Sermons in Song - "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

Intro:

Good evening.

We picking back up with some sermons in song this evening.

This morning we discussed “Generational Faithfulness.”

Faithfulness on OUR part …

Specifically, faithfulness that we are striving to pass down to future generations.

This evening we get to talk about GOD’S faithfulness as we look at song number 190 - “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

This is a great song. (Do we know this one?)

When we think about some of the kings that we talked about in the sermon this morning, some of them could be categorized as faithful … FOR A TIME.

But then, sadly, some of them apostatized.

That’s not the case with God!

We don’t have to worry about God going back on His Word, or changing His mind, or moving away from us when we’ve been faithful to Him!

I think about how over and over again in the O.T., God’s people are described as having essentially committed SPIRITUAL ADULTERY against God.

They turned their back on Him.

Jer. 3:8 says, “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.”

They CHEATED ON GOD — That’s the image portrayed, and again, it was SPIRITUAL ADULTERY.

Unfaithful to the marriage, Israel was! — The marriage between Israel and God!

They were unfaithful because they turned to IDOLS — They turned to FALSE gods instead of the true and living God.

Israel was UNFAITHFUL to God!

The problem was with THEM though, not with God!

As we take a look at song 190 - “Great is Thy Faithfulness” - we are going to look at the dependability of God!

Verse 1:

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father” - God IS our Father!

Take a look at 2 Cor. 6:18 - “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

What is the context of that verse?

Faithfulness!

Faithfulness on OUR part so that the relationship between us and God our Father can be maintained!

Let’s back and read a few more verses:

2 Cor. 6:14-18 - “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.””

Faithfulness to God!

1 John 1:6-7 - “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Do we want a relationship with our Father? (Then we must walk in His light - 1 John 1:7!)

“There is no shadow of turning with Thee” - This is straight from James 1:17 - “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Thinking about GIFTS from God, I think about Eph. 4:8, which says of Jesus: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave GIFTS to men.”

What is the greatest gift ever given?

SALVATION!

Rom. 6:23 - “For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So “every good gift and every perfect gift is from ABOVE, and comes down from the FATHER of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

No variation or shadow of turning in God’s gift giving!

[[[[[[[Do not mention “indian giver”]]]]]]

“Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not” -

Mal. 3:6 says of God: “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”

And the sons of Jacob (the Jews) needed to be thankful for that!

If you read the book of Malachi, the Jews weren’t exactly in good standing at the moment!

They had come BACK from the captivity, and STILL they were apostatizing back into sin.

God says there in Mal. 3:6 that as part of His UNCHANGING NATURE, they were not consumed (even though they deserved it)!

This, then, shows the MERCY of God!

“Thou changest not; Thy COMPASSIONS, they fail not!”

I’m reminded also of Matthew 9:36 - “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

“As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be” - As God HAST BEEN (past tense), He will FOREVER be!

This shows that not only does God have an unchanging nature, but …

It alludes to His ETERNAL nature as well!

“Before Abraham WAS, I AM,” Jesus said — John 8:58!

Rom. 1:20 - “For since the creation of the world His (God’s) invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

Verse 2:

“Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest” - This reminds me of Gen. 8:22 - “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

This one verse debunks the claims of radical environmentalism as untrue!

“This is the hottest summer we’ve ever had in 150,000 years,” they say!

Tell me, how on earth can you measure that?!

Totally unfounded — We could go on and on about the sins of radical environmentalism, but we don’t have time for that now!

We serve a God Who has faithfully ordained that summer and winter, springtime (seedtime) and harvest will remain until this earth is no more!

“Sun, moon and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love!”

This verse is very characteristic of what we have in the Psalms!

Psalm 19:1 - “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”

The heavens that God made cry out in praise to His name!

Gen. 1:6-8 - “Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.”

Psalm 19:1-6 - “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

Lots of praise-worthy language for the God Who created the Heavens.

And did you know that the Heavens sing?

The following is from NASA:

exoplanets.nasa.gov - “We can’t hear it with our ears, but the stars in the sky are performing a concert, one that never stops. The biggest stars make the lowest, deepest sounds, like tubas and double basses. Small stars have high-pitched voices, like celestial flutes. These virtuosos don’t just play one "note" at a time, either — our own Sun has thousands of different sound waves bouncing around inside it at any given moment.”

In short, the stars “sing” (quote unquote) — They sing their praises to God Who made them!

Psalm 148:3 - “Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!”

Job 38:7 - “When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Verse 3:

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth” — That’s what the gospel is all about!

We’ve already looked at the gift of salvation.

Along with the pardon for sin which means salvation is the PEACE that comes along with salvation!

In fact, Jesus is the Prince of Peace - Isa. 9:6.

Jesus said in John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

“Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide” - Is God present in your life?

Are you “leaning on His everlasting arms?” (To quote another song)

He will guide us, and He will give us good cheer if we let Him.

John 16:33 Jesus said - “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have OVERCOME the world.”

“Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow” - Notice the contrasts between today and tomorrow:

What for today? (Strength)

And what for tomorrow? (Bright hope)

Why?

Because TODAY we do need STRENGTH to get through today — Strength to get through difficulties in life, strength to get through discouragement, strength to get through temptation.

But hope? Hope looks forward to TOMORROW - Because our faith is the substance of things HOPED FOR — Things expected with desire!

What things? (Heaven!)

“Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside” - We also sing “Count your many blessings; name them one by one.”

Have you ever “PRAYED your many blessings?”

That is, prayed ABOUT your many blessings?

Thanked God for them?

(Greg had a good devotional about noticing all the little things we should be thankful for a few weeks ago — Are we doing that?)

“Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!”

(The water we drink, the rain that brings the water, the wind that brings the rain, the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, and on and on we could go!)

Chorus:

“Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see” - Psalm 143:8 - “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.”

Lam. 3:21-24 - “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

We sing that, too, don’t we?!

“All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!” — The Lord is faithful!

He is DEPENDABLE!

We can COUNT ON HIM to keep His promises!

And that’s why I love this song!

Conclusion:

Psalm 8:4 says, “What is MAN that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”

And yet we read in …

Psalm 40:17 - “But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.”

Amen, and let’s be thankful for His faithfulness!