Psalm 100: The Missionary Psalm

[0:00] Well if you would turn with me this evening, would you turn with me to the book of Psalms and Psalm 100. The book of Psalms, Psalm 100, that's page 601 in the Pew Bible.

[0:30] Psalm 100, I'm going to read this psalm together. A psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth.

[0:44] Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who made us and we are his.

[0:55] We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.

[1:08] For the Lord is God. The Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness to all generations. Now this morning we were considering the meeting between Jesus and the woman of Samaria.

[1:28] And we saw that during that meeting Jesus dealt with the mess in the life of the woman of Samaria. And in turn that woman she became the first missionary in the New Testament.

[1:42] And while this evening we're turning our attention to Psalm 100. Because Psalm 100 is the missionary psalm. The psalmist has a missionary vision that all people that on earth do dwell would sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.

[2:00] But the psalmist's missionary vision. It wasn't just his missionary vision. It was the Lord's missionary vision. The psalmist's vision was the Lord's vision.

[2:13] Because the Lord's vision is a missionary vision. The Lord's vision is that he will be glorified. And he will be enjoyed by sinners coming to know him.

[2:23] And knowing about his salvation. The Lord's vision is a missionary vision. And you know Paul reminds us about that in the New Testament. He says that the Lord will have all people to be saved.

[2:37] And to come to a knowledge of the truth. Peter says to us that the Lord is not willing that any should perish. But that all would come to repentance. And so the Lord's vision and the Lord's desire for this sinful and broken world.

[2:53] Is the vision and desire of a missionary. The Lord wants sinners to be saved. He wants people to know the truth. The Lord wants his sinful and rebellious creation.

[3:06] To turn back from their idols. To turn away from their idols. And to turn back to the Lord. That's the Lord's desire. That's the Lord's vision for this world.

[3:16] And that's why he so loved the world. That he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him would not perish but have eternal life.

[3:28] My friends, the Lord's desire and the Lord's vision. Is that all people upon the earth would receive the gift of eternal life. And in this psalm, the psalmist is calling us to adopt the Lord's missionary vision in our lives.

[3:44] The psalmist is calling us to imitate our saviour. By seeking to have the same desires as the Lord. The same desires that none would perish.

[3:57] But that all would come to a knowledge of the truth. The psalmist is calling us to have a missionary vision. Where we look at life. And we live life with an eternal perspective.

[4:09] And we're to look at other people. And we're to see them. Not for what they look like. Or for what they have. Or what they don't have.

[4:20] But we're to look at them with an eternal perspective. And ask ourselves. Where will they spend eternity? And you know, I believe that if we lived with an eternal perspective.

[4:34] We would possess the Lord's missionary vision. And it would fan into flame our passion for the Lord. And our passion for the lost. And that's what the psalmist wants us to have as the Lord's people.

[4:47] He wants us to have a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. He wants us to have a missionary vision. And I believe that the psalmist encourages us.

[4:57] And he exhorts us to possess that missionary vision. By focusing our attention on three things. He focuses our attention upon the covenant. The call.

[5:09] And the commission. The covenant. The call. And the commission. So we'll look first of all this evening at the covenant. The covenant.

[5:20] So if you read verses 1 and verse 5. It says in verse 1. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Then it says in verse 5. For the Lord is good.

[5:31] His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness to all generations. And so in order for us to have a missionary vision. The psalmist wants us to see that the basis for our missionary vision.

[5:45] Is the Lord's covenant. And that's what the psalmist says in the last verse of this short missionary psalm. He says that the basis for the call and the commission to be missionaries.

[5:55] Is the Lord's covenant. In verses 1 and 2. The psalmist speaks about the call to possess a missionary vision. That all the earth would sing to the Lord. And then in verses 3 and 4.

[6:07] The psalmist is speaking about the great commission. To make known to all the earth. About our great God and saviour Jesus Christ. But he says in verse 5 that the basis and the foundation of this missionary vision.

[6:22] It's the Lord's covenant. The Lord's covenant. That's why the psalmist uses the word for. In verse 5. He says for the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever.

[6:34] And his faithfulness to all generations. And what we ought to see is that the reason there is a call and a commission for the church at all. Is because of the Lord's covenant. And so in order to understand this missionary psalm and gain a missionary vision.

[6:51] We have to look at it from its foundation in verse 5. We have to read the psalm you could say back to front. And we have to read it and understand that our call and our commission.

[7:04] It's all based upon the covenant. The covenant promise that the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness to all generations. Now we know that this verse in verse 5 is a covenant promise because of the title that's used for God.

[7:22] The title that's actually used throughout the whole psalm is the title Lord. You can see that. It's in capital letters. And I'm sure we've said it before that this title Lord, it emphasizes to us that God our creator.

[7:36] He has revealed himself to his people by entering into a covenant with them. Therefore he's not only God our creator. He is also the Lord our saviour.

[7:47] And he's our saviour because of this covenant promise. And when we speak about a covenant, we mean that God in his love and out of his own good pleasure, wasn't anything to do with us.

[8:02] He chose to make a covenant with mankind. And a covenant is a binding and a permanent promise. It's a legally binding contract between two parties.

[8:15] But the wonder of this covenant that God made with mankind, it was a covenant of grace. Meaning that the covenant wasn't based upon our obedience to the covenant.

[8:26] The covenant was based upon the Lord's obedience to the covenant. And in the covenant of grace, the Lord sought to do something in order that there was nothing that could ever break this covenant promise.

[8:39] He sought to do something in order to redeem lost sinners to himself, regardless of how wayward we could be. And it says that he would redeem them out of love. And you know, the wonder of it all is that the Lord bound himself to this covenant.

[8:54] He bound himself to lost sinners, claiming them as his own. And that's what we read about in Genesis chapter 12. That's the beginning of this covenant of grace in the Bible.

[9:07] It began with Abraham. The Lord called Abraham out of the idolatrous land of Ur of the Chaldees. And the Lord brought Abraham, he brought him from this lost estate into a state of covenant blessing.

[9:21] And the Lord promised to Abraham that through his seed, all the nations of the earth, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

[9:32] The Lord said to Abraham, just to quote Genesis 12, Go from your country and from your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation.

[9:44] And I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And him who dishonours you, I will curse. And in you, all the families, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

[9:59] And those words of promise, covenant promise, they are the basis and they are the foundation for this missionary vision. Everything rests upon the covenant promise that through the seed of Abraham, all the nations, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

[10:18] And what's so beautiful about this covenant is that the Lord signed and sealed the covenant with the title Lord. And the covenant title Lord that we see here, it means the one who keeps covenant.

[10:32] The one who keeps covenant. And so upholding the covenant promise of blessing, it doesn't depend upon the love and faithfulness of Abraham or any of Abraham's seed, meaning us.

[10:46] And the Lord would be loving and faithful to his covenant and to his covenant people because he is the one who keeps covenant.

[11:02] He is the one who keeps his promise. And because he keeps his promises, that's why we can trust his word. We can trust every word written in the Bible.

[11:13] That's why we can trust it, because he knows what's best for us. And that's also why we should live in obedience to the commandments. Because the commandments, they weren't given so that by observing them, we will inherit eternal life.

[11:25] They were given so that we could enjoy this covenant relationship with the Lord. But as we said, our covenant relationship with the Lord, our salvation, it isn't based upon our obedience to the covenant or our obedience to the commandments.

[11:44] The covenant relationship with the Lord is based entirely upon the Lord. It's based upon his character. And that's what we're told in verse 5. He says, for the Lord is good.

[11:56] His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness to all generations. And these words, good, steadfast love, and faithfulness. They're all covenantal words.

[12:09] They're all words of promise to us. They're words that express the Lord's character and the Lord's commitment towards his people, towards sinners. That the Lord is good.

[12:20] Meaning that he does the unexpected. He does what we think impossible. He does in us and for us, far above and beyond our asking or our thinking.

[12:32] The Lord is good because he deals with us not according to our sin or our failures or our waywardness or the mess in our lives. But he deals with us according to his covenant promise.

[12:45] And he remains committed to us. And committed to his covenant. Because of his steadfast love. And his faithfulness. In which the Lord promises to love sinners despite their failures.

[13:00] Despite their waywardness. And this is the beauty of God's covenant love. That there's nothing we can do. There's no works we can perform. No duties we can carry out.

[13:10] No amount of faithfulness. No amount of charity that we can do for the Lord. There's nothing we can do to make the Lord love us any more than he already does. And there's nothing we can do.

[13:22] No amount of sin or waywardness or mess. There's nothing we can do to make the Lord love us any less. His steadfast love he says. It endures forever.

[13:33] And his faithfulness it's to all generations. And this is what's fascinating about this verse. That it not only draws attention to the Lord's character and his commitment to his covenant.

[13:46] But there's also the emphasis upon the endurance of his covenant. The continued dedication of the Lord towards sinners. Because verse 5 if you were to read it literally.

[13:59] It says because the Lord is good. For forever his covenant will continue. And for generation upon generation. His faithfulness will endure.

[14:11] Meaning that the emphasis of this verse in verse 5. It's upon the dedication and the devotion of the Lord towards sinners. Towards his covenant. That he will remain steadfast.

[14:24] And this covenant promise. It will endure as long as time itself. But what's more is that the Lord's covenant commitment. It will remain steadfast.

[14:36] Because the promise of blessing through Abraham's seed. It has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus. That's what the Bible is all about. It's tracing Abraham's seed through the generations.

[14:49] Until we come to Matthew chapter 1. Where this child is born. You shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins.

[15:00] And that's what happens when you follow this thread through the Bible. And you find. Then you come into the New Testament. And you see the Lord's covenant commitment towards his people.

[15:15] Because when we come into even John chapter 1. We see the Lord's covenant commitment there. The word steadfast love and faithfulness. They're translated in the New Testament as grace and truth.

[15:29] And John says that the Lord's covenant promise to Abraham. It has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Because he says the word. This eternal word.

[15:39] He became flesh and dwelt among us. We have beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Full of grace and truth. This Jesus.

[15:50] He's full of steadfast love. And faithfulness. And as we know. Grace and truth. The grace and truth of Jesus Christ. It was evidenced at the cross.

[16:02] The steadfast love and faithfulness. Of God's covenant promise. It was evidenced to us at the cross. Because it was at the cross. That God demonstrates his love and faithfulness to us.

[16:14] That whilst we are yet sinners. Christ died for us. And so we need to see that the Lord's missionary vision is based upon his covenant.

[16:25] And that in the Lord's covenant. We see the Lord's desire that all the families of the earth will be blessed. By trusting in the promised seed Jesus Christ.

[16:38] But as we said the psalmist wants us to have this same missionary vision. Where we look at life. And we live our lives with an eternal perspective.

[16:49] He wants us to have a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. Which is why the psalmist directs us to the covenant. As the foundation of the missionary vision.

[17:00] But then he directs us to the call. The call for this missionary vision. So we'll look at that secondly. So the covenant. The call. He says in verse 1.

[17:12] Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence. With singing. And so having laid this foundation.

[17:24] For possessing a missionary vision. We now turn to the opening words of this well-known and much-loved psalm. And you know what we ought to see from the outset. Is that there are seven imperatives.

[17:38] Based upon this covenant promise. Seven commands. And you can see that by the exclamation marks. That keep appearing at the end of every sentence. Their commands issued to encourage us.

[17:50] And urge us to respond to this covenant. And take up the missionary call to serve the Lord. And we see the first three of these seven imperatives in verses 1 and 2.

[18:01] He says make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing. Now the first imperative or the first command.

[18:16] That's the Lord's missionary vision. That's the vision. That's the Lord's desire. That all people will be saved. And come to a knowledge of the truth.

[18:27] The Lord is not willing that any should perish. But that all would come to repentance. And the all is what the psalmist is saying here. When he says all the earth.

[18:38] All people that on earth do dwell. The Lord's missionary vision is that all the earth would shout joyfully to the Lord. And what that means is that the Lord's desire is that all of humanity will praise and magnify the Lord.

[18:57] Because the word earth. And make a joyful noise to all the earth. The word earth relates back to the creation account in Genesis.

[19:08] And how God created man from the dust of the earth. It's not the word land meaning nations. But the word earth relating to the dust and how man was created.

[19:21] The creation of humanity. A humanity which fell into sin at the fall by rebelling against the creator. And so the psalmist is stressing that the Lord's missionary vision.

[19:33] Is that everyone in this fallen world. Will turn and worship the Lord for his provision of salvation. The Lord's vision is that his creation will fulfill their chief end.

[19:48] Man's chief end. To glorify God. To enjoy him forever. My friend the Lord's vision and our vision. Should be that not only the Lord's people.

[19:59] But all people on the earth will sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Meaning that this missionary vision isn't just for the church. Or for a particular people group.

[20:11] It's not just directed towards those who come to church. Or certain people. Or a society. Or race. Or colour. Or nation. This vision is that every tongue, tribe, nation and language would praise and magnify the Lord.

[20:27] And this vision, it wasn't confined to a particular generation or a period of history. The Lord's vision of blessing and the Lord's covenant promise of salvation.

[20:39] It says it endures forever. And it goes from generation to generation. Therefore it's for all humanity. For all people.

[20:51] Everywhere. In every generation. My friend. And this glorious gospel offer. Is for whosoever. It's for whosoever.

[21:03] And you know I love that word. Whosoever. Because it crosses every barrier. It breaks down every boundary. Every social division. It reaches up to the highest prince.

[21:16] And it reaches down to every pauper. Whosoever. Whosoever. And you know there was no one who used that word more than Jesus himself. Jesus said whosoever will save his life will lose it.

[21:30] But whosoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.

[21:43] Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Whosoever believes in me shall not abide in darkness. The spirit and the bride say come.

[21:54] And let him that hears say come. Let him that is thirsty say come. And Jesus says whosoever will. Let him take of the water of life freely. Whosoever he says.

[22:06] My friend. This offer of salvation. Includes everyone. And excludes no one. No one is excluded. Which means that there is no one who is a lost cause.

[22:19] There's no one who's an outcast. There's no one who's too far gone. There's no one who's beyond the pale. Because this Jesus. He saves to the uttermost.

[22:30] He saves to the uttermost. But then in verse 2. The church has given the call to serve the Lord. It says. By making known.

[22:42] We're to serve the Lord. By making known to whosoever. That Jesus saves to the uttermost. He says serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing.

[22:56] And in this verse. You can see that there are two more imperatives. Two more commands for the church to. To serve all of humanity. By making known to them. The way of salvation. And this is what's interesting about this psalm.

[23:10] That the call is for the church to serve the world. Not for the world to serve the church. And we can see this in the words which the psalmist uses here.

[23:20] Because as we said the phrase all the earth. In verse 1. It means all humanity. All those who have been made from the dust of the earth. And created in the image and likeness of God.

[23:32] But in verse 2. The church is called to serve the Lord. The church of Jesus Christ is to serve all the earth. And this word serve. It was also used in the Garden of Eden.

[23:45] It was used first when Adam was called to work the ground in the Garden of Eden. Adam was to serve the Lord. By sowing seed and cultivating the ground he had been made from.

[24:00] But you also remember that when Adam fell from the perfect estate wherein he had been created. By sinning against God. We know that the Lord cursed the ground. He cursed the earth.

[24:12] And it brought forth thorns and thistles. And the Lord said by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. For out of it you were taken.

[24:23] For you are dust. And to dust you shall return. And by the same token. I believe that the psalmist is calling the church to serve the Lord.

[24:34] And we're to serve the Lord by working in all the earth. Working amongst all humanity. And like the dust of the earth. This earth. This humanity.

[24:46] All of mankind has been cursed. We know that. And there are many thorns and thistles that have arisen in our own lives. Because of sin. Because it doesn't matter who we are or what position we hold.

[25:00] We are all broken people living broken lives in a broken world. We don't need to go far to see the effects of the curse with illness and ageing and hatred and even death.

[25:13] But the command and the calling of the church is to serve the Lord and to work in all the earth. We're to work in the lives of all the earth. By sowing the seed and cultivating the ground.

[25:26] We're to be like Jesus. Because the scripture reminds us. Jesus came not to be served. But to serve. And as we know Jesus came to serve by giving his life.

[25:39] As a ransom for many. And so the church is to serve the Lord with gladness. By working in a broken world. We've been called to call others.

[25:51] To invite them to come before the Lord with singing. Because, well, the church is not a museum of good people. It's a hospital for the broken.

[26:04] And we're to call people to come to hospital. To find the good physician there. But like it was for Adam. With the sweat upon his face.

[26:15] It's not easy to work the earth. It's not easy to serve the Lord. In a world that has been cursed. And is full of thorns. And full of thistles. It's not easy to work the ground.

[26:26] And work in people's lives. It's not easy to get alongside people. And meet with them where they're at. It's not easy to get alongside these people. And speak to them.

[26:37] And talk to them. It's not easy. But it's necessary. It's necessary. It's the command and call of the church to serve the Lord. And it's hard work.

[26:49] It takes time. It takes commitment. It takes patience. That's one I have to learn. And at times it may even feel monotonous and repetitive.

[27:01] But it's what we've been called to do. And if it's what we've been called to do. Then that means we have to get out of our comfort zone. It means that we have to do something.

[27:14] Or else the thorns and thistles will just take over and choke the life. If there's any life at all. And you know there are no quick fixes. No easy routes. No shortcuts. Because like Adam it will only be by the sweat of our brow that we will ever bring forth fruit.

[27:30] My friend. As the church we have to serve the Lord. We have to be proactive instead of reactive. We have to be forward looking instead of living in the past.

[27:42] We have to be striving instead of settling. We have to be reaching out instead of going into retirement. We have to put our hand to the plough. And not look back. We have to let our light so shine before others.

[27:57] Instead of hiding it under a bushel. So that no one can see it. And you know that was the problem with the Jews. That was their problem.

[28:09] Israel was the nation that was called first to serve the Lord. Because salvation as we read this morning in John 4. Salvation is of the Jews.

[28:20] But it was not just for the Jews. It was to the Jew first. And also to the Gentile. And the Jews were meant to be the light to the whole world. They were the chosen nation through whom the Lord.

[28:33] Lord's covenant of blessing would flow through the whole earth. It was meant to be through them that all the nations of the earth would be blessed. They were meant to be the light in darkness.

[28:47] But instead of displaying the light of the Lord's salvation they hid it. They kept it to themselves. And they became a proud nation. They became proud of their position.

[28:59] Proud that they were the Lord's people. Proud that they were different. Proud that they worshipped the Lord in Jerusalem. And when they became proud they lost sight of their calling.

[29:12] They lost sight of it all. They took their eyes off the Lord and focused more upon themselves. They had blinkers on. Proud that they were the Lord. And instead of drawing sinners to worship the Lord.

[29:25] They only focused upon self. And the Lord judged them for that. He sent them into exile in Babylon. Proud that they were the Lord. And God forbid that we become like them. God forbid that we become like the Jews did.

[29:39] Because that was never the Lord's intention. That's not the Lord's missionary vision. The Lord's missionary vision is that through the promised seed of Abraham.

[29:49] All the nations. All the families of the earth will be blessed. And that's why we find the seed of Abraham. That's why we find Jesus. That's why we find him emphasising to the church.

[30:02] In the Sermon on the Mount. He says to the church. You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. And that's why at the end of Jesus' ministry.

[30:14] He gives to us the great commission in Matthew 28. And he reminds them. He reminds the disciples. The foundation of the church. He reminds them of the covenant promise.

[30:26] And he reminds them of the Lord's missionary vision. In Psalm 100. And he says go. Go and make disciples of all nations. Baptising them in the name of the Father.

[30:37] And of the Son. And of the Holy Spirit. Go and make disciples of all nations. Go and serve the Lord with gladness. And make known to all the earth. That the Lord is mighty to save.

[30:53] And this is what I'd like us to consider last of all. This great commission. The great commission. We've seen the Lord's. That the Lord's missionary vision.

[31:03] It's based upon the covenant. And the call for the church. Is to serve the Lord. By working in all the earth. Working amongst all humanity. But lastly the psalmist reminds us.

[31:13] Of the commission. To make known to all the earth. Who the Lord really is. So the covenant. The call. And the commission. The commission.

[31:24] Look at verse 3. He says know that the Lord. He is God. It is he who made us. And we are his. We are his people. And the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving.

[31:36] And his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. For the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness. To all generations.

[31:49] And so throughout this short missionary psalm. The psalmist has stressed. That we need to adopt the Lord's. Missionary vision in our lives. He's called us to imitate our saviour. By seeking to have the same desires as the Lord.

[32:02] That none would perish. But that all would come. To a knowledge of the truth. The psalmist urged us. To have a missionary vision. Where we look at life. And we live life.

[32:12] With an eternal perspective. He wants us to have a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. Which is why he says at the beginning of verse 3. With another imperative.

[32:22] Or another command. He says. Make known. That the Lord. He is God. Make known. That the Lord. He is God. And so the commission of the church.

[32:34] Is to make all the earth know. And see. And realise. And experience. And understand. That the Lord is God.

[32:45] The Lord is God. And what the psalmist is saying is that. The commission of the church. Is to make known to all humanity. That the one who desires to save us.

[32:58] Is the one who created us. The commission of the church. Is to make known to all people. That the saviour. Is our creator. The Lord.

[33:10] He is God. And you know. This is the glory of salvation. That the God who made us. Without our aid. He made us. And not we ourselves.

[33:21] He made us. And we are his. And the psalmist is saying to us. That God our creator. He made us from. The dust of the ground. He formed us. And fashioned us. Like a lump of clay.

[33:32] In the hands of the potter. And he made us individually. He made us. Uniquely. He made us with. Personality. He made us with. Eternality.

[33:43] He made us a living soul. And he knit us together. In our mother's womb. And brought us. Into being. And it's in. Him that we live. And move. And have our being.

[33:54] But because of our fallen state. We are cursed. We have been conceived. In guiltiness and sin. We are dead. In our trespasses. We are lost.

[34:04] And we are hell deserving sinners. And while. We have time. And whilst we're on mercy's. Ground. We need reconciliation. We need peace with God. We need.

[34:15] Justification. We need sanctification. We need adoption. We need regeneration. We must be born again. But the glory of our salvation. Is that this God.

[34:26] Who made us. And the God. Whom we have sinned against. Sinned against. And rebelled. And turned our back upon. And he would have every right.

[34:38] To turn us. Away from himself. And cast us. Into hell. For all of eternity. And yet the psalmist is saying. The Lord. He is God. The covenant king.

[34:49] Is the creator king. And he has provided for rebellious sinners. The way of salvation. He has given to this. Perishing humanity. The promise of eternal life.

[35:02] To whosoever. Believes. My friend. The commission of the church. Is to make known to this lost humanity. That our creator wants to be our savior.

[35:14] The Lord wants to be our shepherd. And he wants the lost sheep of this world. To claim him. As their shepherd.

[35:26] That's his vision. That's his desire. That's his longing. If you're unconverted here tonight. The Lord is longing.

[35:37] That you will be saved. Longing. That you will come to him. Longing. That you will make him. Your shepherd. Lord. That's his vision. The Lord is not willing.

[35:48] That you should perish. Doesn't want it to happen. He wants you to be saved. He's not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance. That's his vision.

[36:00] And that's the vision the church needs too. We need the Lord's vision. We need a missionary vision. We need to live life with an eternal perspective.

[36:10] We need to fan and to flame our passion for the Lord. And our passion for the lost. We need to lift Jesus up before people. Because Jesus himself says. If I am lifted up.

[36:22] I will draw all men to myself. And that's what we have to do as the church. We have to lift Jesus up before others. By living out our faith.

[36:32] And living our lives with an eternal perspective. Having a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. My friend. In the day and generation in which we are living.

[36:46] People don't want to come to church. It's good to see this place filled tonight. But yet there is room. But our commission is that we need to go and call people.

[37:01] Call them. As he says in verse 4. Call them to enter his gates with thanksgiving. And his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. Call them to give thanks to him.

[37:13] We need to call people to come to Christ. And to come to church. Because faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the word of God. We need to compel them to come in.

[37:26] That the master's house may be filled. And you know those words of Luke 14. Compel them to come in. That the master's house may be filled.

[37:38] Those words always remind me of what J.C. Ryle writes in his commentary. It's actually in a daily reading that I've got. Day by day with J.C. Ryle. If you don't have it.

[37:50] Get it. It's great. They sell it in the bookshop in Stornoway. And in April. 16th of April. That's the day. Day by day. J.C. Ryle.

[38:01] It's just a quote from his commentary in Luke. And when I read those words. They always encourage me. They always enthuse me. They always give me a renewed passion for the Lord.

[38:15] And a passion for the lost. And I read them often. Because they remind me of what we're seeing in this missionary psalm. They remind me of the covenant. They remind me of the call.

[38:26] And they remind me of the commission. Compel them to come in. That the master's house may be filled. And with this I'll close. I'll just close with what J.C. Ryle writes.

[38:38] In his commentary on that account. April 16th. He writes. God earnestly desires the salvation of souls. And would of all means use to procure acceptance for his gospel.

[38:49] We read that when those who were first invited to the supper. They refused the invitation. The master of the house said to the servant. Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes.

[39:00] And bring in here the poor and the maimed. The halt and the blind. We read that when this was done. There was yet room. The master said to his servant. Go out into the highways and the hedges.

[39:13] And compel them to come in. That my house may be filled. And Ryle says. The meaning of these words can admit little dispute. They surely justify us.

[39:24] In asserting the exceeding love and compassion of God. Towards sinners. And that God's patience is inexhaustible. If some will not receive his truth.

[39:35] He says. He will have others invited instead. His pity for the lost. Is no pretended or imaginary thing. He is infinitely willing to save souls.

[39:47] But above all. Says Ryle. The words. These words justify every preacher and teacher. Of the gospel. In employing all possible means. To awaken sinners.

[39:58] And turn them from their sins. He says. If they will not come to us in public. We must visit them in private. If they will not attend our preaching in the congregation. We must be ready to preach.

[40:09] From house to house. We must be instant. In season. Out of season. We must deal with many an unconverted man. As one who is half asleep. Half out of his mind.

[40:20] And not fully conscious of the state he is in. We must press the gospel. Notice on his door. Again and again. We must cry aloud. And spare not.

[40:32] We must deal with him. As one of a man who is about to commit suicide. We must try and snatch him. As a brand from the burning. We must say. I cannot.

[40:43] I will not. I dare not. Let you go on ruining. Your own soul. The men of this world. He says. May not understand. Such earnest dealing.

[40:54] They may sneer at it. And at all zeal and fervor. As religious fanaticism. But he says. The man of God. Who desires to do the work. Of an evangelist. Will heed little.

[41:04] To what the world has to say. He will remember the words. Of this parable. He will compel them. To come in. He will compel them.

[41:16] To come in. My friend. We need to adopt. The Lord's missionary vision. In our lives. We need to live life. With an eternal perspective.

[41:27] We need to have a passion. For the Lord. And a passion. For the lost. And we need to seek. To do all that we can. So that all people. That on earth to dwell.

[41:40] Will sing to the Lord. With cheerful voice. May the Lord bless. These thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord.

[41:52] Our gracious God. We give thanks to thee. For the demonstration. Of thy covenant love. In the person. Of Jesus Christ. We thank thee. That he died.

[42:03] In our room instead. So that we might have life. And have it more abundantly. But we bless thee even more. That thou hast given to us. The call and the commission. To go and tell others.

[42:15] To tell them about. The beauty of Jesus. And the love of Jesus. That he's able to save. To the uttermost. Help us as thy people. To compel others.

[42:25] To come in. And help those Lord. Who are. On the fringes. Just to step over the threshold. And come in. And come into the household. Of faith. That they too.

[42:36] Would find blessing. And rest there. And trusting in Jesus. Oh Father. Look upon us. Bless us as a community. Have mercy upon us. We ask thee.

[42:47] That thou wouldst give to us. This renewed desire. To go out. And to tell it. To tell it. To the generation following. That this God. Is our God.

[42:58] And he will be our guide. Even unto death. Go before us then we pray. Bless us. In the week that lies ahead. A week that. We do not know.

[43:09] What is before us. But we give thanks to thee. That thou art the Lord. Who promises. To go behind. Before and beside us. Each and every step of the way. Help us to look to this shepherd.

[43:22] And to know that he is with us. Do us good we pray. For Jesus sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing.

[43:34] That psalm in Psalm 100. Psalm 100. Page 362. In the Scottish Psalter. We'll sing the whole psalm.

[43:49] All people that on earth do dwell. Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with mirth. His praise forth tell. Come ye before him. And rejoice.

[44:00] The whole psalm. To God's praise. Amen. All people that on earth do dwell.

[44:14] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. MINpad Acts 6.

[44:29] If we pray for vu'sämä. Yes.

[44:39] Come ye before him. Come ye before him. We arise. Know that the Lord is calling. O that the Lord is caught in thee, with thy tariff deed in us may, we are his love, he doth us be.

[45:13] Come for his sheep he doth us take, when turned in his case with grace, approach with joy his blood's hand too.

[45:44] His blood and blest his name always, but it is simply so to do.

[46:04] For why the Lord our God is good, his mercy is forever sure, which would not all times worry soon, and shall from age to age endure.

[46:45] Amen.