The Perpetuity of Praise, Part 4

The Pathway to Praise is the most joyful journey you can ever travel. And we have had the privilege of looking at the Pathway to Praise. Your journey began the day you confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

On that day when you gave your life to Christ, the Bible tells us that in Isaiah 43:21, that the Lord was forming you for Himself. And that the people that He's formed for Himself, they will declare His praise. So your journey along the Pathway of Praise began when you gave your life to Christ.

Later, Isaiah would say in Isaiah 61, that when the Messiah would come, He would clothe you with a mantle or a garment of praise. He would clothe you with the garments of God, which are called the robes of righteousness. So because our Lord has wrapped us in the garments of praise, we can't help but praise His glorious name.

So Isaiah would go on to say in Isaiah 61, that he would praise in the name of the Lord and that his soul would exult in God. Simply because he was clothed with the garments of praise. And so we have, several months ago, looked at some of the components of the Pathway to Praise.

We began looking at the privilege of praise. And then you move from there to look at the profit of praise. And then we looked at the purpose and priority of praise, along with the prerequisites of praise, as well as the person of praise.

And we even looked at a portrait of praise in the Scriptures. But over the last three weeks, we have looked at what we've called the perpetuity of praise. That is a state or quality that lasts forever.

Because praise is that which lasts forever. For once you leave this life and enter into glory, your praise will be perfect. And your praise will fill the glories of heaven.

But until that day, we journey along this pathway. It's a pathway that's marked by perpetual praise, never-ending praise, continual praise. In fact, the Bible says that we are to rejoice always.

Philippians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5. The Bible says we're to give thanks in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5. We're to give thanks for everything. That's Ephesians 5. The Bible says in Psalm 119 that seven times a day, I will praise thy glorious name.

The Bible also says in Psalm 113 that from the rising of the sun to its setting, I will praise the name of the Lord. In Psalm 63, the psalmist says, I will praise the name of the Lord all day long. In Psalm 104, the psalmist says, I will sing to the Lord all day long.

And then Psalm 34 tells us these words, I will bless the Lord at all times, and his praise shall continually be in my mouth. So over and over again, the Bible tells us how praising God and giving thanks to God and rejoicing in the Lord is to happen all day long, continually, as long as I live on this planet, until, of course, I enter into glory, and that praise then will be perfected. But the question comes, how is it that I can perpetually praise the name of the Lord when I constantly go through trials and turmoil and tragedies? How can I continue to give thanks to the Lord amidst all of my pain and all of my problems? And how is it I can rejoice always when I find that my life is filled with difficulties and all kinds of distressing situations? And so we have sought to answer the question how that happens.

And so by looking at the perpetuity of praise, we are asking the question, how is it I can continue to live a life of praise no matter what happens in my life, no matter what external issues come to me, no matter how hard things might be from day to day, whether it's hard with my family or hard at work or hard at school or just hard physically from day to day, how is it I can live a life of perpetual praise? And so, three weeks ago, we began to tell you, you can do this because God's power is always available. Power belongs to God. And the Bible tells us that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive power.

And God has not given us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, 2 Timothy 1:7. And that power that God has is an unending, unlimited, unparalleled power that's always available to His people. So I can live a life of perpetual praise because of the power of God. The power of God is always available.

And then we told you that the promises of God are undeniable. All the promises of God are yes in Christ Jesus, 2 Corinthians 1:20. So every promise that God gives is yes in His Son. In other words, His Son has fulfilled all those promises.

So whether it's a promise of peace or the promise of joy, whether it's a promise of strength or eternal life, whether it's a promise of His presence, they're always there. They're undeniable. Because of that, praise then is perpetual.

So because His power is always available, His promises are undeniable, and then number three, His presence is unavoidable. In other words, even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

His presence is unavoidable. So no matter where you go, the psalmist said in Psalm 139, no matter where I am, you are always there. So our Lord says, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

So because His presence is unavoidable, I am able to live a life of perpetual praise. And then we said, number four, His providence is unsearchable. The details in which God works out His plan every day for you.

Things are happening in you, around you, all the time that God has orchestrated everything. It's His providence. And yet it's unsearchable.

In Romans 11, Paul says it's unfathomable. You can't wrap your arms around it, so it causes you to trust Him amidst the pathway of praise. You trust Him as you journey through each day.

And Paul said, in Romans 11:36, that everything is from God, everything is to God, because everything comes through God. To Him be the glory forever and ever, amen. So we can say, as Paul said in Romans 8, I know that all things will work together for good.

To those who are called according to His purpose, to those who are loved by God, they will all come together for good. I might not be able to piece them all together, but that's not my job. God does all that.

So His providence is unsearchable. I just trust Him to work out all the details for His glory and for my good. And then, number five, we said His pardon is invaluable.

Because inevitably, as you journey along the pathway of praise, you find yourself doubting God. You find yourself questioning God. You find yourself sinning against God, griping, complaining, and mumbling, but His pardon is invaluable.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name and forget none of His benefits. And the very first one He mentions is He pardons all your iniquity.

And because God is so willing to forgive me of my sins, I can't help but praise His glorious name perpetually. Because my sin is perpetual. And because His forgiveness is always invaluable, I praise His name because I know that when I go to Him, He forgives.

And then we said that His provision is indescribable. 2 Corinthians 9:15. Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift and the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That's indescribable. It's inexhaustible. It's incomparable because it's the eternal life, the life that God gives.

And because that's His provision for you and me, we receive His life. We can't help but praise Him when we understand that. So because His provision is indescribable, His person, that's the next point, is adorable, worthy of adoration, worthy of praise.

Why? Because He's the God of life. He's the God of light. He is the God who is Lord of all, who is liberator, who is lamb, who is everything.

And so because of who He is, I perpetually praise His name. So that should be seven. That's the number of perfection, number of completion, but I'm not done yet.

So I'm going to give you three more today. Three more principles that will help you along the pathway of praise to be able to perpetually give praise to your God. Here is number eight.

His precepts are desirable. His precepts are desirable. So when the psalmist says in Psalm 119, these words in verse number 164, he says seven times a day I praise you.

Why? Because of your righteous ordinances. The psalmist says I praise you seven times a day. We talked about this last week.

It's not that there are seven schedules throughout the day in which you praise the Lord. It just speaks of the perfection and completion of one's praise to God. But his praise is around God's righteous ordinances.

I'm going to praise you because your commandments, your statutes, your law, your ordinances are righteous. They're perfect, and I will praise you forever. Turn with me in your Bible to Psalm 19.

Psalm 19, a very familiar psalm, but because of its familiarity, so many times we miss the impact of the psalm specifically in our lives. So in Psalm 19, the psalmist says this in verse number seven. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.

So God's law is perfect. It converts the soul. It restores the soul.

It saves the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Then verse eight, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

Because of the righteousness of God's precepts, there is great joy in my heart. In fact, he goes on to say these words. He says, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold. Yes, than much fine gold, so sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned.

In keeping them, there is great reward. The precepts of God are desirable. Why? Because they cause my heart to rejoice.

And David says, they are more desirable than gold. Yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than the honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. And when I keep them, I'm warned.

I'm protected. I'm watched out for. And in keeping them, there is great reward.

Not just a reward, but great reward. Turn to Psalm 119. And listen to what the psalmist says about why the precepts of God are so desirable.

And this becomes essential for you to understand if you are going to perpetually praise the name of God. He says this in verse 14. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches.

I have rejoiced in your testimonies, in your law, in your commandments as much as in all riches. And then he says this. I will meditate on your precepts in regard to ways I shall delight in your statutes.

I shall not forget your word. Verse 24. Your testimonies also are my delight.

They're my counselors. I delight in the testimonies of God because they counsel me. They give me wisdom.

They make wise the simple, he said in Psalm 19. He says in verse number 35, make me walk in the path of your commandments for I delight in it. Verse 47.

I shall delight in your commandments, which I love, and I shall lift up my hands to your commandments, which I love. I'm going to lift up my hands. I'm going to praise your name.

I'm going to honor you because I love your commandments simply because they are my soul's delight. And then over in verse number 72 of Psalm 119. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Wow. How many of us can say that? He says in verse number 92, if your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

Verse 111. I have inherited your testimonies forever for they are the joy of my heart. Then look at verse number 127. Therefore, I love your commandments above gold. Yes, above fine gold. Verse 143. Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet your commandments are my delight.

Verse 162. I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil. Verse number 174. I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live that it may praise you. Wow.

How many of us can actually say what the psalmist said? That the law of God is more precious to me, more valuable to me, more treasurable to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver pieces. Isaiah, in Isaiah chapter 42, verse number 21 said this. The Lord was pleased for his righteousness' sake to make the law great and glorious.

Because of the righteousness of God, he made his law great. He made his law glorious. So the psalmist says, I have treasured your word in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

I rejoice in the way of your commandments because they delight my soul. Everything about what the psalmist is saying is that God's word is more valuable to him than anything else. So Proverbs, Solomon comes along in Proverbs and says in Proverbs 23:23, buy truth and never sell it.

In other words, purchase that, use all that you have, give all that you have to purchase that which is the most valuable thing on the planet and never compromise it, never sell it, never get rid of it. It's the most valuable thing there is. Buy truth, never sell it because truth is everything.

But for the most part, we can't say that because there's something or someone more valuable to us than the truth of the word of God. And if there is, there is no way on God's green earth you can continue in perpetual praise because that something or someone will disappoint you somewhere along the line. But God will not.

His commandments will not. In fact, it was Job, the most righteous man on the planet, the God-fearing man, the blameless man who lost everything. Literally, he lost everything except for two things.

His wife and his life. Everything else was gone. Nothing left.

Nothing was left. His business, gone. His home, gone.

His livestock, gone. His children, gone. Everything.

His health, worse than anything you could ever imagine. All gone. Sitting in a garbage dump, in ashes, with no encouragement from his wife.

She only speaks once. And her encouragement is to curse God and die. That's all she says.

No support from his wife. No support from his friends because they are continually condemning him because there must be sin in his life for him to be in such turmoil. No prayer group to come around him and pray amidst his battles, amidst his hardship and pain.

He has nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. He says these words.

I have not departed from the commandments of his lips. For I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. That's what Job says.

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than his necessary food. There is nothing I value more than what God has already said. And remember, Job didn't have a Bible to read.

You do. But he treasured the word of God more than his necessary food. Meaning that God's word was essential for him to make it amidst all the pain he experienced, amidst all the tragedy that he faced, amidst all the emotional turmoil of a wife that will not support him.

He had the word of the living God. And he treasured that more than his necessary food. How about you? What do you treasure more than the word of God? What do you value more than the truth of God? You see, as you travel the pathway to praise, there is all kinds of obstacles that you will face.

Unless God's precepts are desirable to you, you will throw in the towel. You will begin to moan and groan and complain and gripe and bellyache in search for something or someone else to fill the void in your life. It's the word of God that does that.

Moses had told the nation of Israel toward the end of his life, as he gave the last words in Deuteronomy 32, he says, what I'm saying to you are not empty words. They're not vain words. They're not idle words.

The words I am giving to you, they actually are your very life. They're your life. So Christ says in Matthew 4, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

We can quote that, but I'm not sure we believe that. You see, if something is more desirable to you or someone is more desirable to you than the truth of God's word, you will not praise the name of the Lord. But when God's word is everything, valuable, so valuable, you can't wait to meditate upon it.

You can't wait to read it. You can't wait to study it. You can't wait to sit under the teaching of it.

It's like the psalmist says, I run the way of your commandments. I am actually running all the way of your commandments that I might hear them, see them, understand them, follow them. I am running that way.

But for the most part, we don't even walk that way, let alone run that way. Yet we wonder why I go through life and I can't muster up the power to praise the name of the Lord. It's simply because, and it's just this simple.

It's not rocket science. There's something more desirable to you than the word of God. It's someone else or something else, but it is something other than the truth of the word of God.

His precepts are desirable. When we recognize that, everything changes. My perspective changes.

My attitude changes. And my circumstances will not change, but they don't need to change. My situation's not going to change, but it doesn't need to change.

Why? Because, like the psalmist said, if your commandments had not been the delight of my soul, I would have perished in my affliction. We read that earlier. When you are perishing under your affliction, when you are unable to hold your head above water, when the anxieties of life are weighing you down so much that you can't handle the difficulties, it's because there is something or someone else that's more desirable to you than the precepts of God.

It's just that simple. Just look at Job. Compare your life to Job, but you can't do that.

Why can't you do that? Because you will never suffer what Job suffered. You never will. But he recognized the value of the word that came from the lips of his God.

And he had nothing compared to what you and I have by holding in our hands the living and abiding truth of God.

Which leads to point number nine, and that is his peace is attainable. His peace is attainable.

Now listen carefully, because it falls right on the heel of the previous one. Psalm 119:165. It says it this way.

Those who love your law have great peace. And nothing causes them to stumble. You see that? Those who love your law have great peace.

It falls right on the heels of verse 164. Seven times a day I will praise you because of your righteous ordinances. And those who love your law, they have great peace.

Listen, amidst all of your anxiety, if you're not at peace, there is a simple solution. You do not love the law of God like you think you do. Because the Bible says those who love the law of God have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.

You can say whatever you want to say. You can give whatever excuse you want to give. It does not hold water when it comes to the truth of the living God.

God's word is true. And he says that those who love the law of God have great peace. Not just peace. They have great peace. And amidst all your anxiety, amidst all your difficulty, amidst all the issues you go through day after day after day, peace is attainable. That's why you praise his name. Because it's his peace. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives.

So whatever the world has, they can't duplicate this. They can't imitate this. They can't do anything to give you the peace that I can give you, because I'm going to give you my peace.

My peace I'm going to give you. And so the kingdom of God is what? Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It's not eating and drinking, Paul says.

The kingdom of God is not centered around your physicality. It's all centered around your spirituality. What's happening on the inside? The kingdom of God is righteousness. And those who are righteous have peace, and those who have peace have joy. See that? And so those who love thy law have great peace.

Let me ask you a question. Do you have that? Do you have great peace in your soul? The Bible says these words in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah is speaking to a nation just about to go into captivity. And he gives prophecy concerning the future and what the future has for them.

And in Isaiah 26, verse number 1, he says, In that day, and that is a phrase that describes the day of the Lord, the time of tribulation, the time in which God is going to destroy Israel's enemies and restore Israel to himself. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city.

He sets up walls and ramparts for security. We have a strong city. He's protected us.

He's put up the walls and ramparts around us. The song that will be sung. Open the gates, the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful.

The steadfast of mind, you will keep in perfect peace. Those whose mind is fixed on you, those whose mind is completely focused on you, you will keep in perfect peace. Peace, peace.

In the Hebrew, it's the constancy of God's peace. It cannot be imitated. It cannot be copied.

The world cannot give it. No amount of money will suffice. No amount of relationships will suffice.

Only the God of peace. The steadfast of mind, you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you. His peace is attainable, but you must completely focus upon him so that you will only trust him and no one else and nothing else.

For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock. Let me ask you a question today. Do you have peace in your soul? Do you have peace because you're no longer an enemy of God, but you're now a friend of God because you've been reconciled to God? That you are now a child of the kingdom of God? Is that you? Do you have that kind of peace? Do you have the kind of peace that allows you to live in situations and circumstances that even though they're filled with turmoil and filled with all kinds of difficulty, your soul is at rest because it trusts in the Lord. It waits upon the Lord. It's at peace. Inner peace.

The Bible says in the book of Romans. I'm sorry, the book of 2 Thessalonians. My bad.

2 Thessalonians 3, verse number 16. Now may the Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. What a prayer.

Now may the Lord of peace grant you peace in every circumstance, in every situation. May you be at peace in your soul. May you be at rest in your soul because you trust in the Lord who is your rock.

His peace is attainable. The steadfast mind will be kept in perfect peace. Will be kept in the kind of peace that God himself experienced while he went through trials in this life.

Because God's peace is attainable, I can't help but praise him. I can't help but thank him. I can't help but rejoice in the name of God.

Perpetual praise happens because his precepts are desirable. More desirable than fine gold. Yes, than the drippings of the honeycomb.

More valuable to me than thousands of gold and pieces of silver, than all the spoils in the world. Because his precepts are desirable, his peace then is attainable. Because great peace have those who love thy law.

If you do not have peace, it's because you love something more than you love the law of God. If, if you have something more desirable to you, than the precepts of God, you will not praise his name. You just won't.

But if they are, then praise is given seven times a day. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord will be praised. And number 10.

This will be our last one. I have many, many more, but I don't want to have the perpetuity of sermons on the same subject. So I'm going to give you the last one, okay? Listen carefully.

It has to be a P word. Because all the other ones begin with P, right? So here it goes. Listen carefully.

His parousia is inescapable. His parousia. What is that? It's his coming.

It's the word in the Greek that describes the coming of God and his subsequent presence. So you can actually say his second coming is inescapable. But to maintain the alliteration, his parousia is inescapable.

His coming again is without a doubt. Our Lord is coming again. And if this doesn't help you learn to praise the name of the Lord perpetually, then I have no hope for you.

Because everything centers on the future and the coming kingdom of God. That one day we will see him face to face and we'll be like him, for we'll see him as he is. And every New Testament writer had this hope in him.

This was the anticipation that motivated them to live for the glory of God. To keep their lives pure before God. Knowing that Jesus could come at any moment.

They lived in anticipation of that. It is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, our Lord. So many times, you talk about the coming of Jesus and you talk about his return and people can become numb to that.

I don't understand that. Because the crown of righteousness is available to all those who long for his appearing. There should be this longing in your heart, this longing in your soul to lead this life and enter into God's glorious presence.

It should motivate us. And Paul would say these words, very familiar to us. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse number 16, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with the shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we always be with the Lord.

Therefore, comfort one another with these words. With what words? The words of the arrival of the Messiah. He's going to come.

And those who have already died in Christ, those of you who have had husbands or wives who have already gone to the presence of the Lord, their bodies will rise first. And we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord, that great reunion in glory.

His parousia is inescapable. It's coming. It could be at any moment.

And for those who do not live in light of his return, those who do not love his return, those who do not long for his return, will have a hard time living a life of perpetual praise. But those who do, they wake every morning from the rising of the sun to its setting. Today could be the day.

Tomorrow, Jesus could come at any moment. And we're always living in anticipation of that. We praise the fact that because we're his children, that one day we will be with him for all eternity.

May God give us the grace to understand these principles so that as we travel the pathway to praise, our praise for him will be perpetual. Let's pray together.

Lord God, we thank you for today. We thank you, Lord, that we've had this opportunity to be together and to be reminded once again of how it is we are to rejoice always, give thanks in everything and for everything, to sing all day the praises of his name, to magnify the name of the Lord continually. We thank you, Lord, that as we open your word, you're able to help us move along the life of perpetual praise. My prayer, Lord, for all of us, myself included, that, Lord, our lives would be marked by exulting in our God, and that those who see us and watch us, they would see a joy, an excitement, a life filled with praise to our God, that they might wonder, what is it that causes you to live that way in such joy and excitement for your God? And we would have the opportunity to explain to them we are at peace with God.

We understand the person of God, his provision, indescribable, but let me try to describe it for you, for the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. We pray this in the name of our soon-coming King, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.