WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:03.879 Well folks, it is wonderful to see you this morning. If you don't know me, my name is Alistair. 00:00:04.219 --> 00:00:12.000 I have the privilege of being the assistant pastor here and this week it has been my joy to spend my time in this wonderful psalm. 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:16.359 But let us pray together before we spend time in it. Let us pray. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:26.260 Father, as we turn now to contemplate what your word would say to us, what it would teach us and how it points us to Christ, 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:33.800 would you be glorified with the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart be pleasing to you, 00:00:33.900 --> 00:00:39.300 our wonderful rock and our great redeemer. In his name we pray. Amen. 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:52.260 Have you ever read a story or heard a story of immense suffering that has led you to tears, but ultimately ended in hope? 00:00:52.259 --> 00:01:06.140 This week I read the story of a guy called Joe Kong, a Cambodian government official who had to flee for his life with his family from the Communist Party 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:12.620 who were taking over Cambodia by force through torture and execution in the 1970s. 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:21.719 After immense difficulties and dangers, he managed to flee to Thailand with his family and escape certain death. 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:29.820 Or maybe the well-known story of Corrie ten Boom, who was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany 00:01:29.820 --> 00:01:34.000 because her and her family were smuggling Jews out of the Netherlands. 00:01:35.880 --> 00:01:44.900 In her book, The Hiding Place, she tells her life story and it is full of accounts of immense suffering and fears. 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:50.080 Stories of her time in Ravensbrück concentration camp. 00:01:51.100 --> 00:01:59.880 How so many people died and all the suffering that they endured, but the book also tells stories of hope and of freedom. 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:07.200 Stories of people's experience of suffering have the ability to move us to tears, don't they? 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:17.199 To evoke in us an emotional response whereby we feel their pain and we cannot help but mourn with them. 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:21.480 Well, that's what we're coming to this morning in Psalm 22. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:29.199 Psalm 22 is all about the suffering of God's anointed one, the suffering of a servant king. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:39.259 Now, like every psalm in this short summer series, the initial focus of the psalm is on King David, the ancient king of Israel. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:46.899 This psalm was written by David during a particularly difficult period in his life. 00:02:47.019 --> 00:02:49.359 Now, we don't know exactly when that was. 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:54.759 We don't know exactly what was going on at this time or the suffering that he's referring to. 00:02:54.759 --> 00:03:03.359 But as you read this psalm, there are cries of pain and distress, suffering and sadness. 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:12.419 He goes into great detail of the physical pain that he suffered and the emotional turmoil that he endured. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:17.879 Psalm 22 is a very, very moving psalm. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:24.219 The psalms are poetry and should draw us in to feel the writer's pain, to journey with them. 00:03:24.219 --> 00:03:29.159 They aren't academic essays that we can read and set to the side and think nothing of anymore. 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:36.840 But they should evoke in us an emotional response whereby we resonate with the psalmist. 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:46.379 And many psalms also point forward beyond the time that they were written in, beyond the people that they were written by or about. 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:51.379 That's why this short sermon series is called The King in All His Glory. 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:59.280 Because while Psalms 20 and 24 are written by or about King David, they ultimately point us forward to the true king. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:01.359 Jesus Christ, the ultimate. 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:04.479 And they find their ultimate fulfillment in him. 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:07.639 And this morning is no different. 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:13.119 In Psalm 22, we see the suffering of God's anointed king. 00:04:13.219 --> 00:04:14.179 In David, yes. 00:04:14.279 --> 00:04:19.439 But ultimately, we see the suffering of the anointed true king, Jesus Christ. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:27.079 Psalm 22 is quoted or alluded to 24 times in the New Testament. 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:30.699 Mostly in the gospel accounts of the death of Jesus. 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:36.620 But we wouldn't normally associate glory and death together, would we? 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:45.259 See, glory is most commonly associated with prestige, with power, with status, praise and honor. 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:49.699 And death is normally seen as a bad thing. 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:52.439 An evil to be avoided. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.860 A topic that we hide away behind big cemetery walls. 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:57.719 We do not want to think about it. 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:04.760 But as we turn to Jesus, the ultimate suffering king, we see the king in all of his glory. 00:05:04.760 --> 00:05:13.420 Because one of the most glorious things he did was die in the place of those who put their trust in him. 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:14.720 He died for sins. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:16.820 That is the king in all of his glory. 00:05:18.340 --> 00:05:20.820 But that's me getting ahead of myself a little bit. 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:23.980 Let's look at Psalm 22 together. 00:05:24.140 --> 00:05:25.600 Do keep it open in front of you. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.220 If you have a Bible. 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:32.760 And let's think about the suffering of a servant king under two headings. 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:36.060 Forsaken and finished. 00:05:37.020 --> 00:05:40.340 So the first thing we see in this psalm is forsaken. 00:05:40.580 --> 00:05:42.200 In verses 1 to 21. 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:43.060 Forsaken. 00:05:44.460 --> 00:05:48.680 And in these verses we get a detailed account of David's suffering. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.760 His many laments and his many cries for help. 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:54.140 Look with me at verse 1. 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:58.719 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:04.000 He feels completely abandoned. 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:06.560 Alone. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.419 In verse 2 he cries out to God but gets no answer. 00:06:11.539 --> 00:06:13.539 He finds no rest. 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:19.920 In verse 6 this great king of Israel feels humiliated. 00:06:21.700 --> 00:06:24.500 Insignificant like a worm wriggling in the mud. 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:30.040 In verse 7 his enemies mock him and hurl insults at him. 00:06:31.320 --> 00:06:36.660 In verses 12 to 13 he uses the imagery of animals to describe his enemies. 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:38.700 Bulls referring to strength. 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:42.319 And lions referring to the danger that they present. 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:47.279 His enemies are like a pack of dogs. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:48.319 Verse 16. 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:50.420 Encircling him. 00:06:51.099 --> 00:06:56.159 Waiting for that opportunity to pounce on him and unleash their final blow. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:00.360 And so look at how all of this makes him feel. 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.500 Read verses 14 to 15 with me. 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:05.760 I am poured out like water. 00:07:06.820 --> 00:07:09.820 All my bones are out of joint. 00:07:09.900 --> 00:07:11.440 My heart has turned to wax. 00:07:11.540 --> 00:07:12.700 It has melted within me. 00:07:12.780 --> 00:07:15.400 My heart is dried up like a pot should. 00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:18.980 And my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:23.080 You lay me in the dust of death. 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:28.120 He feels completely forsaken and depleted. 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:32.199 He is so fearful that he says his heart melts like wax. 00:07:33.479 --> 00:07:38.620 It's as if all his courage and boldness has melted as he faces his suffering. 00:07:40.599 --> 00:07:43.019 Once a king of power. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:44.539 Prestige. 00:07:44.699 --> 00:07:47.000 Standing in some kind of glory. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:48.659 Now humiliated. 00:07:49.659 --> 00:07:50.759 Brought to nothing. 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:52.879 In the dust of death. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:55.839 And so it makes sense, doesn't it? 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:57.959 That he cries in verse 1. 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:00.779 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:04.500 He feels abandoned. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:06.680 He feels overwhelmed. 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:10.579 He feels a deep sense of loss. 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:14.259 But not from a goodbye or from the death of a loved one. 00:08:14.299 --> 00:08:15.899 As painful as those things are. 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:23.039 But he feels like this because he thinks or feels that God has intentionally forsaken him. 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:32.439 It's as if he's a child who's been left standing at the side of a road by a mother who didn't want him anymore. 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:36.320 He feels like a defenseless infant. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:39.360 Unable to do anything to save himself. 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:41.680 Now can you imagine his pain? 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:50.639 But notice that even in his pain, even though he feels like he has been forsaken, there is still hope. 00:08:51.059 --> 00:08:51.479 Why? 00:08:51.739 --> 00:08:54.599 Because he continues to cry, my God. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:59.040 David's suffering hasn't changed his mind. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.200 He knows who God is. 00:09:02.300 --> 00:09:04.360 He knows that God is his God. 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:08.960 He's not crying to some distant, far off deity who doesn't care about him. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.159 But he's crying, my God. 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.399 He still has faith. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:18.500 And so that's why he cries and prays in verse 20. 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:19.259 Deliver me. 00:09:20.059 --> 00:09:21.379 Rescue me, verse 21. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.019 Save me, verse 21. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:28.120 He prays all of those things because he knows who he is praying to. 00:09:28.959 --> 00:09:31.100 He's praying to the God he trusts in. 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:34.579 And the God that he still has faith in. 00:09:35.579 --> 00:09:36.399 My God. 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:38.199 My God. 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:40.740 Why have you forsaken me? 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:50.279 Now those words are probably most familiar to us as we hear them cried out by Jesus on the cross in Matthew 27, verse 46. 00:09:51.819 --> 00:09:56.779 This psalm's point about being forsaken is about David, yes. 00:09:56.839 --> 00:10:00.179 But it ultimately points us forward to the suffering of Jesus. 00:10:02.019 --> 00:10:03.740 Now we don't have time to do it now. 00:10:03.819 --> 00:10:05.740 I would love to, but we don't, I'm afraid. 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:11.700 I would encourage you this afternoon or this week, find time and sit with two Bibles open in front of you. 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:18.080 One at Psalm 22 and another one open at Matthew 27 or John 19. 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:24.600 And you will see how this psalm is the pattern of suffering, is the pattern of the suffering of Jesus Christ. 00:10:26.780 --> 00:10:30.860 Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:37.840 Now he didn't do that so that we can geek out on the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:45.000 He didn't even do that in order to fulfill this passage or to make people think about this passage. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:48.580 Do you know why Jesus cried that out on the cross? 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:51.660 Because that was his experience. 00:10:55.940 --> 00:11:01.440 The Son of God felt forsaken by God as he hung on that cross. 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:08.600 Psalm 22 is Jesus' experience. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:10.879 Look at a few of the verses. 00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:12.560 Verse 2. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:29.579 Verse 7. 00:11:29.579 --> 00:11:31.699 Verse 7. 00:11:31.699 --> 00:11:39.919 In Psalm 22, verse 8. 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:51.839 In Matthew 27, verse 42. 00:11:51.979 --> 00:11:57.199 The chief priests and teachers of the law look at Jesus, the Son of God, nailed to a cross. 00:11:57.259 --> 00:11:58.199 And this is what they say. 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:01.819 He saved others, but he cannot save himself. 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:04.639 He's the King of Israel. 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:08.179 Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him. 00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:09.579 He trusts in God. 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:11.719 Let God rescue him if he wants him. 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:14.000 For he said, I am the Son of God. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:16.419 Are those not insults? 00:12:16.979 --> 00:12:20.039 Being hurled at the Son of God as he dies in our place? 00:12:23.599 --> 00:12:26.079 In Psalm 22, verse 16, it says, 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.000 Dogs surround me. 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:29.979 A pack of villains encircle me. 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:32.039 They pierce my hands and my feet. 00:12:32.339 --> 00:12:34.099 All my bones are on display. 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.779 People stare and gloat over me. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:42.279 They divide my clothes and cast lots for my garment. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:49.279 In Matthew 27, Jesus is surrounded by a crowd of soldiers. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:51.399 Beating him. 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:53.320 Mocking him. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.360 All with the sole purpose of humiliating him. 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:03.639 Making him feel like a insignificant worm wriggling in the dust. 00:13:05.060 --> 00:13:07.300 Making him feel like nothing. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:12.060 And the disciples had fled for their lives. 00:13:13.300 --> 00:13:18.920 A few of them stood off in a distance, but Jesus felt forsaken and alone. 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:24.120 Soldiers divided his clothes among themselves. 00:13:24.300 --> 00:13:27.379 Nails were driven through his hands and his feet. 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:32.899 As the physical aspects of the crucifixion are so evident from Psalm 22. 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:33.519 Were they not? 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:37.100 Bones on display, verse 17. 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:39.879 Humiliated, verse 6. 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:43.179 Empty and devoid of all energy, verse 14. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.179 Thirsty and in pain, verse 15. 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:51.299 Those are the physical aspects of the crucifixion. 00:13:51.939 --> 00:13:55.939 But friends, the worst part of the crucifixion of Jesus was not the physical pain he endured. 00:13:55.940 --> 00:14:04.800 But it was the spiritual torment as he cried, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.440 Because he felt forsaken by God. 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:15.320 As Jesus hung on the cross, he bore the full weight of sin. 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:21.680 Suffering the intense and just wrath of God against the sins of the world. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:28.659 Darkness covered the sky from noon till three in the afternoon as a physical sign of the judgment of God. 00:14:29.659 --> 00:14:35.079 That was taking place as the holy, perfect, innocent, anointed king. 00:14:36.439 --> 00:14:41.059 Suffered and died in the place of sinners like you and like me. 00:14:41.059 --> 00:14:49.179 Jesus wasn't separated from God in nature or in substance. 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:50.759 He didn't cease to be God. 00:14:50.839 --> 00:14:52.059 That's important to know. 00:14:52.579 --> 00:15:00.519 But the intimacy of relationship between God and Son was somehow interrupted as he became sin for us. 00:15:01.099 --> 00:15:05.959 Now I've been studying theology or I've studied theology in a formal setting for eight years. 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:11.000 I've been a Christian for a good wee while now and I still cannot get my head around that. 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:13.740 And I probably never will. 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:20.220 But even if we grasp it fully or not, Jesus felt abandoned and forsaken. 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:28.860 And yet as we stand on this side of the cross, we understand that all of his suffering and forsakenness was not pointless, don't we? 00:15:30.680 --> 00:15:34.460 As William Gilbert put so powerfully in his hymn, 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:36.840 Wounded for me, wounded for me. 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.840 There on the cross, he was wounded for me. 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:43.200 Gone my transgressions, now I am free. 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.360 All because Jesus was wounded for me. 00:15:56.300 --> 00:15:58.700 Friends, the wonderful truth of the good news of Jesus 00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:03.780 is that he was forsaken so that we could be made right with God. 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:08.860 He was forsaken so that we could be forgiven. 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:15.019 He was abandoned so that we could be adopted into God's family. 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:20.800 He was forsaken so that we will never, ever be forsaken. 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:25.560 Gone my transgressions. 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:27.259 Now I am free. 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:32.000 All because Jesus was wounded for me. 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:38.639 And because Jesus bore our punishment and the just wrath of God on the cross, 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:40.500 that means we are free. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:44.720 Free to live the life we were created to live. 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.039 Free to be in perfect relationship and union with God. 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:53.219 That's what this psalm is telling us as it points forward to Jesus. 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:59.099 But this psalm also gives us words to express in our deepest pain 00:16:59.099 --> 00:17:02.439 and our deepest moments of suffering. 00:17:05.139 --> 00:17:08.460 See, we're tempted to think that it's wrong to ask the question, 00:17:08.639 --> 00:17:09.399 why, aren't we? 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:13.620 But look at Jesus in his darkest hour. 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:14.560 He asked why. 00:17:15.620 --> 00:17:18.100 That doesn't mean that he doubted God's plan, 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:23.400 but it was a genuine expression of how he felt as he was nailed to the cross. 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:27.800 Friends, in your suffering, 00:17:28.600 --> 00:17:30.880 use this psalm to express your pain. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.780 Cry out to God, 00:17:33.860 --> 00:17:34.940 but in all of your suffering, 00:17:35.120 --> 00:17:36.540 remember truth. 00:17:38.280 --> 00:17:42.740 Because Jesus knew that the cross and death was not the end of his story. 00:17:45.340 --> 00:17:49.100 In your darkest moments of suffering and pain, 00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:54.400 the only place you can run and find ultimate comfort is God. 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.780 The only place you can actually find life is Jesus, 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:04.240 the one who quite literally went through what is described in verses 12 to 18 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:05.899 on your behalf. 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:08.720 The one who was pierced. 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:11.500 The one who did thirst. 00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:14.059 The one who was beaten and mocked. 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:20.240 The one who had insults hurled at him as he was dying for our transgressions. 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:25.720 And the comfort is, my friends, 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:29.720 if you find yourself in those moments of mourning and loss, 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:34.099 if you find yourself in pain and in suffering, 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:35.500 you are not alone. 00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:38.339 But for every Christian, 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:40.839 Christ sits with you in that suffering. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:44.399 So maybe like David, 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.680 you muster all the energy you have to cry out for help. 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:48.319 And you cry, 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:49.180 deliver me, 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:51.339 save me, 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:52.240 rescue me. 00:18:52.299 --> 00:18:53.700 And do you know what Jesus responds? 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:55.580 I already have my child. 00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:00.200 I already have. 00:19:06.340 --> 00:19:08.120 All the suffering may not go, 00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:10.920 but I will never leave you nor forsake you. 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:16.900 because I am with you now and to the very end of the age. 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:26.100 Jesus is able to say that because his story did not end in death or on the cross, 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:29.539 but in glorious victory as he was raised to life, 00:19:29.659 --> 00:19:30.679 defeating sin, 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:32.679 defeating death. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:36.339 Brothers and sisters, 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:37.579 in your darkest hour, 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:39.659 cling with your life 00:19:39.659 --> 00:19:42.500 to the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:19:45.819 --> 00:19:49.099 Cling to the one who took on immense suffering on your behalf. 00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:52.899 Cry to him for help. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:57.079 Remember truth because he was forsaken so that you could be found. 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:02.079 He was abandoned so that you could be adopted into the family of God. 00:20:06.219 --> 00:20:08.539 And the second thing that we see in this psalm, 00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:12.839 or the second thing we see this psalm saying in verses 22 to 31 is, 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:13.879 it is finished. 00:20:14.699 --> 00:20:15.819 It is finished. 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:21.059 So thinking back to David and the initial meaning of this psalm, 00:20:21.139 --> 00:20:23.740 the tone completely changes in verse 22, 00:20:23.879 --> 00:20:24.279 doesn't it? 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:25.559 Previously, 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:28.659 David has been giving petitions and laments, 00:20:28.859 --> 00:20:32.740 and he now shifts to thanksgiving and to praise. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:35.740 Look at verse 22 with me. 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:38.720 I will declare your name to my people. 00:20:38.879 --> 00:20:39.639 In the assembly, 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:40.779 I will praise you. 00:20:41.379 --> 00:20:42.679 You who fear the Lord, 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:43.659 praise him. 00:20:43.659 --> 00:20:45.319 All you descendants of Jacob, 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:46.019 honor him, 00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:46.899 revere him, 00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:49.159 all you descendants of Israel. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:55.619 David gathers with the Lord's people to praise and give thanks to God. 00:20:55.679 --> 00:20:58.679 But this isn't some kind of fake it till you make it attitude. 00:20:59.899 --> 00:21:05.220 Because verse 24 makes it clear that the Lord has listened to David's petitions. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:07.859 And he has delivered him. 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:10.379 Look at the end of verse 24 with me. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:13.780 He has not hidden his face from him, 00:21:13.860 --> 00:21:16.660 but has listened to his cry for help. 00:21:18.340 --> 00:21:19.180 Now in these verses, 00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:26.840 there is both a local expression of praise in Israel because of what God has done in verses 22 to 26. 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:33.599 But there's also a universal expression of praise in verses 27 to 31. 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:36.759 Read verse 27 with me. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.000 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:44.919 and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.339 for dominion belongs to the Lord, 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.079 and he rules over the nations. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:55.059 Now there would have been partial fulfillment in this, 00:21:55.079 --> 00:22:00.159 as some people within the vicinity of Israel hear about what God has done for David, 00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:02.220 how he's delivered him and saved him. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:06.720 And maybe they would have turned to God in repentance. 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:09.279 But realistically, 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.220 that news would not spread to the ends of the earth. 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:14.220 Ultimately, 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:16.700 this finds his fulfillment in Jesus, 00:22:16.860 --> 00:22:19.579 through whom the whole world will be blessed, 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:25.579 as God promised back in the beginning of the Bible in Genesis chapter 12 to Abraham. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:27.620 That through Jesus, 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.860 people will be added to the kingdom, 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:33.200 people from every tribe and tongue and nation. 00:22:33.299 --> 00:22:35.000 And what will they do on that final day? 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:37.960 Gather around the throne and worship Jesus. 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:43.120 That is a future event, 00:22:43.180 --> 00:22:44.799 but that is still happening now. 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:49.400 As the gospel goes out, 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:51.019 people are turning from their sin, 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:53.579 putting their trust in Jesus, 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:56.039 and celebrating the God who has delivered, 00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:59.900 the God who has finished the work of salvation. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:03.100 See, the psalm begins in verse 1 with, 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:05.480 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:08.640 Words uttered by Jesus on the cross, 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:11.400 as he bore the weight of the sins of the world. 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:16.579 So that all those who trust in him can be forgiven, 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:19.319 and in a right relationship with God. 00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:22.079 But then the psalm ends in verse 31. 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:25.140 They, that's the future generations, 00:23:25.360 --> 00:23:27.259 will proclaim his righteousness, 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:30.279 declaring to a people yet unborn, 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:32.940 he has done it. 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:38.299 Now there's a sense of finality in those last words, 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:38.700 aren't there? 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:43.220 As David is pointing forward to a future day, 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:45.680 to a future suffering king, 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:47.220 the ultimate suffering king, 00:23:47.360 --> 00:23:49.140 who in John chapter 19, 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:51.579 after having hung on the cross, 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:54.860 declared boldly and finally, 00:23:55.140 --> 00:23:57.480 it is finished. 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:01.779 The wages of sin, 00:24:02.360 --> 00:24:04.380 for all those who trust in Jesus, 00:24:04.779 --> 00:24:05.400 paid for. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:09.120 The guilty punishment of God's wrath, 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.420 laid on him instead of us. 00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:13.759 The great exchange complete, 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:15.779 as the innocent one, 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:17.700 takes the place of us, 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:18.240 the guilty. 00:24:18.360 --> 00:24:19.059 Brothers and sisters, 00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:20.059 it is finished. 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:23.279 Jesus, 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:24.720 the ultimate suffering king, 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:25.480 has won, 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:27.200 and his work is done. 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:31.819 That is the news, 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:33.240 that this whole world needs to hear. 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:35.279 Of the king, 00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:37.099 who left his place of glory. 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:39.339 Who suffered immensely, 00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:40.660 and died in our place, 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:41.900 so that sinners like us, 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:43.039 could be forgiven. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:45.900 If you're not a Christian here this morning, 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:46.579 please, 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:48.319 investigate this. 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:51.759 Do not let another day go by, 00:24:51.860 --> 00:24:53.019 where you do not consider, 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:55.140 the significance of the son of God, 00:24:55.800 --> 00:24:57.060 dying in your place, 00:24:57.640 --> 00:24:59.040 and being raised to life. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:01.040 He offers, 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:02.720 forgiveness and freedom, 00:25:02.860 --> 00:25:04.500 to live under the ultimate king, 00:25:04.580 --> 00:25:05.880 who suffered in your place. 00:25:06.300 --> 00:25:08.259 Will you listen to his call this morning? 00:25:11.540 --> 00:25:13.400 I think back to where we started off. 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:15.840 There are many stories, 00:25:15.840 --> 00:25:16.960 in this world, 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.820 that will bring tears to our eyes, 00:25:18.840 --> 00:25:20.019 as we hear of the suffering, 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:20.980 of many people. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:23.080 But the greatest story, 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:24.540 that this world has ever seen, 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:27.200 the greatest story, 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:28.680 that this world, 00:25:28.840 --> 00:25:30.100 needs to hear, 00:25:30.620 --> 00:25:32.080 is the story, 00:25:32.080 --> 00:25:33.420 of the king in all his glory. 00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:36.240 The suffering king, 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:39.059 who felt forsaken, 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:41.200 and yet who declared, 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:42.740 that his work is finished, 00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:43.599 at the cross. 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:46.480 That is Jesus, 00:25:46.620 --> 00:25:47.599 in all of his glory. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:51.319 Because as the suffering king, 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:52.700 he endured God's wrath, 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:53.960 in our place, 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.299 so that even when we do suffer, 00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:58.259 we can be confident, 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:00.319 that the ultimate work of deliverance, 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.279 has been finished, 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:02.740 on the cross by him. 00:26:05.139 --> 00:26:06.500 Look at the suffering king, 00:26:06.539 --> 00:26:07.500 in all of his glory. 00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:09.500 Friends, 00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:10.639 the only right response, 00:26:10.639 --> 00:26:11.139 to him, 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:13.399 is to turn from your sin, 00:26:13.879 --> 00:26:15.579 to put your trust, 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:16.160 in Jesus, 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:18.700 and say thank you. 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:21.619 Let us do that now. 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.440 Let us pray. 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:26.519 Heavenly Father, 00:26:26.599 --> 00:26:27.200 we thank you, 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:28.180 that we can, 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:30.139 look at your word, 00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:31.200 and we see, 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:32.619 your grand plan, 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:33.279 of salvation. 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:35.319 That from the very beginning, 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:35.960 of time, 00:26:36.019 --> 00:26:37.059 when sin entered this world, 00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:37.799 you promised, 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:39.220 that you would send, 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:41.259 the one who would defeat sin, 00:26:41.339 --> 00:26:42.539 who would defeat death. 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:45.039 And Jesus, 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:45.759 we thank you, 00:26:45.819 --> 00:26:46.559 that you willingly, 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:48.200 took our place. 00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:51.559 Wounded for me. 00:26:53.539 --> 00:26:54.920 Gone my transgressions, 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:55.839 and now I am free, 00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:56.839 all because Jesus, 00:26:57.019 --> 00:26:58.259 you were wounded for me. 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:02.200 Father, 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:03.319 forgive us for the times, 00:27:03.399 --> 00:27:04.559 where we forget, 00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:05.660 what a marvelous, 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:07.119 salvation you've given, 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:08.200 us through Jesus. 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:10.000 Holy Spirit, 00:27:10.059 --> 00:27:10.559 we thank you, 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:11.539 that you've opened our eyes, 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:12.299 to see that truth, 00:27:12.379 --> 00:27:13.160 and we pray, 00:27:13.859 --> 00:27:14.980 that if we do not yet, 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:15.859 know that truth, 00:27:15.899 --> 00:27:16.460 of forgiveness, 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:17.819 and union with you, 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:19.440 that by your spirit, 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:20.359 you would do a work, 00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:21.479 in our hearts right now. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:23.939 Father, 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:25.099 that we would leave here, 00:27:25.199 --> 00:27:26.579 a people who are forgiven, 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:28.500 and made right with you. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:30.199 A people who go, 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:31.500 with that glorious news, 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:32.219 of salvation, 00:27:32.219 --> 00:27:33.019 to a world, 00:27:33.159 --> 00:27:34.519 that is dying without you. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:39.000 And Jesus, 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:40.139 we come before you, 00:27:41.639 --> 00:27:43.059 and all the words, 00:27:43.159 --> 00:27:43.599 in the world, 00:27:43.679 --> 00:27:44.439 and all the languages, 00:27:44.439 --> 00:27:44.939 in the world, 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:45.959 nothing is enough, 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:46.919 to express, 00:27:47.679 --> 00:27:48.839 how grateful we are, 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:52.559 Jesus, 00:27:52.939 --> 00:27:53.559 thank you. 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:55.839 Amen.