The Psalms: From the Heart of a Country Preacher

By Neal Murphy

This book contains 168 sermon outlines from the beloved book of Psalms by the Reverend Clarence Howell, whose ministerial work spanned some seventy-five years. These sermon outlines are rich in content, biblical truths, inspiration, and instruction. They may be used by preachers, pastors, evangelists, and Sunday school teachers for building a message on many topics found in the Psalms. This book may also be used as a daily devotional reading. Gods Word will have another opportunity to inspire hearts and win souls.

Rev. Howell, my father-in-law, earned an associate of arts degree from Wayland Baptist College, a bachelor of arts degree from Hardin Simmons University, and a masters degree in theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 27, 2008
• ISBN: 9781477173145

Neal Murphy

Since Neal Murphy began his writing career in 2005, he has had over thirty short stories published in national magazines. He has authored five books, most dealing with growing up in a small East Texas town. He examines questions that we all have, such as the following: Why do roosters crow at dawn? Are mules really stubborn? Are skunks really polecats?

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Copyright © 2008 by Neal Murphy.

Compiled and Edited by Neal Murphy

Introduction by Mary Howell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

PSALM 1

Ungodly vs. Godly

The Blessed Man

How To Be a Failure in the Christian Life

PSALM 2

The Heathen in Three Views

Why Do the Heathen Rage?

Ask of Me

PSALM 3

I Cried unto the Lord

For the Lord Sustained Me

PSALM 5

The Shielded Christian

Give Ear to My Words

Lead Me

PSALM 8

God’s Estimate of Man

What Is Man?

How Excellent Is His Name

PSALM 9

The Marvelous Works of God

PSALM 10

The Wicked Described

PSALM 11

The Victory of Faith

If the Foundations Be Destroyed

PSALM 14

Some Bible Fools

And the Lord Looked Down

There Is No God

PSALM 15

A Citizen of Zion

PSALM 17

As for Me

PSALM 18

I Will Love Thee, O Lord

PSALM 19

God’s Law Is Perfect

The Heavens Declare God’s Glory

By Them We Are Warned

PSALM 20

Rejoicing in Salvation

Set Up Our Banners

PSALM 22

Be Not Far from Me

Laborers Together with God

PSALM 23

My Shepherd

The Nightingale of Psalms

PSALM 24

Hands

The Earth Belongs to God

PSALM 25

Let Me Not Be Ashamed

Show Me Thy Ways

PSALM 27

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Teach Me Thy Way

One Thing

The Tragedy of Life without Faith

PSALM 28

My Rock

PSALM 32

Blessed Are the Forgiven

Why Are We Reluctant to Confess?

PSALM 33

Blessed Is the Nation

PSALM 34

I Sought the Lord

Blessing the Lord

PSALM 36

The Wicked Man and the Righteous God

PSALM 37

A Recipe for Happiness

PSALM 39

A Sincere Prayer

Take Heed to Your Ways

PSALM 40

What Hath God Wrought?

Some Things God Does for Us

God Thinks of Us

PSALM 42

Where Is Thy God?

PSALM 46

Stop, Look, and Listen

The God of Jacob Is Our Refuge

God Is

PSALM 48

God’s Loving-Kindness

The Church

The Rest of the Way

PSALM 51

Consequences of Sin

David’s Confession

PSALM 53

Four Kinds of Fools

What Kind of God Do We Worship?

PSALM 57

Be Merciful

Among the Lions

My Heart Is Fixed

Is Your Heart Right?

PSALM 61

Prayer

When Your Heart Is Overwhelmed

PSALM 63

Sublime Things

Thou Art My God

PSALM 66

Come and See the Works of God

God’s Power and Deeds

PSALM 68

And the Lord Gave the Word

PSALM 70

Rejoice and Be Glad

PSALM 71

Senior Citizens

PSALM 72

Who Only Doeth Wondrous Things

PSALM 73

Draw Near to God

An Envious Christian

From Doubt to Assurance

PSALM 78

For Their Heart Was Not Right with Him

Warning from Those Who Failed

How May We Have Hope in God?

PSALM 79

Help Us, O God

PSALM 84

God Leads His Children

What Is God Like?

Dwelling in God’s House

PSALM 85

Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again?

Revival

PSALM 86

Lord, Thou Art Good

For Thou Art Great

PSALM 87

Our Heavenly Record

Three I Wills

When He Writeth Up His People

PSALM 90

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Applying Our Hearts to Wisdom

PSALM 91

Some Precious Memories

Safe Am I

What We Can Do

PSALM 94

Shall the Wicked Triumph?

PSALM 96

For the Lord Is Great

Say among the Heathen

PSALM 98

Marvelous Things

PSALM 100

With Thanksgiving to God

God’s Truth Endures

PSALM 103

The Benefits of the Lord

Thanksgiving

God Remembers

God as Our Father

PSALM 104

There Go the Ships

Man Goeth Forth unto His Work

My Meditation

PSALM 105

Thanking God for the Bible

And Be Ye Thankful

Remember God’s Works

PSALM 106

A Song of Remembrance

A Look at God’s Mercy

PSALM 107

The Lord Is Good

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Oh, That Men Would Praise the Lord

He Brought Them into the Port

Four Portraits of the Soul

PSALM 112

The Prosperity of the Righteous

PSALM 116

Why I Love the Lord

What Shall I Render unto the Lord?

Deliverance of the Soul

PSALM 118

This Is the Day

Days

PSALM 119

The Keeper of God’s Laws

Taking Heed to God’s Word

I Will Not Forget Thy Word

Salvation through God’s Law

I Thought on My Ways

Getting Understanding

Light for Dark Places

I Prayed for Grace

PSALM 121

Help from the Lord

The Watchman

PSALM 122

I Was Glad

A Simple Invitation

PSALM 124

Our Help

The Soul-Winner

PSALM 126

The Lord Hath Done Great Things for Us

Missionaries

Spreading the Truth

PSALM 127

The Vanity of Work without God

PSALM 131

Humility

PSALM 133

Singleness of Heart

PSALM 135

I Know That the Lord Is Great

PSALM 139

A Believing Heart

Precious Thoughts

PSALM 140

Protection against Enemies

PSALM 142

The Prisoner’s Prayer

No Man Cared for My Soul

PSALM 143

The Prayer of a Soul in Distress

Hear Me Speedily, O Lord

What Is Man?

Happiness in the Lord

PSALM 145

The Good News of the Lord

The Righteous Lord

The Ways of the Lord Are Right

PSALM 146

God Is Our Helper

Praise Ye the Lord

PSALM 147

The Might and Grace of the Lord

PSALM 148

Nature’s Praise of the Lord

PSALM 150

Let Everything Praise the Lord

Music in a Revival

SILENT SERMONS

Silent Sermons

Acknowledgements

As the compiler and editor of the material for this book, I would like to thank those who assisted me in the creation and publication of this effort. Of course, I wish to thank Rev. Clarence Howell who wrote all the sermon outlines after much study and prayer. In 2007, I edited and published over three hundred of Rev. Howell’s sermon outlines in a book entitled From the Heart of a Country Preacher by Xulon Press. This volume contains sermon outlines from the book of Psalms only.

A special thanks goes out to his youngest daughter, Mary Howell, who helped find all of her father’s material in old boxes, suitcases, and drawers after he died in 2006. I would like to thank her for writing the introduction and sharing photographs used in this book.

My wife, Clara Howell Murphy, assisted in proofing and putting the book together; so a special thanks for her assistance is in order.

It is hoped that God will use this book as an inspiration to many people and that Rev. Howell’s legacy and ministry will live on. All scripture references used in this book are from the King James Version of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise noted.

Neal Murphy

Preface

Open the Bible to the center, and there will be found a book containing one hundred and fifty poems and hymns of varied beauty and spiritual power. These hymns of praise, confession, lament, anguish, comfort, and communion were attributed to King David as it was the custom of that time so to honor a great man. Actually, he was the author of only a few of the psalms.

Originally, a Psalm of David did not imply authorship by David, but rather a collection under royal sponsorship. They were actually written by many authors covering a period of about five hundred years.

The Psalms originated as temple hymns in early Hebrew days and were later used as the hymnbook of the Second Temple. In these songs are revealed the heights and depths of life—the loftiest heights of the human soul and the lowest depths of human weakness.

Developing sermons from the Psalms has been a rather difficult problem for preachers over the years. It would be like taking your church hymnbook, turning to a song, and attempting to build a sermon around the verses. Rev. Clarence Howell developed good sermons of most of the Psalms, and are presented in this book. It is hoped that pastors and teachers can use these outlines to build their own sermons or lessons from these ancient writings.

Neal Murphy

Introduction

It is a blessing to introduce you to The Psalms: From the Heart of a Country Preacher, which features the ministry of my dad, Brother Clarence Howell, who faithfully served God until the age of ninety-eight. He was called to his heavenly home on December 3, 2006. His ministry spanned more than seventy years, and he influenced the lives of many people.

William Clarence Howell was born on June 1, 1908, in Dodd City, Texas; and he was one of eight children of William and Winnie Howell. He spent his early years on a cotton farm in Fannin County.

He accepted Christ as his Savior at the age of fifteen after hearing a traveling evangelist preach a sermon entitled You Must Be Born Again. He surrendered to God’s call to the ministry after four years during which he never went more than two waking hours without thinking about his call.

He was ordained on July 28, 1929, by the Valley View Baptist Church near Olton, Texas. He graduated from Wayland Baptist College where he met his future wife, Leta Thorp. After graduating from Hardin Simmons University, they were united in marriage on July 3, 1932, in Lamesa, Texas.

The Howells’ first home was in Dimmitt, Texas, where he taught school for five years and served as pastor of the Sunnyside Baptist Church. Clarence and Leta moved to Fort Worth where they both attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While attending seminary, Bro. Howell pastored the Vilott and Custer City Baptist churches.

In 1940, the Howells moved to the Texas Panhandle where he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Kress for six and one-half years. He served as principal of the Kress High School where they both taught school.

From Kress, Bro. Howell and his family moved to Hemphill where he preached his first sermon as pastor of the First Baptist Church on January 4, 1947. A highlight of his Hemphill ministry was the baptism of forty-four people in one year. During his Hemphill pastorate, he also served as part-time pastor of the Fairdale and Yellowpine community churches.

The Howells moved to Boling, Texas, in November 1967 where he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church for six and one-half years. Upon his retirement in June 1974, the Howells returned to Hemphill where he once again became pastor of the Yellowpine church for sixteen years. He also served as interim pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pineland for one year and as interim pastor of the First Baptist Church in Bronson for four years. God gave him a place to preach every Sunday until the age of eighty-six. His ministry extended to youngsters of all ages while he served as a school bus driver for twenty-six years.

Bro. Howell was affectionately known as Hemphill’s town pastor and Sabine County Courthouse’s chaplain. In 1981, his Sabine County friends made Bro. Howell’s visit to the Holy Land financially possible. He was named Outstanding Citizen of 1985 by the Sabine County Chamber of Commerce. He was among the Nine Who Make a Difference honorees selected by KTRE-TV in 1986. He made daily visits to Sabine County Hospital and local convalescent homes where he prayed and shared the love of Jesus. He preached at Hemphill Care Center until the age of ninety-five. Bro. Howell performed approximately one thousand weddings and officiated at over fifteen hundred funerals during his ministry.

It is also my privilege to introduce you to my brother-in-law, Neal Murphy, who prayerfully read and sorted through hundreds of my dad’s sermons. Murphy spent long hours preparing the manuscript for this book. He is also the author of two other books, >From the Heart of a Country Preacher and Those Were the Days: Stories of Growing Up in East Texas, which were published in 2007.

Bro. Howell’s sons-in-law and daughters, Neal and Clara Murphy and Richard and Jane Creech, join me in sharing his Christian legacy through the pages of this second book. It is our prayer that Dad’s ministry will continue to witness about Jesus and bring glory to the Word of God.

Mary Howell

image%201.jpg

Rev. Howell shown in the office of new church building in 1963.

PSALM 1

Ungodly vs. Godly

Psalm 1

Note the progression in verse 1—walketh, standeth, and sitteth down. One leads to the other.

I. THE UNGODLY:

A. They are like chaff—blown here and there by the wind.

B. They are insecure—there is no anchor for the soul.

C. They are able to stand up in this life.

D. Some do stand and deny the Bible as God’s Word.

E. Some do stand and deny that there is a God.

F. Some do stand and blaspheme God and ridicule Christians.

G. Some may make light of preachers and say ugly things.

H. Some may use their money for themselves without much thought of God or people.

I. Some may prosper in a material way while their soul is starved.

J. Some may even boast of their independence and take pride in their false security.

II. AT JUDGMENT DAY:

A. They will not be able to stand.

B. They will be weighed and found wanting.

C. They will be unable to give one good reason why they rejected Jesus.

D. They will wonder why they found fault with the church.

E. Their failure to stand will mean everlasting loss and will bring grief to Jesus when He has to say Depart from me.

III. THE RIGHTEOUS:

A. Will have stability in this life, having built on a solid foundation.

B. Will have influence that will go on and will speak after their death.

C. Will bear fruit throughout the years.