WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:09.820 So we're reading Psalm 59. It's 17 verses. Could somebody read the first 10 verses along with the intro? 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:14.200 And then someone else read verses 11 through 17. 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:19.879 Thanks, Mitchell. Thanks, June. 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:24.600 Yeah. 1 through 10 and June 11 through 17. 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:54.579 Amen. 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:59.420 You, Lord God Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all nations. 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:01.219 Show no mercy to live with troopers. 00:01:01.899 --> 00:01:04.799 They return at evening, smiling like dogs, and palls of the city. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:06.700 See what they spew from their mouths. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.480 The words from their lips are sharp as sores, and they think, who can hear us? 00:01:11.020 --> 00:01:14.359 But you ask them, Lord, and stop at all those nations. 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:17.920 You are my strength. I watch you, God, are my fortress. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:19.520 My God, in whom I can rely. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.420 God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slain me. 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:26.479 Kill them not, lest my people forget. 00:01:26.839 --> 00:01:30.219 Make them tortered by your power, and bring them down, the Lord our shield. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:35.319 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, that will be trapped in their presence. 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:39.299 For the cursing of lies that they utter, consume them in wrath. 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:45.219 Consume them until they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:50.280 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:54.200 They wander about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill. 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:56.680 But I will sing of your strength. 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.719 I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:04.000 For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:07.200 Oh, my strength, I will sing praises to you. 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:09.319 For you, O God, are my fortress. 00:02:09.659 --> 00:02:11.740 The God who shows me steadfast love. 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:13.539 Thanks, guys. 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:25.099 So this psalm is an individual lament, and it seeks God's protection from enemies who threaten to harm the pious person's life. 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:29.859 It's split into two sections, so 1 through 10, and then 11 through 17. 00:02:30.399 --> 00:02:34.879 The first section is a cry for help in the face of fierce and bloodthirsty enemies. 00:02:35.399 --> 00:02:42.699 And the second half voices confidence in God that he will protect the psalmist and make an example of the persecutors. 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:48.560 It's connected to an episode earlier in David's life when he escapes from Saul. 00:02:49.079 --> 00:02:55.459 Before this, Saul, the king of Israel, was trying to kill David indirectly, so trying to get the Philistines to kill him. 00:02:55.899 --> 00:02:58.799 Now he shifted over to trying to get David killed directly. 00:02:58.899 --> 00:02:59.979 He's just ordering men to kill him. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.439 So let's turn there very quickly. 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:07.079 It's 1 Samuel 19, verse 11. 00:03:08.759 --> 00:03:10.759 And I'll read that very quickly. 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:17.219 So 1 Samuel 19, verses 11 through 17. 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:23.840 Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:26.699 But Michael, David's wife, told him, 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.139 If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:34.599 So Michael let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:40.879 Michael took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goat's hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:44.099 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:45.120 He is sick. 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:48.599 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:51.579 Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him. 00:03:52.359 --> 00:03:53.939 And when the messengers came in, 00:03:54.299 --> 00:03:57.759 Behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goat's hair at its head. 00:03:58.599 --> 00:03:59.319 Saul said to Michael, 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:03.300 Why have you deceived me thus, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped? 00:04:03.819 --> 00:04:04.979 And Michael answered Saul, 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:06.019 He said to me, 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:07.119 Let me go. 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:08.280 Why should I kill you? 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:11.939 So that's the episode this is connected to. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:13.799 Earlier in this chapter, 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:19.800 David is able to escape from Saul through Jonathan, 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:23.839 who is Saul's son and one of David's friends. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.899 Here, he's able to escape from Saul through Michael, who is Saul's daughter. 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:32.180 And later in the chapter, he's able to flee to Samuel. 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:36.139 And when Saul and his messengers come after him, 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:39.280 the Spirit of God comes upon them, and they all end up prophesying. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:41.720 So instead of killing David, they prophesy. 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:47.400 So that's what this psalm is connected to. 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:52.199 Going back to Psalm 59, let's look at three people, three types of people. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.000 There's the bloodthirsty men. 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:55.579 There's God. 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:58.259 And then there's the persecuted faithful. 00:04:59.280 --> 00:05:00.740 So first, the bloodthirsty men. 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:03.280 There's Saul, who's the king of Israel. 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:07.759 And right now, what's happening is he's having the kingship ripped away from him. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:14.160 As the king, he doesn't care about God's honor or the good of his people, as he ought to. 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:15.740 But he cares about himself. 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:16.340 That's all. 00:05:17.100 --> 00:05:21.040 First Samuel chapter 18, it says that Saul was afraid of David 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:24.759 because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:30.680 So he was jealous of David, afraid of losing his power, his prestige, his influence. 00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:33.420 So there's Saul, one of the bloodthirsty men. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:38.860 There's Saul's messengers who are watching for David at his home, waiting to kill him in the morning. 00:05:39.219 --> 00:05:42.180 They're following Saul rather than following God. 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.000 They don't care about what's right and what's wrong. 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:50.680 Maybe instead they care about money or they care about favor with the king. 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:52.600 They don't fear God. 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:55.699 It says that instead they think, who will hear us? 00:05:56.540 --> 00:06:01.279 They're described as dogs prowling about the city, a pack of dogs trying to get their kill. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:08.459 And in our lives, we might encounter people like this who are pursuing selfish gain and cause us harm 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:10.779 rather than seeking what's right and good. 00:06:11.359 --> 00:06:18.219 So it might be managers who work you into the ground and they don't care about, 00:06:18.619 --> 00:06:19.939 they don't respect your work hours. 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:22.539 They only care about what they can get out of you. 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:24.179 You're just a product to them. 00:06:24.859 --> 00:06:27.939 Maybe it's a coworker who's waiting for you to make a mistake 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:31.639 so they can make you look bad and step over you toward a promotion. 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.279 Maybe in our younger days and for our younger people, 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:41.040 it's a younger or older sibling who can't wait to tattle on you to mom or dad, right? 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:43.519 So we encounter those people. 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:49.100 Or maybe you found yourself in the position of bloodthirsty man. 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:52.720 You might not be lurking outside someone's house to kill them. 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:55.120 But I know for me, I can come home. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:59.220 And from a hard and tiring day at work, I become really irritable. 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:01.399 I take it out on my family. 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:05.720 I'm really short, really harsh when they don't deserve it, right? 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:07.759 David says, no fault of my own. 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:09.600 These bloodthirsty men are coming after me. 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.379 Maybe I see people my own age who are surpassing me, 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:19.579 maybe getting a promotion, maybe are getting paid more than me. 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.019 And I harbor jealousy and ill will in my heart. 00:07:22.019 --> 00:07:24.779 And I know that's happened to me. 00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:29.759 So whether it's in ourselves or in others, we can come across these bloodthirsty men. 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:35.120 Second, there's God, the God of strength and steadfast love. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:37.839 When David comes across these bloodthirsty men, 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:40.919 he doesn't lose himself in despair or hopelessness, 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:42.879 but he looks to God. 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:47.539 God is for him his strength, his fortress, his refuge. 00:07:47.540 --> 00:07:51.760 He's the one who shows him steadfast love, who is there for him, 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:54.760 the one that David can rely on. 00:07:55.900 --> 00:08:00.120 Sinful men might think, who hears us, who sees us? 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:03.140 But it's God who sees and hears all. 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:05.300 Psalm 94 says, 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:22.319 So in your life, that's a point of application. 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:27.000 In the midst of injustice or unfairness, when people are malicious to you, 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:30.439 be comforted by the fact that God sees and he will judge. 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:32.059 Romans 12 says, 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:35.240 Do not take refuge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:38.039 for it is written, it is mine to avenge. 00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:39.899 I will repay, says the Lord. 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:42.500 When your manager steps all over you, 00:08:42.740 --> 00:08:44.960 your coworkers and siblings wait for you to fail. 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:46.159 Don't despair. 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:48.360 Don't take vengeance into your own hands. 00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:50.360 Instead, look to God to judge. 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:52.379 But again, 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.480 let's take a look in the mirror. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:56.820 Take a look at ourselves. 00:08:56.820 --> 00:08:59.040 Because if we're honest, if I'm honest, 00:08:59.560 --> 00:09:01.020 this strikes fear into my heart. 00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:02.620 God sees me. 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:04.379 God sees all of me. 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:06.000 He hears me and knows my thoughts. 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:08.060 That can be a frightening thought. 00:09:09.140 --> 00:09:11.460 In my life, I've done wrong to God, 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:12.900 though he hasn't been at fault. 00:09:13.800 --> 00:09:15.840 I've thought, you know, 00:09:16.060 --> 00:09:17.560 God, is he really loving? 00:09:18.700 --> 00:09:20.860 Accusing him of whether he's good or not. 00:09:21.660 --> 00:09:23.940 I've thought, I don't care what you want, God. 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.320 I want this, and I'm going to do this. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.080 So how can I approach God and look to him? 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:32.960 Look to him to be my strength when I've disregarded him. 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:36.280 But this brings us to the third person, 00:09:37.040 --> 00:09:38.500 and that's the persecuted faithful. 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:40.920 And specifically in this song, 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:42.700 it points us to the Lord Jesus. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:45.820 Among all the men who have lived on this earth, 00:09:46.640 --> 00:09:48.460 he's the only one who did no wrong. 00:09:49.300 --> 00:09:51.440 He's the ultimate person who had bloodthirsty men 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:52.440 wanting his harm, 00:09:52.860 --> 00:09:54.080 though he was not at fault. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:57.680 During his life, there were people trying to catch him in his words, 00:09:57.780 --> 00:09:58.720 so he would slip up. 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:01.600 There were people who accused him of blasphemy. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:04.020 And when he was put to death, 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:05.360 the crowd that was there, 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:08.720 they chose someone who committed murder to be released 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:10.400 instead of the Lord Jesus, 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:11.520 who had done nothing wrong. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:16.699 He could have cried out to God for salvation and vengeance like David did, 00:10:17.079 --> 00:10:18.519 but Jesus stayed silent. 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:20.740 Isaiah 53 says, 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:22.940 He was oppressed and he was afflicted, 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:24.840 yet he opened not his mouth. 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:27.379 Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.980 and like a sheep that before it shears is silent, 00:10:30.299 --> 00:10:31.940 so he opened not his mouth. 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:34.480 Why would he do this? 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.639 What could motivate him to stay silent in the face of such injustice? 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.100 His motivation was you, 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:43.080 and his motivation was me. 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:45.159 He loves us. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:47.139 It's because he loves us, 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:48.299 he chose to die for us, 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:49.620 even though he didn't deserve it. 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:52.519 Again, in Isaiah 53, we read, 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:54.419 He was pierced for our transgressions. 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:56.699 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:10:57.639 --> 00:10:59.980 Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, 00:11:00.059 --> 00:11:01.480 and with his wounds we are healed. 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:04.339 Because Jesus died in our place, 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:06.100 we can be forgiven by God, 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:08.939 be accepted according to Christ's perfect life. 00:11:09.400 --> 00:11:11.920 We can be accepted as dearly beloved children. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:14.400 We can cry out to God to be our strength, 00:11:14.780 --> 00:11:15.280 our refuge. 00:11:15.900 --> 00:11:16.940 We can cry out to him, 00:11:17.400 --> 00:11:20.760 and trust that he will not judge us for our sins, 00:11:21.040 --> 00:11:22.720 but show us steadfast love forever. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:24.780 So as we go forward, 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:26.660 tonight, tomorrow, in our lives, 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:29.540 let's remember not to take vengeance into our own hands, 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:30.260 or to despair, 00:11:30.920 --> 00:11:32.720 but because of what Christ has done for us, 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:35.260 let us rely on God's steadfast love for us.