms 73 through 89, corresponding to the book of Leviticus. And guess what the key word is, sanctuary. The book of Leviticus is all about the worship of God, about the tabernacle, about the sanctuary. In Exodus, he said, build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you. And that sanctuary is the pattern of worship is in the book of Leviticus. It is the sanctuary, in the sanctuary that Asaph realized that he had envied the wicked and ignorance. Go to Psalm 73. Follow with me please, this is a really good psalm. Note it was written by Asaph. Note the experience that he went through. Don't have time to read the whole psalm, so let's get the context in verse 3. Asaph says, for I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. That's the problem. He basically looked out and he saw the unbeliever. He saw the wicked. He saw the foolish. It seemed like they lived long, dwelled in nice houses, had good jobs, and had health and strength. And it seemed like all he had was problems. And he became envious. Then he went to church. He went to the house of God. Of course, in the Old Testament, he went to the sanctuary. And let's pick up the reading then now at verse 16. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me when I began to think upon how the wicked seemed to have no restraint and how they say what they want, go where they want, do what they want. And Asaph thought I constrained myself. I walk in righteousness and look at all the problems, all the troubles that I have. And he was envious. He said, when I think upon this, it was too painful for me. Then verse 17, until, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I therein. Surely thou did set them in slippery places. Thou casteth them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation is in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream, when one awaketh, so the Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved. And I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast held me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there's none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is my strength and my heart and my portion forever. For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all of them that go a-whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God, I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all his works." When he went to church, when he went to the house of God, he got rid of that envy. He got rid of that foolishness. His heart was set straight. When you sit under the preaching of the word of God and you make yourself available for God to use the word like he spoke to the churches in the book of Revelation, a message through God's messenger from the word of God to speak to your hearts and minds that we might repent, that we might worship. The Lord. And so we see this section, the emphasis on the sanctuary. Look with me in Psalm 77 and verse 13. Psalm 77, verse 13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God? You wanna see the way God works? You wanna understand his way? Go to the house of God. You will see God working in the sanctuary. Look at chapter 78. He told Israel he would build them a sanctuary. Look at chapter 78 and verse 67. Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim. but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion, which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like high places, like the earth, which he has established forever. So God has always had a place where his name dwells and his name dwells in his house, in the assembly, the church of the living God. And then we find the next section. And that is in chapters, 90 through 106, and that corresponds to the book of Numbers. The key words here are unrest and wandering, like they did in the book of Numbers. And we find Psalm 106, and Psalm 106, I mean it is so clear. It is so easy to understand. It so relates to the Israelites' history and their wanderings that I want to read the whole Psalm. Please follow with me in your Bible. Psalm 106. And here we see the unrest and the wandering of people and yet God's faithfulness. Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with thy favor, that thou bearest unto thy people. O visit me with thy salvation. that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance." Now look at this. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not the wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked Him at the sea, even the Red Sea. Nevertheless, He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red Sea also, and He dried it up. So He led them forth through the depths as through the wilderness. And He saved them from the hand of Him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left. Then believed they His words. They sang His praise. They soon forgot His works. They waited not for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, tempted God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, the saint of the Lord. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. And a fire was kindled in their company, and the flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. They forgot God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham and terrible things by the Red Sea. Therefore he said that he would destroy them. He had not Moses chosen, His chosen stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them. Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not His word, but murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore He lifted up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions, and the plague break in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment, and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes. because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips. They did not destroy nations concerning whom the Lord had commanded them, but they mingled among the heathen and learned their works. They served their idols, which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan. And the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a-whoring with their own inventions. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against them. his people, inasmuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they hated them that ruled over them. And their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times did he deliver them, but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless, He regarded their affliction and He heard their cry. He remembered for them His covenant and repented according to the multitude of His mercies. He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen to give thanks unto Thy holy name and to triumph in Thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, amen, praise ye the Lord. What a section, what a Psalm and the book of numbers associated with this, the wandering. Then the last one, section five, chapters 107 to 150. Of course, in this section is Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is a Psalm that, Only five verses lacking, every verse in the Psalm has a synonym for the Word of God. Law, way, testimonies, commandments, precepts, word, judgments, righteousness, statutes, truth. Those words are found in every verse except I think it is five. It is a Psalm that exalts the Word of God. It is how we cleanse our ways. We are to trust in the Lord. Look at Psalm 107, verses 20 and 21. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and his wonderful works to the children of men. You see the book of Deuteronomy is the second giving of the law. And in the theme of this last section is the word of God. God's word is exalted in this fifth section. We find a very beautiful verse. And I want you to see this in Psalm 138 and verse two. Psalm 138 and verse two. He says, I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth. Now look at this, listen. For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. How much does God care about his word? How much does God exalt his word? Now here's the wisdom behind this. Here's the reason behind this. How can his word be exalted above his name? You know why it is? What sanctifies God's name? His Word. You see, in the book of Matthew, when the Pharisees would swear by different things, he got to the altar. He said, which is greater, the altar that sanctified the sacrifice or the sacrifice? He said, the altar that sanctified the sacrifice. And which is greater? You see, it is the Word of God is greater because the Word of God is that which sanctifies God's name. That's why we don't want to depreciate the Word of God. We don't want to be ill-used the Word of God. We want to honor it, the Word of God, the Word of God. So let me ask you as we close, do you have the song of salvation in your heart? This song is the song of praise and thankfulness to God and His Son for salvation. It is the song of the dying shepherd in 22, the psalm of the living shepherd in Psalm 23, the psalm of the king who rules and reigns till he makes his enemies his footstool. The book of Psalms is the songbook of the people of God. God has given us a new song. That new song is the song of redemption. It's new in the sense that it's a song that the world cannot sing. It is a song the world cannot write in its true meaning. It is a song that is written by the Spirit. through the blood of the lamb, the song of redemption. Are you able to praise him? Are you able to worship him? The book of Psalms will greatly bless your life. Singing songs unto the Lord will greatly bless you. In the congregation and in your private life, reading and studying and seeing these things, it is the history of the people of God, how they relate to God. The book of Psalms, praise you the Lord. Let's all stand and brother Buddy come as we close in an invitational hymn.