New things are all very good, but I'm just giving Simon the license to interrupt me on
the basis that I'm likely to forget about the reading altogether.
So if he just jumps up in the middle of my sentence, you'll know why.
Okay, we're going to be looking at Psalm 9 and 10 this morning.
Just join with me in prayer for a moment.
Lord, our ears would be deaf to your word, except that your spirit opens them to hear
it, and that is my prayer now, Lord, for myself and for everyone here this morning.
Open our ears and bless the benefit of your word to our hearts and minds.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, well, we make them every day, hundreds, thousands of them, decisions.
We make so many decisions every day.
Some decisions are big decisions, and we obviously know the process going through those.
But some decisions are actually really, really small, almost the product of habit, the things
we do just every day.
And we now sort of make those decisions and don't even realize we're making them.
But we're still acting on a process of thought.
It's just that we've lost touch with that particular thought at that particular moment in those
small decisions.
decisions.
So just to get you thinking this morning, what decisions will you make this week?
What decisions will you make this week?
What decisions will you make this week in your home?
As a parent?
As a husband?
As a wife?
As a child?
What decisions will you make as you walk out the front door in the morning, whether you're
going to school or work or going to sport or whatever it is you're going to do?
What decisions will you be anticipating and making during the day?
Your decisions will reflect what you think of at home, family life, employment, relationships,
security, happiness, work, success, and so on and so forth.
It will also involve making decisions about our culture and how you actually choose to engage
with it on a day-by-day basis.
Now, all of these decisions, and I say there are thousands of them, all of these decisions
are an overflow of our worldview.
Now, if you're not familiar with the term worldview, there's a bit more in the back of the bulletin,
the back article in the bulletin, a bit more detail about worldview.
But essentially, a worldview can be thought of like my glasses here.
It's a lens through which we see the world.
It's a lens through which we understand the world, we understand God, and we understand
our part in the world, our place in the world.
That's what a worldview is.
How you think about the world, how you engage with the world.
And that means that every single person here has a worldview.
But not every single person here actually knows they've got a worldview and is able to articulate
it.
But you will have one and you will act on it.
It will be the overflow of your thinking.
Now, Psalms 9 and 10 may be considered and described as worldview psalms.
Why?
Because they present two different ways of thinking about God.
Two different ways of thinking about the world and how we experience the world.
Two different ways of thinking about our place in the world in which brokenness and suffering,
injustice impacts us every single day.
We make a decision consciously or subconsciously about how we're going to react or respond to that suffering,
injustice, those experiences of the world every single day.
And Psalm 9 and 10 highlight the challenge that we face to have what I'm calling this morning
is having a thoroughly biblical worldview in which our thinking and actions are shaped by what is true about God,
rather than having our thinking and actions shaped by our circumstances and our personal experiences of life.
We'll come back to that in a little while.
But in the meantime, we're going to look at worldview option number one.
That is God and the world viewed through the eyes or the lens of faith.
And now Simon's going to read the first 12 verses of Psalm 9 for us.
Psalm chapter 9.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you.
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.
For you have maintained my just cause.
You have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.
You have rebuked the nations.
You have made the wicked perish.
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins.
Their cities you rooted out.
The very memory of them has perished.
But the Lord sits enthroned forever.
He has established his throne for justice.
And he judges the world with righteousness.
He judges the peoples with uprightness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed.
A stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you.
For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord who sits enthroned in Zion.
Tell among the peoples his deeds.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them.
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
The world viewed from the eyes or lens of faith begins with praise and thankfulness.
The focus of David from the very first word is on the Lord.
That is, it's the Lord that shapes David's thinking and actions on a daily basis as he engages with all the experiences of life.
His general orientation is thankfulness and praise.
Now, if you look at verses 1 and 2, there's nothing mechanical about this thanksgiving and praise.
It's not just some prayer he's reciting of.
It's a spontaneous overflow from the depth of his being.
The language there is very, very personal, very, very deep.
He recalls God's wonderful deeds.
That is, God's actions in the past dealing with and caring for his people.
But there's something even more profound, deeper than that in those first two verses.
David's so appreciative and aware of God's character, God's good deeds.
But David's actually delighting in the Lord himself.
His soul is overflowing with the beauty of the Lord himself.
In other words, David's starting point is that the Lord is truly satisfying.
The Lord is his delight.
The Lord is his treasure.
Just to be the Lord's person is sufficient for David.
The Lord is his source of joy and comfort and confidence and hope.
And therefore, worship is natural.
Worship is ascribing the supreme value to something.
And that's what David does to the Lord.
And from there, David actually sees his circumstances from God's perspective.
Verse 3 there.
David's well aware that he has many, many enemies.
But they're not his focus.
He's God's king, tasked by the Lord to rule his people in righteousness and truth and justice.
And that means inevitably that there will be conflict.
But the eye of faith in King David sees beyond his immediate circumstances to the great king whom he serves.
And in whose presence, verse 3, just the very presence of the Lord alone is enough to bring undone any enemy.
And when we think about it, there's something quite remarkable here.
Because King David was a hugely successful king.
He was a very, very powerful man.
Yet, if you read through these verses again, as Simon's just read them to us,
King David acknowledges that every detail of his story, he's actually down to God.
God's rescuing.
God's protection.
God's justice.
God's judgment.
God's purposes.
It's all there in those verses.
It's that that David knows through the eyes of faith.
It's that which keeps him in the present and guarantees his future and the future of God's people.
And then verses 9 to 12.
Not only that, but David leans into or rests in the Lord.
That is his general orientation.
Thankfulness and praise.
Seeing the circumstances from God's perspective and leaning into the Lord at every point.
Confidently and warmly knowing the Lord as the Most High.
It's a very, very lofty term.
The Most High.
There is no greater appeal for David.
There's no greater power.
There's no greater comfort.
And David knows the Most High is the champion of truth, the champion of right, and the dispenser of justice and judgment.
And so David can rest in the Lord in whatever circumstances he faces.
The Lord is so powerful.
His rule and purpose cannot be threatened.
But at the same time, the Lord is so invested in his people.
In the well-being of his people.
That he becomes that stronghold.
That safe refuge.
That place to hide.
The place to rest and be secure and calm in the midst of the mess of life.
The eyes of faith know that no matter the circumstance, the Lord will never abandon or forget his people.
No matter what circumstances appear to suggest.
Simon, you read the next section for it, please.
So chapter 9, 13 to 20.
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See my affliction from those who hate me.
O you who lift me up from the gates of death.
That I may recount all your praises.
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made.
In the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
The Lord has made himself known.
He has executed judgment.
The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
Agion.
Salah.
The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten.
And the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
Arise, O Lord.
Let not man prevail.
Let the nations be judged before you.
Put them in fear, O Lord.
Let the nations know that they are but men.
Salah.
Sometimes we have the notion that when we talk about seeing the world through the eyes of faith.
That we are sort of in denial of reality.
Well, Psalm 9 tells us that's not the case.
The eyes of faith do not mean denial of real and tough circumstances.
Because in verse 13, the tone changes almost jarring from verse 12 to verse 13.
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See my affliction from those who hate me.
The first 12 verses you wouldn't even realize David was suffering particularly badly.
But here he is, verse 13.
He just pours out something of the depth of the impact he feels on a daily basis.
From his struggle against those who oppose his rule of righteousness and truth under the Lord's hand.
And seeing the world through the eyes of faith does not make King David immune to tough circumstances.
But it does shape his response to them.
That's a really important point.
He's not immune to them because of the eyes of faith.
But the eyes of faith shape his response in those tough circumstances.
And so the worship that was expressed in verses 1 to 12 as praise and thanks,
now I think is expressed in prayer.
Because David now spreads out his helplessness before the Lord.
Before the Lord's goodness and the Lord's grace.
And I think the tone here is really clear.
That David is honest, but he's not anxious in his circumstances.
He's very much aware of those who would try to bring him down for whatever reason.
But he's not overwhelmed by those who would try to bring him down for whatever reason.
Why?
Because of the eyes of faith.
He is convinced that no matter the circumstance, the Lord will have the final say.
The Lord will have the final say in each circumstance of his life.
And then there's a couple of really nice pictures in here.
In verse 13, David pictures the Lord as his lifter up.
Oh you who lift me up from the gates of death.
The Lord is his lifter up.
That is, he's confident that the Lord will take him from the gates of death, which is picture language.
Take him from the extreme danger where it looks as if his cause is just about to get snuffed out.
The Lord will actually transport him from that to, more picture language, the gates of Zion.
Zion was God's city, the place of the good life, the life under God.
The life of blessing and satisfaction and completeness.
The life of purity.
So David is confident the Lord would be his lifter up.
Literally transporting him from there to there in circumstances of life.
And just as surely, the picture has its other side.
Verses 15 through to 20.
The Lord, as the Lord is the lifter up of David, so David is confident the Lord will be the knocker down
of powerful, rebellious people and nations.
As he frustrates and ultimately destroys them with his just judgment.
And so there's a nice little play there on those two pictures.
The arrogant nations, arrogant, powerful people who think they can just do what they like in God's word.
They think they are the lifted up ones.
We're the ones above the rest.
But David can see past that and knows that those who think they're lifted up and then knock down God's people
will experience a great reversal.
It will be God's people ultimately who will be lifted up.
And those who arrogantly think themselves to be high will actually feel and experience God's judgment as he knocks them down.
And so the picture is very, very strong.
Having carelessly rejected the Most High in their arrogance.
And then, despising his beauty, despising his wonderful deeds.
Verse 19 and 20.
One day, those same people will crumble in fear
as God brings justice and judgment to them.
They've made terror their weapon.
And they'll end facing their own terrors of God's judgment.
Now, ready for worldview too.
Simon and I had a discussion before church.
Simon, and there's a good reason for it.
You can think about it.
Simon reckons Psalm 10 should come before Psalm 9.
But we'll go into that in a little while.
Yep, thanks, Simon.
Simon.
Psalm 10, verses 1 to 11.
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance, the wicked hotly pursue the poor.
Let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain 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 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, sink down and fall by his might.
He says in his heart,
God has forgotten, yet has hidden his face.
He will never see it.
Talk about chalk and cheese.
Very, very different pictures there, aren't they?
Between Psalm 9 and Psalm 10.
Very different worldview.
It's part two of the psalm.
And one of the reasons I decided to connect it together,
most English versions and most commentators don't,
but there is some grammatical reasons like 9 and 10.
There's a certain acrostic thing.
Every two verses begins with a particular letter,
a sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
and that runs through the two psalms.
And there's some other reasons why.
There's certainly at least part A and part B, I think.
At least that's my defense anyway.
Talk to me more about that if you want.
Getting into the text of Psalm 10,
then, it's a very different picture of God's world
from a very different starting point.
It's a picture shaped primarily by circumstance
or by the experience of God's world.
Shaped by injustice and godliness,
godlessness rather,
and shaped by how things appear to be
as we look at them immediately.
And again, drawing the parallels,
the orientation as we move into Psalm 10
is not praise and thanksgiving,
as we saw in Psalm 9,
but it's accusation,
it's disappointment,
it's frustration,
all of which is directed at the Lord.
Why?
Because starting with the circumstances,
it just feels and seems like
the Lord has abandoned them.
Worse, verses 3 through to 10.
Far worse.
It feels like the Lord has surrendered his world
to the powerful schemes of godless,
self-made people to do what they please.
And indeed, that is what they do.
They do what they please,
with whomever they please,
when they please.
That's the picture of Psalm 10.
And it's a very, very despairing,
heavy picture, isn't it?
People who arrogantly act as if they are God,
people who are convinced
that they will only ever answer to themselves
and their own selfish desires.
And so, from there,
they take it that they can ruthlessly exploit
anybody that comes within their reach.
It's a pretty horrible picture.
And yet, it's one that's so familiar,
isn't it, Tess?
Even worse, verse 5.
In their godlessness,
and their godlessness is so obvious,
they seem to thrive.
They actually have come to believe
their own propaganda
that success breeds success,
and that they are, in fact, unstoppable.
And again, you only have to listen to the news
to hear some of the most powerful,
influential people and corporations in the world
who maybe wouldn't say that
because it sounds too crude to say it openly,
but that's obviously what oozes out of them.
We will do what we want to do
because we have the power
and the influence and the money to do it
and the position.
And as you go through the detail,
I don't have too much time to stop on all the detail,
but I just want to summarize
some of those later verses in that first section by this.
Verbally, they're predators.
That is, one of the key tools
is to use words.
Whatever words necessary
to bully, intimidate,
and knock people down
or knock them into line
so that they will do
what these powerful, godless people
want them to do.
And practically,
they're predators also.
The language here
is of the most ruthless,
consuming,
and dismissing of people
as just commodities.
Those who are poor
and helpless
and oppressed,
disadvantaged,
well,
obviously,
they're not lifted up.
People like ourselves,
they're just to be used
and discarded.
More fool them.
It's the dog-eat-dog
attitude of our culture,
of our world,
isn't it?
It's so,
so horrible.
These oppressed,
poor people,
they're not,
it doesn't ever occur
to these ruthless,
wealthy,
thriving people
that they should stop
and help them
show compassion.
They're just there
to be treated,
consumed,
discarded
without either
compassion or mercy.
And as verse 11
takes us then,
he says in his heart,
God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face,
he will never see it.
So once again,
you see,
their worldview
reflects what they think
about God
and what they think
about themselves
and what they think
about the world
in which they exist
and operate in.
They're convinced
that they are God-like.
They've pushed
the real God
or any thought of God
into the background
and they've now
stepped into the foreground
as God-like figures
themselves.
And from there,
they try and convince
themselves
that God
does not exist.
So there's an interesting
play and dialogue there.
Earlier in the psalm,
it says,
you know,
there is no God
but then the inner dialogue,
which is verse 11,
isn't quite so self-assured.
In all their godlessness,
they still have to work
to keep calm
on the inside,
convincing themselves
that there is no God
or if there is a God,
verse 11,
then probably hasn't noticed
or he's forgotten
or he just isn't interested
and we will get away with it.
Amen.
Do you see the thinking?
Even if God exists
and they're trying
to convince themselves
that God doesn't
but even if God does exist,
their thinking is this,
that since God
has not acted against me
thus far,
then I can have confidence
he will not act against me
in the future.
I.e.,
I might just sneak this in,
I might just pull it off,
I might get away with it,
I might actually be able
to run life like this
and not have any consequences.
why would he think that?
well as I said before either
because God has forgotten
that's a view of God
or because God has
overlooked sinful
rebellious actions and that's a
particular world view of God
or
because as per the starting thought
the Lord is deliberately
disinterested in what is happening
in his world and that also
is a world view thought
because that person
will then live
in the light of what he thinks about God
Psalm 10
verse 12 to the end
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 evildoer
call his wickedness to account
till you find none
the Lord is king
forever and 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
as per
psalm 9
so
we
have a prayer
to conclude
the psalm
and the prayer
I think reflects
the heading
if you're following
on the sheet
the prayer reflects
the fact that
the eyes of circumstance
ultimately need faith
see because
ultimately people
cannot live in a world
like I've just described
in Psalm 10
verses 1 to 11
we ultimately
cannot live in a world
in which
all we see
is all there is
it would just be
too heartbreaking
and depressing
to view our world
like that
we recognize evil
you don't have to be
a Christian
to recognize evil
we recognize
exploitation
we long
for powerful
and self
powerful
self-interested
people
to be called
to account
for their
terrible actions
we long
for justice
to prevail
we long
for a great
reversal
in our world
don't we
we long
for a world
that we can see
governed by love
and care
and compassion
and truth
we long
for a ruler
who will be
powerful enough
to be in control
and yet
personal enough
to be caring
and compassionate
and merciful
my friends
when we confront
the experience
or the circumstances
of this life
essentially
what we're
longing for
is for the
Lord
to be king
in his world
and I think
that's what the
prayer
verses 12
through to 18
is
as in
Psalm 9
the prayer
there
it's a prayer
for God
to act
in line
with his
character
act
Lord
rise
act
in justice
and righteousness
and compassion
and truth
call to account
that which is evil
my friends
the eyes of faith
are necessary
to confront
the experiences
of life
the circumstances
of life
pushes
almost in desperation
at times
to develop
the eyes of faith
the reality
of God
in his world
then exposes
the nonsense
of
rebellion
without consequences
and we're told
in these verses
God does
see everything
not only does he see it
there's actually more
picture language
it's as if God
is there
with his board
taking notes
on every part
of evil
every act
of evil
he sees it
and he notes it
and he will
call to account
in his way
and in his time
he will
reverse the wrongs
perpetrated
on his despised
people
and the idea
there of breaking
someone's arm
that's picture language
for the culture
of the day
in other words
it is
break down
or render
neutral
their power
it's the right
arm of power
that's been
pictured there
he will break
the power
and influence
of all
who reject
the Lord
and act
as if they
are God
and as we saw
in Psalm 9
there will be
a great reversal
those who
currently
appear
despised
and abandoned
will experience
the blessing
of being lifted
up
the blessing
and joy
of God's
wonderful deeds
being applied
to them
and for them
and those
who currently
use terror
in godlessness
and ruthlessness
who use terror
to build their
lifestyle
will finally
experience
the terror
themselves
but the terror
of God's
judgment
in the upshot
both Psalms
is that those
who step over
the boundary
of humanness
who step over
the boundary
and start to act
as though they are
God
and that they can do
whatever they like
in God's world
with impunity
including rejecting
God
they will be
forced
in another
great reversal
to recognize
that they are
oh so human
and that God
is oh so God
they will be
forced to
recognize
that in fact
they are
what they have
always been
God's creatures
living under
the authority
of the creator
and answering
to him
well
just let me
make a couple
of lines
of application
here
and I'm done
then
the main
line of application
is this
that for us
as Christians
we need to be
careful
not to be
theoretically
engaged with
the world
view of Psalm
9
but operating
practically
in the world
view of Psalm
10
as Christians
it's quite easy
for us
and especially
in this congregation
because this is
the language
of this congregation
it's quite easy
and common
for us to say
God is sovereign
that he is in
control of
every circumstance
of this life
but then
practically
we can be
frustrated with
God
because he's
not acting
to call to
account as we
think he should
and when we
think he should
we can become
fixated on
evil and
injustice
exploitation
stuff we
observe and
experience from
individuals or
from governments
or whenever
in political
social economic
religious decisions
and policy
we're seeing it
all the time
and sometimes
we can get so
fixated on it
that it drags us
into Psalm
10 world
view
we get sucked
into struggling
against these
things as though
we are on our
own as though
if it's not
for us then
these things
won't be called
to account and
won't be dealt
with
we get
frustrated that
the ungodly
are thriving
we start to
fear the impact
of their
ruthless
determination
to squeeze
God out of
his world
we sense
that we need
to get active
and frenetic
about curtailing
their wickedness
and trying to
bring them down
before they
destroy everything
that puts us
in Psalm
10 world
view
at a practical
level
all the
while
deep in
our hearts
those sorts
of thoughts
are producing
decisions
that shape
our view
of God
again
since he
hasn't
knocked down
ungodly
people
I know
lots of
Christians
then start
to harbor
thoughts
well
that must
mean
since he
hasn't
done it
by now
that must
mean
either
he's
not there
or
that he's
unable
that he
doesn't
have enough
power
or
that he
doesn't
want to
that is
he's
not good
or that
he's just
totally
disinterested
doesn't
care
do you
see how
those sort
of things
start to
frame
our thoughts
of God
deep down
now we
can have
those thoughts
and still
on a Sunday
morning
turn up
all nice
and shiny
and sit
down here
and say
isn't it
wonderful
that God's
sovereign
straddling
two worldviews
sometimes
I think
and this is
all I don't
think
let me be
more honest
sometimes
I find
myself
even
being jealous
of the
thriving
nature
of the
ungodly
jealous
of their
success
jealous
of their
prosperity
jealous
of their
indulgent
lifestyle
just wishing
if I had
money to
have a
holiday
like that
if I had
money to
buy that
if I had
money to
have a
house
like that
you see
the world
view I mean
and from
there we
start to
think that
practically
we're on
our own
we need
to take
matters into
our own
hands
we are
on our
own to
make the
best of
life in
reaction
against
evil
we might
then even
find ourselves
taking up
ungodly
strategies
to improve
our lot
so as
Christians we
find ourselves
starting to
fight like
non-Christians
we want to
fight and
win arguments
we want to
prove our
point we
want to
better those
who oppose
us
we want to
protest a
desire for
justice
but as I've
experienced in
my life too
often that
protest of
justice is
actually a
desire for
revenge
I want
somebody to
pay for the
hurt they've
inflicted on
and ultimately
we get
dragged into
that Psalm
10 worldview
and then we
find ourselves
going down the
pathway of
self-vindication
self-protection
self-sufficiency
and ultimately
I think the
end of that
road is an
attempt at
self-salvation
and that is
a reactionary
fear-based
living
with God
pushed into
the background
most of the
week except
perhaps when we
express our
anger and
frustration at
Adam in
prayer
or as I
say when we
come to church
on Sunday
and piously
say in
terms of
Psalm 9
praise God
for his
sovereign
control
it's a real
trap for us
we need to be
real careful
about it
well secondly
and much more
briefly
just this point
here
remember
that the
Lord never
forgets
sin or
rebellion
but is
always
keen
to
graciously
forgive
I agree
the gospel
of Jesus
is God's
brilliant
demonstration
of his
righteousness
in justice
and judgment
God does
not forget
about sin
not even
one rebellious
thought will
be overlooked
ignored or
forgotten by
the Lord
nor has he
forgotten his
troubled helpless
fatherless people
the great
reversal
prayed for
in Psalm 9
and 10
has already
become reality
in the death
and resurrection
of Jesus
in John
chapter 5
verse 20
60
30
it speaks
along those
lines
God has
already had
the last
word
in his
world
the word
of judgment
on sin
all judgment
has been put
into the hands
of Jesus
and in a real
sense has
already been
completed through
Christ's death
and resurrection
and therefore
Christ's
resurrection
is proof
that Jesus
is who he
says he is
and that
God has
done what
he said
he would
do
in terms
of judgment
now
two ways
to apply
that
and then
I'm done
for each
Christian here
this morning
there's a
wonderful freedom
and assurance
in knowing
that Psalm
9 and 10
has already
been fulfilled
the prayer
of Psalm
9 and 10
has been
fulfilled
in Jesus
if you
as a believer
here this
morning
if your heart
is genuinely
oriented to
living faithfully
and confidently
under the rule
of King
Jesus
then
regardless
of how
inconsistently
you have
applied your
eyes of faith
to your
circumstances
regardless of
that you can
be sure
that you will
only experience
God's care
and protection
and blessing
even in the
midst of
suffering
that is what
the gospel
promises
and achieves
for us
now
if you're
someone here
this morning
who has not
yet bowed
to Jesus
then can I
just plead
with you
don't ignore
your inner
dialogue
this morning
don't just
keep on
going
thinking
well
okay
God
hasn't
knocked
me down
thus far
in life
therefore
maybe
everything's
okay
or
I hope
that God
that might
be out
there
will just
leave me
alone
to do
my own
thing
don't
allow
yourself
even to
contemplate
that you
can continue
a life
of autonomy
or living
independently
from God
pushing God
into the
background
and just
running
life as
you want
to
as if
you
yourself
were God
don't
think
you can
do that
and get
away
with it
you will
never
forget
or ignore
your rebellion
your sin
in fact
he knows
it far
better
than you
do
you might
think you're
this bad
but the Lord
knows you're
this bad
this guilty
before
so the Lord
will never
forget
your sin
and that's
a much
bigger
problem
you even
realize
but equally
true of the
Lord
he will
graciously
forgive
your sin
if you
give up
your autonomy
and your
rebellion
if you
come to
him
asking for
grace
and mercy
and forgiveness
then he
promises
that he
will give
that grace
and mercy
and forgiveness
and he
will never
ever
count your
sin against
you
in his
sovereign
grace
and because
he's got
the sovereign
power to
do so
he will
give you
a fresh
start
into a
wonderful
new life
of blessing
and security
so
back to my
first
sentence
this morning
what
decisions
will you
make
this week
what
thinking
about
God
and yourself
will
govern
where you
go from
here
and how
you
enter
the
week
I'm
speaking
now
both to
Christians
and those
who aren't
yet
believers
pray with me
again
Lord
we easily
find ourselves
torn
between what
we say
and actually
what
captures
our hearts
Lord
we
sometimes
find ourselves
as I say
theoretically
in Psalm 9
confident
in your
sovereign
purposes
and control
of your
world
and yet
practically
Lord
find ourselves
so fearful
of what we
observe
and what we
experience
around us
help us
Lord to
re-engage
with you
so that our
theory is
actually a
demonstrated
reality
we find a
freedom
and a peace
and a calm
to trust you
to lean into you
that you might be
our stronghold
our refuge
in times of
trouble
Amen