Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWhat He Hath Done For Me
Bible TextPsalm 66:1-20
Synopsis What has the triune God done for me? He has done it all; He is all my salvation. Listen
Date18-Jun-2020
Series Psalms 2011
Article Type Sermon Notes
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
Audio HI-FI Listen: What He Hath Done For Me (32 kbps)
Audio CD Quality Listen: What He Hath Done For Me (128 kbps)
Length 34 min.
 
Title: What He Hath Done for Me 
Text: Ps 66: 1-20 
Date: June 18, 2020 
Place: SGBC,NJ 
  
Psalm 66: 16: Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
  
Come and hear, all ye that fear God—through the gospel, God gives his child reverence for God.  His people never stop coming and hearing.
  
What is the message?—I will declare what HE hath done for my soul.”  The self-righteous say, “I will declare what I have done for my soul.”  God’s child says, “I will declare what HE hath done for my soul.”
  
Psalm 66: 1: Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2: Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 3  Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works!
  
That is what we preach and sing—"the honor of his name”—his terrible works are his great and mighty awe-inspiring works!  They are works which create a fear of God in our heart so that we reverence the Almighty.  The word “glorious” means make his praise “rich, full of honor and reverence, weighty.”  That is why we are careful about the songs we sing, the message we preach and how we conduct the service—everything must reverence and honor God. 
  
Subject: What He Has Done for Me 
  
Proposition: What has the triune God done for me?  He has done it all; He is all my salvation. 
  
Divisions: There are five works in this Psalm that our triune God does for each one he saves—this is what God has done for me and for you who believe. 
 
REGENERATION
 
Psalm 66: 3…through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. 4: All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. 
  
God has made his child willing to believe on Christ.  We see this by contrast with rebels in this verse.  Notice, this is said of “enemies.”  The word “submit” is “deceive, lie, be found liars.” 
  
The greatness of God’s power—not his effectual power working within—just the power of his presence makes enemies bow down before him.  Remember how when the soldiers heard his name they fell backwards?  Many do so in vain religion. 
  
Matthew 7: 22: Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23: And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity 
  
But for his elect, God’s works his great power inwardly in spirit and in truth.  He did something for me that no one else could do.  He made me willing to bow down to worship him in spirit and in truth. 
  
No other sinner could this for me: a preacher can guilt men into reform outwardly but they have not experienced true power of God. 
  
I could not do this for myself.  That baby cast out into the field that had not been swaddled, who was polluted in its own blood, could do nothing for itself.  Those dry bones could not give themselves life and form.  Lazarus could not give himself life.  I was blind—a blind man cannot give himself sight.  I was deaf—a deaf man cannot make himself hear.  But thanks be to God, he brought me under the gospel and spoke in effectual power and gave me life 
  
Psalm 110: 2: The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3: THY PEOPLE SHALL BE WILLING IN THE DAY OF THY POWER, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. 
  
Christ declared that he is the power by which we are made alive. 
  
John 6:63: It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 
 
When he speaks he gives life. We are made willing to worship and praise him in the day of Christ’s power. 
 
When I was a teenager, I sat as far back from the preacher as I could.  I tried drawing, making paper airplanes, anything to keep from hearing.  But one day God spoke. I found myself hanging on every word and rejoicing in Christ. 
 
REDEMPTION
 
Psalm 66: 5: Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. 6: He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. 7: He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
 
All God’s elect can say truthfully, Christ has redeemed me from my enemies.  The Psalmist speaks of the Red Sea.  God did two things at the Red Sea—he saved his elect and destroyed his enemies. That is what God did on the cross.  Pharaoh and his army had Moses and Israel trapped.  But God said through Moses, 
  
Exodus 14: 13:…Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14: The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 
  
God brought Israel across on dry ground then he drowned Pharaoh and his army. 
  
On the cross, God the Father stretched forth the rod of the law, the rod of justice, which fell upon Christ our Sin-bearer.  When Christ cried it is finished and gave up the Ghost, the sea of justice opened and God’s elect went across on dry land. 
  
All God’s elect died in Christ—we were crucified with Christ.  We were buried in Christ—our old man of sin was buried out of God’s sight forever.  We rose again to newness of life in Christ.  We confessed it in baptism when we committed to Christ like they came out of the Red Sea committed to Moses. 
  
But on the cross, since Christ died only for his elect, at the same time judgement was settled toward our enemies.  The prince of this world was cast out.  God saved his people while he crushed the devil’s head and left his enemies to face judgment alone; both at the cross. 
  
Now in that same righteous judgment Christ is judging in this earth to protect those he redeemed—He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
 
PRESERVATION
 
Psalm 66: 8: O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: 9: Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. 10: For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 11: Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. 12: Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place
  
O bless our God, Christ holds—puts and sets—our soul in life.  He is the Life who enters our hearts putting Life in us.  And Christ sets our soul in him so that we are held in Life.   He will not allow our feet to be moved.  He will not allow his redeemed to cease believing him.  The Holy Spirit will not allow us to be turned from Christ.  He keeps us looking only to Christ 
  
God does this preserving work through trials.  Notice the “thou”—For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. 
  
Believer, when the trial comes, don’t you wish you could remember this?  God sent this trial.   It is his net.  He is ruling the men who are opposing me.  He takes the loved one away.  He lays off the worker.  As painful as it is, he is doing it for my good. 
  
Christ is removing our dross and purifying, purging, cleansing the new heart—thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 

Proverbs 17:3:The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.


Malachi 3:2: But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 
  
The trial is a fire to purge our dross, to turn us from us, to turn us from anything that will separate us from Christ.  Christ sends it to purify that new heart that God has given.  He sends the trial to draw us closer to himself.  By purging our dross and increasing our faith, we come to God with one offering, Christ Jesus alone. 
  
Zechariah 13: 9: And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. 
  
A refiner has to be incredibly careful.  He sits and leaves the gold in the fire until it becomes like a mirror.  Then he takes it out at that precise time so that he does not’ ruin it.  Do you know how he knows it’s time to remove it?  The refiner sees his image in it.    Christ puts us in the fire until he sees his image in us then he removes us from the trial.
  
We are proud in our flesh.  When we are strong in our flesh then we are weak spiritually.  We are not trusting Christ but our flesh.  That is the dross Christ must purge out.  If he left us with that dross we would not persevere in faith.  We would turn to our own selves. 
  
So God sends a fiery trial to humble us, to bring us down, to turns us from the dross of our flesh, to remind us our need of Christ.  Then he brings us to Christ feet—that is the wealthy place he always brings us to—back to Christ feet. 
 
The apostle Peter experienced this refining.  There was too much dross in the boasts he made.  So God tried Peter to bring him down.  Listen to Peter connect God’s keeping power with the trial of our faith. 
  
1 Peter 1: 5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  6: Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 
  
In a small way, at the end of every trial we receive the salvation of our souls.  It is a foretaste of Christ’s return. 
  
Brethren let us thank God that he preserves us in faith and removes the dross that would make us perish in our sins. He knows just when to take us out of the trial.  Peter said, 
  
1 Peter 5: 10: But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 
 
GLORIFICATION
 
Psalm 66: 13: I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, 14: Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. 15: I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. 
 
Every child of God can say that Christ made me give all the glory to the triune God.  Under the new covenant our burnt offerings are praise and thanksgiving to God from a heart of love. 
  
Hosea 14:2: Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. 
  
God is not interested in our sacrifices—only in the calves of our lips.  He brings us to give all praise and glory and honor to God for his mighty works from a purified heart of love. 
  
Mark 12:33: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 
  
Hebrews 13:15: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 
 
INTERCESSION
 
Psalm 66: 17: I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 18: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19: verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 20: Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
 
Christ continues to hear my prayer and intercede on my behalf—and that is what he is doing for you believer. 
  
He will not hear us if we regard iniquity in our heart.  But that is why he refines us.  He puts down the old man and renews the new man so that from a true heart his child prays and glorifies Christ with the tongue.  And Christ hears us and makes intercession to God our Father on our behalf.  He never turns away our prayer, nor his mercy from us. 
  
That is what God has done for me, how about you?  He regenerated me to life and faith by his power.  Christ put my sin away and made me righteous in him by accomplishing redemption for his people.  He preserves me through trials.  Christ makes me glory only in him.  He ever lives to intercede for me so that the Father hears my prayer and showers me in mercy.  If God has done this for you then he says,

Psalm 66: 1: Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2  Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 3  Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works!   
 
Amen!