[0:00] Welcome to our services today and as we come together around the Word of God, let us seek his blessing upon his Word. Let us pray.
[0:14] Eternal and ever-blessed Lord, grant to us to understand the great privilege that is ours today as we come around thine own Word.
[0:30] And we pray, O Lord, that thy Spirit would make thy Word to be a living Word for us, that thy Spirit would apply it to our hearts, and that it would be lodged in our heart and bring forth evidence in our lives.
[0:49] We give thee thanks for the privilege of drawing near to thee, and to unburden our hearts before thee. We pray, O Lord, that we would indeed come with the words of thy servant of old to cry to thee.
[1:06] O hear my prayer, O Lord, and unto my desire to bow thy near accord I humbly thee require. And in thy faithfulness unto me answer me, and in thy righteousness upon me pity take.
[1:24] We come before thee, O Lord, seeking the grace that we would indeed come in humility of mind, of heart, and of spirit, and take that place that belongs to us at thine own footstone, acknowledging our sinnership, acknowledging that we do sin against thee in thought, in word, and in deed.
[1:49] O Lord, that we would indeed be thy name for the provision that thou hast made for us, in thy Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, O that he is the fountain that has been opened for sin and for uncleanness, and grant to us that by faith we would draw near to that fountain today, and that we would receive the cleansing that we stand in need of.
[2:16] O that our sins would be forgiven, that we would be reconciled to our God, that we would know to have peace with God.
[2:28] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for all thy goodness and kindness to us in things that are temporal, as well as in things that are spiritual.
[2:39] We seek, O Lord, that it may please thee to bless our homes and our families, to bless our loved ones wherever they may be, that thy known everlasting errands would be around them, and out of the riches of thine own grace, that thou would meet with them at their point of need.
[3:02] We pray for the preaching of the gospel, that it may go forth today in the power and demonstration of thine own spirit, and bless all thy servants who go out today to proclaim thy truth.
[3:17] O we pray that thy word would touch our people, and would bring them to repentance, and would bring them to sorrow over our sin, and to seek the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
[3:33] that thy word may be a word of encouragement for thy people, that we may indeed be strengthened in our faith, that we, O Lord, may receive that strength that we stand in need of to be witnesses for thee in this world.
[3:52] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless those who are ill. May thy healing hand be upon them, and may their bed of affliction be a bed of blessing for them, that they may be drawn to see that there is a greater physician, that there is that physician that not only brings healing to the body, but brings healing to the soul.
[4:17] We pray, O Lord, for those who mourn. We pray that we would come to consider our own relationship with our God, that we know that our eternal destiny is determined by our relationship with our God.
[4:38] And as we are so generous in this world, we pray, O Lord, that we may strive to be assured that we are at peace with God, that we have been reconciled to our God, that we are in a right relationship with our God.
[4:56] We pray, O Lord, that thine own comfort would fill the hearts of those that mourn. Remember our young people and our children, O that thou would raise a generation that would fear thine own name.
[5:11] Remember our readers, we pray thee, grant to them wisdom. And we remember thy people, those whom thou hast redeemed to thyself. We pray, O Lord, that we may indeed be faithful witnesses for thee in this world.
[5:28] We ask, O Lord, that it would please thee to continue with us as we come to read thy word, and as we come to meditate upon it.
[5:39] Oh, enlighten our understanding. Lead us into thine own truth. We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless all gatherings of thy people throughout our nation and into the ends of the earth.
[5:54] Wherever people come together around thy word, whether in churches or in their own homes, we pray, O Lord, that thy spirit would be there.
[6:05] For it is the spirit that enlightens, it is the spirit that quickens. Oh, we give thee thanks for the work of thy spirit, in enlightening our understanding to make us see our need, and in enlightening us to understand the sufficiency of the provision that thou hast made for us in thy son, drawing us to thyself, granting to us to embrace by faith that provision that thou hast made in Christ.
[6:34] And we give thee thanks for the continual work of thy spirit in the hearts of thy people. We pray, O Lord, that thou would now continue with us, that thou would, O Lord, lead us into thy word in a way that would strengthen our faith, that would increase our knowledge, and that would make us to be faithful to thee in this world as thine own witnesses whom thou hast set apart from the rest of the world to bear thy name among our people and among all nations of the earth.
[7:08] We ask all these things for the forgiveness of our sin in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Let us now read the word of God as we find it in the Old Testament in the book of Psalms and Psalm 22.
[7:28] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my worry? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and I am not silent.
[7:48] But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee, they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered.
[8:01] They trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn.
[8:14] They shoot out the lip, they shake their heads, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, saying, He delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb.
[8:28] Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon thee from the womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly.
[8:40] Be not far from me. Her trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have come past me. Strong bulls of vision have beset me round.
[8:51] They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravaging and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like worms.
[9:03] It is melted in the midst of my vows. My strength is dried up like a portrait, and my tongue cleaver to my jaws. And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
[9:15] For dogs have compassed me. The assembly of the wicked have encroached me. They pierce my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones.
[9:26] They look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O Lord.
[9:38] All my strength haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword, my darling, from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
[9:52] I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation, will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him, and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
[10:07] For he hath not despised, nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. Neither hath he hid his face from him, but when he cried unto him, he heard.
[10:18] My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation. I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meat shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that seek him.
[10:31] Your heart shall live forever. For the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the governor among the nations.
[10:47] All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship. All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him, and shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
[11:03] They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word.
[11:16] And now seeking his blessing and his help, let us turn to verse 21. Save me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
[11:31] I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him, and fear him.
[11:44] All ye the seed of Israel, for he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. Neither hath he hid his face from him, but when he cried unto him, he heard.
[11:59] We are told that this is a psalm of David, but it is one of those passages, as Peter reminds us, in which the prophets, by the Spirit of Christ within them, testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.
[12:20] The author is Christ. By the Spirit of Christ, David, as writer, is led to pen those words that were to be fulfilled in Christ himself a thousand years later, as he prayed those words.
[12:40] Psalm 22 is a description of an execution, an act of a crucifixion. Now, crucifixion was not practiced in the time of the psalmist or for many centuries afterwards.
[12:54] So, this must be a prophetic picture of the sufferings of Jesus as he hung on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins. Therefore, the psalm is prophetic and it is messianic.
[13:09] The psalm leads us into the feelings and emotions that belong to Jesus as he hung on the cross, as he prayed those words that we find in Psalm 22.
[13:27] All four Gospels tie this psalm to the experience of Jesus on the cross. And there are several verses in the psalm that the Gospel writer, which he got for instance in Matthew chapter 27, it makes reference to verse 7 and 8.
[13:45] O they that see me, laugh me to scorn. The shooter delivered the shape that had sin. He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
[13:57] Matthew in the Gospel also refers to verse 18. Departed my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. And Matthew and Mark highlights for us the first verse of the psalm, while John highlights for us the last verse of the psalm.
[14:17] It is certain that the whole of this psalm must have been in the mind of Jesus as he hung on the cross. It is worthy for us to note as we come to look at the psalm that it runs into two sections.
[14:35] The first section is from verse 1 to 21, which describes the sufferings of Jesus and his prayers in him on the cross. And then from the middle of verse 21 to the end, there is a note of triumph.
[14:49] For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of a congregation will I praise him. We sometimes can be guilty of concentrating upon verse 1 at the beginning of the psalm and forgetting that the whole psalm brings before us the whole action and thought of Jesus while he hung upon the cross.
[15:17] It brings before us that on the cross he was a man of prayer. In the midst of all his sufferings he prayed. Sometimes prayer is not offered up in a manner that we hear.
[15:32] It is not offered up for all to hear. For God knows the thoughts and the desires of our hearts. And prayer can sometimes be offered to God through the thoughts and desires of our hearts.
[15:47] it is also worthwhile to note that Jesus stands here before us as the servant. Here we have the God-man truly God and truly man.
[16:03] But as servant he did not make use of his powers as God. In other words Jesus at no time drew from his deity or from his divine nature.
[16:13] because he lived as a servant prayer was essential to him. He was totally dependent upon his father and his spirit. He is the very son of God a perfect man but he is also the servant and as such he does nothing of himself.
[16:32] in the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 42 we read of God seven Behold my servant whom I uphold my elect in whom my soul delighteth I have put my spirit upon him he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
[16:56] In other words he looks to God for light and guidance. perfect but in utter dependence upon his father and the spirit as the servant.
[17:09] As God there was no need for him to pray he was equal to the father and the spirit. He was all knowing and all powerful but as a God man as a mediator as a servant he was in need of prayer for he was dependent upon the father and the spirit.
[17:30] I think that it is also worth noting that while Jesus was on the cross he was moving more and more and deeper and deeper and closer and closer to the point of knowing what it meant for him to be a sin bearer.
[17:47] Although the suffering and emotional experience of the garden of Gethsemane was exceptional and unique nevertheless the sufferings and the emotional experience of Golgotha was far more intense than what he had experienced and envisaged in the garden of Gethsemane.
[18:08] Hugh Martin famously calls Gethsemane the shadow of Calvary and we know that a shadow always has a substance and that the substance is far greater than the shadow.
[18:20] So what we have in this psalm is God's servant asks sin bearer. The words of the prophet Isaiah have been fulfilled and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[18:35] Paul reflecting upon the cross says for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
[18:47] this brings God's servant to the point of forsakenness. But we must remember that Jesus was not forsaken all the time that he was on the cross but there came a point in the midst of the darkness that was around the cross wherein he was forsaken and this forsakenness was not imagined it was real.
[19:13] It was something he had never known it was all new. He saw the coming storm he saw the cup he saw the hour of darkness but inside that hour and inside that cup was this new thing that he had never experienced before.
[19:39] The forsaking was not merely subjective in the sense that Jesus only felt forsaken in a way like believers when they feel forsaken but they are not.
[19:51] This was more than just a feeling this was a real forsaking in that the father withdrew from his son all sense of divine consolation and love all sense of fellowship and joy but we must remember that it was not a separation because at that same moment God was in Christ reconciling the world into himself and we must remember also that in this forsakenness it is the father in covenant with him that forsakes him the father dealing with his son as the servant and surety of his people of the people that he came to save it is the father in covenant with Jesus that forsakes him this was the judgment day of the saviour of sinners we note here that at the beginning of the psalm he cries why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring oh my
[21:04] God I cry in the daytime but thou hearest not under the night season and I'm not silent Wayne Grudem notes the possibility that the same can be translated as why have you left me for so long he writes to face the deep and furious wrath of God even for an instance would cause the most profound fear but Jesus suffering was not over in a minute or two or ten when would it end could there be any more weight of sin yet more wrath of God hour after hour were done the damp weight of sin and the wrath of God poured over Jesus and way after way Jesus at last cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me why must this suffering go on so long oh my
[22:06] God my God will you ever bring it to an end but I think first we see here strong faith being exhibited Jesus hanging on the cross surrounded by his enemies every part of his body in intense pain he still cries out my God in other words he is saying as a servant of God thou art my God whether it pleases thee to regard or disregard my plea I will cry to thee based on the terms of my relationship with thee all was darkness all was silence but he prayed and although there was no answer he continued to cry and we have this brought before us and the triumph of faith in his cry for he cries my
[23:15] God my God my God why hast thou forsaken me why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring oh my God I cry in the day time but thou hearest not and in the night season and I am not silent we have here brought before us the triumph of faith as he cries my God it is personal showing us that the servant never lost faith or trust in God however dark the situation was he never lost his trust in God in this psalm Christ uses various imagery to portray or to show us the extent of his self in verse 12 he speaks of the strong bulls of Bajan have beset me round bulls are known for the way in which they exercise their fierce and great strength and the bulls of
[24:24] Bajan being reared in a region that were so fertile life was nurtured so to great perfection and was full of power and energy try to visualize the picture that he gives us many strong bulls have beset round him it was not merely one but a whole herd on all sides he was encompassed he was surrounded from all sides he was assaulted they strike him with their horns and toss him to and fro so that he felt the helplessness of his condition and what he did he told it to his god many bulls encompassed me strong bulls of Asian have beset me round they gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravaging and a roaring lion and he took it to his god great indeed was the horror great indeed was the fearfulness and the helplessness that confronted
[25:26] Jesus upon the cross he is taunted and tempted by men he is assaulted by Satan the power of darkness was like the bulls from the rich pastures of Bashan assaulting their athronizing victim in verse 16 he says for dogs are compass men he now brings before us the imagery of the wild street dogs who haunt about the cities and prowls in every corner who snarls over their foot and devours it with greediness like the wild dogs that we sometimes see in nature programs on television when they are in pursuit of their victim they track the victim down and with a vigilant eye they watch all its movements with all determination they run their victim to death their method of hunting is merciless in the extreme in the same manner
[26:35] Jesus was pursued to death surrounded on all sides and by wicked hands the tucum and the crucified in verse 20 he says deliver my soul from the sword my darling from the power of the dog the cry and the sword is unleashed here the sword is drawn from the scabbard awake oh sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow saith the lord of host smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered christ the good shepherd was now smitten he gave his life willingly for the sheep then verse 21 he says save me from the lion's mouth well the lion is a well known biblical emblem of satan the great enemy and destroyer the soul peter warns us in his first letter and chapter five be sober be vigilant because you're as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour that roaring lion against whom we are required to watch was prowling round the cross of
[28:06] Jesus at Golgotha yes he was there at Golgotha he was there when Jesus hung on the cross yes seeking to devour him seeking to swallow him up but then comes the turn point of the psalm for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorn horse or as the ESV has said you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen horn unicorns or oxen depict the greatest extremity of danger he speaks like a man who has already felt the horn of the savage animal who has actually been piercedесп who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, was done crying in tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.
[29:54] Now there are many things within this psalm that we could focus upon, but I wish today to draw your attention to the fact that Christ here is an example for us of how he could pray in the most importune way.
[30:10] Now we must remember that there is a difference between importune prayer and prayer with vain repetition. Importune prayer or persistent or relentless prayer is good and recommended by your Lord Jesus Christ, while vain repetitions are afforded and condemned by him.
[30:32] To pray using vain repetitions does not mean, as is assumed by many people, using the same words over and over again when praying. For in the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 verse 39, we read about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, that he went away and prayed and spake the same words.
[30:53] So it is clear from the example of Jesus that vain repetition does not mean repeating the same words in prayer. Before we leave this point of repetition, let us hear what Jesus said from Matthew chapter 6.
[31:10] And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
[31:23] Verily I say unto you they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which steth in secret shall reward thee openly.
[31:41] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for them of speaking.
[31:53] Be not ye therefore akin to them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask them. You see, Jesus here did not forbid public prayers, but he says that we must not pray in order to be seen of men.
[32:08] The hypocrites want it to be seen. The hypocrite even arranges things to be in a public place when he prays. And he will use well-phrased words, which the ESV calls empty phrases, so that he can gain a reputation and approval of men.
[32:27] I think to put it simply that the words of Isaiah chapter 29 summarises it for us. For there we read, For as much as this people draw near with their mouth and with their lips to honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and the fear touting is taught by the precept of men.
[32:50] Importune prayer is a prayer that comes from the heart. And a prayer with vain repetitions, a prayer that comes only from the mouth and lips.
[33:02] As we survey the life of Jesus in the days of his humiliation, we see that he encouraged an opportunity.
[33:14] For he said, Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and it shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and he that knocketh, it shall be opened.
[33:27] He told a parable, which we find in the Gospel of Luke chapter 18, on how people ought always to pray and not faint. That parable was concerning a widow, who, by continually coming, weary to the unjust judge, to decide at cause.
[33:46] On another occasion, he taught his disciples, using the figure of a friend, begging a loan of bread from another, at an season of a flower of midnight.
[33:59] And so we read in Luke chapter 11, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his opportunity, he will rise and give him as many as he does.
[34:10] There are many other examples in the Bible, of those who pray to God, in the most unbuttoned way. We read of Abraham, in Genesis chapter 18, of how he entreated for certain, till he himself trembled, at his own importunity.
[34:29] Jacob wrestled till he prevailed, in Genesis chapter 2, we read, And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him, until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh.
[34:44] And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, or the day breaketh. And he said, That is Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
[34:58] And God honoured him. He says to him, Thy name shalt be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince, hast thou powered God, and with men, and hast prevailed.
[35:13] Moses interceded with great urgency, for the children of Israel, after they sinned, and worshipped in the golden calf. There in Exodus chapter 32, we read, And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
[35:31] Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may work hard against them, that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the Lord his Lord, and said, Lord, why do thou wrath, walk hard against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
[35:53] Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say for mischief, did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy first wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
[36:07] Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou fearest by thine own self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of, will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
[36:24] And then we read, And the Lord repented of evil, which he thought to do unto his people. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 15, and in Matthew chapter 7, we read of a Canaanite woman, how she prevailed with Jesus, by the power of her opportunity, and obtained the blessing for her daughter, which otherwise she should not have enjoyed.
[36:48] She earnestly pleaded with Jesus, but he answered her not a word. She fell at his feet, but he turned away and passed on. His own disciples entreated him on her behalf, because she cried after him.
[37:04] But he informed them that his commission was only to the lost sheep of Israel. Still this woman came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered, It is not me to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
[37:20] And what did she do? She had once admitted the truth of what he said. But she converted that into an argument in her own favour. Truth, Lord, she said.
[37:32] Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table, to which Jesus exclaimed, O woman, greatest thy faith, be it unto thee as thou would.
[37:44] And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. In Psalm 107, the psalmist brings before us various situations and circumstances, and how they cried unto the Lord, and he rescues them from their dire circumstances.
[38:04] Psalm 107, verse 49, we have lost people being led to a safe city. In the extremity of homelessness and poverty are people who are lost to the wilderness going about aimlessly, wandering all over the place, having lost their bearings, not knowing where they are going.
[38:24] And to add to their predicament, they are out of food, starved and thirsty, wandering hopelessly in a trapless wilderness. They are trying to find a city that will provide them with rest and satisfaction, but so far, all their searching has come to nothing.
[38:41] They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them. Then they turned to the Lord.
[38:52] Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. You know, my friend, it is what for you to look up the psalm. For the psalm is continuous in verse 10 to 16, giving us the image of a captive prisoner in a dungeon waiting at the institution, but being set free.
[39:12] In verse 17 to 22, we have a languishing person with a deadly sickness being healed. Verse 23 to 32, we have a doomed sailor being rescued and led to a safe haven from a life-threatened store.
[39:29] These people came to recognise their predicaments, and out of the depths they began to cry out. Their cry is not to any man, but unto the Lord.
[39:40] They are brought to understand that it is only the Lord that can help them in their troubles. Now, while the Bible encourages opportunity in prayer, it also warns us against the lapse and omission of opportunity in prayer.
[40:01] There are many places where God gives the warning to his prophets. For instance, in Isaiah chapter 4, the prophet complains regarding the weakness of the people, that God has set his face for them and has consumed them because of their iniquities.
[40:19] For there we read, but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy vines, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away.
[40:32] But then note that he complains. And what is this complaint? This is it. And there is none that calleth upon thy name that stilleth up himself to take hold of thee.
[40:48] There was none that called upon the name of the Lord. In Ezekiel chapter 22, we read, And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
[41:05] Therefore have I poured out my indignation upon them? I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.
[41:21] An importune prayer is pleasing to God. As we have already noted from the example of Christ at the beginning of the beginning verses of Psalm 22, an importune prayer is a prayer of faith.
[41:35] Faith must rest upon something, it is not in a vacuum. And in the example of Christ as must be true of us all, an importune prayer of faith rested on the word of God, on the promises of God.
[41:49] We have already noted the promise contained in the words of the Lord through 7th Isaiah chapter 42 regarding the 7th, Behold my servant whom I have pulled, my elect in whom my soul delighted.
[42:02] I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the gender. An importune prayer is a prayer of faith that rests upon the promises of God.
[42:16] Some people say that we should not look on the past, but as I look at Psalm 22, I find it difficult to give too much credence to that kind of thinking.
[42:27] In this prayer, Jesus said, our fathers trusted in me, they trusted and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee and were delivered.
[42:40] They trusted in me and were not confounded. These words are not words of complaint as if he were saying you delivered them but you have not delivered me. Instead, they are words of encouragement by reflecting and recollecting God's true character.
[42:55] God is holy and because of this he has always shown himself to be faithful to those in the past who trusted in him. It is as if Jesus is thinking, will you not therefore be faithful to me and deliver me even though I am now in much darkness.
[43:13] An unperteous prayer is a prayer of faith that rests on the promises of God and is encouraged by looking at God's faithfulness to his covenant people in the past.
[43:26] in the midst of the cross Jesus conceded not. He did not resign or surrender but he pressed forward and prayed to his father and now light has come and every anguish or spirit were dispelled and every troubled feeling was hurt.
[43:44] and his petition changed from sorrow to joy for he says that he has been heard.
[43:57] He has been heard. for thou has heard me from the horns of the culecans.
[44:11] Well my dear friend if you are in despondency today take courage and you Caesar you shall rip if you faint not.
[44:22] The Lord said to the prophet Isaiah I said not into the seed of Jacob seed ye me in vain. God hears prayer and he will in no wise cast out any who will come to him through Jesus Christ.
[44:41] Let this successful example of his son on the cross be ever the example that I and you will follow for Jesus is the best pattern for us to follow.
[44:54] And so let us have confidence to unburden ourselves before him in an opportune prayer. Yes come with the same words.
[45:07] Come pleading the promises of God again and again and again. Oh let our voice be heard at the throne of grace.
[45:23] Let us our voice be heard before the throne of God. Let us follow the example of his son on the cross of Golgotha.
[45:37] May the Lord bless to us our thoughts upon his word. Let us pray. Eternal and ever blessed Lord, oh the privilege of coming to thee in prayer.
[45:52] The privilege of taking words, of taking our heart before thee and burdening yourselves before thee. Knowing that thou art a God who delights to hear prayer.
[46:06] Knowing that thou art a God who is able to answer our prayer out of the riches of thy grace through Jesus Christ. Let us not therefore be silent, but let us come even with the groans of our heart before thee.
[46:26] Let us come, O Lord, before thee with the desires of our heart. Even if others do not hear, even if we do not speak them, yet thou knowest the desires of our heart, thou knowest our thoughts, there is nothing headed front.
[46:46] all we give thee thanks that we are encouraged for the example of thy son to come before thee in prayer. And may we know, O Lord, the great reward that he knew when he could say, for thou are certain from the horns of the unicorns.
[47:08] whatever darkness, whatever difficulties that we may be going through, O may we pierce that darkness with the size of our heart in prayer.
[47:25] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for all thy goodness and kindness and thy faithfulness tells us. and all that we ask with the forgiveness of our sins in the name of thine own son, for it is his merit that we can plead before thee.
[47:43] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever. Amen.