Today we are going to look at a phrases used often in the Psalms, “I will”. In 1860 an Anglican Minister named Philip Bennet Power wrote a powerful book, called, “The I Wills of the Psalms”. I found this gem in an old bookstore in Inverness Scotland.  The book is great, but the title is PRICELESS! Priceless  because it reveals one of the main secrets to fullness of life. And that secret is simply to respond to God’s promises and commands with a humble “I will!” 

The Psalms are filled with these I will statements! “I WILL fear no evil for You are with me.”  “I WILL bless the Lord at all times.” “I WILL NOT be afraid.”  “I WILL sing for joy, in the shelter of your wings.”  “I WILL run in the way of your commandments.” Maybe you know these phrases, but have you made them your OWN “I will” statements? 

Philip Power wrote this book to show us the things the writers of the Psalms determined to do, and to help US to determine to do those same things. In his words, “you must by His grace be a man or woman of holy determination, able to say in these matters, “I will””. The message of the book is that “it is a grave danger to our souls to passively accept whatever moods, attitudes, feelings, thoughts happen to be in our mind and heart at any given moment in life.”  And that the key to living a victorious, happy life, to the glory of God is to earnestly determine to praise and rejoice, to trust and obey, and to not fear.

Our thoughts and feelings can control us, keep us in fear, or despair, even lead us into sinful attitudes and responses. But we MUST anchor our hearts and emotions, to the Lord and His word. And we do that by saying “I will” to God’s will.   

I think this earnest determination to rejoice, to worship, to obey, to trust and not fear, is a missing ingredient in many Christian’s lives. (And that causes a lack of stability, joy and spiritual growth) And often it’s missing because of a misunderstanding about grace. We can do nothing at all to earn the grace of God; we only receive it as the gift of God. But that doesn’t mean that once we have the grace of God we should never make any effort, or determine to do something.

In fact it is the grace of God working in us that sets us free from slavery to sin and self and enables us to determine to live for God. Grace strengthens you to make a stand, to do the righteous thing, to say I will delight in Your word, I will trust in You, I will sing, and rejoice and bless the Lord.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “We always pray for you, that our God may fulfill your “every resolve for good” (2 Thess. 1:11 ESV).  We resolve to do good! God fulfills or empowers that resolve.  Ligon Duncan said, If we do not plan and resolve to live the godly life, it is unlikely that we will. If we do not plan and resolve to rejoice, to worship and live a life of praise, it is unlikely that we will.  If we do not determine to trust and not be afraid, it is not likely that we will.  If we do not determine to give thanks...it is unlikely that we will.

Years ago, working at Parr Mfg., I sometimes took my sack lunch and drove down the street to watch the airplanes take off. And listen to a pastor on the radio at that time. I can’t remember his name. But his wife had recently died in a car accident, and he was raising his kids by himself. And he said something one day I never forgot. He said, “Sometimes my heart is so full of praise that I spontaneously lift my hands in praise to God. But at other times I raise my hands to the Lord IN ORDER to lift my heart.”  I never forgot that. That taught me to worship, as an act of my will. Sometimes you lift your hands to lift your heart.

We don’t wait for super spiritual feelings to overtake us, and then to begin to praise.  Our worship often begins as a deliberate choice, then our heart follows in overflowing praise. Powerful and life-changing lesson!  

It’s the same with overcoming fear, expressing joy, delighting in God’s word, trusting in the Lord. We DETERMINE to do these things. The victory comes from aligning our will with God’s truth and with God’s will.  If we wait till we have no fear to say, “I will not be afraid”, we probably will not overcome our fears. It is through professions of faith that we live in victory over sin, self and the devil. We’ve sung Luther’s famous “I will” And though this world with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear! 

These “I will” statements are pervasive in the Psalms and should be in our lives: I urge you to carefully consider these!

-Psalm 101:3 “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.” 

-Psalm 119:15, 16 “I will meditate on your precepts and regard your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” 

-Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me. 

-Psalm 16:8 Because the Lord is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

-Psalm 57:7,8 “My heart is steadfast, O God, I will sing and make music. “I will awaken the dawn.”

-Psalm 63:4 “I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”

-Psalm 63:7 “I will sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. 

-Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

-Psalm 91:2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

-Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not be afraid.”

-Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”

-Psalm 145:1 I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. 

-Psalm 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

-Psalm 9:1,2 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will recount all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

*Notice most all these are things spoken to God. It will revolutionize your life to start saying these things to the Lord. It is not proud boasting to say that! It is humble obedience. It is responding to God.  It is believing God. 

God says to you, “Do not fear, I am with you”. So you say back to God, “You are on my side; I will not be afraid.”  Psalm 27:8 When You said (to me) “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face O Lord, I will seek.” The Lord says to you, “I am your shield and your refuge.” So you respond. “I will say to the Lord, You ARE my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” It is simply taking God at His word. And humbly saying “I will” to Him. 

Alexander Maclaren: We do not have to be at the mercy of our own unregulated feelings. We can control our hearts, and keep them fixed, even if they should wish to wander….A great many religious people seem to think that ‘good times’ come and go, and that they can do nothing to bring or keep or banish them. But that is not so. If the fire is burning low, there is such a thing on the hearth as a poker... If we feel our faith falling asleep, are we powerless to rouse it? Cannot we say ‘I will trust’? Let us learn that the variations in our religious emotions are largely subject to our own control, and may, if we will govern ourselves, be brought far nearer to consistency than they ordinarily are.” 

Alright let’s take 3 life-changing I wills of the Psalms and zero in on them: The first “I will”:

*Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times and His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  You determine, to live a LIFE of praise. You say, “I will bless the Lord at all times!” You choose to be that kind of Christian. 

Nicol Sponberg sings a song “Yet I will Praise You Lord”. 

I will praise You Lord my God
Even in my brokenness
I will praise You Lord
Even in my desperation
I will praise You Lord
Even when my heart is torn
I will praise You Lord
Even when I feel deserted
I will praise You Lord
Even in my darkest valley
I will praise You Lord
And when my world is shattered
And it seems all hope is gone
Yet I will praise You Lord

-You choose to praise Him daily. Psalm 145:1 “I will extol You, O God my King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You and I will praise your name forever.” 

-You choose to do this for the rest of your life. Psalm 104 “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will sing to my God while I have my being.”  NLT “to my last breath.” 

-You choose to begin your day with praise. Psalm 57:7,8 My heart is steadfast, O God, I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul, awake O harp and lyre I will awaken the dawn.”  Essentially David said, I will get my soul ready and my instruments ready, and when the sun comes up, I will be singing and praising You, my God!  And he did that while he was hiding from Saul, in a cave, with his life in grave danger.  

I think a life of praise really does start in the morning.  Psalm 92:1,2 “It is good to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning.” 

Albert Barnes gave these reasons it is good:

(1) It is good, because in all circumstances, there is much to be thankful for: life, health, food, clothing, air, water, friends - and, above all, the blessings of redemption, and the assurance that we will be happy forever. If all else fail, we have the hope of heaven – and our salvation.

(2) The effect is good for our minds. It brings happiness, contentment, peace. A gloomy mind makes all things around more gloomy; an unthankful mind is an unhappy mind; a murmuring, complaining, dissatisfied mind makes a person wretched, and all around him miserable.

(3) it is good because it is due to God. For all his favor (and especially his lovingkindness) we should be thankful - and give Him praise.

(4) it is good because it tends much to lessen the real troubles and afflictions of life to dwell on those things for which we should be thankful.

I try to start my day with thankfulness and praise on my way out of bed. I usually start with “Thank you Lord, for sleep and for the morning.  You are so good to me. I bless Your name. I put my trust in You for this day. Often I say, “The Lord is good and his loving-kindness is everlasting.” 

*Second “I will”: I will rejoice. Psalm 9:1,2 “I will praise you O Lord with my whole heart, I will be glad and rejoice in You”. Have you decided to be a joy-filled Christian?  I think if we were honest, many would say, NO I haven’t decided that, I’ve been waiting for God to change my circumstances so that I can be more joyful. That never works!  You become a joyful person by aligning your heart with the Holy Spirit and with the will of God. And you do that by saying, “Yes Lord, I will be glad and rejoice You.”   

And we sing for joy because we ACTUALLY believe we are living in the protection of God.  Psalm 63:7 “I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.”

When Cindy went home, I didn’t know what life would be for me without her. But I did know for I would go on praising the Lord, trusting the Lord, and rejoicing in the Lord. That decision had already been made a long time ago in my heart.

Years ago I listened to a message by LeRoy Eims with the Navigators, “How to Keep the Joy-bells Ringing in Your Heart”. He had a son who robbed stores, did drugs, live a life of crime. He was eventually locked up in prison, and every week LeRoy and His wife Virginia, would make a trip up to the prison to see their son. LeRoy said at times he’d been so discouraged he wanted to quit the ministry, and all the joy in life seemed to be gone.  

During that time, he met with Bill Bright for prayer, and asked him, “how do you always keep that smile on your face and seem to be to happy.  Bill told him, we literally cast our cares on the Lord and then rejoice in Him.  LeRoy said, “That’s it?” Yes. So LeRoy said that’s what he and Virginia and started to do about their son. “We decided to trust God and rejoice in the Lord, not in the ministry, not in our circumstances, but in the Lord”. And that’s how you keep the joy-bells ringing in your heart. “I will cast. I will rejoice.”

Third “I will”: I will trust and not be afraid. Psalm 56:4 *In God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 

Psalm 23:4 “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”  -Psalm 3:6 “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.” If you want to live a fearless life you have to learn to think and talk like that. 

Earlier this week I had some fears about something silly and small but I was aware of some anxiety floating in my mind. So throughout that day, several times, I said out loud, “I will not be afraid. You promised to be with me; I will not be afraid about this.  Also recently there was something I felt I didn’t do very good at. And just felt kind of down about it.Yet I remembered God said, “Do not be dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” So I said, “I will not be dismayed.”

The last month’s of Cindy’s life she suffered a lot of pain After Cindy passed, I found a short prayer she had written on a paper in one of her books. It was written out in her beautiful calligraphy, but just on a scrap of paper. It said, “Dear Father, I am afraid of my pain. But when I am afraid I will put my trust in You.” That’s Psalm 56:3 Whatever your fears are today. You can say, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” That verse goes on, In God I trust, I will not be afraid.

DW “Imagine what it would be like to have no fear of life, of aging or disease, or hunger, no fear of any person or creature, not even the loss of all your possessions.  You can live without fear in the midst of a world dominated by fear.”  This life without fear is available to any who will trust in the Lord as their Shepherd.  You can say, “I will fear no evil because the Glorious, Eternal God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, is MY Shepherd.”

You CAN live without fear as much as David, as much as any Christian you know.  So much of it is a matter of saying to the Lord, “You have promised to be with me so I will trust and not be afraid”. 

                                                   *****

Phillip Power ended one of his chapters in his book with this statement, “Let us go forth, saying determinedly, in the power of the Holy Spirit, “I will”. 

So my word to you this morning. Is to read the Psalms.  And every time you read an “I will” statement, take that and make it your own. Speak it out to the Lord. 

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

Psalm 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. 

Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not be afraid.”  

These are statements of faith that God will honor and will shape your life around these confessions. 

Let me leave you with this blessing from Paul’s prayer: “May God fulfill you every resolve for good and your every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”