THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXLVII. Resting In God’s Sufficiency

(Psalm 147:1-20)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Many people think that we human beings can meet all of our own needs, but this is just not happening:

(1) “(O)ne of the iron laws of left-wing governance” is that “(i)f an ostensibly well-intentioned policy backfires, the solution is to implement a more extreme version of it . . . Examples include anti-poverty and anti-homelessness programs, which have a track record of failure dating back to Lyndon Johnson’s declaration of a ‘War on Poverty’ 60 years ago; so-called ‘criminal-justice reform,’ which has allowed repeat violent criminals to continue offending; efforts to strengthen K-12 academic performance, which have coincided with declining test scores; and, yes, gun control.” (“How gun control creates ‘sitting ducks,’” Republican-American, December 20, 2025, p. A6)

(2) We also have the “U. S. welfare system” with “roughly 90 different programs that cost more than $1 trillion annually. Because the majority of . . . welfare funding comes from the federal government, states have reason to expand their rolls and little financial incentive to protect against waste and fraud . . .(M)ore tragically . . . (the system) fails to address the underlying causes of poverty” because it is “based on inputs rather than on promoting upward mobility . . . (It also) undermines or penalizes work and marriage, which are the greatest protectors against poverty.” (Rachel Sheffield, “Fraud exposes the baked-in flaws of welfare,” op. cit., December 24, 2025, p. A6)

(3) In addition, Congress is very inept in handling taxpayers’ money: “(I)n the last fiscal year” it spent “$1.22 trillion just to cover interest on the national debt . . . $14.6 million for monkeys playing a Pinko-style video game, $40 million to influencers urging minority groups to get COVID vaccines – years after the pandemic ended, $2.1 million for drug-use surveys at NYC dance clubs, $5.2 million for cocaine puppies (injecting Beagle puppies with cocaine to study cocaine addiction, often ending in the euthanasia of the puppies (“Reps. (Nancy) Mace, Boyle Lead Letter re: Cocaine-Fueled Puppy Experiments Funded by Federal Government,” Feb. 4, 2022; mace.house.gov/press-releases/ . . .), . . . $1 million to get ferrets drunk” and “$2 million for ‘gender-affirming care’ and influence campaigns in Guatemala.” (“Drunk ferrets: Your Taxes at Work,” The New York Post, December 29, 2025, p. 26)

(4) Also, trying to get the typical evangelical pastor to define God’s truth on relevant issues is an exercise in futility: If we ask him what is God’s truth, he will say the Bible is God’s authoritative Word on all matters of faith and practice. That sounds good, but then he will add that he must “agree to disagree” with other pastors on what is God’s truth for alleged “minor” but relevant issues like speaking in tongues, election and predestination, gambling, etc. But if he holds the Bible is authoritative on all matters of faith and practice, how can he not view it as useful for asserting God’s truth on speaking in tongues, election and predestination, gambling, etc.? This retreat from asserting God’s truth is seen in the book, “Truth Is Stranger Than It Used To Be” by evangelicals J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh who wrote, “‘(A)ny ‘truth’ we claim for our cherished positions must be kept strictly in quotation marks.’” (R. A. Mohler, Jr., “‘Evangelical’: What’s in a Name?” in J. H. Armstrong, gen. ed., The Com. Evan. Crisis, 1996, p. 37)

Need: So we ask, “If man is unable to meet all of his needs, what is the solution?”

I. Psalm 147:1-20 praised God for His versatile ministry of meeting the needs of the entire universe.

II. For effect, in verses 1-18, the psalmist described this versatile ministry, skipping from theme to theme:

A. After claiming that it is fitting and wholesome to praise the Lord (v. 1), the psalmist noted how God builds up Israel’s capitol city of Jerusalem and gathers the exiles of Israel back to their land, Psalm 147:2. Issues like poverty, homelessness and public welfare are all addressed in such action.

B. In verse 3, the psalmist added that God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds of the inner man.

C. Then in Psalm 147:4-5, the psalmist reveals God’s control of the stellar universe with its billions upon billions of stars, where He numbers them all and calls each of them by their individual name!

D. In great contrast, God is described then as sustaining the humble but casting the wicked to the ground, indicating His administration of justice in the human race, Psalm 147:6-7.

E. Psalm 147:8-9 describes God’s provision of rain from clouds to make grass grow in the fields, providing food for livestock and even for young ravens whose parents often neglect to feed them, cf. Job 38:41.

F. The psalmist added that God is to be greatly praised because He does not take pleasure in the power of a human army of horses and warriors, but in those who revere Him and hope in His grace, Psalm 147:10-12.

G. Psalm 147:13 returns to the theme of God’s oversight of man’s social order for man’s benefit.

H. Even Israel’s national security was a divine provision according to Psalm 147:14a, and Psalm 147:14b adds that God satisfies His people with the finest of foods such as fine wheat.

I. God’s vast power as seen in His control of the weather, precipitation and its provision of water for the earth to minister to the needs of man and animals is described in Psalm 147:15-18.

III. Most notably, the psalmist added that God had revealed to Israel His “written Word” in its “‘statutes’ – definite, authoritative pronouncements from the Almighty – and ‘ordinances’ – judicial verdicts of His, governing cases that are difficult for men to evaluate,” what He had not done for any other nation, so He was to be greatly praised, Psalm 147:19-20. (H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms, 1974, p. 994)

Lesson: God is to be greatly praised for His versatile ministry of meeting the needs of the entire universe, and most notably for having given His people His written Word that they might know His truth and obey it for blessing.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we rely on the Lord to meet our every need in this life, may we heed and apply His written Word to life for blessing and may we praise Him for His gracious bounty to us.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

(1) God’s gift of His written Word addresses matters “(1)” through “(3)” in our sermon introduction (as follows): (a) In Deuteronomy 6:10-12, God brought Israel into the Promised Land to inherit houses, wells, fields, vineyards and olive groves that had already been built by the Canaanites, and in Deuteronomy 8:3-4 God fed Israel’s people mana and preserved their shoes and clothes throughout their 40-year journey in the wilderness. (b) Psalm 34:18-19 tells of God’s ministry to broken-hearted people. (c) Psalm 146:9 tells of God’s sustaining the righteous while punishing criminals. (d) Job 38:41 reveals that God intervenes to keep young ravens alive while they are helpless and their parents typically cease to care for them. (e) Proverbs 3:7-8 reveals how God generally provides health for those who revere Him and shun evil. (f) Psalm 81:13-16 records God as saying that if His people obeyed Him, He would subdue their enemies and feed His people the finest of foods! (g) As for government waste allowed by Congress, Moses in Deuteronomy 20:19-20 would counter it as this passage forbade Israel even in war from cutting down fruit trees needed for man’s food for use in constructing battering rams to besiege enemy fortifications.

(2) God’s gift of His written Word also provides answers to issues in matter “(4)” in our introduction: (a) On the issue of speaking in tongues, (i) That spiritual gift existed in the Early Church and involved supernaturally being able to minister God’s Word in a Gentile language without previous human knowledge of doing so in that language (cf. Acts 2:1-11). (ii) This gift was given explicitly for the Hebrew people to recognize the Church as an institution of God, for in Deuteronomy 28:49, God through Moses predicted that if Israel disobeyed God, He would speak to them in Gentile languages as a warning of judgment, what truth Peter preached when the gift of tongues was given as he warned the people of Israel to repent from having crucified the Messiah, Acts 2:22-24, 36-41. (iii) Evidence that this gift ceased to be given by God at the fall of Jerusalem in A. D. 70 comes from fourth century Church Father Chrysostom who “testified that they (tongues) had ceased so long before his time that no one was certain of their characteristics.” (Chrysostom, Homilies in First Corinthians, Homily XXIX, in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 12:168 as cited in Thomas R. Edgar, “The Cessation of the Sign Gifts,” p. 373, Bib. Sac., Oct.-Dec. 1988) (b) On the issue of divine election and predestination, we have extensive lessons on our Church website that teach that God did NOT choose people to believe in Christ [as Calvinists claim] nor to be justified [as Arminians claim], but that He foreknew who would of their own free will under the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry believe in Christ for salvation, and God then chose those He foreknew would thus believe and whom He would then justify by grace to blessings that followed their justification. (c) On the issue of gambling, Proverbs 12:11 NIV states, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” Casinos make huge profits off gamblers, so gambling is an occupation that chases after fantasies, what Scripture then opposes! (c) On the issue of adequately defining God’s truth, (i) Jesus in His prayer to the Father in John 17:17 said, “(T)hy word is truth.” (ii) In John 8:32, Jesus told those who believed in Him, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (iii) In John 14:16-17 Jesus predicted that He would send His disciples “the Spirit of truth,” (iv) adding in verse 26 that the Holy Spirit “shall teach you all things.” (v) If we believers then rely on the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16), we will know the truth of God’s written Word not only on major Bible doctrines, but also on all alleged “minor” issues!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then rely on the Lord to meet our every need in this life, heed His written Word to life under the Holy Spirit’s enabling for blessing and praise Him for His gracious bounty to us.