PM Psalm 13

[0:00] My name is Thompson McKenzie, I'm a second year student at ETS for anyone who's not met me before. Some intimations, this Wednesday at 7pm the prayer meeting and Bible study will be led by Reverend Robert Dale.

[0:21] Next Lord's Day I will again have the pleasure of leading evening and morning worship. And there are also copies of the June missionary prayer notes on the rear table in the back as you come in.

[0:41] Please take one as you leave. Micah records in chapter 6, God has to you O man what is good and what does the Lord require of you.

[1:09] But to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. So let us come together to praise him and to listen to the words of Psalm 6 verses 1-6 and page 6 of Sing Psalms.

[1:27] Psalm 6 verses 1-6 and verse 1-6 and verse 1-6. Psalm 6 verses 1-7 and verse 1-7 and verse 1-7.

[2:03] My life on me My soul with anguish is distressed O Lord, how long will you delay Turn to me, Lord, and free my soul In steadfast love, save me, I pray No one in death remembers you Who from the grave can give you grace

[3:09] My glory weakens me At night my bed is dressed With tears of rest My eyes grow weak With tears of grief They fail because Of all my faults Away from me You rebel man The Lord has listened To my goals

[4:12] The Lord has said My prayer for help The Lord has listened To my plea My enemies His grace And shade Will turn back From me Suddenly God, our loving Heavenly Father We praise your holy name We give you thanks for your unending love for us And the gift of your Son Whom you sacrificed for our sin

[5:15] We give you thanks for the blessings Which you daily pour out upon us The gifts The simple gifts of life The gifts of your creation And the beauty therein We give you thanks for The support of friends and family For those who aid us And give assistance And go beyond any expectations We have of them And as we give you thanks for family And friends We pray for those that have suffered loss For those who have lost family That they may remember the joys of being together And the support And love of you Their Father As our comforter You know each and every one of our needs

[6:19] And we trust you to meet them And Lord In your knowledge You know the difference between our needs And our wants And let us Clearly see That what you provide for us Is for our needs To assist us to grow in our love and service of you And the difference between that And the wants and demands that we want to make We pray that we may be open to the moving of your Spirit That you may That you have given each of us talents That we can use them for your glory For your praise and honour At times we will try and hide their talents And the gifts that you have given us But remind us that we don't stick them under a bushel

[7:23] We don't hide our light from the world But we should be proud to display Our talents Not for our own boasts and ends But to bring glory to you We pray Lord for your world For your creation For your creation And its beauty We pray for man And his treatment of his fellow man We pray Lord That we will follow your example The example of your Son And care For his fellow man And Lord we ask that that may also reach into our governments Both in Edinburgh Westminster And in our local councils That Christians within these

[8:25] Bodies may Have the courage to speak up And to protect your values The values for individual life The values for man's dignity And the right to peace and protection We ask Lord That your will Will be done on earth And that we will be parted to that We pray for the growth of your church By our witness Of word and deed That Lord We can do great things for you If If We are prepared to accept The moving of your Holy Spirit within us The Holy Spirit Which is Your guide for us We pray for those

[9:31] Who cannot help themselves For the addict For the powerless For the sick For those who are dependent on others Because we remember Lord That you are their protector And that if they call on you You will listen And you will hear their needs Help us To stand up For the vulnerable Even when it is unfashionable To do so Just as your Son Our Lord Jesus Christ Was prepared To speak words Which were not popular To the crowds So let us be prepared Also To Follow that example Lord as we go forward At the beginning of this new week We ask that you be with each of us

[10:32] In our daily lives Whether that is in school Education Work or retirement That whatever tasks We put our minds to That we May be Reminded That we are witnesses For you In our deeds Our actions Our thoughts And our words And that the centre Of our focus Will always be To bring glory To you Our loving And caring God A God Who cared so much For us That while we were Far from you Still in a life Of sin You were prepared To sacrifice Your Son To overcome And pay the penalty For that sin These things We ask Through Jesus Christ Our Lord And Saviour Amen Our first reading

[11:35] Is taken from Psalm 13 Psalm 13 Verses 1 To 6 Psalm 13 Verses 1 To 6 How long O Lord Will you forget Me forever How long Will you hide Your face From me How long Must I take Counsel in my soul And have sorrow In my heart Holiday How long Shall my enemy Be exalted Over me Consider and answer Me O Lord My God Light up my eyes Lest I sleep The sleep of death Lest my enemy Say I have Prevailed over him Lest my foes Rejoice

[12:35] Because I am shaken But I have trusted In your steadfast love My heart Shall rejoice In your salvation I will sing To the Lord Because he has Dealt bountifully With me And the second reading Is taken from The New Testament From Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 14 To chapter 5 Verse 10 Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 14 Since then We have a great High Priest Who has passed Through the heavens Jesus the Son of God Let us hold fast Our confession For we do not Have a high Priest Who is unable To sympathise With our weaknesses

[13:35] But one Who in every respect Has been tempted As we are Yet without sin Let us then With confidence Draw near To the throne Of grace That we may receive Mercy And find grace To help In time of need For every High Priest Chosen from among men Is appointed To act on behalf Of men In relation To God To offer gifts And sacrifices For sins He can deal Gently with the Ignorant And the wayward Since he himself Is beset With weakness Because of this He is obliged To offer Sacrifice For his own sins For his own sins Just as he does For those Of the people And no one Takes this honour For himself But only When called By God Just as Aaron was So also

[14:36] Christ did not Exalt himself To be made A high Priest But was appointed By him Who said to him You are my son Today I have Begotten you As he says Also in another Place You are a priest Forever After the order Of Melchizedek In the days Of his flesh Jesus offered Up prayers And supplications With loud cries And tears To him Who was able To save him From death And he was heard Because of his reverence Although he was a son He learned obedience Through what he suffered And being made perfect He became the source Of eternal salvation To all who obey him Being designated by God The high Priest After the order Of Melchizedek Thanks be to God For the reading Of his holy word And his name Be the praise And the glory Now let's again

[15:38] Just reflect on The hymn Love Divine All Love Excelling Love Divine All Love Excelling Joy of heaven To earth To earth Come down Sing See last Thy humble dwelling All thy faithful Merciesore Cal satu As your hcole Casо And your love joy of Pu CSMM As your love Will come down Thou being T Exactam Per crash Visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.

[16:40] Come, almighty, to deliver, let us all thy life receive.

[16:54] Suddenly return and never, never move thy tempestly.

[17:07] Be me, would be always blessing, serve me as thy hosts are bound.

[17:20] Pray and praise thee without ceasing, glory in thy perfect heart.

[17:35] To be established thy new creation, pure and softness let us be.

[17:48] Let us see thy great salvation, gravity in its glory be.

[18:00] Change the glory into glory. Live with thee in our place.

[18:14] Till we cross the cross below him, must we welcome.

[18:25] Amen. Amen. Let us pray.

[18:40] Father, may the thoughts of our minds and of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. These things we ask through Christ our Lord and Saviour.

[18:51] Amen. Amen. Simple question to begin with this evening. And that is, is God ever present in your life?

[19:05] How are you feeling this evening? Tonight we'll look at Psalm 13. And since coming to worship in the free church, I have experienced a deepening love of the Psalms.

[19:19] And how the Psalmists reflect many of the feelings which we experience in our lives today in the 21st century. They are not something that was written several thousand years ago plus by David and forgotten about.

[19:37] Psalms were always important to me as I grew up within the Church of Scotland. But the singing of them and the increasing familiarisation that I have with them has brought a deeper knowledge and understanding to me of them.

[19:54] And the last time we focused on a Psalm of praise, a Psalm of celebration in Psalm 100.

[20:06] So tonight in Psalm 13 we'll look at a slightly different Psalm. Psalm 13 that we're going to look at is a Psalm of lamentation.

[20:16] As David feels separated from God. And look at what the cause of that may be.

[20:28] In the book of Psalms, more than a third of the Psalms are Psalms of lamentation. Passionate songs of grief or sorrow. And in fact, eight of the first 15 Psalms are of lamentation about an outpouring of sorrow.

[20:48] Similar to Psalm 100, Psalm 13 perhaps can be seen as having three parts or three stages. Verses 1 and 2 have questions of anxiety and anguish.

[21:01] Questions, verses 3 and 4 is a cry to prayer. In verses 5 and 6 gives a song of faith. David we see is bereft of God's presence in his life.

[21:17] Feeling that God has departed from him. And cries out for God's return. We're given no insight into the incidents.

[21:29] Or at what point in David's life this Psalm refers to. But this is a situation which many of us will feel at some time in our lives. And the Psalm that I chose because I came to reflect on it recently.

[21:45] Encouraged a friend also to reflect on it. As they disclosed those very feelings. A feeling far from God. Or rather as they said, they felt God was actually far from them.

[21:58] And like David, that person had very vivid memories of times when they felt close to God. Walking with God both in good and in bad times.

[22:12] In their life. And they now experienced a separation from God. In that he seemingly had departed from their lives. In verses 1 and 2 we read how David almost pleads with God for an answer.

[22:30] How long oh Lord will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

[22:44] How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? We can see David is clearly emphasising a point.

[22:55] Four times he asks God how long. And if we think of that first line. He actually asks two questions in it. The first question is how long oh Lord?

[23:09] And then the second question. Will you forget me forever? So in those first two verses. There's a total of five questions. It shows that there is clearly a barrier.

[23:25] Something shrouding God's presence from David's life. But it cannot be that God has forgotten about him. That is not possible.

[23:36] If we think how we as human parents would find it difficult to completely forget about a child of ours.

[23:46] How much more is it impossible for the omniscient God to forget about David. His chosen one. Our God is perfect and knows all things.

[24:01] He cannot forget about one single one of us. As it is written in Luke 15. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

[24:12] But not one of them is forgotten before God. Why even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not. You are more value than many sparrows.

[24:23] We are always in God's mind. And we are reminded in Isaiah 49 verse 16. Behold I engraved you in the palms of my hands.

[24:36] Never out of his mind or out of his grasp. The psalmist writes. How long will you hide your face from me?

[24:48] We ask how long will God keep his distance from David? We can guess the particular reasons why God may have chosen to hide his face from David on this occasion.

[25:01] But that would really be guess work. But we do know that David was the chosen one of God. He's anointed by Samuel. In 1 Samuel 16.

[25:15] After Samuel had went through all the other sons of Jesse. And David was eventually called in from the field. He was God's chosen one. We know that God protected him on many occasions.

[25:30] Such as when Saul was looking to kill him. And we know that God gave him great victories. Both as a boy and a man. As a man. We think of as a boy.

[25:41] His victory over Goliath. And as a man over tribes and nations. Such as the Philistines in Syria. But we also know that David was human.

[25:54] And prone to great sin. Just like the rest of us in humanity. He was not perfect. We think of David and Bathsheba.

[26:05] And his killing of her husband Uriah. In 2 Samuel 11. Sin distances us from God. God does not forget us.

[26:18] He never leaves us. As Hebrews 13.5 says. I will never leave you. Or forsake you. It is our actions. It is our thoughts. Our sin.

[26:29] That close out God. From our lives. We drift from God. With activities we put in place. That we put in place.

[26:40] Of God. When we put work first. Relationships first. When we supplant God with. Other activities. Worries and distractions.

[26:51] Relationships. It is the things that we choose to do. Or often. That we omit to do. That separate us from God.

[27:03] When we decide to put off. The simple things like. I'll go to church next week. I'll restart my devotional time tomorrow. I'm tired tonight.

[27:14] I'll pray in the morning. But God never leaves us. We leave him. To pursue our own desires. To satisfy our own needs.

[27:26] In Luke 15. It is not the father who leaves. It's the prodigal son. Who takes his inheritance. And asks his father. For his share of the wealth.

[27:37] Heads off. To make his fortune. And squanders. His inheritance. And plans to make his own way in life. But has to come back to his father.

[27:50] It's the prodigal son. Who has to return to his father. Having acknowledged his wrongful decisions. But his father is waiting. With open arms. Ready to celebrate.

[28:02] At his lost son's return. So with God. We are the sinner. Who chooses to depart from God. To exclude him.

[28:13] From areas of our lives. We are the ones who need to repent. To express a remorse. For the hurt we do to God. And God will be waiting.

[28:25] With open arms. For us. To be in his company. Once more. We need to come back. Just as the prodigal son. Came back to his father. As Peter writes.

[28:38] In Revelations 2.5. Remember therefore. From where you have fallen. Repent. And do the works. You did at first. This verse.

[28:49] Is to the church. At Ephesus. But is relevant. For all. In the Christian life. We should remember. Our relationship with God. When we first came to faith.

[29:02] We should remember. Our enthusiasm. And the power. Of how we grew. In our relationship. With God. And the Lord Jesus Christ. Through his Holy Spirit. What is now wrong.

[29:15] In our lives. Where have we strayed. From God. Or. Quietly. Replaced him. In our lives. Those are questions. That each of us.

[29:26] Can only answer. For ourselves. We need to repent. Turn our lives around. Admit. Admit. And declare to God. Our wrongs.

[29:37] Or omissions. In our lives. And return. To that first. Relationship. With God. And Christ. And faith. If we have never known God.

[29:48] In our lives. He longs for us. To come to him. Those who do not know him. Are also separated. By their sin. We all were once.

[29:59] But God has given us. His only son. As a redeemer. For our sins. Christ died. That we may be reconciled. With God. That by God's grace.

[30:10] We would invite Christ. Into our hearts. As our saviour. Father. But folk will ask. But did God not forsake Jesus.

[30:21] Up on the cross. And they'll point to things. Like Mark 15. Verse 54. And say. Doesn't Jesus cry out.

[30:32] My God. My God. Why have thou forsaken me. Which is actually a cry. From the opening lines. Of Psalm 22. But no.

[30:43] Jesus was not forgotten. By God. Or abandoned by God. Nor was he starting. To doubt his own ministry. Or despair.

[30:53] He was a failure. After all. It appears. As though the crowds. Had turned against him. And Palm Sunday. He had. Entered Jerusalem.

[31:04] To great. Acclaim. And great praise. And within a week. He was being crucified. So it appears. As though the crowds. Were turning against him.

[31:15] And his ministry. Had came to an abrupt end. In reality. Jesus words point. To something. Completely different. To something. That gives us.

[31:25] Eternal hope. To the fact. That when Jesus. Died on the cross. For our sins. Not just yours. And mine. Or not just. For those. For the free church. But for the sins.

[31:36] Of all humanity. Were transferred. To him. Jesus. God. In human form.

[31:47] The man. Who was without sin. As he died. Absorbed. Our sins. And he became. The final. And complete. Sacrifice. For our sin. As Billy Graham.

[32:00] Graham puts it. At the moment. He was banished. From the presence. Of God. For sin. Cannot exist. In God's presence. Graham says.

[32:10] That Christ's cry. Speaks to the truth. He endured. The separation. That you. And I. Deserved. God. In Romans 6. 23. It reads.

[32:21] For the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Death as penalty for sin. Is not just a physical act.

[32:33] It's a spiritual separation from God forever. For eternity. For now. And forever. It's a sin that causes the separation.

[32:45] God has not forsaken his son. He has not forsaken us. God had not forsaken his son. But the total.

[32:57] Of all our sins. Heaped in Christ. Had blocked Christ. From the vision of God. God. But death.

[33:10] Could not hold Christ. And that is emphasized. When we think of. Christ on the cross. The darkness.

[33:22] As the sins are heaped upon him. But then as he dies. The temple curtain is ripped in two. As that temple curtain. Tears in two.

[33:33] God's. The holies of holies. God's dwelling place. Is now open to man. Christ had defeated death.

[33:45] Christ. Had gave a way for us to be. Once more. In union with God. And God proved it three days later. With the empty tomb.

[33:58] But scripture brings us. Great comfort. That as Peter writes. In 1 Peter 3.18. For Christ. Christ. Who suffered once for sins. The righteous for the unrighteous.

[34:10] That he might. Bring us to God. Being put to death. In flesh. But made alive. In the spirit. Christ.

[34:22] Was a sacrifice. It was a one-off action. That was sufficient. To bring us back to God. It need not be repeated.

[34:35] It does not need to happen. Week after week. And we may ask. As David repeats the phrase. How long? Four times.

[34:47] Is he. Becoming impatient. Is David. The man of action. Having to wait on the Lord. God. We have our desires.

[34:57] And our timescales. But God also has his. And there for the best. Of all of his creation. He has his plan. And we see.

[35:09] Throughout scripture. That God requires us. To be patient. In Genesis 41. Joseph. Joseph. After interpreting. The dream of the chief. Cup bearer.

[35:20] Waits in prison. For two years. Before being called. To interpret. The dreams of Pharaoh. And go on. To great service. In Jeremiah 29.

[35:32] The people are impatient. For a return to Israel. And they start to believe. And listen to the false prophecies. Which fit their plans. Not God's.

[35:44] But God is clear. He has a plan for them. That will prosper them. But they must content themselves. In Babylon first. For 70 years. And in Acts 24.

[35:57] Verse 22. We see that Paul. Had to be patient. In prison. For two years. It doesn't mean. That he wasn't busy. As part of God's plan. It didn't mean.

[36:08] That God wasn't using him. On a daily basis. But. God had his plan. And in his time. John Piper reminds us.

[36:18] When we feel distant from God. To never stop seeking after him. He urges us. To seek God continually. And to wait for him. And be patient.

[36:31] So in verses 3 and 4. David cries out. Taking his concerns and fears to God. In prayer. Consider and answer me.

[36:41] O Lord my God. Light up my eyes. Lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lest my enemies say. I have prevailed over him. Lest my foes rejoice. Because I am shaken.

[36:55] This is. Similarly in Psalm 27 and 89. Comes a reply. You have said. Seek my face. My heart says to you.

[37:07] Your face Lord do I seek. Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger. O you have been my help. Cast me not off.

[37:17] Forsake me not. O God of my salvation. So although God may feel distant from us. He has not forsaken us. He has plans for us.

[37:29] And longs to have a relationship. With us. But we need to be patient. It is us who need to turn back to God. It is us who cause the chasm between us.

[37:43] We need to bring our prayers. Back to him. And here we see David doing just that. He continues to search for God.

[37:54] Bringing his burdens and fears to him in prayer. And to wait on his timing. Psalm 33 verse 7 says. Be still before the Lord. And wait patiently on him.

[38:07] Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way. Over the man who carries out evil devices. Perhaps it sounds simple to wait on God.

[38:19] To wait on God's timing. But look at the world today. It is not exactly prospering well. With man chasing his own ends. Man lives a captive and in fear.

[38:31] Constantly trying to meet life's goals. Rather trust and wait in the Lord. Now as we come to the closing verses.

[38:43] How different the mood at the end of the psalm is from its beginning. Verse 5 and 6 reads. David rejoices. David rejoices. As his faith recalls the glorious gifts of God to him.

[39:08] Spurgeon comments that. David's heart was more out of tune with God. Than his heart was out of tune. David the man after God's own heart.

[39:21] Did not always walk in unison with God. But was faithful to God. And repentant of his sin before God. In Psalm 23 verse 6.

[39:33] David writes. Surely goodness and mercy all my life. Shall surely follow me. All the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

[39:43] So the man after God's own heart. In the final verses. Recalls the glories of God. And the benefits of the trust he has placed in him.

[39:59] David has not given up his confidence in the Lord his God. David has closed his psalm with a sentence. Defuting the charge he had laid against God.

[40:11] In the first line of the first verse. How long oh Lord will you forsake me forever? Rather he replies rejoicing. Because he has dealt bountifully with me.

[40:26] If we look back. Can we see with open eyes. God's abundant mercies to each of us. And if we have not yet. Decided to walk with God.

[40:39] Are we aware that is it our decision. To ask Christ into our lives. To reconcile us with God. He is not far from us. He waits on us.

[40:52] And Christ is waiting for you. To invite him into your life. So that he can walk with you. Let us pray. Amen. Father there is no doubt that in times.

[41:13] In our lives we will feel distant from you. But we must remember that you are ever present with us. It is us who are the ones who have strayed from you.

[41:26] It is us who must return again. To repent of our sins. And to come before you. And to come before you. And ask forgiveness.

[41:38] For those who have not known a personal relationship with you. Oh Lord. You stand and wait. You knock at the door.

[41:50] Lord. If we answer. You will come in. And sit with us. Lord we ask that. We may.

[42:01] Rejoice with David. In the bountiful things that you have done in our lives. And will do in the future. We ask through Jesus Christ. Our Lord and Saviour.

[42:12] Amen. We'll close our worship this evening. Listening to Psalm 13. So. Psalm 13 from.

[42:25] Sing Psalms. Verses 1 to 6. And that's page 14. Thank you. Thank you. Will you forget me Lord.

[42:41] Will you forget always. How long Lord will you hide your face.

[42:58] How long Lord will you hide your face. How long Lord will you hide your face. How long Lord will you hide your face.

[43:15] How long will you hide your face. How long will you hide your face. How long will my old and sad in giant home.

[43:35] How long will you hide your face.

[43:50] How long may you hide your face. Your reply Light on my eyes For I will see The sea of those who die Then put my enemy In the air At last I made him whole And so I thought To save my joy To see my overthrow But still I trust

[44:55] Your constant love You save and set me free With joy I will Exol the Lord Who has been good to me The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with us all Amen Amen Amen The first time I said To says The filling...

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