The Gospels According to Psalms

Again, we'd like to welcome everyone to our Bible study this evening. The Bible study will be 60 minutes long, one hour, and then we will conclude at that point. The title of the Bible study tonight is The Gospel According to the Psalms. I don't know if you've heard a Bible study quite like this, but I think you'll find it to be very interesting.

There are four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. As we know, they are called the Gospels, and they deal with the first coming of Christ to a large extent, though they certainly have prophecies about His second coming. And we find there the gospel that Jesus preached was the gospel of the kingdom of God. The very word gospel means good news. Jesus came bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. Now, the gospel gets right into the very meaning and purpose of human life. It gets into why we are here. It gets into God's plan, God's purpose.

And tonight we're going to find this same gospel in the book of Psalms. We'll find the gospel of the first coming of Jesus Christ, ancient prophecies about the first coming of Christ. That's an aspect of the gospel. We'll find the gospel of the second coming of Jesus Christ, and we'll find the gospel of Jesus Christ and the saints reigning on the earth, the gospel pertaining to the meaning of this feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, a happy millennial reign of Christ on the earth.

And we'll find then many different components and aspects of the gospel, in fact, all of them in the book of Psalms. So, it's my purpose tonight, in the first 45 minutes of our Bible study, to discover the gospel in the book of Psalms. And I believe we'll learn some things as we look into these scriptures and prophecies. Very interesting. In part number 2, I would like for us to conclude the last 10 or 15 minutes in the way of the Bible study to show how we can use the book of Psalms for personal growth in our relationship, especially that first relationship of all, the relationship with Almighty God.

So tonight, let's open our Bibles and discover the fascinating gospel according to the Psalms. We're going to begin with a short quiz, because I knew you'd be disappointed if we didn't have a quiz. And we're going to then get into just a very brief background on the book of Psalms, and then we'll spend most of the time discovering the gospel in the Psalms.

So first of all, let's have a little short quiz. You can take out a piece of paper if you would, and just seven questions. I hope they won't be too difficult for you. And I'll tell you what, if you do well—I'm going to get a little show of hands. We'll cut the Bible study just a little bit shorter if you do well.

All right, question number one, how many chapters, how many Psalms are there? Like 10, 20, 30—how many are there? How many Psalms do we find in this book? Number two—we'll go through these quickly. 60 minutes is going to go by quick. True or false? The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible. True or false?

Number three—the book of Psalms has the longest chapter in the Bible. True or false? Number four—true or false? Psalms, the book of Psalms has the shortest chapter in the Bible. True or false? Number five—true or false? All the Psalms were written by David. Number six—true or false? Of all the Old Testament books, the book of Psalms is the most quoted book in the New Testament writings.

All right, true or false? And number seven—the Old Testament Bible is divided into three parts—the law and the prophets and the writings. Which part is the book of Psalms located in? All right, I've gone through these rather quickly, but let's go right over the answers and see how we did. How many Psalms are there? Somebody want to... 150, if you said that is correct.

150. Number two—the book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible. True or false? What do you think? False. Uh-oh. It is false. The book of Jeremiah and the book of Genesis are actually longer than the book of Psalms. Number three—the book of Psalms has the longest chapter in the Bible. True or false? True. What chapter or Psalm is that? 119. Very good. The book of Psalms has the shortest chapter in the Bible. True or false?

True. It is true. And the chapter is what? 117. Very good. All right, number five. True or false? All the Psalms were written by David. That's false. David wrote 73. 73 are ascribed to him, but he may have written others. There are anonymous Psalms, and it is felt that some of them may have been written by David as well.

And number six—of all the Old Testament books, Psalms is the most quoted book in the New Testament. True or false? That is true. In fact, about 41 percent of the New Testament quotes come from the book of Psalms. And number seven—the Old Testament is divided into three parts—the law, the prophets, and the writings. Which part is Psalms a part of? The writings. It is the largest of the books in the writings, and the first as well. Okay, very good. Let's see how we did. How many got all seven correct? All right, very good.

Very pleased. How many just missed one? All right, that's also very good. And how many just missed two?

We're still not getting a lot of hands. I think we're going to need the longer version.

Well, that's only going to be 60 minutes, but that's not too long, is it?

Okay, there's a lot of background that we could give on the book of Psalms. I just don't really have the time, but maybe sometime you could look up in a commentary. I think you find it very interesting. But the book of Psalms was considered Israel's hymn book and prayer book. It's actually called in the Hebrew writings as the book of praises. I believe it was the Septuagint version that began to call it the book of Psalms.

And so it is considered the most glorious accomplishment of Israel's golden age.

So, there's some background on it. It is generally accepted that David then did write many of the ones, even the anonymous ones. And many times when we think of the book of Psalms, we think of David. But not all of the Psalms were written by David, but he did write.

73 are ascribed to him and probably wrote some of the others as well.

The book of Psalms, in this book, God's people see a pretty fair picture of themselves, their struggles, their sins, their sorrows, their aspirations, their joys, their failures, and their victories. The book of Psalms is a wonderful, wonderful book. In more recent years, I have come to appreciate it so much more deeply. Refer to it more often than I ever have before. It is a very inspirational book. God has placed that book in there for us humans. It can be a big help in our personal, spiritual lives and growth. Well, I won't take any more time to get into the background. There's much more that could be said about it.

But I'd like to get into where we find the gospel in the book of Psalms. First of all, we will find the gospel of the first coming of Jesus Christ. Do we find prophecies about the first coming of Christ? We do.

Let's turn, first of all, though, to Luke chapter 24 and read an important verse. And then we're going to get to the book of Psalms and stay there. Luke chapter 24 and verse 44. After Jesus was resurrected, he, in assembling together with his disciples, explained to them things about his first coming that they had not really understood up to this point. And where did he turn? He turned to the law, the last part of verse 44, Luke 24 and verse 44. He turned to the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, or that is the writings, to scriptures that prophesied about his first coming and how he would suffer and die. He no doubt turned to Isaiah 53. He turned to some of the scriptures that we're going to read in the book of Psalms. Verse 46, he said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. So he explained to them why it was necessary for him to die. They had not understood that up to this time. But then they had their minds open to the Old Testament prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ. The first coming of Jesus Christ is certainly a component, you might say, or an aspect of the true gospel. We could never be in God's kingdom without the first coming of Christ, which, of course, is when he died for the sins of mankind. So we find in the book of Psalms, that's where we're going to go to now, prophecies about the first coming of Christ. Let's go to Psalm 40. We'll begin in Psalm 40. We find a prophecy about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That is, that the Word would be made flesh.

That Jesus Christ would show up on the scene in the flesh. And as John wrote in John 1, the Word of God, a God-being, was made into flesh. Well, we find that incarnation in Psalm 40 beginning in verse 6. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire. My ears you have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering you did not require. What's this talking about? You know, Paul uses this in Hebrews 10 to refer to Jesus Christ coming to this earth to die for the sins of mankind. No, God didn't want burnt offerings and sin offerings, not animal sacrifice. Verse 7, Then I said, Behold, I come, the Word of God would come, in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is written within my heart. It's a prophecy about the first coming of Christ to this earth. And Paul adds in Hebrews 10, verses 5 through 9, something that's not found here for a body you have prepared for me. A human body was prepared for Jesus Christ. And so we have the Word of God, the incarnation, then, of the Word in the book of Psalms that's prophesied. The rejection of Jesus Christ, that He would not be accepted. Let's go to Psalm 118. We're going to go rather quickly through these scriptures because we have a lot of scriptures to read, but the good part is we'll be in this one book of Psalms. Psalm 118 and verse 22, The stone which the builders rejected, and Jesus Christ is that stone, He was rejected. This verse is referred to in New Testament scriptures, showing that Jesus Christ was not accepted. He was rejected. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. So the rejection of Jesus Christ, His suffering and His death. Let's go to Psalm 22. Oh, what a prophecy this is. Often we read this before Passover time because it describes the suffering of Jesus Christ. And this actually, as we'll go through it, we will see these are the finest verses in the Bible, showing the very thoughts that were going through the mind of Jesus Christ on that day that He died.

Psalm 22 and verse 1, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Here's a prophecy of what He would say on the cross. Why are You so far from helping Me and from the words of My groaning? We'll skip on through this. Verse 6, I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people. All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head, saying, He trusted in the Lord. Let Him deliver Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him. And of course, when Jesus was there, they did mock Him in this manner. You can read about that in the Gospel writings as well. Verse 14, and here we have the thoughts of Jesus Christ. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potcher. And my tongue cleaves to my jaws. You have brought Me to the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded Me. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet. And this is again the thoughts going through the mind of Christ as He was suffering and being crucified. I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. What a prophecy about exactly what happened to Jesus Christ, His suffering and His death.

Well, we find then this prophecy in the book of Psalms about the suffering and the death of Jesus Christ. We find in the book of Psalms about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let's go to Psalm 16.

Psalm 16, and we'll begin reading in verse 9.

Psalm 16, and verse 9, Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices, My flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave My soul in Sheol, or that is the grave. Nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You'll need to go back to the book of Acts, chapter 2, and see that the apostle Peter used this on the day of Pentecost, these very verses, to show that these verses did not pertain to David. He said, David is in his grave to this day. His body did see corruption, but the body of Jesus Christ was only in the grave for three days and three nights. His body did not see that corruption then. And these verses are used by Peter to refer to Jesus Christ being resurrected. So he brings out it was necessary for Jesus to be resurrected then, and that these verses show He would be resurrected.

Well, we find that also in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in the book of Psalms, the ascension to God's throne, that Jesus would ascend to God's throne. Also, we read about in the book of Psalms. Let's go to chapter 1.10, Psalm 1.10, and we'll begin reading in verse 1. Psalm 1.10 in verse 1. I'm moving rather quickly through this, so I hope I'm not going too fast for you, but we have a lot of ground to cover. Psalm 1.10 in verse 1. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ has been doing for almost 2,000 years. The Lord said to my Lord, Oh, that's the Father. One Lord is the Father, the other is David's Lord, Jesus Christ. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord will send the rod of your strength out of Zion, and then we begin to actually get into His Second Coming rule in the midst of your enemies. So the ascension to God's throne, where Jesus would sit at the right hand of God, is foretold in the book of Psalms. And also the high priesthood. What has Jesus been doing these 2,000 years? I tell you, He's been most active. He has been playing an active role in the perfecting of the saints, those that God would call into the church that Jesus is head of. Jesus has been very busy as our high priest, and He is a high priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, which is mentioned in this very chapter. Let's go on down to verse 4. Psalm 110 and verse 4. The Lord is sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. And we read in Hebrews, chapter 7.

This is the description of the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

In verse 5, we'll read on down while we are here. The Lord is at your right hand, but He's going to come back to this earth. And when He does, He shall execute kings and the earth in His wrath. And He does come back in wrath to defeat the nations that are gathered at Jerusalem. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries. So that gets into the powerful Second Coming of Jesus Christ. So, brethren, we very quickly read quite a number of prophecies about the First Coming of Jesus Christ. And that is a major aspect of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, that Jesus Christ would come to this earth and die for the sins of mankind.

Well, let's get into, then, an aspect of the gospel that is just ahead of us now. And these times that we are living in, so urgent, we see them rapidly come into this time of trouble that will lead right up to the Second Coming of Christ. We need to be alert, very alert, and not be caught sleeping. The Bible warns us about that. So, Jesus Christ is going to come back with great power. And guess what? That's pictured by the Feast of Trumpets. And there are prophecies in the book of Psalms about His powerful Second Coming. Let's read a couple of them. Think you could read more, but go back to Psalm 2. Psalm 2. This whole Psalm would be good to read because it really is talking primarily about the coming of Jesus Christ to defeat the nations and set up God's kingdom on the earth as pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, which we kept just two or three weeks ago.

But notice in Psalm 2, in verse 1, Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. They're going to do that as they gather at Jerusalem to fight against Christ at His return. Well, we'll skip on through this in verse 7. The Lord has said to me, You are my Son. Today I have begotten you, ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. And the nations are going to be given to Jesus Christ to become king over all of the countries and nations on earth. The nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. This is talking about things pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, a powerful second coming of Jesus Christ, to save mankind. Unless Jesus Christ were to come back, mankind would destroy himself. No flesh would be left alive. But just at the right time, God the Father is going to send Jesus Christ, and that's what this is talking about. And that is the gospel. It's the gospel that God is going to save mankind from destroying himself. Let's go to also Psalm 46. We find the gospel of the second coming of Jesus Christ to set up God's Kingdom on the earth. Psalm 46, beginning in verse 6.

Psalm 46 and verse 6. The nations raged. The kingdoms were removed. He uttered His voice. The earth melted. In verse 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. There will be a lot of destruction of the coming of Christ. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He will fight and put down mankind's armies, and he will then actually cause wars to cease. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He will utterly defeat the nations gathered at Jerusalem. Read Revelation 19.

And He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. So Almighty God is going to come back with a...

Well, Jesus Christ is going to come back with a strong arm to put down the nations and establish God's Kingdom on the earth. So yes, the Psalms has the gospel of the powerful Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Okay, let's go to the next aspect of the gospel. The gospel of the millennium. The one thousand year reign. Now this is what is pictured by these seven days. The Feast of Tabernacles. And guess what? There are many, many wonderful prophecies in the book of Isaiah. Or in the book of the Psalms. Sorry, Isaiah does as well. But we're in Psalms tonight. Psalm 9.

Psalm 9 and in verse 7. We're going to quickly read some of these prophecies showing the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth for one thousand years.

Psalm 9 and verse 7. The Lord shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment.

He shall judge the world in righteousness. And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. That's exactly what Jesus Christ will do at His Second Coming. Okay, let's go to Psalm 66.

Psalm 66 and verse 1.

Make a joyful shout to God all the earth. And skipping down to verse 3, say to God, how awesome are your works! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies shall submit themselves to you. All the earth shall worship you. And that is going to happen as pictured by this Feast of Tabernacles. After the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. All the earth, all nations, are going to worship the true God and sing praises to you. They shall sing praises to your name.

Okay, let's go to the very next Psalm 67 and verse 1. God, be merciful to us and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us. That your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you.

O, let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations on the earth. Jesus Christ will have a righteous government and it will extend all over the earth. Psalm 72 and verse 1.

Psalm 72 and verse 1. Give to the king your judgments, O God. I think we will skip on down through this chapter, but it shows actually the reign of Jesus Christ all over the earth. Verse 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from river to the ends of the earth.

In verse 11. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him. All nations shall serve Him, for He will deliver the needy. Here's the type of government it will be. He will deliver the needy when He cries, the poor also, when He has no helper. He will spare the poor and the needy and save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence. So Jesus Christ is going to have a righteous government. And verse 17. His name shall endure forever. His name shall continue as long as the Son. And men shall be blessed in Him. All nations shall call Him blessed. All nations will come to understand the true God and be thankful to the true God just as we are. And that's going to be wonderful. Psalm 82 and verse 8.

Psalm 82 and verse 8. Arise, O God. And God is going to arise shortly and do this. Arise, O God. Judge the earth, for you shall inherit all nations.

Psalm 86 and verse 9.

Psalm 86 and verse 9. And all nations whom you have made. God is the maker of all the nations. The nations don't realize it, but they have a Creator.

And they're going to meet Him and get to know Him. All nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name, for you are great and do wondrous things. You alone are God.

Psalm 93 and verse 1. We get into some of these Psalms in the 90s here, several of them, that bring out about the reign of Jesus Christ. Psalm 93 and verse 1. The Lord reigns. Yes, Jesus Christ is going to reign on the earth. The Lord is clothed. He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from of old. You are from everlasting.

Psalm 97 and verse 1.

Psalm 97 and verse 1. The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the multitude of isles be glad. Clouds and darkness surrounded Him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Verse 5. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. So Jesus Christ will be King and Lord over all the earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.

Psalm 98 and verse 2. The Lord has made known His salvation. And Almighty God is going to do that. His righteousness He has openly shown and decided the nations. And last part of verse 3. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth. And all the earth is going to serve God joyfully just as we do. We rejoice before our God here. We are here in His holy presence. The holy presence of God. We are rejoicing.

Imagine what it's going to be like when the whole world will rejoice as we are. It's going to be wonderful indeed.

In verse 8. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord. He's coming to judge the earth. And He'll do it with righteousness. Judge the world with righteousness. And the peoples with equity. At last we will have that type of government.

In Psalm 99, in verse 1. The Lord reigns. Let the peoples tremble. Verse 2. The Lord is great in Zion. He is high above all the peoples. Verse 4. The king's strength also loves justice.

You have established equity. You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. And of course, He's going to do it in all nations.

And the final one for the Millennial verses will be Psalm 102 and verse 15.

Psalm 102 and verse 15. So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord. They'll come to have that same reverence that we have. That word fear means reverence. Brethren, I hope we have a deep reverence for God. All nations are going to have that reverence in the Millennium.

The nations shall fear or revere the name of the Lord. And all the kings of the earth, your glory. For the Lord shall build up Zion. He shall appear in His glory.

So it's going to be wonderful, isn't it? Times of refreshing are coming. Times of restoration. Many, many Psalms, then, about these times of restoration. That's one of the very central elements of the Gospel that God is going to send Jesus Christ back. He's going to set up God's kingdom on the earth. He's going to bring peace, happiness, joy, and salvation to all of mankind. That is wonderful.

We know that our calling is to reign with Christ. That God is preparing ten thousands of saints at this time to accompany Jesus Christ at His return. And we are mentioned in the book of Psalms. Let's go to Psalm 45. Those who will reign with Christ during the Millennial reign. This aspect of the Gospel is also found in the book of Psalms. That the saints are going to reign with Christ during the one thousand years. Psalm 45.

And I don't have time to read this entire Psalm, but in the New King James Bible, which I'm reading from, the heading of this chapter is The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride. And I think as you read this chapter, you'll see it is talking about the Messiah and it's talking about His Bride. And we know that His Bride will be those ten thousands of saints who will accompany Him at His return and reign with Him during the one thousand years.

Verse 1 talks about concerning the King.

And verse 3 about girding your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, Jesus will come back with power, with a rod of iron, in your majesty, ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness. That's what Jesus will bring back with Him.

Verse 6, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever, and He will set upon a throne reigning over the earth. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness. But then it blends on over into this chapter into the Bride.

Verse 11 says, The King will greatly desire your beauty. This King that is being referred to in the earlier part of the chapter, because He's your Lord. Worship Him.

Verse 13, The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace. Her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors.

Verse 15, With gladness and rejoiced, they will be brought and entered the King's palace. So it gets into the Bride of Jesus Christ, those ten thousands of saints who will be with Him at His Second Coming as He comes to the earth.

Let's also read Psalm 149. This talks about the saints reigning with Jesus Christ as well during the millennium. Psalm 149, and beginning to read in verse 5.

Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and the two edges sort in their hand. To execute judgment on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron. To execute on them the written judgment, this honor have all His saints. You know, this may sound rather harsh, but what this means is that there happen to be human kings or human beings that will not submit to the government of Christ and the saints, then there will be a force will be taken to bring them into a change of heart and mind. They will not be allowed to continue to operate the way they would like to operate. They will have to be bound, and they will have to be convinced that they can no longer go the same way that they have been ruling and going. In fact, they will be removed from office anyway, and the saints are going to take over that position of government. But this shows the saints of God are going to also rule with a rod of iron. There's going to be firmness in the rule of the government of God. Not just anything will go. We've had 6,000 years of just about anything going, and that doesn't work. So many, many prophecies about the saints then reigning with Jesus Christ, and certainly prophecies right here in the book of Psalms.

We find in the book of Psalms also the good news of the restoration of Israel. That is, the 12 tribes of Israel being brought to national greatness in the millennium. And that God is going to choose these tribes to be that model nation that they never have been. God has not changed his mind concerning Israel, concerning the promises that he made to Abraham. And Israel, the 12 tribes, and that would include the United States and Britain as part of the tribes of Israel, are going to be great. Make America great again, make Israel great again. That's going to happen, but it's going to be in a much different way. It's going to be as a converted people, and God is going to use Israel to set that example. And when the other nations see how Israel is so blessed, they'll begin to ask, well, what's going on here? How is it that you are so blessed? And they will find out it's through obedience to God and His laws, and they will begin to follow that way of life that Israel is now living. So there are prophecies about this here in the book of Psalms as well. Let's go to Psalm 47. Psalm 47. And we'll begin reading in verse 1. Psalm 47. Psalm 47. And verse 1.

O clamp your hands, all you peoples, shout to God with the voice of triumph, for the Lord Most High is awesome. He is a great king over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us. The excellence of Jacob whom he loves. And so God is going to yet choose Jacob, the tribes of Israel. Let's go to Psalm 53 and verse 6.

Psalm 53 and verse 6.

O that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion when God brings back the captivity of His people. And there is a captivity of the Israelite tribes at the end of this age. And God will deliver Israel and bring them out of that captivity. Bring them back to the land of Palestine, the land He gave to Abraham. And He will set the tribes there and they will serve Him. And they will be a converted nation at that time.

So when God brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

You can read if you would like to put in your notes in Psalm 89 that God will remember His covenant with David, that David shall not lack a man to set upon the throne. Read that in Psalm 89. We will not take time for that right now.

But Psalm 105, God has not forgotten His promises to Abraham. He's not forgotten those prophecies that He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not at all.

In Psalm 105 and verse 5, Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth. O seed of Abraham, His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He promised for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham and his oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute to Israel for an everlasting covenant. God has not forgotten His promises. Of course, you can go back to Romans 9, 10, and 11 and get some New Testament verses that all of Israel will be converted in that day. And they will be that model nation that God intended for them to be.

We see so much of the gospel, don't we? We have the gospel also of mankind's destiny. What is mankind's destiny? It is sonship in the kingdom of God. It is the inheritance of all things. And we read about that as well in the book of Psalms. Let's go back to Psalm 8.

Psalm 8.

And beginning to read in verse 4, Psalm 8, it is God's intention and the destiny of mankind, one day to inherit the universe. All things will be put under man. We read about it here in Psalm 8, though it is enlarged upon, that is true in the book of Hebrews. And I'll mention that where you find that in just a moment. Psalm 8 and verse 4. Psalm 8 and verse 4. What is man that you are mindful of him? Yeah, what's puny man?

And the Son of man that you visit him. For you've made him a little lower than the angels.

Just a little bit lower than the angels, we humans. And you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet. Sheep, oxen, beast of the field, birds of the air, fish of the sea.

Oh, so all things have been put under man.

You know, this limits it, though, to things here on the earth. But guess what? Go to the book of Hebrews. We won't do that right now.

Go to chapter 2, verses 5 through 8. And the Apostle Paul cites these verses that we just read.

But he adds something to it. He says, But we see not yet all things put under man.

We see not yet all things put under man. God intends for much more than just the things on this earth. And in the book of Revelation, chapter 21, when God greets his sons, he says to them, all those who overcome that all things, they will inherit all things. And all things means all things. All that the vast holdings of the God family, the universe is going to be given to mankind. We're to inherit the universe. That is an awesome part of the gospel.

So yes, brethren, aren't there a lot of the gospel then we find in the Psalms? We find the gospel of the first coming of Christ, the gospel of the second coming of Christ, the gospel of the millennium, this what this feast represents, the gospel of the reign of Jesus Christ and the saints, Israel's restoration, and glorious eternal life and inheriting all things. It is indeed very wonderful. This is the message we proclaim, the United Church of God. I want to read just a couple of verses here that it is our commission to proclaim this message. And we find verses here indicating that we should proclaim it. We shouldn't keep this message under a bushel basket. We should proclaim this message. And I know that Mr. Kubik, our president, I know that Dr. Ward, the chairman of the Council of Elders, all the council members, the ministry, I know we all want to proclaim this message, and even with more power. Pray that we can, that gobble up in doors, so we can do that. But let's read a little bit about the commission we have to proclaim the gospel to the world. Let's go back to Psalm 40 and verse 9.

Psalm 40 and verse 9.

Verses 9 and 10.

I have proclaimed the good news. That's what gospel means. Good news. I have proclaimed then the gospel of righteousness and the great congregation. Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, you yourself know. I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. We don't want to hide God's righteousness. We want to expose it to the world, let people see that way of life. In the example that we set for them, the way of life that we live, but also in the message we help to proclaim out to the world. I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your way, or your faithfulness, that is, and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great congregation. And we can consider that like the whole world, proclaiming it to the whole world. Psalm 68 and verse 11.

Psalm 68 and verse 11, a very good little verse here about proclaiming the gospel.

Psalm 68 and verse 11. The Lord gave the Word, and so God is the one that gave the gospel. And then it goes on to say, Great was the company of those who proclaimed it. And we do have a lot of people involved in proclaiming this message today. We're very thankful about each and every one, too. Let's go to Psalm 96 for just one additional scripture that we do want to proclaim this message, the gospel out into the world. And we want to pray that God will open doors so that we can do it even more so.

Psalm 96 and verse 1, verses 1 through 3. We want to do that. And what do we tell them? What do we say in our message? I think it's interesting the way that it is put in verses 10 through 13. Say, so maybe proclaim among the nations, the Lord reigns. The world also is firmly established. It shall not be moved. He shall judge the peoples righteously.

Christ is coming back to do that. Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad. Let the sea roar in all its fullness. Let the field be joyful in all the senate. Then all the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord. A very beautiful description of these times of restoration and times of refreshing. For He is coming. He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His truth. That's a little breakdown of what we are proclaiming to the world. Good news of God's kingdom being set upon the earth. Jesus Christ coming back to the earth and setting up God's kingdom and bringing His righteous way to all of mankind. What a wonderful message it is. I'm happy to be a part of proclaiming this message. I've devoted my life since teenage years to it, and I continue to do so.

Well, we have spent about almost 50 minutes on the gospel as it can be found in the book of Psalms. And I think it's very fascinating. I'd like to devote the last 10 minutes of our Bible study to how you can use the book of Psalms in your personal growth and development and in having a close and warm relationship with God. How are we doing in using the Psalms? This book is there just waiting for us to use so that we can grow and overcome and be close to God.

How are you doing?

Are you using it to help you in your personal growth, in your personal relationship with God? Are you using it to praise and extol your Creator, your Maker, that gives you every breath of air you breathe, every bit of food you eat?

All the good things that you enjoy in your life, it all comes from God. It all comes from our Creator. But how close are we to Him? We live in an age today where there are many distractions and many things that can get in the way of having the close and warm relationship with God that we ought to have. The book of Psalms can help you and me to be closer to God if we will let it. It will help us to set our heart on God and on His Kingdom.

No other book in the Bible better shows how to worship and be close to God than the book of Psalms.

It will help you in fulfilling the first great commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul. I want us to read a few verses just to get the flavor of, let's say, David, a man after God's own heart.

How would you like to be a modern-day man after God's own heart? I think that we all would like to be that.

The book of Psalms can help us to be a modern-day man or woman or young person after God's own heart. Well, let's just look at a few of these Psalms and get the flavor of worshiping God and praising God and drawing close to Him.

And we need to do that so much better than we are. Psalm 8 and verse 1.

Psalm 8 and verse 1. Look at these verses. I read these verses, and I would like to be more like this in my relationship with God. I realize I'm not fully there as much as I would like to be. Maybe some here are.

Or do we need to grow to have this type of attitude, this type of relationship? In Psalm 8 and verse 1. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth, you who set your glory above the heavens. Yes, God's name is excellent. In Psalm 9 and verses 1 and 2. I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart.

My whole heart, I will tell of all your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Psalm 18 and verse 1. I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation and my stronghold. Psalm 25 and verse 4.

Show me your ways, O Lord.

I hope we all feel that way. Show me your ways, O Lord. Can these be our words? They can be. We can even sometimes have our Bibles open and read these words as we pray and say, God, this is where I am in my heart. This is where my heart is too. I'm right there with King David of old who wrote these words many years ago. Show me your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. On you I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindnesses.

In verse 7, do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. We can beg God to not remember our sins of old. In verse 8, good and upright is the Lord. Therefore, He teaches sinners in the way. The humble, He guides in justice, and the humble, He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth. You know, these can be our words coming from our heart. This can be our heart set. There's no book in the Bible that can help us to have the right and proper heart set than the book of Psalms. I'm just wondering if we're turning to it as often as we should. It's there for us. It's a book of praise. It's a book of worship of the great God. Let's not fail to use this book to help us to grow and to be close to God, to have a close, warm, personal relationship. I don't have time to read all the verses that I was going to read. But when we face troubles and trials and sicknesses, when we get discouraged, the book of Psalms has the full range of human emotions from the most discouraged and distressed emotions all the way to the happiest and most joyful. The book of Psalms exhibits all of the human emotions that we experience.

Look at Psalm 10 and verse 1. Psalm 10 and verse 1. Do we ever feel this way? We can say this to our God and get away with it. We can get away with it. In Psalm 10 and verse 1, Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Sometimes it may appear that way. We're going through a difficult time, and we've prayed about it and prayed some more about it, and it seems like God is not hearing us. And we can say, well, God, why do you stand afar off? And look at Psalm 13 and verse 1. How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?

Sometimes God does delay His answer to us, and it may seem like it is forever. How long will you hide your face? Verse 2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

So here in the Psalms, we find these emotions expressed that we ourselves sometimes feel. Yes, the full range of emotions, the human experiences we go through. The book of Psalms can help us as we go through life day by day, but are we using it to help us in our Christian growth? Are we using it to help us in our personal relationship with God? I encourage us to do that. I hope that we do have a hunger and thirst for that relationship with our Maker. If we don't, there's something lacking. If we don't hunger and thirst to have a close and warm relationship with the very one that gives us life, there's something wrong with us. We should hunger and thirst and desire that with all of our being. Let's read a couple of verses about that in Psalm 42 and verse 1.

Psalm 42 and verse 1.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, and we can imagine a deer then that's been chased and running, coming to a water brook. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O Lord. Do we? Do your? Is that the way your soul is? Does it thirst for the living God? For the Creator that gives you life?

It should. When shall I come? And well, in verse 2, rather, my soul thirst for God, for the living God. I hope that we also thirst. And in verse 4, when I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. I hope we too pour out our soul in our relationship with the great Creator God. Let's go to Psalm 63 and verse 1. Psalm 63. O God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you. Like in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

Because your loving kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise you.

Last part of verse 4, I will lift up my hands in your name.

Verse 6, when I remember you on my bed, when we wake up at night, we can't go back to sleep, what can we do? We remember our Creator and meditate. I meditate on you in the night watches because you have been my help. Therefore, in the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice. My soul, my very soul, my life, follows close behind you. Your right hand upholds me.

I don't have time to read all these wonderful verses, but please do search your own heart and mind and examine your own relationship.

And put it beside what we read here in the Psalms and see how you measure up in your desire to be close to God, in your hunger, in your thirst, in your close, warm relationship, and in praising, in worshiping, and extolling God.

I hope the book of Psalms will be helpful to you in a personal way, that way.

I'll just cite three of the verses, and we'll end with that.

Psalm 16 verses 9 to 11, we read, You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

In Psalm 37, 3 and 4, interesting verse. Delight yourself in the Lord. Delight yourself in this relationship with your Creator, in walking with Him and being close to Him, and loving Him with all your heart and mind. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

God will give us the desires of our heart.

In Psalm 144, verse 15 says, Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

So, the Psalms point their way toward a life that is happy and joyful and successful.

Well, brethren, I hope this has been helpful for you tonight. Thank you for coming. Have a good night of sleep. Remember, tomorrow afternoon, webcast service at 3, and be here a few minutes ahead of time. About 15 minutes ahead of time. Have a good night of sleep.