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[0:00] We're going to be in Psalm 34 this morning, which is a different psalm than last week. Last week's psalm was a lament and cry for God to be gracious to David.

[0:13] And in the lament, David's faith grew in the Lord in the midst of darkness and fear. He knew that he didn't need to be afraid as he looked to the Lord his God. And now, we're actually going to see a psalm that was written after the events of last week's psalm.

[0:28] After David was delivered from the Lord in the land of the Philistines. And so let us hear the word of the Lord from Psalm 34. If you're in your pew Bible, this is page 547.

[0:41] Let us hear God's word together. This is a psalm of David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech so that he drove him out and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times.

[0:54] His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.

[1:09] I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

[1:26] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

[1:37] Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints. For those who fear him have no lack. The young lions suffer want and hunger. But those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

[1:49] Come, oh children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days so that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

[2:04] Turn away from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

[2:19] When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

[2:31] Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked.

[2:42] And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

[2:53] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let's pray together. Gracious Father, we do come to you recognizing that we are poor and needy.

[3:10] We are a people who need your deliverance. And by your grace, we have been delivered. And so as we see how David responds to your deliverance, and we know that we have been delivered to you, help us to learn also how we ought to respond to you.

[3:23] For we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Well, John Calvin once said that the Psalms are like an anatomy of every part of the human soul.

[3:34] Because they show us all the different emotions, human emotions and desires that come upon us in all of life's situations. And they also show us how we ought to respond in those situations and in the midst of all those emotions by faith.

[3:50] And we see the difference in some of these emotions and situations in the Psalm last week and the Psalm this week. Last week's Psalm, we saw this question.

[4:01] Why should we trust the Lord when we are afraid? And we saw how David responded in the midst of his fears. But this week is a different one with a different tone. How should we respond when the Lord delivers us from our fears?

[4:14] The title actually gives us the background to this Psalm. It's a Psalm of David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech so that he drove him out and he went away. And this Abimelech figure is actually the same of Achish, if you remember, the king of Gath in 1 Samuel.

[4:30] When David first went to him, the Philistines weren't too happy to see him and they seized him. And that was the context for the Psalm last week. But this one is tied to the response after David was delivered.

[4:42] And so even as we saw what it looks like to cry out to the Lord when we are afraid, Now we see this week how should we respond when he answers, when he delivers us from our fears.

[4:53] And in short, we're going to see that when we know that the Lord our God is our deliverer, we should taste and see that he is good and also invite others to join us.

[5:05] And we're going to see what this looks like in the Psalm in three different ways in three broad sections in the text. First, when the Lord delivers, we see how we should praise him together. When he delivers us, we know he's our deliverer, we should praise him together.

[5:20] It's not hard to see that from the beginning of the Psalm. David begins by saying, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

[5:30] And he fills this out in verse two. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Now, boasting, obviously, is normally a word that we use to talk about ourselves.

[5:42] When we hear about somebody being boastful, that's what you think about. And oftentimes, when you hear somebody boasting, you don't tend to think so highly of them. But here, David's boast is not in himself. David is boasting in the Lord.

[5:55] He just wants to talk about and declare how great he is. And that really is at the heart of praise. Praising has to do with knowing, feeling, and declaring the worth and greatness of God.

[6:10] With knowing, feeling, and declaring the worth and greatness of God. And we see this as well in verse three, as David invites others to join him and says, Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

[6:25] He wants other believers to join him in zooming in on the greatness of God. Magnifying him with our words of praise. And also exalting his name.

[6:36] That is, lifting him up above everything else. This is what David wants. This is what he is passionate about. So much so that he says that praise will continually be in his mouth.

[6:49] This is his desire. He wants to always praise and exalt and magnify the Lord. And he wants others to join him. And in verse four, we see why. Because he says, I sought the Lord.

[7:03] And he answered me. And delivered me from all my fears. And this is a reflection on what happened when he was taken from the Philistines, or by the Philistines, and was afraid.

[7:14] And he acted like he was insane. If you remember, he had spittle coming down his beard. He was acting like he was crazy. So that maybe somehow they would drive him away. That's why he probably calls himself, in verse six, a poor man.

[7:27] That was his situation. He was reduced to a poor man, a crazy man, acting like that in fear of his life. But notice that he doesn't think that his acting job or his cleverness is what saved him.

[7:40] But he says, The Lord delivered him from all his fears. And that word from fears here is also a strong one. It has to do with feelings of terror or dread.

[7:51] Like the feeling you get, for example, when your child starts to choke and their face gets blue. You're seized with terror, with dread, with fear.

[8:03] Or when you can't find a job, and you don't know how you're going to provide for your family, and you're afraid. Or when you get that cancer diagnosis, and you don't know what's next. For David, he was feeling that same fear as he was taken captive.

[8:19] And he was afraid of what was going to happen next. Would he be killed? Would the men who were with him be killed? But in the midst of that, he cried to the Lord.

[8:30] And he says, The Lord answered him. And he delivered him from all his fears. And as he's experienced that, he now can't help but praise the Lord as a God who actually heard him and delivered him.

[8:46] And notice that he's not just praising God for the deliverance. But he's praising the Lord because this is showing who God is. That he is the God who hears. He is the God who answers.

[8:58] And he has now experienced that. And he can't help but praise him. And the more we also know God as our deliverer, we also should have this same reflex of praise.

[9:10] We should praise him. When he answers our cries for help. When our baby can't breathe, and he does answer. Or when we've been looking for a job, and we can't find one, but he provides.

[9:22] Or when he heals. Or a thousand other things that we experience in this life. When the Lord answers us when we cry to him. Because when he delivers us, when he answers us, that's a reminder of who he is as our God.

[9:37] He is our deliverer. He's the all-powerful God of the universe. And yet, he even cares. To hear the cry of us, and our weakness, and our need, and answer us.

[9:48] And when we get a glimpse of that, we should praise him as David does here. And also invite others to join us. Notice that David's praise is first personal.

[10:01] It begins with him saying, I will bless the Lord. His praise will be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. But then he says, Let the humble hear and be glad.

[10:11] That is, those who are afflicted, those who are also humble and impoverished and in need, and know it. Let them hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt his name together, praising him for who he is, and what he does for us.

[10:27] And we see this continue on in verse 5 to 7. As he goes on to say, Those who look to the Lord are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

[10:43] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. And delivers them. When Moses was on the mountain of God, in the presence of God, you may remember, that after being with God, and seeing God, and knowing who he is, and his steadfast love and faithfulness, he then came down radiating the glory of God.

[11:04] And in the same way, this concept is used for those who look to the Lord in our affliction. That we will have the same experience. That we will be radiant. As we know the goodness of God, and experience it, even in affliction.

[11:15] Because we will know that he is our God. That he is our deliverer. That he even encamps around us. That he protects us. This was David's experience. As he looked to the Lord in affliction, and was delivered.

[11:28] And as he prays the Lord, he has this passion for others, to also praise him for his grace, as the one who delivers us. And this also should take place in us. When we know the Lord is our deliverer.

[11:42] And when we experience that, and all the little things of life, or the big things of life, it should produce this passion, to praise the Lord. That also overflows in a desire, for others to praise him too.

[11:54] So that you want your kids to know the Lord, and praise him, as you have experienced his grace and mercy. And you want others in the church to praise him. And you even want those outside the fold, to praise him.

[12:05] To know who he is. To magnify him. To know his worth. When you experience his deliverance, and you really know him, you can't help but praise him, and want others to do the same.

[12:18] And yet I think that we have to be honest at times. That we can fail to have the same passion for God's praise. Even as we have greater reasons to praise the Lord, than David did here.

[12:31] In fact, this is actually something, that convicted me a few years ago. And thinking about the Psalms. And it convicted me even this morning, during our confession of sin. I had to confess this as well. Alec Mateer said that the Psalms were written, by those who knew so much less than we do, but they loved the Lord so much more.

[12:52] Think about why he said this. David was delivered from the king of Gath. And he praised God, and invited others to do the same. He was blown away by seeing the grace of God for him, and delivering him.

[13:06] But we know what God has done, to bring a far greater deliverance, than what David experienced. How he gave up his life, to save us from sin, and death, and Satan.

[13:17] We can even say, far more than David did here, that he has delivered us, from all our fears. And even now, the Spirit of the Lord encamps around us, protecting us.

[13:32] And yet, how often do we take the time, to write down words of praise, to our God like this? How often do we talk to others, about how great our God is? How often do we say to others, let us magnify the Lord together?

[13:48] In short, how's our evangelism? How is our passion, for our kids to praise the Lord? David knew so much less, than what we know, about the deliverance of God, but he still couldn't help, but praise him, and want others to do the same, to join him.

[14:06] And as we read this psalm, we ought to learn from this. It might begin, which is taking more time, to reflect on who God is, and how he has, delivered us. Which is, by the way, why it's so important, to come to church.

[14:18] Lincoln made the same comment, last week. Because when we come to church, in the midst of all, that we're going through, especially if we are, going through afflictions, one of the things that we do, is we come, and remember who God is, and how he has, delivered us, from all of our fears.

[14:34] And we also do this together, so that we hear other people, praising the Lord, and give our voice also, to praising the Lord. And this moves us in, to praising him, and wanting others, to join with us, in praising him.

[14:50] And the more we see this, in our weakness, in his gracious deliverance, the more we will continue, to do this again, and again, to praise the Lord, for those many deliverances, in our lives.

[15:01] And also praise him, for the biggest one of all, in Jesus Christ. And we'll invite others, to join us. And at the same time, notice how God's deliverance, should also move us, to enjoy, and fear the Lord together.

[15:15] When we know, he's our deliverer, we praise him together, but we also, will be moved to enjoy, and fear him together. David says in verse 8, Now some see this, actually as the heart, of the whole psalm.

[15:35] David has tasted, and seen the goodness of God, and he wants everyone, to as well. And he doesn't, in other words, just want to know God, or he hasn't just known God, and his goodness, from the outside.

[15:46] It's not as though, he just saw God's praise, or God's deliverance, from afar, and wanted to praise him, and wanted to enjoy him. But he's actually, tasted it himself. He actually knows, who God is personally.

[15:59] And now he's calling others, to taste and see, God and his goodness as well. To know the blessing, of taking refuge, in him. See there is a difference, between watching the food network, and seeing a juicy steak, or seeing sautéed vegetables, or that wonderful dessert, and wanting to eat it so bad.

[16:20] There's a difference between that, and actually having it laid out, in front of you, and tasting it, and eating it, and digesting it. And this is what David, is getting at.

[16:32] It's a call, to take in, all that God is for you. To experience it personally. To know, and enjoy him. There is a very personal, element to this.

[16:45] In fact, in the New Testament, this verse, is quoted twice, and both times, is about having, a personal relationship, with Christ. In which you not only know, what Jesus did for you, but you've tasted, and seen his grace.

[16:59] You've received him, as your savior. And as you do so, you can't help, but want others, to taste and see him too. To experience his grace, in your life.

[17:10] But notice that David, also doesn't stop there. He not only calls people, to taste and see, the goodness of God, once. But to continue, enjoying his goodness, as we fear the Lord.

[17:23] He says in verse 9, Oh fear the Lord, you his saints. For those who fear him, have no lack. The young lions, the strong lions, they suffer wanton hunger.

[17:37] But those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing. Now this transition, can seem, somewhat out of place to us, because we don't always, tend to connect, the fear of the Lord, to experience, to experiencing, the goodness of the Lord.

[17:52] But it's important, to understand, what it means, to fear the Lord. It's actually, a different word, for fear, than verse 4, that had to do, with terror or dread. Because while, fearing the Lord, does certainly mean, shaking in your boots, before him.

[18:07] It's not in a way, that drives you, away from God, and wanting to get away, from him. When you fear, things in your life, or things bring about, terror or dread, you want to get rid of them.

[18:17] That's not this fear. This is a fear of the Lord, that drives you to him. It's not that fear of God, like Adam and Eve, had in the garden, where they feared God, and wanted to get away from him.

[18:27] They hid from him. It's not a sinful fear, in other words, in which you want the Lord, out of your life. But this is a godly fear, that drives you to him.

[18:40] It's a fear in which you tremble, before his power, but you're also so overwhelmed, by his goodness, and grace, that he matters more to you, than anybody, or anything.

[18:52] Sometimes we see this, in how people respond, to seeing people, they count as important, in their lives. Whether pop stars, or presidential candidates, or athletes. They can be so overwhelmed, in their presence, that they cry, that they don't know, what to say.

[19:08] That they're nervous, that they're trembling, they want to make, a good impression. There is this sense, of reverence, and awe, and fear, in their presence. But before God, we should fear him, so, so much more, than anything else.

[19:26] And not only, because of his power, but because he's so great, he's so magnificent. His beauty, his glory, his grandeur, ought to move us, to fear before him, to count him worth, more than anything.

[19:41] And when we fear him, in this way, we won't devalue him, or treat him lightly, but run to him, and want to follow him. This is actually, what we see in verses 11 to 14, as David goes on to say, come oh children, listen to me, and I will teach you, the fear of the Lord.

[19:56] He is saying, I will teach you, what it looks like, in your life, to fear the Lord. He asks, do you desire life, and love many days, that you would see good, and keep your tongue, from evil, and your lips, from speaking deceit?

[20:13] Turn away from evil, seek peace, and pursue it. These are the things, that will be in our lives, as we fear the Lord, it's what we, what it will look like. We won't use our tongue, for evil, for tearing people down, for mocking people, for deceiving people, but we'll use it for praise, for loving others.

[20:38] We saw this in James, at the end of last year, that how we use, our words, our speech, is one of the primary ways, that we see the fear of the Lord, in our life. That when we love him, and love others, we'll see it in how we speak, and that's what David, is getting at here.

[20:52] And at the same time, we'll also, when we fear the Lord, turn away from evil, and pursue peace. In other words, we'll live in repentance, and faith, turning away from sin, to God, pursuing peace with him, and peace with others.

[21:10] These things, will be seen in our lives, if we're living, in the fear of the Lord. And as we do so, David is saying, we will not just taste, and see the Lord's goodness, once, but continue, to taste, and see his goodness, over and over again, in our lives.

[21:24] He says, you will lack no good thing. Which doesn't mean, that you'll get every good thing, that you want, or that you will never be hungry, or poor, or suffer. But that God will not withhold, any good thing from us, any good thing that we need, especially, the greatest good of all, in himself.

[21:46] And knowing him. In fact, the fear of the Lord here, notice how it will even, cast out all other fears. David just prays the Lord, for delivering him, from all his fears.

[22:00] And it's interesting, now, he's calling people, to a different fear. To fear the Lord. Because this is the one fear, that you should not, be delivered from.

[22:11] The one fear, that actually takes away, all other fears. It's one of my favorite parts, actually of the hymn, Amazing Grace. Where John Newton said, it was grace that taught, my heart to fear.

[22:25] And grace, my fears relieved. Think about that. The grace of God, taught his heart, to fear the Lord, above all else.

[22:37] But grace also relieved, all his other fears. Took them away. Because when we fear the Lord, by the grace of God, we know the one, who's in control, of all the things, that make us tremble, that make us afraid.

[22:51] Lincoln talked about that, last week. And so when we fear him, above all else, we then have no reason, to fear anything else. Not death. Not health problems.

[23:02] Not the election, this year. Not what anyone, can do to you. I think that's important, in a week, where we had an assassination, assassination attempt, on a presidential candidate, and then planes, were going nuts, the other day.

[23:17] And we didn't know, we were going to get on a plane, yesterday. And the airports, were weird. They were weird. Escalators weren't working, things were all over the place. We're like, it feels post-apocalyptic. But in the midst, of all these things, when we look to the Lord, and we know him, we're radiant.

[23:36] Confident in him. And so while, this doesn't mean, that we shouldn't have, deep concerns about things, and situations, and people in this life, it does mean, that those fears, won't control you.

[23:48] They won't make you frantic. Because the Lord, who delivers you, and is good, will be bigger, in your heart and mind, than anything else, in this world. And you'll know, that he's taking care of you.

[24:00] And the more, that you know this, the more that you enjoy him, the more that you fear him, the more you will, also want others, to do the same. It's helpful to remember, that this whole section, is David calling on people, to taste and see, that the Lord is good.

[24:15] To fear him. Because when we're gripped, with the gravity, the weightiness, and the goodness of our God, who does answer, and deliver us, we will want others, to praise him, and also to enter in.

[24:28] To enjoy him. To fear him. And to follow him. And so because, because the Lord, is our deliverer, and when we know that, we'll praise him together, and fear him together.

[24:40] And now last, notice how we'll also, and should also, hope in the Lord, together. We see a number, of present, and future promises, throughout the final section, in this chapter, that all encourage us, to put our hope, in the Lord.

[24:54] The first is in verse, 15 to 16. Where we're told, that the eyes of the Lord, are toward the righteous, and his ears, toward their cry. The face of the Lord, is against those, who do evil, to cut off the memory, of them, from the earth.

[25:09] Now the righteous person, here is not somebody, who's perfectly righteous, it's important to see that. But it's somebody, who's in a right relationship, with the Lord. They're a believer, in other words. They trust him, they follow him, they cry out to him, unlike those, who do evil, and don't turn to the Lord.

[25:25] Those ones, he says, will be cut off. But for those, who follow the Lord, and who do cry out to him, David holds out this hope, that was also mentioned, last week. That his eyes, are on you.

[25:39] That his ears, are bent, toward your cry. To love the language, that David uses. That he, is the God, who condescends, to us, in our situations, to hear us, that he answers us.

[25:56] We see this again, in verse 17, where he says, when the righteous, cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them, out of all their troubles. Among psychologists, and counselors, there's a lot made today, about being seen, and heard, and the importance of that.

[26:12] One writer said, that as humans, it's our deepest desire, to be seen, heard, loved, and cared for. And when that, doesn't happen, by parents, or in the home, or when people, are overlooked, their whole life, it has a big, big impact on us.

[26:32] But one of the things, that we need to understand, from this psalm, and all throughout scripture, is that we do have a God, who always sees, who always hears you. And in his own time, and way, he will deliver us, from all our troubles.

[26:47] Whether in this life, or in the life to come. And we need to encourage, each other in that hope, even as David is doing here, calling the community, of God's people, to remember these things.

[26:59] He's near to the brokenhearted, and afflicted. He saves the crushed in spirit. Remember that. Encourage each other in that. And in verse 18, he gives more hope, along these lines, that I just quoted, where he does say, that the Lord is near, to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

[27:19] And I think, when we see that, and what that means, the Lord is near to us, it's helpful to see, what that does indicate, when we are going, through suffering. It's not as though, the Lord is not near to us, when we're not going, through suffering.

[27:32] We know that he is. The Lord is everywhere. He is always with us. He's with us, at the end of the age. We had that promise. But this is saying, something that we need to grasp, when we are going, through things. I think sometimes, when we even think about, how we respond, to the brokenhearted, afflicted, we see the importance, of this.

[27:48] I think people tend, to shy away, when we see people, going through stuff. Sometimes, because we don't always, know what to do, or say, or being with people, in those moments, can be uncomfortable.

[28:01] Sometimes it demands, too much time, and attention, and care, to be there for them. Or we just feel like, they need to pull themselves, together. But when we are, utterly broken, and crushed, God isn't annoyed.

[28:16] God isn't bothered. He isn't repulsed, by our neediness, by our cries. It actually, attracts his love, and attention, and care. And just think about this, with Christ.

[28:30] In Isaiah 42, we are told, that a bruised reed, he will not break. And a smoldering wick, he will not put out. And in his own life, we see this, work itself out, all over the place, especially in one case.

[28:46] As he saw, the people of Israel, scattered along the hillside, pressing in on him, wanting to be healed, wanting food. He wasn't annoyed. Think about how, we get in those moments.

[28:58] When we are pressed in around us, when people are making, demands on us. We get annoyed. But when Christ saw them, we are told, that he had compassion on them, as sheep without a shepherd.

[29:11] As the God of the universe, sees us in our need, he has compassion on us. And we should encourage each other, with his hope. And we should hope in him together.

[29:25] And we should especially, encourage each other, to hope in the Lord, when we see at the very end, the hope of complete deliverance. He says in verse 19 and 20, many are the afflictions, of the righteous.

[29:37] But the Lord delivers him, out of them all. He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken. This doesn't mean, that if you trust, and follow the Lord, you will never break a bone, or suffer pain.

[29:49] Although that would be nice. But it's capturing, how God will protect us, even as we go through, many afflictions. It's like Jesus saying, to his disciples in Luke 19, that you're going to be persecuted.

[30:02] You're going to be betrayed, even by people in your own home. And he even goes on to say, some of you, will be put to death. And then he says, paradoxically, but not a hair on your head, will perish.

[30:17] It's not a promise, that God will keep us, from all afflictions. David says, that we will face, many afflictions, in this life. Jesus said the same thing.

[30:28] But ultimately, they also said, that God is going to protect us, preserve us, and deliver us, out of them all. Which means, that if you trust him today, there isn't a single thing, that you are suffering, that is going to stay that way.

[30:46] The Lord will deliver you, out of every affliction. Whether here, or in the life to come. And we see another aspect of this, at the very end, of verse 21 and 22.

[31:00] Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate, the righteous will be condemned. But by contrast, the Lord redeems, the life of his servants.

[31:11] None of those, who take refuge in him, will be condemned. Condemnation, has to do with being judged, for our sin. It has to do with being punished, for guilt.

[31:23] And there is a warning here, for the wicked, who refuse to trust in the Lord, and follow him, but go their own way, and don't care about God's people. For them, there will be condemnation.

[31:35] There will be justice. And that does produce hope, if you're being afflicted by those, who are unrighteous. But this is also a warning, for anyone who does not take refuge, in the Lord.

[31:47] There will be eternal punishment, for sin. And what Jesus says, is hell. And that's a warning, as we read this. It's a warning, even for anyone here today.

[31:59] If you are here, and you don't take refuge, in the Lord, if you don't care, the afflictions, that you experience, in this life, are a foretaste, of the judgment, that is coming, on everyone.

[32:13] And if you don't take refuge, in the Lord, that judgment, will come upon you, in terms of condemnation. And so, if that's you today, if you don't know the Lord, you need to hear that warning, and turn to the Lord, from going your own way.

[32:31] And as you do so, you will then taste, and see, the goodness of the Lord, as you do take refuge, in Him. Because when we do, go to the Lord, we see that our afflictions, are ultimately temporary.

[32:46] And we're told at the end, that the Lord will redeem our life, and we will not be condemned. David already knew that, even a thousand years, before Christ, as he experienced, the gracious deliverance of God.

[32:57] He knew, as he experienced, God's deliverance back then, that it was a picture, of this promise, that he would not be condemned. That God would not, bring him under judgment, for sin.

[33:08] But the Lord, who delivered him, out of this earthly affliction, would deliver him, ultimately, out of condemnation, for all eternity. He knew that. And today, we know even more, why we have this hope.

[33:23] We heard it earlier, in the service, during our confession of sin, and assurance of pardon, that there is now, no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because God sent him, his son, to take on flesh, to dwell among us.

[33:40] And he went through, many afflictions, in this life himself. Even to the point, of death on a cross. where he was condemned, already in our place. But God the Father, raised him up, and delivered him, from death.

[33:57] And to even show, that Christ, was the perfectly, righteous man. John even quotes, this verse, or verse 20, in his own gospel. And says that literally, not one of his bones, was broken.

[34:09] It was a sign, that God was, delivering his Messiah, and raising him up. And the hope is, that if you take refuge, in him, God will also deliver you, and raise you up.

[34:24] That your path, will be like Christ's path. That in this life, you will go through afflictions. All who follow, the Lord Jesus, will suffer, in one way or another.

[34:39] You will suffer. But in the same way, that the Father, raised him up, he will raise you up too. And you will not, face condemnation, because Christ, already took it.

[34:51] He already faced it. And if you take refuge, in him, if you're in union with him, he will bring you, to be with him always. And he's even, with you now, by the Spirit.

[35:03] And all that you're going through. And as we see this, this gives us hope. We can actually, pray, and speak, and sing this psalm, with greater joy, and passion, than David could.

[35:20] Because we know Christ. And we see this hope, of what we have, even beyond the grave. And as we know this, we ought, to encourage each other, in this hope.

[35:32] Reminding each other, in the face of death, or our sin, that there's no condemnation, in Christ Jesus. Reminding each other, when we're suffering, that the Lord, is near to the brokenhearted, and afflicted.

[35:43] He saves the crushed, in spirit. And we know this, because of his Son. And so, as we know him, as we keep our eyes, upon him, and as we taste, and see that the Lord, is good, let us also, at the same time, call others, to see and know him too.

[36:05] Encouraging each other here, to know the Lord, and his goodness. To follow him, to fear him. And at the same time, to call all those around us, who don't know him, to take refuge in him, and know his goodness, and grace, now, and forever.

[36:22] Let's pray. Gracious Father, we do thank you, for your goodness.

[36:34] We thank you, for your grace, and mercy, in Christ Jesus. We thank you, for his love for us, even to the point, of death on our cross. We thank you, for your spirit, that you so graciously, pour out upon us.

[36:49]  And,