Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

I know this message from Psalm 103:1-12 may seem odd for a Palm Sunday message, but just hang with me and I think you will see how well it fits.

I believe it is fitting because within it we see many blessings that have been actualized into our lives because of Christ riding into Jerusalem on this day nearly 2,000 years ago.

We see that He did this willingly knowing what He faced.

In Luke 18:31-34

The people then saw Him coming and they were cheering and celebrating.

They saw this King coming that would overthrow the evil governing authorities.

They wanted a king to solve all their earthly troubles.

They cheered for that king coming and failed to see the king for who He is.

They wanted physical freedom and missed the spiritual freedom that was coming.

They felt oppressed and beat down and wanted relief.

Very understandable but to only seek that is to miss the benefits of our faithful and loving God.

You see He went into Jerusalem to face death for us, so we could live.

He went in to face death for us, so we could have these amazing blessings we see in the 103rd Psalm.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on this day many years ago to set the bound free, to love the hurt, to remove the taint of sin, to blot out the transgressions, to allow a way for the lost and dying of the world to have life everlasting.

He cam because He is a faithful and compassionate savior and because of Him we may see the amazing benefits that David spoke of nearly a thousand years before the Lord came to Jerusalem.

In Psalm 103:1-12 we read

What an amazing section of God’s Word that is.

From this amazing section we see...

Faithfulness in His Benefits (vv.

1-5)

One morning a man named R.C. Chapman, a devout Christian, was asked how he was feeling.

"I'm burdened this morning!" was his reply.

But his happy countenance contradicted his words.

So the questioner exclaimed in surprise, "Are you really burdened, Mr. Chapman?" "Yes, but it's a wonderful burden--it's an overabundance of blessings for which I cannot find enough time or words to express my gratitude!"

This is what we see David doing here.

He is expressing great joy and praise to the Lord for His amazing benefits.

Him blessing the Lord is his expression of love and gratitude for all He is and all He does.

David knew the goodness of God in all things.

He knew He was a faithful and gracious God.

He does not want himself to forget how amazing and wondrous God is.

He wants to always remember the greatness of God and the benefits that come only from Him.

In these first five verses we see six amazing benefits from the Lord.

He is a forgiving God.

Meaning He is the only one who can forgive our sins.

(v. 3)

He is a God of healing.

Not every believer receives physical healing now, but the healing one receives is because of God.

(v. 3)

He is a redeeming God.

He is the only one who can redeem the lost and devastated.

(v.

4)

He is a Grace-filled God.

He is the one who pours out grace on the afflicted and wayward ones.

((v.

4)

He is a satisfying God.

Only He can fully satisfy the desires and aches in us.

As Augustine wrote many years ago, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

That is what true satisfaction is and that is only in our amazing Lord alone.

(v. 5)

He is a restorative God.

God is the only one who can renew us to where we should be.

This is only through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.

But, He is also the one who gives strength to continue, energy to go on, the ability to live life in any situation.

He is restorative.

(v. 5)

The benefits we receive, the benefits that Jesus made available by going into Jerusalem to die and rise again, cover the materiel, physical, and spiritual as these few verses tell us.

That means the benefits found in our amazing Lord cover every aspect of life.

He truly is a faithful and loving God.

Warren Wiersbe stated it this way, “There is no satisfaction in this world, but we have satisfaction in Christ who is the Bread of Life (John 6:33–40) and the Good Shepherd who leads us into green pastures” (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series, 49.)

So true and so amazing that He is that mindful of us that He did this for all to have life with Him.

To have this satisfaction with Him if they will just believe.

He desires that you have these benefits too so much so that He devised a way before time began.

We see His...

Faithfulness By The Plan (vv.

6-8)

We all know that a plan is what keeps things going the right way.

We see the beginning of the Lord’s plan right at the beginning of the fall when He said Gen. 3:15

The fall had occured but God had a plan and knew this would happen.

He had a way for us then.

This section of three verses expresses the amazingness of the Lord in this plan.

He is a righteous and just God who delivers this justice to those who need justice.

He delivers the oppressed.

Here David is referencing the Israelites being delivered from slavery and bondage.

Yet, we are all in slavery and bondage to sin.

We are all oppressed and needing help, whether we want to admit this or not.

We all need His righteousness in our lives.

We all need help.

Thankfully God had a plan and this plan was followed through with.

He told the plan to Abraham first, then Isaac, and then Jacob.

Moses here is said to have received His ways.

We know Moses received the Law and that God told him that the people would fail but that He would deliver them still.

(Deut.

31:14-29).

The plan was for them to honor God and be His people who the world would see the glory of God through and come to Him.

That was what was the human plan anyway.

They failed so the full plan was still moving along, which was for their to be a man from Israel who would be perfect and keep all the Law and then be our sacrifice.

Through this man who would one day ride a lowly donkey into Jerusalem the plan would come to fruition.

We are not a good people no more so than Israel was.

We are evil and desire our own ways.

We want to have our cake and eat it too.

We want to live how we want to live.

Thank God for His slow to anger and steadfast love.

He created us in His image and we are people He sent His son for.

His plan may seem slow, but it is right on time for Him.

We think things are slow or fast, but with the Lord everything is right on time.

This plan was patiently made to happen at just the right time and in just the right way for the world to explode with the truth of it.

It was a plan that was of epic proportions.

It was the sacrifice of the only begotten son for all of us heathens.

All of us dirt bags.

And all of those before us and those who are after us.

We serve a patient and faithful God who is abounding with steadfast love and patience towards us who deserve no patience.

We also do not deserve the forgiveness from Him but in that forgiveness we see the Lord’s...