WEBVTT

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 To the choir master, to Jedithan, who was an individual actually.

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! You can find his name in other places, in 1 Chronicles especially.

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! He is the choir master that's being addressed here in Psalm 39, just so that you know.

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 It's a person.

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 To the choir master, to Jedithan, a Psalm of David.

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 I said I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue.

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 I will guard my mouth with a muzzle so long as the wicked are in my presence.

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 I was mute and silent.

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 I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse.

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 My heart became hot within me as I mused the fire burned.

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 Then I spoke with my tongue.

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 O Lord, make me know my end, and what is the measure of my days?

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 Let me know how fleeting I am.

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 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths.

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 My lifetime is as nothing before you.

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 Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.

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 Selah.

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 Surely a man goes about as a shadow.

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 Surely for nothing they are in turmoil.

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 Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather.

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 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

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 My hope is in you.

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 Deliver me from all my transgressions.

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 Do not make me the scorn of the fool.

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 I'm mute.

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 I do not open my mouth.

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 For it is you who have done it.

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 Remove your stroke from me.

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 I'm spent by the hostility of your hand.

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 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him.

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 Surely all mankind is a mere breath.

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 Selah.

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 Hear my prayer, O Lord.

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 Give ear to my cry.

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 Hold not your peace at my tears.

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 For I am a sojourner with you, a guest like all my fathers.

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 Look away from me that I may smile again before I depart and am no more.

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 Amen.

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 Ashlyn's first school project this year was an interesting one.

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 She was required to research a bit of our family's history

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 and then give a presentation to the rest of her class about that history,

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 even bringing an artifact that represented well our heritage.

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 And she chose to focus on the Blankenship side of the family.

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 And honestly, it was a lot of fun actually to sit with her for a few days

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 and reflect a little bit on our heritage,

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 how the Lord has shaped our present family by our past.

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 It was fun, honestly, to ask my dad some questions,

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 for dad to give us a little bit of insight into that.

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 She took, as her artifact for our family,

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 she took some coal to her classroom.

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 If you've ever been to our house,

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 you'll notice in the corner of the driveway there's a huge block of coal.

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 All of the Blankenships in my family have that.

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 My dad and my brother and my sister and me,

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 different places in our house where we put it on display.

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 It's because all of our family is coal miners.

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 That's where we come from in a little coal village called Man,

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 Man, West Virginia.

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 They're real creative with their names.

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 It's where the men lived, I guess.

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 It's just a coal village.

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 There's really not much to it.

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 It sits right on next door to the Hatfield and McCoys

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 where that great feud took place.

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 So she takes a little piece of coal.

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 This is who we are.

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 We really couldn't go back very far, honestly.

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 She began her presentation with my grandfather, Leo Blankenship.

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 She wrote her presentation writing about someone that she actually has never even known.

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 She never got to meet my grandfather.

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 He died in 2006.

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 I was in college.

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 Julie and I were just beginning to date.

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 He lived 73 years on this earth.

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 This feels like a long time, doesn't it?

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 All Ashlyn knows of him is just a few anecdotes and pictures that Dad and I passed along.

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 The truth is, is that her children probably won't even remember his name.

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 He lived.

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 He died.

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 Soon enough, he'll be forgotten.

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 And that's the case for each and every one of us, isn't it?

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 We're here for a little while.

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 Then we're gone.

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 Soon we're forgotten.

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 Everything we've worked for, someone else will come through and take it, share it, use it.

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 Psalm 39 calls for us each to meditate on the problem of our mortality.

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 Indeed, it is a significant problem, isn't it?

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 Death is not only a fact of life, it is the greatest evil of life.

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 Life is brief and it's hard.

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 And there's absolutely nothing that we can do to change that.

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 God himself has made it so.

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 Job says it this way in Job 14 as he's crying out in his own anguish, similar to David's,

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 man who is born of woman, that is, all of us, is of few days and they are full of trouble.

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 The brevity of life and its implications are the dominant theme of this song.

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 There's two nearly identical reflections.

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 They're marked reflection points.

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 They're marked by this term, Selah.

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 Perhaps you're familiar with that.

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 We think it's probably a term, maybe it's a musical term,

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 but it's meant to cause reflection for everything to pause before you go any further in the song,

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 any further in the prayer, any further in the meditation.

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 Just stop and think about what has just been said.

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 There's two of them.

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 They're nearly identical.

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 The first one is in verse 5 where David says,

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 surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.

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 He repeats it again, another reflection point.

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 Psalm, in verse 11, he says,

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 surely all mankind is a mere breath.

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 A breath, David says.

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 That's your life.

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 That's my life.

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 But the brevity and the vanity of human life doesn't mean that we are without hope.

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 Yes, our mortality is a serious problem.

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 We cannot change it, but it's not a problem for God.

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 And what David does in this meditation is not only lament the issue.

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 He's not only lamenting his distress and the discipline of the Lord

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 and the inevitability of his own death and his mortality.

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 He's not just lamenting it.

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 He's pointing us forward to a solution.

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 And the psalm's interesting in that it provides a preface before he actually gets to the prayer.

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 The preface is in the first three verses.

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 Just look at them again with me.

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 I said, I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue.

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 I will guard my mouth with a muzzle so long as the wicked are in my presence.

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 I was mute and silent.

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 I held my peace to no avail with no success.

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 And my distress, it grew worse.

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 And as it grew worse, my heart became hot within me as affections are being stirred

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 and anger and frustration and disappointment.

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 As I mused, the fire burned.

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 And then he spoke when he had to.

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 It was about to burst in him as he contemplated what was happening.

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 David is in a season of distress.

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 He's determined to be silent lest he sin against God with his tongue.

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 That determination is then intensified as he says,

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 not only am I not interested in sinning against God in the way that I respond to the distress that he has brought my way,

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 but I especially don't want to do that before the wicked and the unfaithful

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 and the enemies who have surrounded me and are watching me.

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 I will go so far as to muzzle my mouth to prevent myself from sinning against God in their presence,

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 becoming the object of their scorn.

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 And what we discover in the prayer itself is that his distress that he's sensing as he's setting the scene for us

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 ultimately comes from God's discipline.

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 It is God who has distressed him.

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 It is God who is ultimately responsible for the pain that he was enduring.

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 And his silence then is rooted in his understanding that God has done it.

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 Look again at verse 9.

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 He reiterates,

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 I am mute.

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 I do not open my mouth for it is you who have done it.

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 His silence then is rooted in the fear of God.

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 He trembles before God as Andy read in Psalm 99.

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 Let all the earth tremble before him.

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 David himself trembles here before the Lord.

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 He does not answer.

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 It's rooted in the fear of God.

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 Which tells us that if he were to speak,

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 why is it that he's determined to be silent?

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 That if he were to speak in the context of this Psalm,

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 what that speaking would be was murmuring against the Lord for what he had done.

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 Despising the work of the Lord that he was carrying out in David's life.

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 Charging him perhaps with some injustice against David as his servant and as his king.

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 And David is determined that he will not do that.

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 But the trouble is that silence didn't make the problem go away.

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 It perhaps prevented him from sinning with his tongue,

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 but it didn't make the reality of his mortality go away.

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 It didn't make the discipline of the Lord that was driving him to meditate on his mortality go away.

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 In fact, he says it actually just gets worse in verse 3.

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 It got worse for me as I mused on it.

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 This became like a fire burning within me.

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 And ultimately, he says, I held my peace to no avail.

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 I was silent, determined to be silent without success.

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 Eventually, I had to speak.

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 As it was boiling up within me, I had to cry out to the Lord.

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 And eventually, that's exactly what he does.

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 But what is it that so troubled David that caused this burning in his heart that caused him to cry out to the Lord?

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 The hand of the Lord's discipline was heavy on him so that it forced him to meditate on the problem of his mortality.

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 That God had made him a mere breath.

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 Now, it's verses 4 to 13 that actually record the prayer itself.

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 And the prayer is instructive for us.

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 Not only do we want to enter into this meditation, joining it with David as we're contemplating the reality of what he's contemplating,

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 we also want to follow his pattern.

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 When God's hand of discipline forces us to consider the brevity and the vanity of life,

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 there's three ways David teaches us to pray here.

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 First, ask God for wisdom.

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 Ask God for wisdom.

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 The kind of wisdom that understands our trouble so that we might then fear God.

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 This prayer in verse 4, it begins in a surprising way.

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 David is asking for God to teach him a lesson.

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 Look at what he says.

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 Oh, Lord, make me know my end.

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 And what is the measure of my days?

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 Let me know how fleeting I am.

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 It's surprising, isn't it?

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 When you're considering the preface and the context, the scene that David has laid,

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 it's almost as if, well, why in the world did he start there?

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 Where is that coming from?

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 It's fundamentally a request to know, to know.

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 Make me know the measure of my days.

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 Make me know my end.

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 But he isn't asking God to reveal a set of data about when and where and how he would die.

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 That's not what this request is.

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 This isn't about knowing how many days you have left.

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 It's coming to terms with the fact that it's not very many.

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 That's what he's asking.

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 He wants to grasp the reality of his mortality and God's role in his mortality such that it shapes the way that he lives.

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 It shapes the way that he thinks in that present moment.

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 So as he's struggling with this distress that God has put him under, as God has forced him to think about the reality of his own mortality,

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 his first request is, Lord, teach me wisdom in this.

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 Teach me wisdom.

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 Make me know my end.

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 Help me grasp it and all its implications.

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 The emphasis here is on the brevity of life.

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 God has caused the span of our lives to be but a few handbreadths, David says.

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 Verse 5.

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 Behold, you've made my days a few handbreadths.

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 My lifetime is as nothing before you.

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 Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.

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 Brevity is the emphasis.

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 Handbreadths.

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 That's an ancient unit of measurement.

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 It's literally the breadth of your hand, about four inches or so.

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 David says, if my life could be measured that way, it would just be a few inches long.

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 He says, as I stand before you, as I stand relative to the eternal God, my life is nothing.

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 It's literally nothing.

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 All of us are just a mere breath, he says.

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 Now, it's always good to consider how a text would be understood by its initial audience.

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 In this case, that audience, of course, is ancient Israel.

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 They didn't read in their ESVs.

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 They heard in their Hebrew Bibles.

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 Jim Hamilton does a really, really good job, a helpful job of pointing out that David is employing a play on words with this phrase.

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 What we're reading as, surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.

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 And then again in verse 11.

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 Surely all mankind is a mere breath.

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 What we're reading as that in English is literally this in Hebrew.

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 Surely able stands every atom.

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 Surely able every atom stands.

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 In verse 11.

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 Surely every able every atom.

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 Those are names, aren't they?

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 There is a depth of meaning in the Hebrew language that is difficult to convey in English.

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 It's not that your English translation is wrong.

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 It's just English is different than Hebrew.

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 When an ancient Israelite would have heard this read or would have sung this song or heard it sung in the temple worship,

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 his mind's immediately going to the book of Genesis.

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 His mind is immediately going to Adam.

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 Our mortality, he will think, comes from Adam whose sin brought death into the world.

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 And the brevity of our lives is then illustrated by Abel, young Abel, murdered by his brother Cain.

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 His life was short.

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 What is it that David is communicating?

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 Because of sin, because we're in Adam, we are all mortal as Adam was mortal.

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 But all of our lives is like Abel's.

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 It's brief.

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 It's short.

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 But it's here that we can begin to discern just the first glimmer of hope in the psalm.

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 If you're just willing to go a little bit beyond the psalm, to think of its great fulfillment,

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 you'll begin to see even in this language, there's hope here in David's language.

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 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15,

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 Our mortality then, the reality of our death, it comes from the fact that we are all in Adam.

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 But for all who are in Christ, the greater Adam, the true and better Adam, there is life beyond this death.

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 There is a promise of resurrection hidden here in this language.

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 To be in Adam only requires that you be born.

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 To be in Christ, in Jesus' language, requires that you be born again.

00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:42.680
 And the fruit of that new birth is repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,

00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:45.920
 which will be demonstrated later in this psalm.

00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:46.940
 Here's the point.

00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:55.380
 Our only hope is the greater Adam who conquered our sin, who conquered our death.

00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:59.539
 And we need wisdom from God to understand that.

00:19:00.120 --> 00:19:06.759
 We need wisdom from God to understand why we die, why our days are filled with trouble,

00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.860
 and where our hope actually comes from.

00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:12.900
 Life is brief.

00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:21.100
 Beyond the meditation of life's brevity is a statement on life's vanity.

00:19:21.840 --> 00:19:22.500
 Verse 6.

00:19:23.540 --> 00:19:26.300
 After this reflection point, David says,

00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:28.420
 Surely a man goes about as a shadow.

00:19:30.280 --> 00:19:34.259
 Surely for nothing we are in turmoil.

00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:38.380
 And then he describes the turmoil.

00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:43.860
 Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather.

00:19:45.540 --> 00:19:49.740
 This is similar to the writer of Ecclesiastes, isn't it?

00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:51.380
 Who spoke of the vanity of vanities.

00:19:53.060 --> 00:19:58.620
 Spend all this time toiling and working and providing and death is inevitable.

00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:00.640
 Someone else is going to come and enjoy it.

00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:05.480
 David is reflecting on the same thing here.

00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:11.259
 He speaks of how many of us waste what little time we do have.

00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:16.799
 Toiling for wealth and pleasure that someone else will enjoy.

00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:22.200
 Oh, how we're tempted and we tend to live for this life.

00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:30.039
 Only to be quickly taken out of it and for someone else to come and take what we have gathered and left behind.

00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:42.039
 The text is in some sense rebuking those who live primarily for self with little regard for the God who rules our days.

00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:45.019
 David says that's foolish.

00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:47.920
 It's foolish to live that way.

00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:56.359
 His request then is that God would give him wisdom as he meditates on his own mortality so that he does not live that way.

00:20:56.359 --> 00:21:00.439
 We do well to remember what James says here.

00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:04.519
 It's almost a commentary on this passage in James chapter 4.

00:21:05.659 --> 00:21:06.000
 He says,

00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:14.199
 Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profit.

00:21:15.899 --> 00:21:18.079
 And yet you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:21.199
 What is your life?

00:21:21.659 --> 00:21:22.419
 James asks.

00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:26.939
 It appears for a moment you're just a mist.

00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:30.220
 You're here and then it vanishes away.

00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:31.159
 And he says,

00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:36.819
 Instead, you ought to say if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.

00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:39.779
 But as it is, your boast is arrogant.

00:21:40.619 --> 00:21:42.439
 And all such boasting is evil.

00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:45.299
 That's what David has in mind here.

00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:50.700
 Lord, help me know my end so that I will live in the fear of you.

00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:57.899
 Help me know my end so that I will live in wisdom, not sin against you.

00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:07.379
 He's asking that God would help him not to be like those whom James rebuked.

00:22:08.399 --> 00:22:11.279
 He's asking God to teach so that he will fear him.

00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:14.619
 Similar to what Moses asked for in Psalm 90.

00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:16.740
 Moses writes,

00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:18.460
 The years of our life are 70.

00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:21.519
 Or even by reason of strength, 80.

00:22:23.019 --> 00:22:25.359
 Yet their span is but toil and trouble.

00:22:26.639 --> 00:22:27.460
 They're gone.

00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:28.359
 We fly away.

00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:30.139
 And then he asks,

00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:35.579
 Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you?

00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:37.539
 Moses says,

00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:44.679
 Who actually takes the time to stop and consider their mortality and think that God is sovereign over this mortality?

00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:47.019
 This is a result of his judgment.

00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:51.839
 This is God's anger here so that they would live in fear.

00:22:52.199 --> 00:22:52.839
 And then he says,

00:22:52.839 --> 00:23:00.099
 Lord, so teach us to number our days so that we may get a heart of wisdom.

00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:03.759
 God has put David in distress.

00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:07.559
 We're going to see in a moment it's in relationship to his own sin.

00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:09.619
 He is being disciplined by the hand of the Lord.

00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:14.980
 The strong hand of the Lord is forcing him to meditate on his own insignificance.

00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:16.480
 His nothingness.

00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:18.539
 And the brevity of his own life.

00:23:18.879 --> 00:23:22.799
 And the first thing he does as he pours his heart out to the Lord in this distress is say,

00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:25.059
 Lord, help me know my end.

00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:27.940
 Help me know where my hope can be found.

00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:30.299
 And help me live in wisdom now.

00:23:31.360 --> 00:23:32.840
 But there's a second thing.

00:23:34.360 --> 00:23:38.080
 He declares his hope in God for salvation.

00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:43.519
 Declare your hope in God for salvation.

00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:47.140
 We find this in verses 7 to 11.

00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:49.980
 It seems that in this section of the prayer,

00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:55.960
 what has caused David to meditate on his mortality is God's hand of discipline.

00:23:55.960 --> 00:24:00.940
 It is for sin that David suffers.

00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:04.779
 And we're told God's discipline is severe.

00:24:05.840 --> 00:24:08.519
 It consumes everything dear to the sinner.

00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:11.000
 And finally, his life.

00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:14.220
 Look at verses 8 to 11.

00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:17.600
 Deliver me from all my transgressions, David cries.

00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:20.000
 Do not make me the scorn of the fool.

00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:24.180
 You can meditate on this later, but there's another play on words here.

00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:26.500
 Fool here is another proper name.

00:24:26.620 --> 00:24:28.519
 It's the name Nabal.

00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:38.440
 You can read about Nabal in the Old Testament with David and the fool that he was as he sought to scorn God's king.

00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:41.820
 He says, do not make me the scorn of the fool.

00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:43.320
 I'm mute.

00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.740
 I do not open my mouth.

00:24:44.820 --> 00:24:45.920
 It's you who have done it.

00:24:46.060 --> 00:24:47.080
 This is your discipline.

00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:48.900
 I will not argue with you, God.

00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:50.980
 I will not complain against you.

00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:59.460
 This is your work in my life, but I would ask that you remove your stroke from me because I'm spent by the hostility of your hand.

00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:08.440
 And then he considers, when you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume him like a moth.

00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:10.940
 What is dear to him?

00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:15.680
 Now, moth could be a reference to what moths do.

00:25:16.620 --> 00:25:17.680
 Destroy your clothes.

00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.860
 They just eat them away.

00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:19.960
 They corrupt.

00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:26.059
 It could be just the weakness and vulnerability of the moth itself.

00:25:26.320 --> 00:25:33.920
 If you've ever had one on the side of your car or the side of your house, and you've gone and you've swiped your hand, not intending maybe to harm it, but to get it to move.

00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.720
 And its wings just disintegrates in front of you.

00:25:38.259 --> 00:25:42.460
 David says, that's how I feel when you discipline me.

00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:45.860
 God's discipline is severe.

00:25:47.320 --> 00:25:54.140
 If verses 4 to 6 contemplate the reality of man's mortality and the brevity of life,

00:25:55.180 --> 00:26:00.500
 verses 8 to 11 consider the reason for man's mortality.

00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:09.859
 All mankind is a mere breath because all mankind stands guilty before the holy God.

00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:16.119
 Now, that's important to understand if we're going to understand the hope that's here.

00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:18.579
 The hope's in verse 7.

00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:23.539
 Verse 7 is actually the pivotal moment of the psalm.

00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:30.980
 It's central in the psalm's literary structure, but it's also the focal point of the prayer that David prays.

00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:32.399
 Notice what he says, verse 7.

00:26:32.819 --> 00:26:36.740
 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:41.039
 In other words, where will I find a solution?

00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:46.000
 Where am I looking for this problem of mortality to be fixed?

00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:50.279
 Where am I looking for this issue of my distress to be resolved?

00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:55.420
 And then he declares, my hope is in you.

00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:58.519
 It's in you, Lord.

00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:04.500
 The good news of the psalm is that a solution does indeed exist.

00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:10.160
 His confidence is in the mercy and steadfast love of the Lord,

00:27:10.399 --> 00:27:16.539
 which God has promised again and again and again for all who will love and fear him.

00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:24.579
 Paradoxically, David declares his hope in the one who has done it.

00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:31.599
 I hope in you and I will be silent because you're responsible for this.

00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:34.139
 You are doing this to me.

00:27:34.700 --> 00:27:36.420
 You have made it so.

00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:39.319
 But he doesn't charge God with injustice.

00:27:40.159 --> 00:27:43.379
 No, he clings to God in hope of mercy.

00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:52.340
 He knows that the God of justice who rightly judges his sin is also the God of mercy.

00:27:53.340 --> 00:27:56.860
 And it is this hope that actually enables his prayer.

00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:02.380
 It is for hope that he asks God to deliver him from all of his transgressions,

00:28:03.820 --> 00:28:06.780
 meaning the sins themselves and also their consequences,

00:28:07.120 --> 00:28:09.640
 leading ultimately to his own death.

00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:15.160
 It's for hope that he pleads for God to remove the hostility of his hand.

00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:23.160
 The second line of verse 8 shows that what's even foremost in David's mind is ultimate deliverance,

00:28:23.560 --> 00:28:30.960
 an ultimate deliverance that prevents the fool from making a mockery of those who put their trust in God.

00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:35.019
 This is a prayer for salvation.

00:28:36.180 --> 00:28:40.840
 It's a prayer for salvation to the only God who can supply it.

00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:44.420
 And that's where the believer's hope rests.

00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:47.519
 It rests in God himself.

00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:55.980
 It hopes in God himself that God will do this,

00:28:56.639 --> 00:28:58.119
 that he will deliver,

00:28:59.059 --> 00:29:01.440
 that he will provide a way

00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:05.920
 for David to actually receive life

00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:10.639
 and that he will show himself merciful once again.

00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:13.480
 But there's a third thing.

00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:17.720
 He asks God for wisdom in a sense,

00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:21.280
 wisdom to actually understand so that he might fear the Lord.

00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:24.140
 He declares his hope in God.

00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:27.360
 He recognizes his sinful condition

00:29:27.360 --> 00:29:30.720
 and this judgment is a result of his own sin,

00:29:31.080 --> 00:29:33.620
 but he declares that my hope is in the Lord God.

00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:35.960
 And then moving on from there,

00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:36.820
 he does one more thing.

00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:40.039
 He's hoping in an ultimate sense,

00:29:40.139 --> 00:29:45.119
 but now he prays and cries out for relief in this life.

00:29:46.119 --> 00:29:47.379
 Verses 12 and 13.

00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:50.939
 Listen to the cry.

00:29:52.679 --> 00:29:55.039
 Hear, O Lord, my prayer.

00:29:56.960 --> 00:29:58.599
 Give ear to my cry.

00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:02.740
 There's a mirror here of the first three verses.

00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:04.259
 Earlier, David said,

00:30:04.259 --> 00:30:07.059
 I held my peace to no avail

00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:09.480
 and now he pleads for God not to hold his peace.

00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:12.660
 Don't be silent to my tears, he says, verse 12.

00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:15.740
 I'm a sojourner with you.

00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:17.940
 I'm a guest like all my fathers.

00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:22.640
 Look away from me so that I can smile.

00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:25.940
 Look away from me so that I can have joy.

00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:29.180
 Look away from me so that I can have pleasure once again

00:30:29.180 --> 00:30:31.119
 before my life is over.

00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:34.519
 And I depart and am no more.

00:30:35.979 --> 00:30:36.699
 What's he doing?

00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:41.099
 He's crying out for merciful relief now.

00:30:41.979 --> 00:30:43.799
 And that's instructive for us, isn't it?

00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:47.039
 You know it's okay

00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:50.699
 to go to the God who disciplines you

00:30:50.699 --> 00:30:52.119
 and say, Lord,

00:30:52.639 --> 00:30:54.719
 please bring me relief.

00:30:54.720 --> 00:31:00.380
 Turn away your anger so that I can smile again.

00:31:03.299 --> 00:31:06.720
 Seeks for relief for whatever time the singer has remaining.

00:31:06.860 --> 00:31:08.759
 He trusts God for ultimate salvation

00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:13.319
 and now he seeks relief from God's discipline.

00:31:15.460 --> 00:31:18.960
 It's a cry that God won't be silent to his tears.

00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:22.019
 Again, God's discipline is severe.

00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:25.960
 David asked that he would turn it away

00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:28.440
 so that he can experience joy.

00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:29.440
 It's a somber note.

00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:32.119
 But it's not without hope.

00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:36.680
 Begin at verse 12, the second part.

00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:39.059
 This language is important.

00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:39.799
 He says,

00:31:40.940 --> 00:31:42.000
 Hear my cry for

00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:45.319
 I'm a sojourner with you

00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:47.460
 and a guest

00:31:47.460 --> 00:31:49.200
 like all my fathers.

00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:52.119
 You know what a sojourner is

00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:52.679
 and a guest

00:31:52.679 --> 00:31:53.919
 in the context of the Bible.

00:31:54.059 --> 00:31:54.859
 It's someone who

00:31:54.859 --> 00:31:56.559
 temporarily dwells here

00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:57.799
 but doesn't actually belong here.

00:31:58.619 --> 00:31:59.779
 We thought about that

00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:00.779
 in great detail

00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:02.059
 as we were studying through 1 Peter

00:32:02.059 --> 00:32:03.240
 earlier in the year, didn't we?

00:32:04.419 --> 00:32:05.119
 David says,

00:32:05.220 --> 00:32:06.819
 I'm a sojourner here with you, God.

00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:09.960
 I'm a guest like all my fathers.

00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:12.279
 It's not only speaking to the brevity of life,

00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:14.139
 he's recognizing that this world

00:32:14.139 --> 00:32:16.000
 is not his ultimate home.

00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:18.160
 This is not his ultimate resting place.

00:32:19.059 --> 00:32:20.720
 This is coming out of the wisdom

00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:22.819
 that he's gained earlier in the prayer.

00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:25.240
 It's coming out of the hope

00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:26.460
 that he understands

00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:27.519
 in the middle of the prayer.

00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:30.339
 And now he's reflecting on the fact

00:32:30.339 --> 00:32:32.119
 that this isn't all that there is.

00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:33.980
 I'm a sojourner here.

00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:34.660
 I'm a guest.

00:32:35.460 --> 00:32:37.480
 But he says that he's a sojourner

00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:39.200
 and guest like all my fathers,

00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:41.640
 which is almost certainly a reference

00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:43.000
 to the patriarchs.

00:32:43.620 --> 00:32:45.360
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

00:32:45.360 --> 00:32:47.920
 all referred to in the Bible

00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:49.940
 as sojourners.

00:32:50.620 --> 00:32:50.900
 Why?

00:32:51.580 --> 00:32:53.580
 Because that's literally what they were.

00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:56.960
 They sojourned in a land

00:32:56.960 --> 00:32:58.259
 that was promised to them

00:32:58.259 --> 00:33:00.880
 but one that they did not yet possess.

00:33:04.220 --> 00:33:06.420
 David writes as the king of Israel

00:33:06.420 --> 00:33:07.740
 during a time when Israel

00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:09.079
 did possess the land

00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:09.960
 that God had promised

00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:12.640
 and yet he still considered himself

00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:13.660
 to be a sojourner

00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:15.160
 like the patriarchs.

00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:16.200
 Why?

00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:19.059
 Why would he use this language?

00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:21.400
 Because he knew that Canaan

00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:22.420
 pointed forward

00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:24.720
 to that heavenly land of promise

00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:25.759
 in the new creation.

00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:30.120
 He's looking for a greater Canaan,

00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:31.779
 a greater promised land

00:33:31.779 --> 00:33:33.799
 that God has set apart

00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:35.480
 for his people.

00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:38.039
 He was a journeyman

00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:39.480
 in this life

00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:41.779
 just as Abraham was

00:33:41.779 --> 00:33:42.980
 in Canaan

00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:44.099
 and his request

00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:45.099
 was that God

00:33:45.099 --> 00:33:46.099
 would give him relief

00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:47.019
 from his discipline

00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:48.299
 as he journeyed

00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:49.420
 but his hope

00:33:49.420 --> 00:33:50.759
 rested on the promise

00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:51.819
 of eternal life

00:33:51.819 --> 00:33:53.700
 beyond this fleeting life.

00:33:54.900 --> 00:33:56.180
 Now there's hope there

00:33:56.180 --> 00:33:58.200
 because what David prays there,

00:33:58.360 --> 00:34:00.079
 what he insists upon there

00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:01.559
 is true for all of us

00:34:01.559 --> 00:34:02.400
 who are in Christ.

00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:05.140
 Indeed like David,

00:34:05.540 --> 00:34:06.259
 we may face

00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:07.220
 the heavy discipline

00:34:07.220 --> 00:34:08.500
 of the Lord in this life

00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:09.500
 but this life

00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:11.019
 is not all there is for us.

00:34:11.880 --> 00:34:13.260
 We are sojourners

00:34:13.260 --> 00:34:14.099
 with God here.

00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:15.880
 We are a guest here

00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:16.579
 like David.

00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:17.940
 We're a guest here

00:34:17.940 --> 00:34:19.260
 like the patriarchs.

00:34:19.579 --> 00:34:20.099
 We're longing

00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:21.579
 for a greater rest

00:34:21.579 --> 00:34:23.200
 but in this time

00:34:23.200 --> 00:34:25.360
 we come to the Lord

00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:26.460
 and David teaches us

00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:27.559
 to cry out for relief.

00:34:27.740 --> 00:34:27.900
 Lord,

00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:29.039
 would you just turn

00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:29.900
 your face away

00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:32.099
 so that I can smile?

00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:33.599
 Now why would we feel

00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:34.199
 like we're allowed

00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:34.779
 to pray that?

00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:39.940
 It is this hope

00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:40.920
 of what is to come

00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:41.820
 that prompts us

00:34:41.820 --> 00:34:42.719
 to pray this way.

00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:45.900
 If we know

00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:47.119
 that God will grant us

00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:48.119
 mercy in eternity,

00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:50.880
 why would we not

00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:51.880
 seek mercy now?

00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:55.320
 If God will be

00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:57.039
 full of steadfast love

00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:57.380
 then,

00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:57.880
 then surely

00:34:57.880 --> 00:34:58.500
 he is full

00:34:58.500 --> 00:34:59.500
 of steadfast love.

00:35:00.199 --> 00:35:00.500
 Now.

00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:03.579
 David teaches us

00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:04.360
 to cry out

00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:05.300
 for that relief

00:35:05.300 --> 00:35:08.420
 as we're trusting him

00:35:08.420 --> 00:35:10.539
 to bring us home.

00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:15.199
 So where's actually

00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:15.800
 the solution

00:35:15.800 --> 00:35:16.440
 in the psalm?

00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:18.639
 We're told

00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:19.400
 that the hope

00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:20.279
 is in God.

00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:21.880
 We're not told

00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:23.139
 exactly how God

00:35:23.139 --> 00:35:24.099
 provides the hope.

00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:28.639
 the promise

00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:29.400
 is fulfilled

00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:31.480
 in the person

00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:31.940
 and the work

00:35:31.940 --> 00:35:32.759
 of Jesus Christ.

00:35:34.420 --> 00:35:34.860
 Jesus,

00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:35.300
 of course,

00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:35.860
 we see this

00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:36.519
 in all the psalms.

00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:37.440
 Jesus is the

00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:39.320
 true and better David.

00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:41.279
 He fulfills

00:35:41.279 --> 00:35:42.019
 the psalms.

00:35:43.219 --> 00:35:44.099
 In a sense,

00:35:44.219 --> 00:35:44.480
 he's,

00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:45.320
 as Augustine said,

00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.279
 he is the

00:35:46.279 --> 00:35:47.380
 preeminent singer

00:35:47.380 --> 00:35:48.840
 of the psalms.

00:35:49.779 --> 00:35:50.519
 And surely,

00:35:50.679 --> 00:35:51.659
 Jesus embodies

00:35:51.659 --> 00:35:52.360
 in its fullness

00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:53.320
 everything that David

00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:53.960
 is going through

00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:54.719
 here in this psalm.

00:35:54.719 --> 00:35:55.859
 He embodies

00:35:55.859 --> 00:35:57.399
 the silent sufferer

00:35:57.399 --> 00:36:00.099
 who continued

00:36:00.099 --> 00:36:01.099
 entrusting himself

00:36:01.099 --> 00:36:01.939
 to him who judges

00:36:01.939 --> 00:36:02.419
 justly,

00:36:02.939 --> 00:36:04.959
 who refused to sin

00:36:04.959 --> 00:36:05.599
 with his tongue

00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:05.980
 in the midst

00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:06.559
 of his suffering.

00:36:09.399 --> 00:36:11.279
 Jesus embodies

00:36:11.279 --> 00:36:12.500
 the perfect wisdom

00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:13.559
 of one who knows

00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:14.699
 to number their days

00:36:14.699 --> 00:36:15.799
 and live

00:36:15.799 --> 00:36:17.079
 for the glory of God

00:36:17.079 --> 00:36:17.739
 and with wisdom

00:36:17.739 --> 00:36:18.599
 in this life.

00:36:19.379 --> 00:36:20.419
 He does it perfectly.

00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:24.680
 Even more,

00:36:26.680 --> 00:36:27.300
 he understood

00:36:27.300 --> 00:36:27.920
 the agony

00:36:27.920 --> 00:36:28.900
 of God's judgment

00:36:28.900 --> 00:36:30.099
 as our sin bearer.

00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:32.240
 When David says,

00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:33.039
 when you discipline

00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:33.700
 a man

00:36:33.700 --> 00:36:34.680
 with rebukes

00:36:34.680 --> 00:36:35.360
 for sin,

00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:37.440
 it's like a moth.

00:36:37.539 --> 00:36:38.659
 You strip away

00:36:38.659 --> 00:36:39.159
 everything.

00:36:40.460 --> 00:36:41.400
 When we look

00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:42.059
 to the cross,

00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:42.760
 what do we see?

00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:43.420
 We talked about this

00:36:43.420 --> 00:36:44.019
 in great detail

00:36:44.019 --> 00:36:44.400
 last week,

00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:44.680
 didn't we?

00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:45.800
 What do we see there?

00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:47.760
 we see a full

00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:49.019
 emptying

00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:50.800
 of Christ.

00:36:53.640 --> 00:36:54.720
 The Father

00:36:54.720 --> 00:36:55.700
 reserves

00:36:55.700 --> 00:36:57.140
 nothing of his wrath

00:36:57.140 --> 00:36:59.820
 when he pours it out

00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:00.360
 on his son.

00:37:01.980 --> 00:37:03.519
 He knows the agony

00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:06.060
 of what it means

00:37:06.060 --> 00:37:06.940
 to truly suffer

00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:07.500
 for sin.

00:37:08.160 --> 00:37:08.740
 And he does so

00:37:08.740 --> 00:37:09.500
 in our place.

00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:12.320
 The heart of the gospel

00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:13.200
 in Psalm 39

00:37:13.200 --> 00:37:14.000
 is that Jesus

00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:14.800
 actually did

00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:15.860
 everything necessary

00:37:15.860 --> 00:37:17.160
 to solve the problem

00:37:17.160 --> 00:37:18.260
 that David has here.

00:37:21.160 --> 00:37:22.539
 God does indeed

00:37:22.539 --> 00:37:23.480
 turn his wrath

00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:24.580
 away from his people

00:37:24.580 --> 00:37:26.400
 for those who fear him.

00:37:27.880 --> 00:37:29.140
 He does give us

00:37:29.140 --> 00:37:30.300
 an unspeakable joy

00:37:30.300 --> 00:37:31.320
 as Peter called it.

00:37:32.380 --> 00:37:33.860
 Not only in the next life,

00:37:33.940 --> 00:37:34.740
 but one that can be

00:37:34.740 --> 00:37:35.740
 our true experience

00:37:35.740 --> 00:37:36.560
 in this life.

00:37:38.080 --> 00:37:39.740
 But God does not do that

00:37:39.740 --> 00:37:40.940
 by turning a blind eye

00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:41.680
 to our sin.

00:37:42.180 --> 00:37:43.300
 That's not how he does it.

00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:47.360
 When God turns

00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:48.560
 away from us,

00:37:49.080 --> 00:37:51.300
 it requires him

00:37:51.300 --> 00:37:52.660
 to turn toward

00:37:52.660 --> 00:37:53.800
 Christ

00:37:53.800 --> 00:37:57.060
 so that everything

00:37:57.060 --> 00:37:59.000
 that should be poured

00:37:59.000 --> 00:37:59.880
 out on us

00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:00.620
 in judgment

00:38:00.620 --> 00:38:01.320
 for our sin

00:38:01.320 --> 00:38:03.580
 is not ignored.

00:38:04.640 --> 00:38:05.980
 It's poured out

00:38:05.980 --> 00:38:06.840
 on Christ

00:38:06.840 --> 00:38:08.260
 for us

00:38:08.260 --> 00:38:09.860
 in our place.

00:38:09.860 --> 00:38:13.440
 Jesus doesn't pray

00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:15.180
 this as a sinner.

00:38:16.180 --> 00:38:17.360
 He prays this

00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:17.960
 as one

00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:18.400
 in whom

00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:19.320
 we have

00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:20.840
 real union.

00:38:22.420 --> 00:38:23.460
 As we said last week,

00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:24.220
 such that

00:38:24.220 --> 00:38:25.700
 his suffering

00:38:25.700 --> 00:38:27.320
 represented in this psalm

00:38:27.320 --> 00:38:29.079
 was a real

00:38:29.079 --> 00:38:30.220
 legitimate suffering.

00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:31.440
 He really felt

00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:32.160
 that guilt.

00:38:32.300 --> 00:38:33.559
 He really felt

00:38:33.559 --> 00:38:33.860
 that humiliation.

00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:36.019
 He really felt

00:38:36.019 --> 00:38:38.140
 our judgment.

00:38:38.139 --> 00:38:40.839
 because he did not

00:38:40.839 --> 00:38:41.900
 merely represent

00:38:41.900 --> 00:38:42.699
 our sin

00:38:42.699 --> 00:38:43.719
 as we said last week

00:38:43.719 --> 00:38:44.359
 like a shirt

00:38:44.359 --> 00:38:45.339
 with our sins

00:38:45.339 --> 00:38:46.019
 written on it.

00:38:46.879 --> 00:38:47.319
 No,

00:38:47.420 --> 00:38:48.099
 he was made

00:38:48.099 --> 00:38:49.259
 to be sin.

00:38:51.179 --> 00:38:52.179
 That solves

00:38:52.179 --> 00:38:52.739
 the problem

00:38:52.739 --> 00:38:53.639
 of our mortality

00:38:53.639 --> 00:38:54.779
 at least in the sense

00:38:54.779 --> 00:38:55.639
 of its reason.

00:38:57.779 --> 00:38:58.980
 He suffers

00:38:58.980 --> 00:38:59.639
 the death

00:38:59.639 --> 00:39:00.219
 that we

00:39:00.219 --> 00:39:01.839
 deserve to die.

00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:04.500
 But it doesn't

00:39:04.500 --> 00:39:05.300
 stop there.

00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:07.800
 The gospel

00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:08.340
 hope of

00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:09.120
 Psalm 39

00:39:09.120 --> 00:39:11.480
 is that

00:39:11.480 --> 00:39:11.800
 God

00:39:11.800 --> 00:39:12.420
 raises

00:39:12.420 --> 00:39:12.860
 Jesus

00:39:12.860 --> 00:39:13.740
 from the dead

00:39:13.740 --> 00:39:14.539
 after

00:39:14.539 --> 00:39:16.840
 disciplining

00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:17.539
 him for sin.

00:39:20.100 --> 00:39:20.740
 David's

00:39:20.740 --> 00:39:21.320
 hope here

00:39:21.320 --> 00:39:22.680
 is ultimately

00:39:22.680 --> 00:39:24.120
 a hope

00:39:24.120 --> 00:39:24.960
 of resurrection.

00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:28.639
 Therefore,

00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:29.940
 just as in Adam

00:39:29.940 --> 00:39:30.760
 all of us

00:39:30.760 --> 00:39:31.360
 are mortal,

00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:31.920
 all of us

00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:32.440
 are sinners,

00:39:32.619 --> 00:39:33.099
 all of us

00:39:33.099 --> 00:39:34.099
 are deserving

00:39:34.099 --> 00:39:35.000
 of God's judgment,

00:39:35.300 --> 00:39:36.000
 those of us

00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:37.059
 who are in Christ

00:39:37.059 --> 00:39:38.019
 will be made

00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:39.079
 alive

00:39:39.079 --> 00:39:40.840
 because he

00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:41.480
 is alive.

00:39:42.340 --> 00:39:43.139
 Not only

00:39:43.139 --> 00:39:44.079
 are we in union

00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:44.639
 with him

00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:45.500
 in his death,

00:39:45.659 --> 00:39:46.760
 we are in union

00:39:46.760 --> 00:39:47.360
 with him

00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:48.980
 in his life.

00:39:48.980 --> 00:39:52.240
 Jesus

00:39:52.240 --> 00:39:52.780
 then

00:39:52.780 --> 00:39:54.260
 is the

00:39:54.260 --> 00:39:54.740
 solution

00:39:54.740 --> 00:39:55.940
 to the

00:39:55.940 --> 00:39:56.340
 problem

00:39:56.340 --> 00:39:56.840
 of Psalm

00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:57.320
 39.

00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:00.740
 So then,

00:40:00.860 --> 00:40:01.280
 what do we

00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:01.699
 do

00:40:01.699 --> 00:40:03.039
 when God's

00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:03.400
 hand of

00:40:03.400 --> 00:40:03.860
 discipline

00:40:03.860 --> 00:40:04.780
 is so heavy

00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:05.179
 that it

00:40:05.179 --> 00:40:05.760
 forces us

00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:06.260
 to consider

00:40:06.260 --> 00:40:06.760
 our own

00:40:06.760 --> 00:40:08.039
 mortality?

00:40:09.219 --> 00:40:09.480
 Well,

00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:10.059
 we ask God

00:40:10.059 --> 00:40:10.760
 for wisdom.

00:40:11.820 --> 00:40:12.599
 We ask him

00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:13.059
 for wisdom

00:40:13.059 --> 00:40:13.539
 so that we

00:40:13.539 --> 00:40:14.420
 might grasp

00:40:14.420 --> 00:40:15.300
 the gospel

00:40:15.300 --> 00:40:15.900
 truth

00:40:15.900 --> 00:40:17.119
 that is in

00:40:17.119 --> 00:40:17.539
 this whole

00:40:17.539 --> 00:40:18.000
 scenario

00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:19.000
 and learn

00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:19.460
 to fear

00:40:19.460 --> 00:40:19.800
 him.

00:40:21.340 --> 00:40:21.960
 And then

00:40:21.960 --> 00:40:22.599
 we declare

00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:23.300
 our hope

00:40:23.300 --> 00:40:23.940
 in him

00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:24.440
 for he

00:40:24.440 --> 00:40:24.840
 is a

00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:25.059
 God

00:40:25.059 --> 00:40:25.679
 of great

00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:26.480
 mercy

00:40:26.480 --> 00:40:26.900
 and we

00:40:26.900 --> 00:40:27.239
 look to

00:40:27.239 --> 00:40:27.780
 the cross

00:40:27.780 --> 00:40:28.139
 to see

00:40:28.139 --> 00:40:28.679
 that mercy

00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:29.340
 on display.

00:40:30.579 --> 00:40:31.179
 And then

00:40:31.179 --> 00:40:31.659
 we cry

00:40:31.659 --> 00:40:32.059
 out to

00:40:32.059 --> 00:40:32.460
 him for

00:40:32.460 --> 00:40:33.000
 relief,

00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:34.920
 confessing

00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:35.440
 our sins,

00:40:35.619 --> 00:40:35.940
 trusting

00:40:35.940 --> 00:40:37.059
 that he

00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:37.579
 really does

00:40:37.579 --> 00:40:38.000
 care for

00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:39.239
 us and

00:40:39.239 --> 00:40:39.500
 therefore

00:40:39.500 --> 00:40:39.920
 we can

00:40:39.920 --> 00:40:40.380
 cast our

00:40:40.380 --> 00:40:40.679
 cares

00:40:40.679 --> 00:40:41.659
 on him,

00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:42.699
 even the

00:40:42.699 --> 00:40:43.219
 ones that

00:40:43.219 --> 00:40:43.539
 he has

00:40:43.539 --> 00:40:44.000
 produced

00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:44.960
 as a

00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:45.360
 result of

00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:45.519
 our

00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:45.739
 sin.

00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:47.820
 Let's

00:40:47.820 --> 00:40:47.980
 pray.

00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:50.079
 may

00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:50.079


00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:50.079


00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:50.079


00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:50.079


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00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:50.079


00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:50.079


00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:54.219
!

00:40:54.219 --> 00:40:54.219


00:40:54.219 --> 00:40:54.219


00:40:54.219 --> 00:40:54.219


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00:40:54.219 --> 00:40:54.219