WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.540 We cannot truly and totally know any other person. 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:09.480 We cannot truly and totally know anyone. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:15.540 I don't know if you enjoy watching TV shows or movies where there are superheroes. 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:23.059 And part of the story of superheroes that I particularly enjoy is that idea of how do they keep their identity secret? 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:27.120 How does nobody ever find out that Batman is actually Bruce Wayne? 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:32.620 And I find it really interesting because I guess sometimes we're all a little bit like that, aren't we? 00:00:32.660 --> 00:00:42.340 We all like to have our kind of secret lives, our private lives, so that it makes it very difficult for us to know another person truly. 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:45.920 We are built, God says, for relationships. 00:00:46.120 --> 00:00:48.380 We are built to know and to be known. 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:52.020 And of course, we can know others sometimes very well. 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:55.159 You think about your family or close friends. 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.279 You feel like you know them really, really well. 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:07.759 And we are, as people, capable of gathering complex information, not just socially, but also, I guess, biologically and genetically about people. 00:01:08.259 --> 00:01:18.280 So I remember in primary school, up in Skye, being given a DNA test to find out who among the Scottish population were from Viking blood. 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:22.679 Maybe some of my vague contemporaries would be remembering that as well. 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:28.760 So we're capable of gathering all kinds of information, genealogical information, stuff to do with our DNA. 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:32.380 And then you think about characters like Poirot and Sherlock. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:34.340 I love those guys. 00:01:34.820 --> 00:01:41.940 They can look at the way somebody digs into a dish of butter and discover, well, you must have five children and you must work in the mines. 00:01:41.939 --> 00:01:44.079 And, you know, they can do all these wonderful things. 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:48.060 Because as people, we're capable of observation. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.780 And also as people, we share certain traits. 00:01:52.739 --> 00:01:58.299 Our behaviors, once you get to know a person, generally tend to follow predictable patterns. 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:00.959 We take personality tests. 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:04.859 And we are, on the one hand, really impressed that they're able to get us really closely. 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:08.819 And then you feel quite, huh, because they can get us really closely. 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:10.719 And we don't seem that interesting, perhaps. 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:13.419 So we can know a lot about other people. 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:14.539 We can know a lot about ourselves. 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:17.860 But we cannot fully know another person. 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:25.620 We will never have absolute and accurate knowledge of others or, indeed, of ourselves. 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:27.960 So why is that? 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:30.900 What limits our abilities? 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:35.319 We can perhaps think about limited capacity. 00:02:35.980 --> 00:02:40.599 There is only so much information we can gather and retain. 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:49.460 And even if our capacity was unlimited, we only have so much time to spend with another person to ask all the relevant questions. 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:55.879 So we're limited by capacity, but also we're limited by our tendency towards deception. 00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:01.539 There are parts of ourselves that we hide from others. 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:08.039 That all of us, in different ways, wear masks and lead double lives. 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:18.639 Ever since the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned, their first response was to hide from one another and then to try and hide from God. 00:03:19.079 --> 00:03:21.919 And we've been doing the same ever since. 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:30.179 So we're trying to deceive others, presenting the best version of us that we possibly can, making it difficult for them to know us. 00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:36.019 But we also, the Bible says this, we also deceive ourselves about who we are. 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:39.419 So in Psalm 19, in verse 12, for example, we read, 00:03:40.079 --> 00:03:42.579 Who can discern his errors? 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:45.019 Forgive my hidden faults. 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:51.540 So there is stuff that is wrong about us that we don't even recognize because we can't plumb the depths. 00:03:52.100 --> 00:03:54.260 Or in Jeremiah 17, verse 9, 00:03:54.980 --> 00:04:00.100 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. 00:04:00.580 --> 00:04:02.879 Who can understand it? 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:06.060 So there's our starting point. 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:11.900 That we are limited in our ability to know anyone truly and totally. 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:14.819 And that should make us humble. 00:04:15.760 --> 00:04:21.259 That should make us careful about the judgments that we make on another person. 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:32.259 We were spending time with friends a few nights ago and talking about how we were finding out how they met each other and eventually got married. 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:35.139 And then we were talking about how we met each other. 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:43.099 And it turns out Vicki thought I was really arrogant and fooling myself when she first met me because I didn't talk. 00:04:44.060 --> 00:04:47.759 Okay, so just say I'm quiet and I am shy. 00:04:47.979 --> 00:04:51.459 But that can be misinterpreted as arrogant. 00:04:51.979 --> 00:04:58.779 So we need to be really careful because we can all very quickly make those snap judgments 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:02.819 and forget that we cannot truly and totally know anyone. 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:05.399 So that's the first statement. 00:05:06.059 --> 00:05:12.599 The second statement is that God truly and totally knows us. 00:05:13.039 --> 00:05:15.319 Each one of us, whoever we are. 00:05:16.359 --> 00:05:23.079 If you were here last week, you remember that we were considering the idea that God has no limits. 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:34.419 He has absolute, exhaustive, true and total knowledge of all his creation, which includes us as his creatures. 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:40.500 Or as our book puts it, Jen Wilkin puts it, God is the true expert on us. 00:05:41.039 --> 00:05:45.000 And that's why we sang at the beginning from Psalm 139. 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:50.339 Maybe you want to flick back a couple of pages in your Bible to Psalm 139. 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:53.500 That's one classic expression of this truth. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:06:01.899 So just as you scan that Psalm in verses 1 to 3, you discover a God who knows all of our movements, 00:06:02.599 --> 00:06:09.459 who knows all of our thoughts, who knows all of our words in verse 4, even before we speak them. 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:25.099 In verses 7 to 12, we see the reality that it's impossible for us to escape the presence of the gaze of the absolute knowledge of God. 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:33.899 In verse 13 to 16, we are introduced to a God who knew us before we were born. 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:44.139 The God who formed us, the God who designed us, the God who, in verse 16, knows all the days of our lives from beginning to end. 00:06:44.139 --> 00:07:06.800 And so when we consider the realities of Psalm 139, we're dealing with a God who knows our movements, our actions, our words, our thoughts, our motives, our personality, our temperaments, our life story, our secret sins, and our temptations. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:16.259 So we've already recognized, as we've been thinking, that we like to put on masks, we like to hide sometimes what we truly feel, what we truly think. 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:22.040 And then we read Psalm 139 and we realize we cannot do this with God. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.639 We cannot conceal anything from this God. 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:30.540 We find ourselves exposed under God's microscope. 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:41.580 Here is the God who sees more deeply and more clearly than any x-ray, than any MRI scan, than any examination we can have from a doctor or a psychologist. 00:07:43.200 --> 00:07:49.340 How does that make us feel as we consider the God who truly and totally knows us? 00:07:50.460 --> 00:07:53.040 Does it make us feel a little bit uncomfortable? 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:55.620 Perhaps a little bit guilty. 00:07:55.620 --> 00:08:05.840 Perhaps it causes us to feel a sense of wonder and amazement or a recognition that here is someone to trust and we feel a sense of security. 00:08:06.259 --> 00:08:13.879 For David, who wrote the Psalm, knowing that God knew him truly and totally, led him to worship. 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:20.980 And how we respond to who God is and how God knows us, I guess, comes down to our view of God. 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:26.660 Will we trust that God is the true expert on us? 00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:38.920 So that when we read the Bible, will we humbly receive his word as it seeks to diagnose us, as it looks to explain us? 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:42.320 That we're not thinking, ah, here is good truth for someone else. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.500 Here's how the Bible describes that person over there. 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:51.440 Do we hear how it speaks to us, to our sin and our failure and to our need? 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:55.740 Do we hear it speak to us of our one hope? 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:01.059 Our one hope of salvation to discover Jesus as Lord? 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:08.419 Sometimes as people, we can find ourselves afraid when we're in relationship. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:16.439 If that person, if they knew the truth about me, they would want nothing to do with me. 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:26.719 We can pull away from people because we're afraid to be too honest and open, how they will respond to that. 00:09:27.319 --> 00:09:33.539 Perhaps you've experienced hurt or loss, relationships that have broken down because of that. 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:41.379 One of the most beautiful things of the gospel, one of the most beautiful things as we think about Psalm 139, 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:46.139 is that we are in the presence of a God who does know everything about us. 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:48.219 He knows our hopes and our fears. 00:09:49.019 --> 00:09:50.779 He knows our joys and our sorrows. 00:09:51.579 --> 00:09:53.139 He also knows our darkest sins. 00:09:54.039 --> 00:09:57.559 He also knows those skeletons in our closet that we'd love to keep hidden. 00:09:57.559 --> 00:09:58.959 But here's the thing. 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:03.959 In love, in Jesus, God moves towards us. 00:10:04.819 --> 00:10:08.579 In Jesus, when our faith is in Jesus, we're not rejected by this God. 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:12.199 He doesn't pull away from us, but in love, he draws near. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:22.179 And in fact, what we see on the cross is that Jesus, the perfect son of God, is rejected so that we can be accepted by this loving God. 00:10:22.179 --> 00:10:27.079 And all of that, as we've been thinking about in Galatians, all of that is because of grace. 00:10:28.079 --> 00:10:31.639 God's free, loving kindness towards us. 00:10:32.579 --> 00:10:36.599 So we have a God who truly and totally knows us. 00:10:36.839 --> 00:10:39.839 And that takes us to where we want to spend the rest of our time. 00:10:40.479 --> 00:10:47.099 Our third statement is that God can be truly, but not totally, known. 00:10:47.459 --> 00:10:50.199 So we're going to be back in Psalm 145. 00:10:50.479 --> 00:10:52.000 So we can flick back over there. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:11:00.139 So the word, the big fancy word that our book uses is that God is incomprehensible. 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:04.659 We are dealing with a God who cannot be fully understood. 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:11.340 We are approaching a God where there will always be a sense of mystery. 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:18.740 We'll never reach a point now or in eternity even where we come to have the measure of God. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.759 And that makes sense logically. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.139 God is infinite. 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:23.580 God is infinite. 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:25.639 Therefore, he has no limit. 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:27.340 We are finite. 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:28.639 We are limited. 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:34.840 Therefore, our minds will never and can never fully grasp the extent of God. 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:40.759 Now, it's important for us to say that that does not mean that we cannot know God. 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:42.540 So some people give up the pursuit of God. 00:11:42.660 --> 00:11:43.399 God's up there. 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:44.600 We're down here. 00:11:44.680 --> 00:11:45.120 He's big. 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:45.700 We're small. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:49.800 Therefore, there is no point in seeking to know God. 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:54.159 To help us think about why that's inaccurate. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:55.379 Let me give you a picture. 00:11:55.859 --> 00:11:59.719 Think about a baby or a toddler. 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:08.840 Now, that child knows and loves his or her parents absolutely completely. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.700 Does that baby, does that toddler know everything about the parent? 00:12:13.060 --> 00:12:13.360 No. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:19.220 But there is still a real living relationship of love there. 00:12:19.680 --> 00:12:24.279 There is still true knowledge that's the basis for that relationship of love. 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:31.620 John Calvin, the reformer, he said that when God reveals himself, when God speaks to us, 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:34.559 when he speaks to us through the world that he created, 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:38.039 so we look at nature and we see the order and the beauty and the complexity, 00:12:38.819 --> 00:12:43.379 or when we read the Bible and we discover God in there, 00:12:43.459 --> 00:12:46.980 we discover his plan of salvation, we discover Jesus in there, 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:52.179 John Calvin says this is God's way of speaking to us in baby talk. 00:12:52.179 --> 00:12:56.419 He knows that we cannot grasp the fullness of who God is, 00:12:57.539 --> 00:13:04.599 but in love, he speaks to us so we can truly, although not totally, know him. 00:13:05.819 --> 00:13:09.219 So, when we think about God being incomprehensible here, 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:11.739 it means we can know God absolutely. 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:13.539 We can be a relationship with God, 00:13:13.939 --> 00:13:18.539 and there will always be new things to discover about him. 00:13:19.959 --> 00:13:21.740 Again, Jen Wilkin gives us the picture. 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:23.879 It's like it's Christmas every day. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:27.360 There's new and wonderful things about God to discover, 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:30.259 to fill our hearts with joy and worship. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:36.180 And so what I want us to do is to use Psalm 145 to help us think about this, 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:39.519 to hear David as a reliable guide. 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:46.000 David who'd walked with God for many years as a shepherd boy and as king of Israel. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.139 Somebody with mature faith. 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:52.299 Somebody described as a man after God's own heart. 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:58.960 And our key verse, as we consider this Psalm, is verse number three, 00:14:00.419 --> 00:14:01.240 where we read, 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:13.639 So the big idea, God is great. 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:16.460 And the greatness of God, verses one and two, 00:14:17.180 --> 00:14:22.940 it is reason enough to worship and enjoy him for now and for all eternity. 00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:29.580 But the greatness of God is like a vast ocean we will never get to the bottom of. 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:35.140 Or it's like trying to reach to the bottom of the Grand Canyon times by a billion. 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:38.860 It's just too big and too great. 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:47.680 But what we see in this Psalm is that the greatness of God doesn't push David away from God. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.919 Rather, he responds in worship. 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:52.799 So in verse one, 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:55.259 I will exalt you, my God the King. 00:14:55.339 --> 00:14:58.279 I will praise your name forever and ever. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:04.839 And in fact, he calls all people to worship and praise God for his greatness forever. 00:15:04.959 --> 00:15:08.699 Even though he doesn't know everything about God's greatness, 00:15:09.099 --> 00:15:12.139 what he knows is reason to worship. 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:17.480 So as we look at this Psalm, 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.860 we recognize that on the one hand, 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.720 God is the only true expert on God. 00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:25.500 So only God knows himself completely. 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:28.620 But we hear David, this man of faith, 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:31.879 scratching the surface of God's greatness, 00:15:32.439 --> 00:15:36.080 bringing us wonderful truths that cause us to worship. 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.080 So what does he draw our attention to in this Psalm? 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:43.020 First of all, in verses four to seven, 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:46.740 there's a focus on God as Savior. 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:50.040 Great is the Lord, verse three, 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:51.440 and most worthy of praise. 00:15:51.520 --> 00:15:54.120 His greatness no one can fathom. 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:57.340 One generation will commend your works to another. 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:00.460 They will tell of your mighty acts. 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:03.920 And the focus here is on God's saving acts. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:11.059 And the idea is that families were to pass on the stories of the great things that God had done. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:17.500 So we can perhaps think of a Jewish family around the table for their Passover meal. 00:16:17.899 --> 00:16:22.199 And the father would be telling the story to the children of God, 00:16:22.319 --> 00:16:26.519 their king, who acted in power to redeem and rescue them. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:31.799 To the God who worked mighty miracles in order to set them free from slavery. 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:38.219 The God who worked miracles to show his generous goodness to them while they were in the wilderness, 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.859 giving them food to eat and water to drink. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:47.000 The God who saved them ultimately to meet with them at Mount Sinai, 00:16:47.319 --> 00:16:51.099 because they were rescued to enter into relationship. 00:16:52.079 --> 00:16:56.219 They were saved to know and enjoy God. 00:16:56.220 --> 00:17:00.560 And so David says, this is reason for worship. 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:05.220 This is an aspect of God's greatness worthy of exploring. 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:12.799 And you know, we get to know God in his saving work even more clearly than we see at the Exodus, 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:19.039 because we look back from the perspective of over here and we can look back on the cross. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:24.740 We can look back at the cross and see Jesus as the Passover lamb. 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:31.079 The one who gave his life, whose blood was shed so that the judgment of God would pass over us. 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:36.079 Jesus who came to be our true rescuer. 00:17:37.139 --> 00:17:39.119 And so we celebrate that. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:41.700 For example, when we share the Lord's Supper, 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:51.220 we recognize God's greatness in saving us and bringing us into God's great story of salvation. 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:59.819 So David explores the greatness of God as Savior, but of course, mystery remains. 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:04.680 When you think about the story of salvation, there is mystery. 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:12.080 The incarnation, how is it that God, the Son, takes on human form? 00:18:12.820 --> 00:18:16.400 How can he be truly human and truly God at the same time? 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.060 There is mystery to explore there. 00:18:20.340 --> 00:18:26.420 The great exchange where Jesus becomes sin for us and gifts us his perfect righteousness. 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:33.920 Our minds will never come to a full realization of the extent of the cost to Jesus. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:35.779 For our salvation. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:39.920 Or we can think about the goal of our salvation and there's mystery there. 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:42.920 Because ultimately we too are saved for relationship. 00:18:43.100 --> 00:18:45.880 We too are saved to be with God forever. 00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:47.840 But what will that be like? 00:18:48.600 --> 00:18:49.320 We don't know. 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:54.920 We get pictures in Revelation, but there is mystery about salvation. 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:56.900 But still we have cause for worship. 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:03.160 The next thing that David explores with us is that God is compassionate. 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:14.540 In verses 8 and 9, James Montgomery Boyce describes this as God's unexpected quality. 00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:18.019 The Lord is gracious and compassionate. 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:21.660 Slow to anger and rich in love. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.900 The Lord is good to all. 00:19:24.340 --> 00:19:27.540 He has compassion on all he has made. 00:19:27.539 --> 00:19:31.420 Here is a restatement of Exodus chapter 34 verse 6. 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:34.759 When Moses asked God, show me your glory. 00:19:35.159 --> 00:19:38.879 And God revealed his name in those terms. 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:46.000 And it's wonderful because here we recognize that God doesn't give us what we deserve. 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:50.899 Instead, in mercy gives us what we don't deserve. 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:56.340 That while because of our law breaking we deserve judgment and anger, 00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:02.759 God in mercy delights to show love and grace to his people. 00:20:03.420 --> 00:20:07.540 He loves to show kindness to his creation, 00:20:07.860 --> 00:20:11.160 even those parts of the creation that want nothing to do with God. 00:20:11.580 --> 00:20:17.360 As Jesus said, he sends rain on the righteous and on the wicked. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:23.359 And so here is David celebrating the gracious nature, 00:20:24.139 --> 00:20:25.819 the compassionate nature of God. 00:20:25.879 --> 00:20:28.059 And that's the basis for our salvation. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:31.679 As we've said time and time again, 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:34.459 we're not saved because we are good enough for God. 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.799 We're not saved because we've earned our place in God's kingdom. 00:20:38.399 --> 00:20:44.959 That we are saved only because God in mercy looks down and chooses to love us. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:51.220 And so there is mystery that remains for the people of God. 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:51.840 Why? 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:53.279 Why us? 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:57.740 Why has God chosen to be so kind and good to us? 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:03.100 We will never fully appreciate either the extent of our need 00:21:03.100 --> 00:21:08.240 or the extent of God's mercy towards us. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:17.079 But still we can praise God because we know that he has shown compassion and grace to us. 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:22.579 The next thing David explores with us is that God is king. 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:25.039 In verses 10 to 13. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:27.880 Verse 11, 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:42.300 So you have creation which speaks of God's rule. 00:21:42.900 --> 00:21:45.120 There's order, there's structure and control. 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:51.899 And God's creatures should bear witness to the fact that he is king. 00:21:52.459 --> 00:21:55.279 That he is a God with unrivaled power. 00:21:55.979 --> 00:22:01.679 That he is Lord over us and we ought to willingly, gladly submit to him. 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:07.119 We ought to praise him for the fact that his kingdom is an unbreakable one. 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:12.339 But again, mystery remains. 00:22:13.179 --> 00:22:16.599 When we think about our own experience, when we look around the world, 00:22:17.199 --> 00:22:18.659 sometimes it's hard to see. 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:22.799 You know, the Bible promises that God works all things together for good, 00:22:22.879 --> 00:22:25.559 for those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:28.159 Sometimes that can be hard to see. 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:30.019 There's mystery to God's purposes. 00:22:30.659 --> 00:22:32.500 There's mystery to God's rule. 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:36.779 Sometimes when we look back, when we reflect on our own lives, 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:39.099 we can see, yes, there was suffering. 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.119 Yes, there was hardship. 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:42.259 But through that, God was shaping me. 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:44.519 But not always. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:49.200 We don't always see the full extent of God's rule over all things. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:55.259 It's hard for us to get our minds around God ruling in heaven and on the earth and under the earth. 00:22:55.660 --> 00:22:58.759 So there is mystery about the kingship of God. 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:04.279 But still, there is reason to worship along with David. 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:09.839 And then he takes us to the fact that God is faithful. 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:12.720 God is faithful in providing. 00:23:13.019 --> 00:23:18.220 In that second part of verse 13 down to verse 20, 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:26.220 the Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made. 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:31.680 A wonderful picture of the tender kindness and mercy of God in verse 14, 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:36.900 the Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:39.860 He is faithful in keeping his promise. 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:42.559 He is faithful in delivering help. 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:46.220 He's faithful in recovering hope where hope is lost. 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:48.500 Verses 15 and 16, 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:53.960 He's faithful in generously providing food that we need to live. 00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:57.680 Verse 18 and 19, 00:23:57.779 --> 00:24:00.220 The Lord is near to all who call on him, 00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:02.480 to all who call on him in truth. 00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:05.460 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him. 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:09.240 He hears their cry and saves them. 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.859 Here is a God who is faithful in listening to the prayers of his people. 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:18.279 Here is a God who is faithful in answering the prayers of his people. 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:19.039 In his own way, 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:21.079 in his own time and for his own glory. 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:22.879 Here we have a God who, 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:23.879 as it were, 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:25.379 sticks closer than any brother. 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:28.240 We can talk to him at any time and he will listen. 00:24:29.379 --> 00:24:32.099 And we talk to the one who knows everything about us. 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:35.960 The one who knows our situation and how it will all be resolved. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:38.119 In verse 20, 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:41.639 The Lord watches over all who love him. 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:42.940 He protects his own. 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:44.820 He watches our steps. 00:24:45.660 --> 00:24:47.539 But all the wicked he will destroy, 00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:50.259 judging opposition in the end. 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:54.500 So David has begun to know 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:58.299 something of the greatness of God. 00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:00.720 If we're Christians here today, 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:02.600 we have begun to discover 00:25:02.600 --> 00:25:05.779 something of the greatness of God. 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:09.440 And that is cause for us to worship, 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:12.759 just as it was cause for David to worship. 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:17.240 When we think about how David saw, 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:22.379 we recognize that we have the privilege of a revelation even more clear, 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:25.180 because we again look back to Jesus. 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:29.220 David could celebrate God as Savior. 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:33.200 We celebrate that God sent Jesus to be our promised Savior. 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:36.200 David celebrated God's grace. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:38.039 And we see in the person of Jesus, 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:40.420 in his life and in his death, 00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:43.519 God's compassionate grace that he extends to us. 00:25:45.079 --> 00:25:47.259 David celebrated that God was king. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:49.339 When we see Jesus come to the earth, 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:53.420 we see that eternal kingdom begin to break in. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:57.940 David celebrated the faithfulness of God. 00:25:57.940 --> 00:25:59.160 And in Jesus, 00:25:59.320 --> 00:26:02.380 we have that unbreakable word of promise from God. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:04.700 We have his eternal provision. 00:26:04.840 --> 00:26:05.779 We have Jesus saying, 00:26:06.140 --> 00:26:07.420 I am the bread of life. 00:26:08.120 --> 00:26:11.559 Whoever trusts in me will never grow hungry. 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:14.200 So we have in our God, 00:26:14.320 --> 00:26:18.120 a God of greatness that cannot be fathomed, 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:22.640 but a God whose greatness causes us to worship him 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.460 and to love him. 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:25.740 Now, 00:26:25.840 --> 00:26:28.140 why does this matter? 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:31.180 Let's just stop and think for a moment. 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:32.880 Why does this matter? 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:34.079 In the first instance, 00:26:35.220 --> 00:26:36.660 it's the fuel for our worship. 00:26:37.600 --> 00:26:39.259 To quote from Jen Wilkin, 00:26:39.340 --> 00:26:40.900 it's the joyful duty, 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:44.200 the delightful task of his children 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:46.579 to spend their lives, 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:49.700 both this one and the next, 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:52.460 discovering who he is. 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:56.180 Every day there are new mercies from God 00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:59.140 to discover there are new aspects of his character 00:26:59.140 --> 00:27:00.360 to discover. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:03.980 And what we discover is always good 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:05.700 and always true. 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:10.360 As we reflect on this recognition 00:27:10.360 --> 00:27:14.519 that God is unfathomably great, 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:16.600 it establishes our position. 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:19.539 It's a reminder to us that God is creator 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:21.059 and we are creatures. 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:24.059 There is a really important distinction there 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:28.720 that we recognize with humility our own limits, 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:31.579 our limits to understand ourselves or others. 00:27:32.579 --> 00:27:35.859 It also gives us the prospect of joyful discovery. 00:27:37.399 --> 00:27:38.539 Sometimes, perhaps, 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:41.839 reading our Bibles can seem like a duty, 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.559 a task to perform. 00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:46.720 But when we recognize 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:49.419 that we read our Bibles 00:27:49.419 --> 00:27:51.720 in order to know God, 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:52.879 not just know about God, 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:54.539 but to know God more, 00:27:56.099 --> 00:27:59.079 and the fact that there is an infinite amount 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:00.539 to know about God, 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:02.700 then here's the incentive 00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:05.799 for a lifetime of Bible study, 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:07.500 of reading the Bible, 00:28:07.659 --> 00:28:09.619 of meditating on it. 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:12.519 Why not spend a few minutes 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:14.839 through this week thinking about 00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:17.579 what does it mean that God is a savior? 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:20.959 What does it mean that God has compassion 00:28:20.959 --> 00:28:23.319 or that he is the one true king? 00:28:23.899 --> 00:28:27.259 And let that meditation then cause us 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:30.539 to move into prayerful worship. 00:28:31.879 --> 00:28:34.379 Knowing that God is infinitely great 00:28:34.379 --> 00:28:36.759 should change our attitudes 00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:38.319 to ourselves and others. 00:28:38.819 --> 00:28:40.640 To remember God knows me 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:42.680 and is willing to accept 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:44.160 and love and welcome me, 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:46.400 that means I should be slow 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:48.240 to judge others. 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:50.279 And I should be quick 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:53.039 to extend grace to others. 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:58.740 And it also encourages our mission 00:28:58.740 --> 00:29:01.279 because this truly is a God 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:03.440 who everyone needs. 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:09.039 A relationship that everybody longs for 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:11.759 to be truly known, 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:13.319 truly loved, 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:14.660 truly accepted. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:16.160 And it's a relationship 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:17.799 anyone can have 00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:20.859 because it's available freely 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:23.039 through God's great grace. 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:23.859 ấtNI