WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.580 All right, let me read Psalm 69 for us. 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:09.740 I will switch over to the ESV. 00:00:15.860 --> 00:00:19.420 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:22.699 I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold. 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:26.920 I have come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me. 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:29.039 I am weary with my crying out. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:33.579 My throat is parched, my eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 00:00:34.379 --> 00:00:38.439 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:42.640 Mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:45.379 What I did not steal must I now restore? 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:47.780 O God, you know my folly. 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:50.460 The wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:56.140 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts. 00:00:56.140 --> 00:01:00.340 Let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:05.579 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:09.480 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:16.159 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:21.420 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.500 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. 00:01:26.179 --> 00:01:30.599 I am to talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:34.539 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:41.819 At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me in your saving faithfulness. 00:01:42.399 --> 00:01:43.959 Deliver me from sinking in the mire. 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:46.979 Let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:53.560 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:57.400 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good. 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:00.420 According to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:02.980 Psalm 69, verse 17. 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:07.420 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress. 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:09.300 Make haste to answer me. 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:11.379 Draw near to my soul. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:12.259 Redeem me. 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:14.580 Ransom me because of my enemies. 00:02:15.420 --> 00:02:18.740 You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor. 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:21.020 My foes are all known to you. 00:02:21.020 --> 00:02:24.900 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. 00:02:25.980 --> 00:02:30.100 I look for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:34.920 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. 00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:40.719 Let their own table before them become a snare, and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:46.379 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:52.079 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:54.159 May there can't be a desolation. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:59.539 Let no one dwell in their tents, for they persecute him whom you have struck down, 00:02:59.799 --> 00:03:02.180 and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:05.319 Add to them punishment upon punishment. 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:07.579 May they have no acquittal from you. 00:03:08.419 --> 00:03:10.159 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:12.400 Let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:15.539 But I am afflicted and in pain. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.099 Let your salvation, O God, set me on high. 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:21.300 I will praise the name of God with a song. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:23.520 I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:27.860 This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:29.860 When the humble see it, they will be glad. 00:03:30.140 --> 00:03:32.000 You who seek God, let your hearts revive. 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:36.599 For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.939 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:44.579 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah. 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:47.280 And people shall dwell there and possess it. 00:03:47.859 --> 00:03:52.859 The offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it. 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:56.000 It's a long psalm. 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:57.639 Psalm 69. 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:02.379 So, I love when life makes sense. 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.699 It kind of makes life hard for me, because life often doesn't make sense. 00:04:07.559 --> 00:04:10.959 And life can be complicated and unclear. 00:04:11.359 --> 00:04:12.839 So that's what this psalm talks about. 00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:16.259 There are a lot of life complexities in this psalm. 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:24.539 And the key takeaway is that in a complicated and confusing life, the faithful depend on God's mercy and praise God. 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:27.480 So let's take a closer look at this psalm. 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:30.219 First, let's look at three different types of lives. 00:04:30.420 --> 00:04:34.199 There's the complicated life of the psalmist, who's David here. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:36.879 Second, the complicated life of Christ. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.899 First, and third, our own complicated lives. 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:42.259 So first, David's life. 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:46.519 As we read the psalm, David is going through a really hard time. 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.259 He describes himself as drowning underwater. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:55.819 It's a picture of being overwhelmed, being overtaken, and sinking in mud or being stuck and trapped. 00:04:56.779 --> 00:04:58.680 He's been crying out so much that he's tired out. 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:00.379 His throat is dried out. 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:06.420 So it's unclear what he's going through, but even without the particulars, we're able to relate with him. 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:08.000 Have you ever felt this way? 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:13.399 Like, you're going through so much that you feel overwhelmed, that you're stuck in a situation. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:16.180 You're exhausted because you're crying out to God for help. 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:17.120 Nothing's happening. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:20.899 Part of his hard time is understandable. 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:23.139 He acknowledges that he's a sinner. 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:24.480 Verse 5, 00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:25.800 O God, you know my folly. 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:28.079 The wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:30.360 So he's experiencing the guilt of his sin. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.540 But on the other hand, it's not understandable. 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:40.759 Because what's happening is there are a lot of people who hate him for no good reason. 00:05:40.980 --> 00:05:45.659 They attack him with lies, and they're unjustly making it worse. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:49.500 I'm trying to think about situations where we might find ourselves in this. 00:05:49.899 --> 00:05:53.079 When we're younger, maybe you're stressed out about some exam. 00:05:53.219 --> 00:05:55.560 You really need to get a good grade so you can pass the class. 00:05:56.280 --> 00:06:01.360 And then for some reason, some classmate says, tells the teacher that, you know, you're actually cheating. 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:02.480 You've been cheating all day, right? 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:04.360 So that's not helpful. 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:06.519 Or you're struggling at work to meet a deadline. 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:08.280 You're working really hard. 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:11.919 And for some reason, a coworker tells your manager that you've been watching YouTube all day, right? 00:06:11.919 --> 00:06:13.299 It's like not helping the situation. 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:15.199 Rubbing salt in the wound. 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:17.519 Kicking you while you're down. 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:20.620 So David's, he's got his sins. 00:06:20.979 --> 00:06:21.879 He's got these enemies. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:27.079 And he's also experiencing the anxiety of caring for others, for other believers. 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:33.079 In verse 6, David worries about bringing shame and dishonor upon other believers. 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:35.659 So maybe you've experienced this. 00:06:36.359 --> 00:06:42.659 Have you ever brought dishonor upon God because of your life or caused others to stumble because of your actions? 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:47.060 I know I have, and it's a bitter place to be. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:48.899 So he's experiencing that too. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:55.079 And finally, on top of these things, there's the hardship that comes from caring about God. 00:06:55.339 --> 00:06:56.379 He's zealous for God. 00:06:56.379 --> 00:06:57.740 He humbles himself. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:06:58.439 He fasts. 00:06:58.439 --> 00:06:59.579 He puts on sackcloth. 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.519 And because of all this, what's his reward? 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.500 He's the subject of drunkard songs. 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:06.920 People are making fun of him. 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:12.980 And it says that the contempt that people have for God is directed towards him. 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:16.639 So maybe you felt this too in these experiences. 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:19.680 You've been mocked because you're zealous for God. 00:07:20.259 --> 00:07:23.659 Maybe people say, oh, he seemed so holier than thou. 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:26.019 Or, oh, she prays. 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:26.959 That's so weird. 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:29.480 Or, he's such a prude. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.019 So David is experiencing all of these things. 00:07:34.779 --> 00:07:37.079 But in the midst of this, he responds in a few ways. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:42.139 First, he asks God that punishment would fall upon his enemies. 00:07:43.379 --> 00:07:45.579 Maybe it's a very gratifying prayer, right? 00:07:45.659 --> 00:07:50.000 Verse 24, pour out your indignation upon them, that your burning anger overtake them. 00:07:50.219 --> 00:07:51.699 Add to them punishment upon punishment. 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:54.920 Second thing he does is he asks God for salvation. 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:58.140 Verse 29, I am afflicted and in pain. 00:07:58.640 --> 00:08:00.520 Let your salvation, O God, set me on high. 00:08:01.840 --> 00:08:06.480 And then last, he declares that he and all of creation will praise God. 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:12.420 So verse 34, let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:15.319 So that's David's life. 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.040 Let's look at a lot of different things that are happening. 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:20.439 Second, let's look at Jesus' life. 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:27.020 So David is a type of Christ, which means there are things in David's life that find their full fulfillment in Christ. 00:08:27.019 --> 00:08:32.679 So, for example, Jesus was the one who was drowning under the waters, sinking under the mud. 00:08:33.439 --> 00:08:39.120 He was so overwhelmed and trapped that we read that his sweat was like drops of blood. 00:08:39.699 --> 00:08:43.279 He was asking God, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:45.159 He was in that hard place. 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:50.980 Jesus was so zealous for God's house that he drove out the money changers with the whip-a-cords. 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:52.159 You guys remember when he did that? 00:08:52.839 --> 00:08:55.339 He wasn't making any friends among the Jewish leaders doing that. 00:08:56.079 --> 00:09:00.339 And he cared so much for his people that he laid down his life for us. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:02.600 John 15 says, 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:11.740 So those are some similarities, but there are some key differences between Jesus and David. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:17.100 One of them is, unlike David, Jesus had no sins to feel guilty of. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:26.100 So when David's enemies hurled accusations towards him, it's kind of like they're throwing matches at a pile of dry leaves. 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:32.580 They're half-truths, but they could catch on some of the truths of David's life that he's actually a sinner, right? 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:39.940 But with Jesus, when accusations were thrown towards him, it's like matches thrown into the ocean, right? 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.000 They go out, there's like nothing that's going to catch on. 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:45.300 Because he was perfect and pure in character. 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:49.940 But his enemies piled on to accusations anyway, because they hated him. 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:57.580 And unlike David, David called down punishment upon his enemies, but the Lord responded with grace and forgiveness. 00:09:58.220 --> 00:09:59.259 On the cross, he says, 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:02.180 Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:07.259 And in Christ's life, we actually see the ultimate complexity. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:14.120 It's a man who lived a perfect life, who deserved happiness and rewards, if anyone deserved it. 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:19.259 But he died like a criminal, being hung on a cross, on a wooden cross. 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:24.560 And so the questions come to mind, how could a good and just God allow this to happen? 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:27.820 What sense is there in this? 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.240 But it's because this was the only way that God could save us. 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:34.700 Jesus had to die so that we could live. 00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:37.180 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:43.180 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:10:44.140 --> 00:10:45.340 Isaiah 53 says, 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:47.420 He was pierced for our transgressions. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:49.140 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:53.700 The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:57.840 It was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:04.780 So the ultimate complexity finds its resolution in the loving will of God. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:07.759 So that's Christ's life. 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:08.980 Let's look at our lives. 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:10.960 Have you ever faced times like these? 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:11.840 I'm sure you guys have. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:14.580 Where you're dealing with so much stress that you feel like you're drowning. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:16.940 Where you're in a deadened situation. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:18.259 You feel like you're stuck in mud. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:19.040 You're not going anywhere. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:22.120 Where people are attacking you maliciously with lies. 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:26.599 Where you experience circumstances that are confusing. 00:11:26.899 --> 00:11:28.339 Don't make any sense at all. 00:11:29.819 --> 00:11:30.579 I know I have. 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:31.779 A couple things that come to mind. 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:37.839 It's growing up in a family situation where things were really hard. 00:11:38.079 --> 00:11:40.319 I wonder why are they the way that they are? 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:41.980 Why did God have me born in this family? 00:11:42.319 --> 00:11:43.099 I don't understand. 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:45.099 Or even recently. 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:48.120 Seeking to get into business school so I could provide for my family. 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:49.840 Good motivation. 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:52.399 God was opening all these doors for me. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:54.139 And then I finally failed to get it. 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:55.879 Super confused. 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:56.759 Frustrated. 00:11:57.340 --> 00:11:57.759 Disappointed. 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:03.779 But with even just a few years hindsight, I could see God's loving will in these things. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:06.139 Having a difficult family history. 00:12:06.700 --> 00:12:07.980 It's no unique thing. 00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:12.180 And so I can comfort those who have experienced similar things. 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.440 And I don't fully understand the business school situation still. 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:19.880 But I know one outcome is that Carolyn and I had to switch plans. 00:12:20.560 --> 00:12:25.020 And we chose to have a daughter who's an imminent blessing. 00:12:25.019 --> 00:12:34.179 And so, I mean, sometimes even these peaks of getting these answers into these situations, it's slim to none. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:34.939 Right? 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:36.299 Sometimes we just don't get the answers. 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:39.159 And so what can we hold on to during those times? 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:44.299 One thing we will always have is the cross. 00:12:45.219 --> 00:12:48.620 It's this complexity where we see the loving will of God. 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:51.500 At the cross is where God's holiness and love meet. 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:56.120 And we can always remember that God loved us so much that he put his own son to death. 00:12:56.120 --> 00:13:01.080 And so even when we don't understand specific situations, we can hold on to God's character. 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:03.679 That he's good and loving. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:08.220 And so I think the Matt Redmond song that we just sang is great. 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:09.480 He says, he has a line in there. 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:11.259 You give and take away. 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:14.899 My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name. 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:15.360 Right? 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:16.639 So in good times and bad. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.799 In faith, we can always choose to praise God and cry out to him. 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:26.019 So with that, let's enter into another song, Brian. 00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:27.019 Thank you.