Please turn with me now to Psalm 147. Psalm 147, the last couple of times that I've preached here, we've been doing a series beginning with Psalm 145 and then going through to the end of the Psalter. And we've been looking at the various Hallel Psalms. And these are psalms that just simply start out noting hallelujah or praise the Lord. And so we've been looking at the idea that we are called to praise. And this morning from Psalm 147, what we want to see is that as we're called to praise, we worship God because He is good. So we want to see how we can worship God since He is good. So note that idea as we walk through Psalm 147 this morning. Let's give our attention then to the words of the psalmist here. The psalmist writes, praise the Lord, for it's good to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcast of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. The Lord lifts up the humble. He causes the wicked, or He casts the wicked down to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving. Sing praises on the harp to our God who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry. He does not delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him and those who hope in His mercy. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem. Praise your God, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. He makes peace in your borders and fills you with the finest wheat. He sends out His command to the earth. His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool. He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts out His hail like morsels. Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His Word and melts them. He causes His wind to blow and the waters flow. He declares His Word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation, and as for His judgments, they have not known them." Thus far the reading of God's Holy Word. Remember the grass withers and the flower falls, but God's Word abides forever. Amen. Sometimes it's hard to consider the goodness of God, isn't it? There's a story of a family who, in October of 2022, received word that their son, their 21-year-old son, the oldest in their family, was reported dead from an accidental drug overdose. And this individual who is well known, noted the difficulty that he had. He lost his first born son, who he identified as being the one who was able to walk into a room and just present joy. Anyone who knew this individual, who met him, who remembered him, would always remember his engaging smile and his laughter. His tremendous personality and the dreams that matched it. And yet this family dealt with heartache, loss. And this well-known Christian singer ultimately said, It was hard. It was a dark time. I struggled with the goodness of God. Any of you ever feel like that? where at times as you have certain experiences, and even if we think about the experiences that you and I have walked through together over the past eight years, there have been issues in relation to challenges with children, struggles in relationships, financial instability, job insecurity, job loss, just to name a few. loss of loved ones. And yet even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it at times can be hard to remember the goodness of God. And yet that's where I believe Psalm 147 comes in. Because in this psalm, The writer encourages us to worship God. He tells us, praise the Lord. He concludes it with, praise the Lord. And yet the heart or the summary of the thing he drives us to is the fact that God is good. So this morning, I want to encourage us that as we note that we are called to praise, That we then worship God because He is good. And there's four things I want us to see. That even though we recognize that we worship God because He is good. Number one, we don't always immediately see it. The goodness of God is not immediately manifested. Number two, the goodness of God is affirmed by His greatness. Number three, the goodness of God is present daily. And then lastly, that the goodness of God is on full display in His people. And it's my hope this morning that as we recognize these things, that sometimes it's not immediately manifest, but God does affirm that He is good, that He does show this if we see it, and it is on full display in His people, that if we note those four things, we then will be able to testify in the good and the bad and the ugly, that He is the goodness in our lives. But why would I say that the goodness of God is not immediate? Well, this is where we might look at the context of this psalm. Many believe that this psalm was written during the time of the exile, or actually after the exile. That it was one of the psalms that they actually sang when Israel was returned to the land of promise when Judah was gathered around the city in the rebuilt temple and there then worshiping God once again. But here's the thing, that didn't happen overnight. Israel did not immediately leave the Babylonian captivity when the time was done and then the next day show up in Jerusalem and consequently go, hey, we're out of that. I'm glad that's over. Here we are. We're back and we're ready to go. It was a process. It started with a prayer of Daniel as he saw that the 70 years were coming to an end. It was by means of God giving Zerubbabel the opportunity to leave a group of Judeans back into the land in 532. It was seen in the completion of the temple some 16 years later. afterwards, and then another return some 70 or so years later under Ezra, and then again in Nehemiah. The point being is that the restoration of Israel being brought to the land of promise was some 90 years in the making. And yet, can you imagine these Israelites? Thinking through these statements about how, in verse 2, the Lord builds up Jerusalem, that He gathers together the outcasts, that He strengthens the bars of the city, and that He rebuilds their walls. It was hard for them to see how God demonstrates His goodness while they're in process. But once it was completed and once it was done, they then could look back and go, praise the Lord. He is good. The goodness of God doesn't always immediately show up, but it is there. You see, because when God desires to reflect His goodness in our circumstances, it's not on our timetable. We're often in a hurry, aren't we? We want it, and we want it immediately. We want goodness microwaved. You put it in a box, you push a button, you wait a few seconds, and there it is. And then we pull it out and go, oh, this is so wonderful, this is so nice. But that's not how God works, and consequently, we then lose sight of being able to see it, or we get frustrated, or we get discouraged, or we begin to question His purposes. And yet the testimony of God to us is that He has not forgotten us. He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. That even if His providence is quiet, like in the time of Esther, or even if His providence is some 13 years in the making, Like in the life of Joseph, yet God is still good. He does build up His people. He does gather them together. He does heal them. He does address the wicked and the sinner. He does bless with peace. But it's not in our perspective or timeline, but rather, it's His. Just because God's timing isn't our timing, and just because we do not understand how God is working through the moment, does not mean He is not good. Why do we need to hear this? Because it's hard to remember that when it hurts, isn't it? when you feel the pain of loss, when you're burdened by the circumstance of uncertainty, when you're struggling with the news of sorrow, when you're dealing with the affliction of ongoing struggles that seem to never be overcome, when you desire God's word to have fruit in this world, when you see a child who is running the way of the prodigal, It's hard to think about the goodness of God. But the psalmist is here to tell us He is good. He is good. How then can we affirm His goodness? Look at what the psalmist notes regarding the greatness of God. The goodness of God is affirmed by His greatness. Notice what He says in verse 4. He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. That's an amazing statement that He notes. The goodness of God is proven or assured in the fact that He is great. And where's the one place that He goes to? The stars. How many stars are there? You ever contemplated that question? You ever tempted to look up in the sky and begin to count them? Scientists say this. There's anywhere, and these are the smart guys, okay? These are the guys who look through telescopes, who have, you know, millions and millions of dollars invested in something where they can look. They've invested monies to be able to send, you know, telescopes up into space to see things. And they say there's anywhere from two to 10 trillion galaxies in the universe. I mean, that's a wide number. Can you imagine going to get your car repaired and the mechanic says, it'll cost you anywhere from two to $10,000. You think you could narrow that down a little bit? And yet that shows then the amazing splendor of the universe that the smartest and the wisest and the most study are saying, this is our best guess. And yet as they do more study, they only find out more and more and more. They say there's approximately 400 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. That's one. Now you gotta add 1.99 trillion to that. One person's best guess is that there's approximately This number of stars, one with 24 zeros after it. Some have argued that if you took every grain of sand, there are multiple stars for that one grain. Are you catching on to the greatness? Are you catching on to the glory and the splendor of the universe? And yet the psalmist says that as God looks down on those stars, he has numbered them and called them all by name. And yet he doesn't need to use the star registry to name a loved one, right? What does this show? It shows his authority. It shows His understanding. It shows His magnificence. It demonstrates His splendor. And yet what it says to you is that if He has authority over the stars and He knows them by name, then He can keep you. And consequently the stars remind you that He is good. What should this cause you to do? It should remind you every night, in the time of your weakness, in the time of your doubt, in the time of your hurt, in the time of your despair, that you can look up to the one who keeps the stars and still be reminded of his goodness. I don't know how many of you are fans of the band Skillet, Some of you might be shocked, I can't believe the minister just mentioned the band Skillet. But they have an amazing song called Stars. And this is what they sing. If you could hold the stars in place, you can hold my heart the same. Whenever I fall away, whenever I start to break, so here I am lifting up my heart to the one who holds the stars. What are they affirming? God's good. His good is seen in his greatness in relation to his authority over the stars as the psalmist had noted here, and consequently, they ask this question, what do I have to fear? Brothers and sisters, if God is good and He reminds you of this in relation to His knowledge of the stars, even though you can't see it, how He's working, what He's doing, how He's caring for you, He's still good. Call out to Him in your weakness and in your concern, for He's there. Some of you may hear this and go, yeah, but it's easy for you to highlight the stars. I mean, that's a big thing. That sounds like some theological thing. That sounds like some theoretical thing. How do I still know that God is really good? Well, because the psalmist says, number three, it's seen in his daily provision. Notice all the things that the psalmist mentions in verses eight and following. He covers the heavens with clouds. He prepares rain for the earth. He makes grass to grow on the mountains. He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry. Verse 16, he gives snow like wool, he scatters the frost like ashes, he cast out his hail like morsels, who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word and melts them. God shows that he's good because he reminds you that he still oversees all things that happens in this world. The clouds in the sky that bring forth rain, the rain that brings forth the grass, the grass then that feeds the animals, the animals as they continue in life. And the psalmist here beautifully reminds us that this isn't just simply the life that we would say, oh, that's an important life, that's a significant life, because it comes down even to the young ravens. Why cite the ravens? Because the ravens, the moment in which they learn how to fly from the nest, their mom say, you're on your own. So they no longer care for them. They no longer watch over them. They no longer bring them food. Even though these birds that have an obnoxious cry and are not attractive, even these are the objects of his care. That's where the reading of Luke chapter 12 comes in because Jesus highlighted even the ravens in that text. And he noted that God cares for those birds. He says as you look at these particular birds, we don't see that they have places in which they keep their food. They don't have farms that they attend to where they take out their tractors and other things and see to it that seed is planted and cultivated and everything else. That ultimately these birds are taken care of by God. And Jesus himself says, well, if God takes care of birds, then surely he's going to take care of you, for you're a far greater value. But why does God do that? Why does God clothe the lilies of the field that's here today and gone tomorrow? Why does He take care of these birds? Why does He watch over all of His creation in such a manner to make sure that it's attended to and done so well? Because God is good. God is good. God demonstrates that His goodness, even though we don't always see it, affirmed by the fact that He oversees the extent of the universe and even watches over the little ones, He particularly cares for His people. Think about that. God has not forgotten you. Oftentimes we feel that it is the case. When there are times of darkness in our lives, when we get the news of doubt and discouragement, when we learn of the things that are of tremendous surprise to us and overwhelm us, we begin to question and we cry out and we wonder why. And yet it does not mean that God isn't good because God loves you and God cares for you. How does the psalmist affirm this to us in our text? Look what's written there. Verse two, he builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the outcast. He heals the broken hearted. He binds up their wounds. Verse 10, he does not delight in the strength of the horse. He doesn't take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him and those who hope in his mercy. Verse 19, he declared his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel. He's not dealt thus with any nation, and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Look at the amazing thing that God has noted for us in these verses. He's not forgotten you. he called you out to himself. Even as you were brokenhearted, even as you were the outcast of the world, even as you were despised and belittled and seen as of no value, you were just an insignificant nothing, yet God looked upon you and said, you have value, you are my special treasure, I love you. and I care for you, and I have done so and demonstrated this to you based on the fact that before I ever made you, I determined that I was going to make you a vessel of mercy and of love. And so what did I do? I created this world, and even with the issue of sin, I sent my Son. my only son, the son whom I love, to come into this world, to suffer under the hands of cruel men, to die, be buried, and rise again on the third day, all so that the chasm between you and me would be overcome, and fellowship can be had between a holy God and a sinner. God is good. He doesn't look into this world and say, I value the armies of men, as he talks about the legs of a man or the strength of horses. He doesn't say, I value the strong and the mighty and the proud and the arrogant. He says, I resist the proud. But I give grace to the humble. The passage that we read from 1 Corinthians 1, what did Paul testify to us there? If you look there for a moment, you see that the language he used in order to describe us, the church, is similar language to that of the psalmist. It wasn't the wise according to the flesh. It wasn't the mighty. It wasn't the noble. God chose the weak things, and the base things, and the despised things, so that no one should glory in his presence. But of him, you are in Christ, therefore he who glories. Let him glory in the Lord. If you want to see the goodness of God, Look at the gospel. God's loved you. And furthermore, he testifies of this goodness every day. How so? Because he's given you his word. Verse 19, he declared his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel. He's not dealt thus with any nation. And as for his judgments, they haven't known them. What's the implication? He has dealt this way with you. The fact that God has given you his word, that he has made known to you his purposes, that he clarifies for you and sets in a very direct message who he is and who you are. The fact that he testifies of, yes, the issue of sin, but then salvation through Jesus Christ, and then the call for service before him out of gratitude for the abundance of his kindness speaks to his goodness. The fact that He has brought to you a Bible in your own language that you can take and read it at any time. The fact that it's so readily available on your phone so that within the matter of three or four clicks I can read any passage of God's Word. The fact that you don't live in a country where it's kept from you or you don't live in a time in which if you were to have a copy of the Bible in your own language, you would be harassed by the church and thrown into prison. Or if you wanted to put it in the hands of others so that they might hear this same message, they would put you on trial and condemn you to death. Speaks of God's goodness. So the fact that you can have it readily available on your shelf or in your row or in your hand. Speaks of the goodness of God. To you. So what do we note in all this? God is good. And we're called to worship Him. I told you the story at the outset of the family who dealt with the issue of loss. The loss of a loved one. And the heartbreak and the sorrow. It's been almost two years in relation to this. This individual recently released a new song. And it's called the goodness. The artist is Toby Mac. And yet, here's now what he says. When we have a God as great as ours, maybe it's not that tough to see his goodness. His goodness is real and I am living proof and so grateful. Sometimes you have to be looking for it. Sometimes it lands on your head. It is glimpses of light in the valley or the beauty of a mountaintop view. It is joy in the morning or the hurt that turns your head. It is there if you're looking and sometimes even when you're not. but it's always rich and it's there for all. And for it, I'm grateful to my core. Here's the thing. It's the hard times, it's the challenges, it's the hurts and the sorrows that cause us be able to appreciate the goodness of God even more. If we don't recognize the times in which we feel like we're going through the valley and we feel at times the absence or the hurt or the loss, then we don't, we fail to have opportunity then to have the tremendous experience whereby we see the fullness and the richness and the glory and the grandeur. when the light of God's goodness is just shining through and the heat of it warms us and the glow of it lights our way. God is good. We're called to worship him because he is. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, help us, we pray, to remember that you are good. And even at the times in which we don't see it or understand it, may we still believe it, and may we still rest sure in it, and may we still then adore you and praise you, and consequently cause us then to treasure the value of you being good. Fill our hearts with worship accordingly, we pray, even as we say, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.