I'll just ask the Reverend Wiley now to read on to us the Word of God. I'll find our reading in the 103rd Psalm. This is a very familiar psalm. I think it's one of the most familiar. And we're going to read it together. The 103rd Psalm. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless this holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles, The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his ex, unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us after our sins. nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy towards them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far have He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust, As for man, his days are as grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works, and all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord. O my soul. And God will bless this portion of his word to all our hearts. Now I feel rather knowing coming here after an absence. I haven't been preaching for some 18 months or so. Well, I have attempted a few times just a few days ago or weeks ago. And then it makes it more embarrassing when I see some of our ministers here, some of these able professors. And you can understand then how I feel. You'll excuse me for my nervousness. And I pray that God will bless our coming together. You know, I started to preach as a young man. That must be 30 years ago now. And I've been preaching for some 50 years. I had my first evangelistic mission in 1938. That's a good little while ago. And I remember seeing men and women coming to Christ at that time. This is the highest calling for any man. I was so glad to have in the pulpit with me this morning our young brother Peter McIntyre. And I trust that God will lead this young man and lead him right into the work and use him for his glory. It's good to see a rising generation coming into the work. You know, when Paisley and I and a few others started this work, the press used to say that this was just a one generation church. That when Wiley and Paisley would die, the church would be dead. Now, I have seen two and three generations rising. And I see coming into our work today young men filled with the Spirit of God and with zeal. And I'm encouraged. I don't know how long I'll be here. It mightn't be very long. It might be long enough, you know. I might see some of you buried. But I know I'll be here until God calls me home, and so will you. So I'm very glad to be here, and I trust that God will bless what I have to say to you from His Word. Now, first of all, I want to ask you a question. Did you ever talk to yourself? When a person is seen talking to himself, they mostly do this, you know. Of course, they touch their own head. And the psalmist was a man who talked to his soul. And that's a very, very profitable exercise. If you turn to the 42nd Psalm, And the fifth verse, you'll find that Sam was talking to a soul. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me. Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, and from the hill Nizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts. All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. He was having a rough time. And he talks to his soul and he says in the last verse of that psalm, Martha, cast down, O my soul. Don't be cast down. That's what the devil would like to do with us, to cast us down. And if you turn again to the 43rd Psalm, just on the same page probably in your Bible, and the last verse, he comes off with the same thing. He's having a talk with his soul. And as I say, did you ever just get alone with God in your room and talk to your soul when you're in trouble, when you're cast down? We're inclined to moan a bit, you know, and tell others about our trouble. Why not talk to your own soul and encourage it? And in this 43rd Psalm again, at the last verse it says, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God. And when you go to the 63rd Psalm, I love the old Psalms of David, you know. They always speak to my heart. And the 63rd Psalm gives you a bit of exercise in leaf turning. And verses 5 and 6 of that psalm. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches. Now here is a very good exercise, because sometimes when you go to bed all our troubles and our trials and our problems all come into our mind, and we don't sleep. I have heard of quite a lot of people who don't sleep. Now, if we would have a chat with God as we lie in bed and meditate upon Him in the night watches, I believe we would get sleep all right, but we would certainly get blessed. There's no greater exercise than talking to our own souls and communing also with the law. Now turn again to the 77th Psalm. And this is a very wonderful psalm. The 77th Psalm in verse 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old and the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night. I commune with mine own heart and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And so here he is, depressed again. The psalmist had many times of sorrow and depression, and he was very often vexed by the devil. And you find in these particular sorrowful occasions that he talks to God, even when he's lying in bed. Say, what do you do? Or maybe you're planning what you're going to do the next day or something. But here's a man and he teaches us what to do both when we're on our feet and when we're in our bed. To constantly commune with God and God will bless us and God will help us. And we'll be raised from our doubts and our fears and our trials. In the 91st Psalm, that very wonderful Psalm, he that dwelleth in this secret place, of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say, here he is again, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the toiler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. What a good thing in times of distress. And these are distressing times for everyone, not just for our nation, but for each one of us individually. We have our times of distress. Isn't that true? Had you never a time of distress? Well, there's something wrong with you. You haven't. But here is the answer. I will say of the Lord, He's my refuge. I will say to my soul, why art thou cast down, O my soul? And in this wonderful divine way, because I believe David was led by the divine Spirit, we can rise from the doldrums, from our doubts and our fears, and rejoice and bless the Lord. Well, that's just a sort of an introductory remark or two, and I want to turn to this 23rd Psalm. And we read it together there, a very wonderful psalm. It's sometimes termed the apple tree among the trees. There's something very unique in this psalm. And I want just to look at it for a short time, well an hour or so, and enjoy its teaching. David here is calling or addressing his soul again. And what a wonderful way he addresses it. You'll find them here in the first verse. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless the Lord. Someone has said that soul music is the soul of music. And David is now addressing his soul again. And he says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, Now, we can't give God any blessing. We can't add to the great God of heaven. The word blessing here in this context is actually to praise the Lord with all our power, with all our energy, to thank Him for all His mercy, to humbly acknowledge His great excellency. That's it. Have you ever done that? Did you do that before you left this morning? Did you get down before God and shut the door and say, Oh, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, not just lip service. It was very easy to come and sing the Psalms and the hymns. just from the lips out. But here is David, he is calling upon a soul and all that is within him, his whole mind, all his faculties directed in blessing the mighty God of heaven. And the only person that can do that is the person that is washed in the blood of Christ and walking with God. And here is a call to you this morning. to bless the Lord with every part of your being. Is that how you praise the God of heaven? Let others use their tongue. I will call on my whole being, soul, spirit, and body to praise the God of heaven. And that brings joy to the heart. That brings strength even to the body. that brings refreshment to the mind when we get before God and praise the God of heaven. Did you do that? You know, I think that, in fact, I'm fairly certain that many Christians don't praise the Lord. Many Christians fail here. Will you search your heart this morning and ask yourself, is my life, the way I live, is it praising God? Am I praising God with my whole body and soul and spirit from day to day? Oh, not just once a week. In the 34th Psalm, the psalmist says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make a boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Not just now and again. Not just at a special praise service. And I'm not speaking disparagingly of that, of course. But I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. May there wouldn't be so much grumbling and grousing and complaining and falsehinding if we would live like that. I will bless the Lord at all times. Morning, noon, and night. Yes, at all times. In times of affliction. In times of prosperity. In times of adversity. In times when things have gone wrong. In times of mourning. I will bless the Lord at all times. There's not just a special time to bless the Lord. Oh, as I say, we can have our special praise services, and that's a good thing. But individually, we should praise the Lord at all times, and His praise should continually be in our mouth, and our soul shall make her boast in the Lord. That's the Christian life. That's the normal Christian life. And the Christian who's not living like that is not living a normal life. And we'll bless the Lord at all times. Not just now and again. In the Hebrew epistle, the 13th to the last chapter, in verse 16 it says, Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. How are you continually praising God? Well, you say, I can praise God when He blesses me in a special way. Well, that's alright. But that's not what God wants you to do. God wants you to praise Him even when you're down in the valley, even when you're having a time of distress. You're expected to praise God going through every circumstance of life. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 147 Psalm, it tells you something about praise. It tells you three very wonderful things about praise, what praise really is. Just turn over to that particular Psalm, the 147th, and the first verse. Praise ye the Lord. There it is again. In fact, you get many of the Psalms starting and finishing with that. And this 103rd Psalm, which we read together, finishes as it began. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Now, in this 147th Psalm, it gives us three characteristics of praise, if you like. Praise ye the Lord, for it is good, for it is pleasant, and praise is common law. Now, isn't that wonderful? Praise ye the Lord, for it is good. Why is it good? Because God says it's good. Praise the Lord, for it is good. It's good for our health. That's what the Psalmist says in the 43rd Psalm. I think we did make reference to that Psalm, but just look at the 43rd Psalm again and the The last verse of that psalm. Where art thou cast down, O my soul, and where art thou discarded within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance. So praise is good, says this 147th psalm. Praise is good because it brings health to us, because it refreshes the soul, because it refreshes the mind, and it helps others. You know, when a man is joyful, and smiling and praising the Lord, it causes other people to smile, doesn't it? I heard of a man, a joiner, who was called in to fix the pews of a church. It wasn't a pre-Presbyterian church. And the narrator came in to see him at the work and he says, well, how's things going? Oh, says the carpenter, there's a lot of woodworm in these seats. Oh, he says, that's nothing. He says, the pulpit's full of dry rot. We affect each other, don't we? And so when a man is praising the Lord, it's good, and God says it's good, and it must be. And it's good for the health. It's the health of our continents. Are you rejoicing at that? Are you in good health? About 18 months ago they gave me two hours to live. It's a long two hours. I hope all my two hours are as long. But however, I'm not going to die anyway. The Christian doesn't die. He just passes on to that wonderful land called heaven. They'll bury the old frame someday, but John Wiley will still be living and still praising the Lord in a more perfect fashion. We'll praise him as we ought. So, praise is good. So if you want to do something good, my dear brother and sister, start praising the Lord in earnest. Call upon your soul and all that is within you to bless and magnify His holy name, every faculty of your being. Do you ever thank God for your faculties? You know, I thank God every morning for my faculties, for my sight, to be able to see the glories of His handiwork. I praise Him for my hearing, to be able to hear and communicate and talk and see. My, what good blessings God has bestowed upon us. And because of this, let's bless the Lord at all times. Oh, will you rise from your doldrums, brothers and sisters, and start praising the Lord. And I believe that this church could have a greater influence in the whole neighborhood. It's good to praise the Lord. To pay God back for His benefits we could, we cannot, but to praise Him we must. We'll never be able to repay God for all He has done for us. Not a fraction, not an iota could we pay God back. But we can praise Him, and that's what He wants us to do. Yes. To praise God we can and we must. And it's good for others. When people are happy and rejoicing in the Lord, it helps others. Not like the man I heard about who was standing at a hall inviting people into a gospel service. And he was saying, will you come into the meeting? Will you come into the service? And one man stopped and he says, will you come into the service, mister? Oh, he says, I've enough trouble of my own. Oh yes, it's good for others. When you find people are happy and rejoicing in the Lord, it makes you feel like rejoicing, doesn't it? So you can do that. It's a good thing to praise the Lord. And it's pleasant. Praise is good. Praise is pleasant. There's nothing more pleasant than to see happy people rejoicing in the God of their salvation. There's nothing through the soul. There's nothing that causes the world to wonder. When they see man even in a situation like what we're in in Ulster, to see a company of man, to see individuals rejoicing in God, that's what our country needs. Rejoicing, happy, rejoicing Christians, going on with God in spite of the circumstances. Praise is good and praise is pleasant. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me, says God. It's pleasant to God. He likes to hear the praises of his people. I wonder, has he really heard you? Praising the Lord with heart and soul and strength and mind. It's pleasant to the Lord. And praise is calmly. There's no sweeter strain than the strain of gratitude. And friends, there's no greater sin than the sin of ingratitude. And if you want to show your gratitude to God, and that's to whom we do show our gratitude, then start praising Him with body and soul and spirit and rejoicing and lift yourself out of your doldrums and live that life that God wants you to live. It doesn't mean that you're going around with a smile on your face all the time, but your heart is constantly rejoicing and praising the Lord. Now that's another introduction. I haven't really got down to this psalm yet. But in the second verse it says, again, in this 103rd psalm, the first verse says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Psalm verse 2 says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not. Don't forget. You know, the great sin of God's people, the great sin of God's people, right down through the ages from His ancient people, is the sin of forgetfulness. If you turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 4, you'll find there in the 9th verse the forgetfulness of God's people. Only take heed to thyself. That's Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 9. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life. But teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons. Don't forget the benefits of God. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not. Oh, how many of us are very prone to forget. To forget to bless God for all his benefits. He daily loatheth us, says the psalmist in the 68th Psalm, he daily loatheth us with benefits. And yet we are inclined to forget. Forget not. Forgetfulness is a great sin. You know, we have great memories for other things, haven't we? We remember our homes. We don't forget to bring in our weekly provender. We don't forget to get our car serviced. And sometimes we remember a lot about other people. We can rake up their faults and their failings. Isn't that right? We're a very peculiar people, aren't we? But we forget God. We forget to praise Him. Can we all think of days when we forgot to praise the Lord? When we became morbid and gloomy and sad? He dearly loatheth us. My what a God we have! You think of the 23rd psalm, and we all like to quote that psalm, and we sing it on every occasion. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And some people interpret that psalm as if they had, well, the Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want anything. I'll get my daily food, I'll get my clothing, I'll get all that I need. It doesn't mean that at all! The psalmist says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want! I'll not want anybody or anything but Him. That's it. That's the meaning of the psalm. But the tragedy is that we say the Lord is my shepherd, I'll not want anything. I'll have all I need, all my material necessities. The Lord is my shepherd, I'll not want anything else but Him. Oh, He has promised to meet all my need. But He is my chief joy. iniquities. What a benefit! Here we are, sinful creatures, sinful by nature, sinful by practice, and yet God in His infinite mercy has forgiven all our iniquities. To think that you are absolutely cleared of all guilt That's a benefit that no man could bestow upon you. That's a divine benefit. That's the key, of course, to every other benefit. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Tell me this morning, do you know that your sins are forgiven you? Can you look back to a time in your experience when you came to the cross in simple faith and cast your burden upon the Lord and accepted His saving grace? Have you had that experience? Maybe there is someone here and you haven't. I don't know you all. Well, friend, you can come right now. I remember on the 4th of November, 1932, as a young fellow starting out in life, moral living, I never tasted booze in my life. I never cursed and swore. I never was in a dance hall. I had to keep the Sabbath day, never bought sweets or played games. And yet, if I listened to an old preacher in a Baptist church, God bless the Baptists, they need it. And of course, so do we. But as he appealed to young Christians to dedicate their lives to God and to praise the Lord, I realized I wasn't one of those people. And I went out and met that dear old preacher, and he met with me at an old farm in the Grove Baptist Church in Belfast, and I accepted Jesus. And that's fifty-five years ago. Fifty-six years ago in October. That's a long time. And God has kept me. Oh, let's not forget His benefits. Who forgiveth? My, what a blessing! Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Oh, yes. Old Murray McShane says, I once was a stranger to grace and to God. I knew not my danger. I felt not my load. But then He came to the cross. And he accepted God's mercy. And God turned Robert Murray McShane as a young man into a firebrand for God. And though he died at about 30 years of age, he did more in his ministry than dozens of others did together. O friend, if you're not saved, come to Him, you young men, perhaps you don't know Christ, you young women, and God will transform your life and use you and give you this great benefit of pardoning all your iniquities. I think it's the 26th hymn in our hymn book. It's one of Wesley's, and it's a lovely old hymn. I hope I have guessed the right number. It comes to my mind. No, that's the wrong number. But he says, Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly. And then he goes on, plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sins. Let the healing stream abound, make and keep me pure within. My, what a God we have, who forgiveth all thine iniquities. What a tremendous benefit. Have you had that experience? If you have, you are bound to call upon your soul and all that is within you to bless the name of the Lord. And then the second great benefit is this, who healeth all thy diseases. all thine iniquities, all thy diseases. Do we really grasp the significance of that? That all the diseases of the soul and the mind have been healed by the divine touch of God. That's why we praise him. And if you forget that, you're the most miserable creature on earth. who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. You know, sometimes I feel we don't really grasp the significance of that great act of God. What it cost Him, it has cost us nothing. We come as poor, sinful, vile nobodies to the cross and He forgives us and He cleanses us and He makes us kings and priests to God. Isn't that wonderful? Can we forget that? And when we think why we got the gift for nothing, it cost God everything. He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Oh, what a price! When I sometimes lie in communion bed, My thoughts dwell on the sufferings of Christ, those nail-pierced hands and feet, that thorn-crowned brow, that spear that pierced His side, and how the darkness fell, the very moon, the very sun that He created refused to shine upon Him, and God turned His back on Him. Why? That you and I might rejoice in the great benefit of forgiveness and healing. Oh, meditate on God's infinite grace, and you'll be bound to burst forth in praise and thankfulness to God for all his mercy. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, and friend, they'll never be remembered against you forever. He has put them behind His back, He has put them in the sea of His forgetfulness, and you can march to heaven rejoicing! Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men. And then briefly, the next, the third great benefit is this, who redeemeth thy life from destruction. Wesley says, no condemnation now I dread. Jesus, and all in Him is mine. I rest in Him, the living Head, and clothed with righteousness divine, bold I approach the eternal throne, claim the prize through Christ alone, who redeemeth thy life from destruction. Paul says in Romans 8, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation now, I dread! It's forever! gone away with. No one can condemn me when God has forgiven me. He redeems my life from destruction. He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, says Jesus himself, shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. What benefits? No pope or priest could confer such benefits on anybody. Even the most gracious individual couldn't bestow those benefits on his friend or give a ransom for his neighbor. But God in His infinite love and mercy. No wonder the hymn writer says, I wonder what he saw in me. And when I look down and see, I wonder the same thing. I wonder what he saw in me. to suffer such deep agony, and yet it's true. We rise to walk in heaven's own light, above the world and sin, with heart made pure and garment white, and Christ enthroned within. Forget not, friend, or remind your soul again of these infinite benefits and blessings that God has bestowed. And then the fourth benefit who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercy." David looked over his life when he became an old man and he said these words. And my dear little wife, when we were having our prayers night after night, used to repeat these words. Goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life. I look back over my few years on this earth And I can say the same. I know I'm not worthy. I know there are times when, no doubt, I fail the Lord. But though I can lift my heart afresh, and I'm sure you can lift yours this morning, as you look back over your life some further than others, and you can truly say, goodness and mercy has followed me. all the days of my life. And you can look into the unknown future. And you can also say with David, and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies. My, what a wonderful crown that is! the crown of loving kindness. Kindness, let me say this to you younger folk, and perhaps the older folk too, kindness turns a house into a home. You can have the most elaborate house in the world with all the mod cons and the finest of furniture, but if you have unkindness you have only a house. Be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another. Kindness turns a house into a home, and loving kindness turns a home into a heaven. Oh my, that's what God can do. He can make our very homes heavens, heaven and earth. When we realize the great benefits of God, my heart responds in grateful praise. to him who hath redeemed us with his own blood. And then finally, who satisfies thy mouth with good things. How satisfying a portion is the Lord. Are you satisfied with him? Does he satisfy you? Or have you to get some of the worldling's toys and joys to fulfill your happiness? I of Christ, says the hymn writer, what want I more? Paul says, I count all things but done for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. He was everything. The hymn writer says, I found a friend in Jesus. He's everything to me. Is he? Or is he just someone that you come and praise on Sabbath morning? Is he everything to you? Does he satisfy every longing of your heart? Or have you to mix it with worldly pleasures? I want to tell you, friend, that if you have to mix the blessings of God with earthly pleasures to satisfy the soul, there's something wrong with your spirituality. crowneth thee with lovingkindness, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. He renews us day by day. We get the wing of the eagle and we can soar into the heavens. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, says Isaiah. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. He renews our strength like the eagles. Now you would hardly believe that I got two hours to live 18 months ago, would you? I'm still alive. And as I say, I'm never going to die. Yes, youth renewed like the eagles. And what sweet fellowship we can all have when we live in harmony with God. Speaking to yourselves, Paul says to the Ephesians, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart. My, what a happy fellowship is the fellowship of the people of God. There's nothing like it on earth. Oh, may this church continue. As I look around this morning and see this goodly congregation, my heart rejoices to see the work extended. to see our brother White's work going on under God. It rejoices my heart. Oh, that we would keep together and pray together and rejoice together, and this work will go on. Speaking to yourselves, not in a cynical, critical way, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord. And we all fail here in praising God. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. The 107th Psalm says that. And it says it about half a dozen different times. That's a very wonderful Psalm, the 107th. You should read it when you go home. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Now, I trust that God will bless these few remarks. You'll forgive me if I've stammered and had a bit of difficulty, but I trust that God will write his word on your heart. And if I can see you leaving this church rejoicing in God, then I feel that my coming here hasn't been in vain. Now, quoting him, brother,