So I will be reading Psalm 10, and once I am done, I will say, this is the word of the Lord, and you can say with me, thanks be to God.
Psalm 10.
He forgave, curses, and renounces the Lord.
In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him.
All his thoughts are, there is no God.
His ways prosper at all times.
Your judgments are on high, out of his sight.
As for all of his foes, he puffs at them.
He says in his heart, I shall not be moved.
Throughout all generations, I shall not meet adversity.
His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression.
Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He sits in ambush in the villages.
In hiding places, he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless.
He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket.
He lurks that he may seize the poor.
He seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
The helpless are crushed, sing down, and fall by his might.
He says in his heart, God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He will never see it.
Arise, O Lord, O God.
Lift up your hand.
Forget not the afflicted.
Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart,
You will not call to account?
But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
That you may take it into your hands.
To you the helpless commits himself.
You have been the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer.
Call his wickedness to account till you find none.
The Lord is king forever and ever, ever.
The nations perish from his land.
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted.
You will strengthen their heart.
You will incline your ear.
To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed.
So that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
This is the word of the Lord.
You may be seated.
The grass withers and the flower fades,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.
Let's pray.
O God, creator of all, judge over all the earth.
Thank you that we can come to you,
That you hear the desire of our heart.
We can lament the pain and the wickedness we suffer in this world.
And you draw us in like a loving father.
Thank you for who you've revealed yourself to be in this psalm.
Help us to see you in your splendor, in your glory.
Once again today we ask,
By the power of your spirit,
For the good of these precious souls,
This body we ask.
Amen.
Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I see in Psalm 10,
An encouragement to Christians,
And to believers,
That you can withstand,
A wicked man.
We could call this wicked man a pawn of Satan.
Satan is playing the chessboard,
But he uses real men and women,
Which the Bible calls the wicked.
And Satan uses those people as his expendable pieces.
Think of the book of Acts.
We read of one wicked man after another,
Rising up from within the church,
From outside of the church,
Bringing persecution,
Acting as a pawn of Satan,
To oppose the advance of God's kingdom.
Satan loads the gun,
He sets up the crime scene,
And then the wicked pull the trigger under his spell.
Verse 8 says,
They murder the innocent,
They crush the helpless.
Verse 10.
See what's going on in this life,
In this world?
We walk daily by faith,
Trusting the Lord.
And behind our normal daily activities,
There's Satan as a mastermind.
And the wicked mind the devil,
As their master.
Satan is using pawns on earth.
And these pawns of Satan cause real damage.
They inflict real suffering on real people.
So how can you, Christian,
Withstand a pawn of Satan?
We need to be equipped today.
First thing I see here in Psalm 10
Is how Satan grooms a person
Into becoming his pawn.
How a person becomes a pawn of Satan.
Who is it that Satan goes after?
According to verse 2,
It's the arrogant.
Satan baits the arrogant
To do his dirty work.
Verse 2 says,
It's in arrogance
That the wicked hotly pursue the poor.
Satan goes after the arrogant,
The proud.
Those who have a puffed up view of themselves.
And who is it that Satan seeks to destroy?
It's the poor.
Remember,
My uncle sent a picture of a slum in Brazil
In a favela.
And everyone there is poor.
They live in a slum.
But even within the slum,
There's oppression.
There are drug lords with machine guns
Sitting on top of buildings.
And then there are these fatherless children
On the streets.
Satan is using these pawns
Even inside of a slum
To oppress those who are even poorer than them.
In a spiritual sense,
These are the,
All who are Christians are poor.
John Gill commented,
The poor,
It's the good and gracious soul
Who commonly is poor
In the things of this world,
But is also sensibly poor in spirit.
Sensibly,
He is aware of his spiritual poverty.
That's who Satan wants to destroy
And attack.
Because those are the poor
To whom the kingdom of Christ belongs.
So Satan baits the arrogant.
And then Satan makes the arrogant
Addicted to the evil desires of his heart.
Look at verse 3.
The wicked boasts of the desires of his soul.
The lust inside the heart of the wicked
Makes them a pawn in Satan's hand
That gets more and more greedy for gain.
And once you are Satan's pawn,
He makes you obsess about something.
Look at verse 4.
What is it that the wicked obsess about?
You're a pawn of Satan.
He makes you obsess about silencing
And searing your own conscience.
It says the greedy one,
The greedy for gain,
He curses and renounces the Lord.
In verse 3.
In verse 4.
In the pride of his face,
The wicked does not see God.
All his thoughts are,
There is no God.
Do you see this wicked person
As a pawn of Satan?
Obsessing to appease their own conscience
That what they're doing to the poor is okay.
There's no God.
There's no judgment coming.
The thoughts of the wicked
Are so full of evil schemes.
He makes no room for God
In his meditations.
Think about what a wicked person
You and I would be
If we didn't spend our thoughts on God.
Without a thought of God,
The wicked man brushes off accountability.
He convinces himself
That he can do whatever he wishes now
Without fearing a judgment of God later.
And Satan makes his pawns believe
Their worldly prosperity cannot be threatened.
Look at verse 5.
His ways prosper at all times.
And as for his foes,
He puffs at them.
He sneers.
He snorts.
He scoffs.
At the thought of anyone
Threatening his prosperity.
The wicked views themselves
As the top of the food chain.
Nothing will threaten me.
In a farm in Brazil,
There was a 30 foot anaconda snake.
So that basketball hoop is 10 feet,
30 feet,
Three times that height.
And it would go in and out of the little lake there.
And the chickens of this farmer started disappearing.
But one time the farmer came up.
And this is how you kill an anaconda.
And it's not very exciting.
All he had to do,
The anaconda was laying in the sun
With the chicken halfway in its mouth.
He got a 22 gun.
Not very big gun.
Not much power.
Walked up to the anaconda.
Laid it on that snake's head.
And pulled the trigger.
The anaconda is the top of the food chain.
He knows no predators.
He didn't think this man is a threat.
He thought,
My prosperity,
Eating as many chickens as I want,
It will never come to an end.
And just like that,
Justice was done.
Never more did that snake eat a chicken.
That's how a person becomes a pawn of Satan.
Takes the arrogant.
Feeds their desires.
Puffs them up.
And thinks they can never be defeated.
Now, the next verses here,
6 through 11,
Really create a portrait for us.
It portrays a pawn of Satan.
Martin Luther made this comment,
There is not in my judgment a psalm
Which describes the mind,
The manners,
The works,
The words,
The feelings,
And the fate
Of the ungodly
With so much propriety,
Fullness,
And light
As Psalm 10.
So here's the portrait.
Of this pawn of Satan.
Notice how there's a bookends here.
There's an inclusio.
Verse 6,
The wicked says in his heart something.
And then again,
Verse 11,
He says in his heart.
We're going to focus on the portrait
Described inside of that.
Verse 6,
A pawn of Satan
Has a grandiose
Love
For himself.
He says in verse 6,
In his heart,
I shall not be moved.
Nothing shall ever shake me.
I'm solid.
Throughout all generations,
I shall not meet adversity.
In his heart,
He loves himself.
He's puffed up.
A pawn of Satan
Can also be known
By his words.
So listen carefully
To the wicked
And you'll be able to tell.
In verse 7,
We're told,
His mouth is filled with cursing
And deceit.
Oppression and threats
Are under his tongue.
Mischief and iniquity.
Harm and injustice.
Trouble and malice.
That's what he's spewing
From his words.
A pawn of Satan
Can also be known
By his positioning.
Where does he place himself?
Verse 8 says,
He secretly sits
In ambush
In the villages.
He lurks
Like a lion.
He lies in wait
In hiding places.
Always positioning
To murder
His next prey.
Which he always goes after.
It's the innocent.
And you can also tell
A pawn of Satan
By his focus.
Look at verse 8 and 9.
His eyes
Stealthily watch
For the helpless.
Looking for a weak prey.
He crouches in ambush
Like a lion
In his thicket.
He lurks
That he may seize the poor.
Not only does he position himself
And have that as his focus.
He actually strikes.
You can tell
A pawn of Satan
By his actions.
In verse 9,
He seizes the poor.
When he draws him
Into his net.
He traps him
And drags him away.
Verse 10,
The helpless are crushed.
They sink down.
They fall
By his might.
Well,
Verse 6 said
The desire
And what he says
In his heart
Is a puffed up view
Of himself.
Look at verse 11.
What else does he say
In his heart?
He says,
God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He will never
See it.
So not only
Does he have a grandiose
Love for himself
He also
Has a minuscule
Regard
For God
And that's a recipe
To be a pawn
Of Satan.
You go about your life
Thinking God
Does not notice.
God does not care.
There is no one
Higher than me.
I can live
However I please.
Can you see this
Portrait
Of a pawn
Of Satan?
He says
For one generation
To the next
No one will
Threaten my greatness.
During World War II
The fascist leader
Of Italy
Benito Mussolini
He allied
His whole country
To Hitler.
And on top
Of all the atrocities
Of the Nazi party
Mussolini
Is directly responsible
For the death
Of over a million
Innocent people.
And Mussolini
Was a pawn
Of Satan.
There are not only
World leaders
There are common
People walking
The streets
That are pawns
Of Satan
But the same
Attitude
Will be present.
Mussolini said
The bullet
Has not yet been
Made
That can take
My life.
No one
Will kill me.
No one
Can threaten me.
Now
I mentioned
How this psalm
It's a psalm
Of lament.
Lament is
To cry out
To the Lord
To weep.
The Old Testament
Believers
Would sit
In sackcloth
You know
Poor
Rough
Material
They would
Put ashes
Over their head
And their hair
They would
Wail and cry
Out to God
And lament
The reason
Psalm 10
Is a psalm
Of lament
Is because
The wicked
Ponds of Satan
They inflict
Real damage
In getting to
Know our congregation
There are stories
From every single
Household and family
Of real wickedness
Real evil
That has touched
Your family
In one way
Or the other
So we can
As Christians
We must
Lament
The real damage
That Satan's
Ponds
Inflict
On God's people
In this life
We must lament
I'm encouraged
By Psalm 10
Because it shows us
God welcomes that
Look at verse 1
God welcomes you
To tell him
Honestly
How you feel
Do you have
That type of
Relationship
With God
The creator
Where you can
Honestly tell him
How you are feeling
In verse 1
The psalmist
Cries out
Why oh Lord
Do you stand
Far away
Why do you
Hide yourself
In times of trouble
That's how it feels
To the psalmist
God also welcomes
You to ask
Honestly
For the vengeance
You want
To see
I don't make
A practice
Of doing that
But I need
To learn
To pray
More biblically
To pray
Like the psalms
Look at what
He prays
In verse 2
He says
Let the wicked
Be caught
In the schemes
That they have
Devised
Pray honestly
For the vengeance
You want God
To bring
God also welcomes
You to tell him
What the problem
Seems to be
From your perspective
And I think
Verse 5
Gives us
The greatest
Insight
Verse 5
Says
Your judgments
God
Are on high
And that's a problem
He says
They are out
Of the sight
Of men
From his perspective
The problem
Is that
It's not that
God is unjust
It's that
God's justice
Is so high
That to the wicked
Of the earth
It seems like
God does nothing
They're out
Of the sight
Of man
And that seems
To be a problem
That's why
These wicked
Don't fear you
God
And God
Welcomes you
To tell him
Honestly
The psalmist
Teaches us
That God
Also welcomes
You to call
On him
Directly
Ask God
To act
He says this
Very clearly
In verse 12
Arise
Oh Lord
Oh God
Lift up your hand
To take action
Forget not
The afflicted
God
If you see this
Which I know
You do
If you hear
These laments
Won't you
Move with action
Bring your hand
To this earth
So the wicked
Can see
You are present
You do care
There is accountability
Before you
And God
Also welcomes
You to tell him
How bad
It really is
How bad
This wicked
Oppression is
Look at verse 13
Why does the wicked
Renounce God
And say in his heart
You will not
Call to account
God the wicked
Are mocking you
They are saying
You are not
Going to do anything
It is bad
Show yourself
Arise Lord
God welcomes you
To put all
Your specific
Expectations
For justice
In God's
Hands
Verse 15
He prays
Very specifically
Break the arm
Of the wicked
And evildoer
Break his arm
Lord
The arm
Represents power
Make the wicked
Unable
To inflict
Damage anymore
Make the wicked
Unable
And powerless
To hurt
The innocent
God
Call his wickedness
To account
Expose it
Until you find
None
So lament
The real damage
That Satan's
Pawns inflict
Lament that
To God
Bring it
Directly to him
And as you pray
Trust that God
Truly does
Hear your desires
Look at this promise
In verse 17
Oh Lord
You hear
The desire
Of the afflicted
Are you feeling
Afflicted today
Is there something
Which you are lamenting
In your soul
God hears
Your desire
Pray to the Lord
Lament
Bring it to him
He welcomes you
To do that
Well the title
Of the sermon
Is how to withstand
A pawn of Satan
And that's what I want
To walk us through
Next
How do you and I
Do this
We feel the oppression
We suffer under it
What can I do
I believe this psalm
Teaches us to do
Two things
Number one
Preach to yourself
And number two
Pray
So number one
Preach the truth
About God
To yourself
When you're facing
A pawn of Satan
When you're facing
Oppression in this world
When you are suffering
When you feel helpless
When you are being persecuted
Preach to yourself
Say oh suffering self
Verse 14
God does see
God notes the evil
And he sees the scheming
And he takes
He takes account of this
Into his own hands
Preach that to yourself
Oh helpless self
I commit myself again to God
He has always been
The helper of the fatherless
I can give myself to God
And he will be
My helper now
Preach this truth to yourself
Oh persecuted self
Verse 16
The Lord is king
Forever and ever
The nations perish
From his land
Preach to yourself
The truth from God's own word
And the second thing
Is to pray
R.C. Sproul commented
All of our warfare
And all of our activity
Must
Take place
In the context
Of constant
Unceasing prayer
Just as a soldier
On the battle line
Has to keep in
Constant communication
With his general headquarters
And his commanding officer
So the Christian
Who is on the battle line
Must be in constant
Communication
With his Lord
He might be fully
Equipped
With all the armor
But if he is cut off
From personal communication
With his own commander
Then he will be isolated
And vulnerable
That's the end of Sproul's quote
Do you see why we must pray?
We must be in communication
With our Lord
And we can pray
Verses 17 and 18
Oh Lord
I am afflicted
You promise
To hear my heart's desires
My inner being is weak
You promise
To strengthen my heart
I'm oppressed
I'm terror stricken
And I feel like
I have no protection
No advocate
No safe house
On earth
But you promise
To be my father
To incline your ear
To do justice
Verse 18
So that no man
On earth
Can strike terror
Anymore
You can pray
Oh Lord
Be true to your word
Show me again
You are
Who you say you are
Show me how you've
Proven yourself
Faithful in the past
Remind me of your faithfulness
Remind me
Of how you've been
Faithful in the person
And work of Jesus Christ
Ultimately
And how you will
Help me now
You can pray
Lord
You know my desires
You know my needs
And I ask all of this
To you as my loving father
Yet not my will
But your will be done
And I ask this
For your glory
And my good
Isn't it wonderful
How the Psalms
Teach us to pray
Our Lord Jesus Christ
When he took on the flesh
He identifies with us
In our suffering
And according to his human nature
Jesus learned to pray
And how to lament
I was thinking of when
One of the lowest moments
In the life of Christ
On earth
When John the Baptist
His cousin
Was beheaded
We're told that Jesus
Withdrew to a solitary place
We don't get many other insights
But our Lord had the scriptures
Memorized
In the Psalms
Psalms of lament
Crying out to the Lord
In this way
This would have been
The prayer of Jesus
In those moments
Where according to his human nature
The Father is teaching him faith
And to trust him
All of this plan
Is for my purpose
And you're good
Though you can't see it now
And our Lord Jesus
In his faithfulness
He transforms a Psalm
Of lament
Like Psalm 10
Into an anthem
Of victory
The last thing I hope
We can do together
Is to celebrate
How our Lord Jesus Christ
Fulfills Psalm 10
And transforms it
Notice the tone of this Psalm
In verse 1
Why oh Lord
Do you stand far away?
The Psalmist says
I can't stand the wicked
Anymore
On this earth
And you God
Why are you so far away?
Why are you hidden
In times of trouble?
Well our Lord Jesus Christ
He proves that God
Does not stand far away
In the person and work
Of Jesus
God himself
Came to earth
To dwell
With you and me
John 1
And God does not stand far off
He stands with you
And by his strength
You can withstand
Our Lord Jesus Christ
On this earth
He entered Satan's house
So to speak
This present evil age
Mark 3 27
He took down
That strong man Satan
We could say
Jesus put Satan
In a spiritual half Nelson
If you know your wrestling moves
And on top of that
He broke that arm
He bound Satan
He bound him up
And plundered his goods
He took back those souls
That belonged to Satan
He did not hide himself
In times of trouble
He showed the disciples this
The storm is raging
They think they're gonna die
These are terror stricken men
And he is present with them
He's not hidden
What's more
He took the trouble
He took the wrath
Of God's justice on the cross
In order to give peace
To all who would look at him
He brought the judgments of God
From on high
To this earth
And his spirit is applying
His justice
To your life and to mine now
He's applying the grace
The glory
The peace of heaven
To us in real time
He's not far away
He's not hiding himself
He arose
From the dead
As God's
Strong right arm
Jesus holds
All power
And authority
He is the king
Who sits enthroned
Forever
And ever
There is no room
For Satan
Or Satan's pawns
In the kingdom of God
He drives them out of his land
He pushes them
Far away
He does not
Forget his people
He does not leave Christians
As orphans
In this world
But instead
He sent
His Holy Spirit
And he draws you
To be part of his family
He intercedes for you
Even when you're groaning
And lamenting
The Holy Spirit
Takes that
And he turns it
Into an
Abba Father
That the Lord hears
With mercy
And he promises
That he is
With you
Always
Even to the very end
Of the world
He has conquered sin
And Satan
Worldliness
And wolves
He has defeated
Death
So that you
His people
Must never live
In the fear
Of terror
Again
The wicked
Will not prosper
Forever
They will perish
So the pawns of Satan
Dear brothers and sisters
They do inflict
Real damage
But our Lord Jesus Christ
He is the King of Kings
He is the Lord
Of Lords
And he has made you
One with him
It is his strength
Inside of you
He has made you
A knight
In his army
He has taken
All the armor
That you need
From heaven
And he puts it on you
Ephesians 6
3
He commands you
To take what he's given
Therefore
Put on the full armor
Of God
So that when the day
Of evil comes
You may be able
To stand
Your ground
And having done all
To stand
This is how we withstand
The pawn of Satan
In this world
And this is how
The Lord transforms
The psalm of lament
Into our anthem cry
Of victory
Let's spend some time
Praising him
And thanking him
For his great work
That we can belong to him
Thank youCause
God bless you
Rome