Turn with me, please, in the Word of God to Psalm 149, please. Psalm 149, and as you're finding your place, could I thank the Reverend Patterson for inviting me to the praise service tonight. You know one of the advantages of being a minister is the fact that it doesn't matter how old you are, you can always come to a youth praise service. You'd hardly look at Mr. Patterson and think he's coming up on his 82nd birthday, would you? But he's still here, and we thank him for coming. But Psalm 149, please. We're going to read the two psalms, Psalm 149 and Psalm 150. And we're looking at a theme tonight, a theme that we already know about, this being a praise service. We're going to read both psalms. Psalm 149, verse 1, we read, Praise ye the Lord, sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him, let the children of Zion be joyful in their king. Let him praise his name in the dance, let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people. He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgment written, this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord. And then the Psalm 150 reads, praise ye the Lord, praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his power, praise him for his mighty acts, praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise Him with the psalter and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel and dance. Praise Him with the stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals. Praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. With the Word of God before us, let's seek the Lord's face in a word of prayer once again, please. Asking for the Lord's help at this time. Let us all pray. Eternal God and loving Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee and praise Thee tonight already for all of the praises that have gone forth, bringing honour and glory and exaltation unto Christ. But Father, as we approach Thy Word now, We pray that thy praise may continue, and we ask that thy saints may be edified, and Lord, we pray if there's one in the gathering not yet saved, that thou be pleased to speak unto their hearts. O God, move in our midst tonight, and may each and every one of us be very conscious that the Lord is here, and that to bless. We ask all of these things in Jesus' name, and for his sake alone, amen. Now, many Christians today don't praise the Lord as they ought to. Now, the last five Psalms, the Psalm 146 right through to the Psalm 150, they're all about praise. They're all about praise to Almighty God. And if you look with me at Psalm 146, you'll see that there's a theme here We notice in Psalm 146 that the psalm begins with, praise ye the Lord. Look, it ends there with the last words, praise ye the Lord. Then Psalm 147, at the start we read, praise ye the Lord. At the end, we then read, praise ye the Lord. Psalm 148, we start by reading, praise ye the Lord. We end by reading, praise ye the Lord. Psalm 149, we start by reading, Praise ye the Lord. We end with the same words, Praise ye the Lord. Then the Psalm 150, Praise ye the Lord. And it ends once again with, Praise ye the Lord. So I'm sure as you've guessed tonight, the title of the sermon is very simply, Praise ye the Lord. And that's what we've come here to do tonight, to praise the Lord, bring all of the honor, all of the glory onto Him. Now, in the Scriptures, the Hebrew phrase there, praise ye the Lord, can be translated simply, hallelujah, hallelujah. And that's what we're doing. We're bringing our hallelujahs unto the Lord. But the verse we're going to be focusing on for a short time tonight is the last verse of the book of Psalms, the last verse in Psalm 150. And we read there, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Now, at the end of this verse, we almost read a double hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. And David is making sure that all of the praise comes to Almighty God. The psalmist is praising God for all that he has done. Because, you see, the psalmist has understood something that so often we forget. The psalmist has understood that God is worthy of our praise. There is none greater, there is none more worthy of our praise than Almighty God Himself. And I want to ask you tonight, do you praise the Lord? You're commanded to in the Psalms, it says, praise ye the Lord. Do you praise the Lord? I wonder, young people, when you pray, do you praise the Lord? You know, often when we pray, we like to bring our petitions before the Lord, and we like to bring our wants before the Lord, and we bring our needs before the Lord, and we bring even sometimes our demands before the Lord. And sometimes it's almost as if we're fulfilling a spiritual shopping list. Ask, ask, ask. I want, I need, I must have. But listen, my friend, I challenge you tonight. When was the last time you prayed before Almighty God and just praised Him? You didn't ask a thing, didn't ask for anything. You just spent the whole time before God praising him. You see, my friend, we're commanded here, praise ye the Lord. That should be our solemn and sole aim. God is worthy of our praise. Now tonight, I'm not going to be speaking for long, but there are three things I'd like to draw to your attention tonight, and I'll outline them now and you can listen out for them later. Firstly, God is worthy of our praise because of His creation. Number two, God is worthy of our praise because of His salvation. And then number three, God is worthy of our praise because of His provision. So firstly, we're looking at this point, God is worthy of our praise because of His creation. Look at the verse six with me again, please. We read there, let everything that hath breath Praise the Lord. Now let me ask you, do you have breath? Do I have breath? I hope you do, otherwise you wouldn't be alive tonight. Every single one of us has breath. We are created beings. We're all created by Almighty God for a purpose. Now, this is a very important point tonight, and it's a point I want every single one of you listening to. I want you all to remember it, that God is worthy of our praise, and we are created for God's glory. The only reason why we're here tonight, the only reason why we walk the face of this earth, is to bring praise and glory unto the Lord. Now often we like to think in a warped logic that we're here and willing to decide what we want to do. Some people think they're on this earth to perform whatever action they wish, to perform their own will. Well, let me break the news to you, young people, you're not. You're here tonight, you only have breath in your chest to bring glory unto God. Some people actually live their lives thinking, my whole life is about making me happy. Some people think I'll get a good job that will help me get the money so that I can get my big house and get my big car and get everything that I need to get. And as long as I'm happy, then that's okay. No, my friend. That is not the purpose of life. The Scriptures tell us we are here to bring glory unto God. All too often, we get it wrong. We're here on this earth to glorify Him, and that's the purpose of this praise service tonight, to sing praises unto God. The people who sang to us tonight, they were not in a competition. They were not here going against each other. They were not here to entertain a crowd. They were here to bring praise to Almighty God. That is the purpose of this evening. And I want you to understand tonight that God is worthy. And the only reason why we have breath and we have life and we have a heartbeat and we have a sane mind is so that we can bring God the honor and the glory. I want you to see this. Turn to Isaiah chapter 40 with me, please. Isaiah chapter 40. And if you have a copy of God's Word, I want you all to turn there. I don't want anybody looking up at me. I want you reading the Scriptures with me, because it's important that we cast our eyes upon this portion. And Isaiah chapter 40 tells us something, just gives us a glimpse. of the greatness of our God. Look at Isaiah 40 verse 12 to begin with. Remember, God is being described here. And these are just descriptions to help us comprehend something of who God is. God is far greater than even these descriptions given. But it says in the verse 12, "...who have measured the waters in the hollow of his hand." Now, young people, every single one of you here tonight, I want you all to hold your hand out in front of you for a moment and cause almost like a cup shape there. I want you to do that, and I want you to look at your hand. That there, that is the hollow of your hand. And then look at what we've just read. in the hollow of his hand." Now, you think about that for a moment. All the seas, the oceans, the rivers, the waters, every single drop that we know of on this earth, every drop of it was measured out in the hollow of God's hand. Now, you only have to walk not that far, and you could stand at Kilkeel Harbour, and you could look out at the vastness of the sea, look out at the vastness of the ocean, you look at the tremendous distance, you look at the great depths of the sea, and you look at it all, and you think of it, and then you think, God measured it in the hollow of His hand. This is our God, when you think the Mediterranean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Irish Sea, the North Sea, and so on and so forth. Every single drop that we drink, every single drop that we swim in, every single drop that we know, all of it measured out in the hollow of God's hand. Look at Isaiah 40 verse 12 with me again. We read next, "...and meted out heaven with the span." Now, Thompson Chain Reference Bible gives this definition of a span. A span is a measure of length, a space between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger extended. So you see that distance there from there to there? That is a span. That's what it's talking about. That's a span. And look what it says again, I meted out heaven with the span. So literally, everything that is above our heads tonight, whether you look up and you see the clouds, whether you imagine the blue skies, or whether you see the stars, whether you think of the planets, or the sun, or the moon, whether you think of all the galaxies, whether you think of all of that, or whether you go even beyond all of that, and you think of the very heavens in which God and all of the heavenly hosts reside, all of it meted out with a span. This is our God, my friend. This is the greatness of our God. But then we read on, look at the verse 12 again of Isaiah 40. It says, He weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance. Now, can you imagine that? I know most of you have seen the mountains of morn. You must have seen them to get here tonight. But you imagine just the mountains of morn, just put on the scales as a very little thing. What are they? There is nothing compared to Almighty God. This is our God. You can stand there at the foot of a mountain, and you can gasp at its greatness. You can look at its power and its might, and you think, our God is greater than that. What a tremendous God we serve. Look at the verse 15 now. Isaiah 40 again, verse 15, are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he ticketh up the aisles as a very little thing." Now, you only have to switch on the news, and you'll hear about Brexit, and you'll hear about nations, and you'll hear about leaders, and every one of them thinks they're more powerful than the other one. How does God describe the nations? As a drop in a bucket. A drop. What's a drop? Drop in a bucket. As dust. What do you do with dust? It's gone. These people that think they be so mighty, there is nothing compared to Almighty God. You think about that. The United Kingdom, America, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, China, Brazil, Denmark, so on and so forth. Every nation you can think to imagine of. Every nation you can think to name. Every single one of them as a drop. as a very little thing in comparison to our God tonight. But listen, when we think about all of these things that Isaiah chapter 40 talks about, Are we not guilty of underestimating our God? Are we not guilty of belittling our God? Are we not guilty of forgetting who our God is? Are we not guilty of forgetting that our God is almighty, all-powerful, and there is none else beside Him? Oh, my friend, never forget who God is. God is worthy of our praise because we are His creation. And that's why the Psalm 150 and the verse 6 says, with that in mind, knowing who God is, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. But then secondly, I want you to notice God is worthy of our praise because of His salvation. Now when we think of who our God is, how huge our God is, how almighty our God is, and then we think how puny we are, and how puny we truly are. Does that not make you wonder why God has ever set His love upon us? Does it not make you wonder why God would ever love anybody in this building tonight? Does it not make you wonder why Almighty God sent His dear Son, God manifest in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come all the way down to this earth to humble and humiliate Himself, and then ultimately to go to that middle tree, to hang upon that middle cross, and to take those nails in His hands, to take the nails to His feet, to take the scourgings upon His back till His back was opened up like a plowed field. When you think of all the agonies our Savior endured, when you think of the crown of thorns upon Him, when you think of all of those people saying, if thou be the Son of God, come down from that cross. Listen, my friend, Christ didn't come from that cross because He is the Son of God. He stayed up there because he is, like Nehemiah. He could say, I cannot come down, for I have a great task to perform. But then, my friend, as you look upon the great agonies of Calvary, and you think how that crucifixion, what was terrible, and it was awful, and the physical pain must be horrendous. Listen, beloved, I want to tell you this tonight. I want to tell you that the real agonies of that cross was not the physical agonies. It wasn't the physical sufferings. The real pain of The real pain of Calvary was not the nails. The real pain of Calvary was not the thorns. The real pain of Calvary was not the scourgings. The real pain of Calvary was when Almighty God the Father poured out His wrath upon His dear Son, and Christ at that moment suffered our hell, and He cried out, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? That was the real agonies of Calvary. And is God not worthy of our praise because of His salvation? Listen, my friend, Christ died on that middle tree so that you could be saved tonight. Christ died upon that middle tree so that you could have your sins washed away. Christ died on that middle tree so that young people in Mourn Free Presbyterian Church on the 22nd of February 2019 could hear the gospel, could repent of their sin, and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. That's good news tonight. For God is worthy of our praise. As the hymn writer puts it, Oh, to His love, to His wondrous love, the love of God to me, it brought my Saviour from above to die on Calvary. You know, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, he once said, if God is to save you, He must be Alpha and Omega. He must have all the praise because He gives all the power. If you're saved tonight, that can be your testimony that you have a wonderful Savior. You have one that will never leave you. You have one that will never forsake you. You have a God who is worthy of your praise. I want you all to turn to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 6, with me, please. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 6. Once again, could I remind you all to turn to this reading? I want you all to see it. I want you all to look at the Scriptures. Matthew chapter 6, and I want you to notice that when the Lord taught the disciples how to pray, how praise was so important. Praise was a key aspect in how we pray. Matthew chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, we see here what is commonly called the Lord's Prayer, and it begins, Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Now you see, this is the model prayer right from the beginning. Begins with praise. Begins with acknowledging our God. Look how it ends, verse 13. It ends with praise. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. So let me ask you, once again, when we pray, do we fill our prayers with praise to almighty God? Or are we just asking and asking and asking so that we may fulfill our own vain reputation? Or are we bringing God the glory? Are we bringing God the honor? It's an important aspect of our worship praise. But then you may say, well, how does the Christian live a godly life? Now, I want you to understand this tonight. You may say, how does a Christian live a holy life, live a godly life? Well, the Christian has to find out what God wants from the Christian in order for us to live a life that is satisfying to God. And if we find out what God wants, then therefore we can live a life that is pleasing before Almighty God. And what does God want? God wants to glorify His own name. That is the purpose of redemption. That is the purpose of Christ's coming. That is the purpose of the blood being shed, to bring glory and honor to God, so that a people could be purchased, and so that we could bring glory to Him. You remember in Luke chapter 2, And the verse 14, what did the angels cry out when they were singing praises? They said, glory to God in the highest. And as soon as you establish what our lives are about, as soon as you establish what our business here is as Christians, to glorify God's name, we can become a step closer to living a holy life and living a godly life and being those Christians God has saved us to be. You see, God is very jealous of his own glory. I want you all to turn to Exodus chapter 20 with me. Exodus chapter 20, and you'll all know this portion very well, I'd imagine. But in Exodus chapter 20, we read the start of the law of God, the Ten Commandments. And here we read two of the commandments. And we read how right at the very start of the law of God, how praise and glory and honor are the chief purpose on God's mind. It says there, Exodus chapter 20 verse 3, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them. Why? Well, the answer's given there. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God. You see, God seeks glory and honor, and He is a jealous God, and He demands that none of the praise go to anybody else, but that He receives all the honor, that He receives all the praise, that He receives all of the glory. And that is our duty, to bring honor unto Him. And as 1 Samuel 2, verse 30 says, them that honor me, I will honor. You see, my friends, that's the key to godliness. And as the hymn writer puts it, to God be the glory, great things he hath done, so loved he the world that he gave us his son. who yielded his life in atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate, that all may go in." But then thirdly and lastly, very quickly, I want you to notice, God is worthy of our praise because of His provision. God is worthy of our praise because of His provision. Look at Psalm 150 with me again, and the verse 6 again. Now we see something of God's provision here. Because it says there, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, praise ye the Lord. Now here we see God's provision, don't we? Look at the start of the verse again. Let everything that hath breath. Now we've already noted it. Tonight everyone here has breath. Every single one of us can breathe, otherwise we wouldn't be here. But the fact that you constantly breathe shows something of the provision of God in your life. Listen, my friend, let me remind you that every breath you breathe is borrowed from Almighty God. Every single breath. God owes you nothing. God owes me nothing. God could withhold your breath right now and you could go into eternity. The only reason why you're here is because of the mercy of God and sinner. The only reason you're here and you have an opportunity to hear the gospel and hear words whereby you must be saved. The only reason you have breath is because of God's grace and God's goodness. in your life. And I remind you, my friend, we see something of God's provision. God is worthy of our praise because of His provision. But Christian, let me remind you that every good thing cometh from the Lord. And as Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 says, but my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now Christian, you don't need to worry. The Lord will never leave you. Christian, you don't need to be concerned. The Lord has you. And the Lord has you securely till the day you die, till the day you reach heaven's mansions. But sinner, let me ask you, are you right with God yet? Maybe you have no praise in your lips because you have no time for God. Maybe tonight you're only here because your friends are coming along. Maybe you're only here because the Youth Fellowship have brought you in the bus. Maybe you're only here to pass off another evening and really you're sitting there begrudgingly wishing, I wish that preacher would hurry up and finish. Maybe that's what you're thinking tonight. I don't know. But my friend, if there's no praise on your lips, O Almighty God, let me remind you that God is willing to save, and God is willing to have you. God has promised that those that come to Christ will never be turned away. And I appeal to you, my friend, tonight, while there's still an opportunity, while there's still a day whereby you can be saved, while there's still time to trust the Savior, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. call ye upon him while he is near. And it's for these reasons that God's praise is profitable, because he's created us to praise him, because he saved us to praise him, and he provides for us so that we can praise him. And my friend, if you've not yet praised him, and maybe you've got no consideration of even thinking about praising him, It's my prayer that tonight your mind may be turned, your heart may be softened, and that tonight you may come to Christ, that you'll believe on him, that you'll be saved, and that tonight you'll leave through those doors praising the Lord and thanking him that he saved you because he's willing. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Amen.