Bless the LORD

Introduction: If you recall we looked of Life in the previous chapter, and because of the number of verses in Nehemiah 9, I thought it best to divide the chapter into two parts. What do we discover in verses 5 through 35? We are going to learn how we can the LORD, or why we should bless the LORD.

  Why should we the LORD?

   Why bless the LORD…

I. Because of God’s – 9:5-6 

   5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: “Stand up and bless the Lordyour God Forever and ever! “Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! 6 You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

   The Levites and the servants of God encouraged the people to and to bless the LORD (Your God).

   The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad. (Psalm 126:3)

   I want you to notice that the people in our text were thankful for God’s name. What about us? Is His name glorious to us, and do we PRAISE His Name? 

    Phil Wickham sings a beautiful song, At Your Name – Read through the lyrics:

   When we speak of God’s name, we are also speaking of His , and in doing so we discover from these verses, that God alone is the LORD. In verse 6, The LORD is the creator of all things – things in heaven, and things on earth. The LORD is the preserver of all things! What POWER! Everything is being held together by the word of His power (Colossians 1:17). The hosts of heaven worship Him. The host of heaven would be the , and all of those already in the presence of the LORD. The angels cry out, holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty. All the saints already in glory also cry out, holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty!

What does Praise do for Us?  Praise us. 

We Praise Him for His

   The rest of the section of Scripture we are looking at provides for us a lesson of all the events that the Israelites had gone through, and how God had been with them, and worked in their lives. It is important to grasp the great truths found in these verses. Here is why we bless the LORD. He has done GREAT things.  

   Why bless the LORD…

II. Because of God’s (God Chose Abram) – 9:7-8

“You are the Lord God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham; 8 You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, The Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites— To give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words, For You are righteous.

    What do we learn about from these verses?

• Abram was a .
• Abram was a .
• God changed Abram’s .
• God found Abraham’s heart .
• God made a with Abraham.

   It was called the Covenant. It was a land covenant. God promised to give Abraham the land of six different people groups (they are listed here in verse 8). 

   Are you aware that God has also made a covenant with us? It’s called the New Covenant. It was a covenant sealed with His own . You and I are secure and safe because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on our behalf.

   Why bless the LORD…

III. Because of God’s (God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt) – 9:9-12

   9 “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea. 10 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day. 11 And You divided the sea before them, So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You threw into the deep, As a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.

   We learn a lot about the power of God by looking at how He Israel from Egypt. What do we discover in these verses?

• God their affliction while in Egyptian bondage.
• God their cry by the Red Sea.
• God showed and against Pharoah, and all the people of Egypt.

   What were the They were called plagues. There were 10 of them to be exact. They were:

• God made a for Himself in Egypt.
• God the Red Sea so that they walked across it on dry ground.
• God the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea.

  There might be someone here today who needs to hear about the power of God. God’s power is not limited to the deliverance of Israel alone. Where do you need to see God’s power in your own life?

   Question: Do you see the of God in your life? Where? Where has God showed up?

   We bless the LORD…

IV. Because of God’s (God gave His Law from Mount Sinai) – 9:13-15

   13 “You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.

   I read that our God is a God that ! 

• God up! He came down on Mount Sinai.
• God up! He spoke to them from heaven.
• God up! Look at everything God gave Israel in these verses:

  Why bless the LORD…

V. Because of God’s (God is ready to Pardon) – 9:16-18

   16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments. 17  They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. 18 “Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations,

   Oh, how we need to focus on God’s even as Israel is doing here in these verses. Why? Because like Israel’s past we too have done the things we find in these verses. We too…

  Even in a mess like that God does not on us. No, our God Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And He does not forsake us. 

   Do you know what is? It is believing and in anything other than the LORD our God. It is believing and trusting earthly material over an Omnipotent God.

   Why bless the LORD…

VI. Because of God’s Miraculous(manna and water)– 9:19-25

19 Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. 20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell. 22 “Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess. 24 So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished. 25 And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

   What were God’s for Israel?

   God help us not to all that God does for us today. God provided for Israel, but He still provides for us today. Take a quick glance at the end of verse 25,

   So they ate and were filled and grew fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

   Why bless the LORD…

VII. Because of God’s (God gave Israel Judges) – 9:26-28

   26 “Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations. 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies. 28 “But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

   One of the major issues with and is the tendency to forget where the affluence and abundance came from. From my perspective, it appears that Israel believed that everything they had they earned or achieved through effort. Where did this lead Israel?

   In verses 27-28, we have the period of the book of . We read about how God gave Israel over to the enemies, how they were oppressed, how they cried out to God, and how He sent them delivers who saved them, and then how they repeated the scenario – Seven times to be exact!

  Why bless the LORD…

VIII. Because of God’s (God carried Israel into captivity) – 9:29-35

29 And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, ‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear. 30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful. 32 “Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly. 34 Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them. 35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works.

    Thank God He cares for us and that He continues to work in our lives. God always will seek to get our attention. He will try and warn us when we go astray. But like Israel, we often turn a ear and look in the other direction. We become too proud to ourselves before God. But thank God He doesn’t give up on us. Look at verse 31,

   Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful.  

    In verses 32 we have the people of Israel recognizing God’s rightful that He brought upon them because of their obstinance and the sins of their fathers. They list by names their leaders who didn’t lead them:

    In verses 33-35 the people tell God that He was just in all His dealings with them. That He had been to them, and that they had been wicked. And once again they list the sins of the kings and princes, the priests, and their fathers. They hadn’t kept God’s law nor heeded His commandments. They didn’t serve God in their kingdom, nor appreciate all that God had provided. And the worst was they didn’t turn from their wicked works.

  Here is the bottom line:  

   Please hear this – We will never move until we see what is real in our lives. We must come face-to-face with our   

   Conclusion: One of the greatest signs of life for the believer is . It is blessing the LORD our God. Yes, the LORD has done great things for us, therefore we are glad! Let me tell you about them:

1. My God has a name – He is creator and sustainer of everything.
2. My God me. Like Abram, God picked me.
3. My God is my . Has delivered me many times.
4. My God has given me His . A light unto my earthly path.
5. My God has not up on me in my times of rebellion. He is ready to pardon and will not forsake me.
6. My God for me daily. May I not take this for granted, nor forget where my sustenance comes from.
7. My God always to bring me back to Him.
8. May God remains even when I am wicked.

   I challenge you to up and bless the LORD.