WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.759 And if you have your Bibles, perhaps you could turn back with me to Psalm 62 in the Church Bible. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:23.679 ! It's page 579. Thinking about this wonderful Psalm and what it can help us to see about Jesus, our true rest and security. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:30.359 But as we begin, a couple of really important questions that relate to the theme of Psalm 62. 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:36.579 The first is this. What is it that makes you feel anxious or insecure? 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:45.140 So I guess a lot of people are recognizing, it's hard not to, a time of growing insecurity in the world. 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:48.200 We look at the Middle East as a prime example. 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:56.859 Perhaps we think of ongoing conflict in Europe, and especially as we continue to live with the knock-on effects, 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:02.400 whether that's, you know, the prices in our energy bills or how it affects our finances. 00:01:02.400 --> 00:01:06.340 It feels like that insecurity comes ever closer to home. 00:01:07.600 --> 00:01:12.800 But maybe what causes us anxiety and insecurity is more related to our personal circumstances. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:16.459 Maybe it's our own health and well-being. 00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:24.459 Maybe it's our job, our career prospects, the demands within our particular role. 00:01:25.539 --> 00:01:33.239 Maybe as we survey our nation, we have concerns and anxiety about the moral and spiritual condition of the country. 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:39.700 Maybe we think about recent votes that seem to go against what the Bible teaches, and we feel growing concern. 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:45.540 Maybe our concern is linked to, not ourselves, but to family members. 00:01:46.020 --> 00:01:49.579 Maybe family members as it relates to their spiritual condition. 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:52.740 What is it that makes us feel anxious? 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.840 What is it that keeps you awake at night? 00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:59.460 What are the factors that rob you of sleep? 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:04.620 Or set your mind or your heart racing all of a sudden in panic? 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:15.640 Maybe with David in Psalm 62, those issues come kind of related to this morning because of conflict that we have with others. 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:26.540 Maybe it's the words that are said to us or words that are spoken about us, whether it's to our face or whether it's an anxiety about what's being said behind my back. 00:02:26.539 --> 00:02:56.519 Or what ideas are being said behind my back. 00:02:56.520 --> 00:03:03.600 One of the many trust psalms, security psalms, within this songbook. 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:08.020 It's a psalm that reflects a deep trust in God. 00:03:08.100 --> 00:03:17.160 There's lots of them in the book of Psalms, which I think says to us that we need to be reminded time and again that God is the one who invites us to trust in Him. 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:22.680 Psalm 46, God is our refuge and our strength. 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:27.680 Psalm 124, if God the Lord had not been on our side, then we would have been enveloped. 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:33.680 This week I was reading Psalm 3, which isn't one of the more familiar psalms. 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:42.620 I find it really interesting that whenever the people were compiling the 150 psalms, putting them in their particular order, Psalm 3 was pulled right to the beginning. 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:53.379 So we know from the subtitle that it is a psalm that's to do with when David is in conflict with his son Absalom, so it's towards the end of his reign. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.780 But it's pulled right forward to the beginning. 00:03:56.480 --> 00:03:58.680 And I think it's because the compiler knows. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:02.599 We need to know who is the blessed man, who is the righteous king. 00:04:03.140 --> 00:04:04.759 Psalms 1 and 2 is pointing to Jesus. 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:10.139 But also that we need to know that God knows that we will be fearful. 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:17.519 And so right from the beginning, the book of Psalm teaches us when we are fearful, we should run to the Lord. 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:20.899 So we have ideas in Psalm 3. 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:22.519 You are a shield around me. 00:04:22.599 --> 00:04:26.699 I can lie down and sleep in peace because the Lord sustains me. 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:29.519 From the Lord comes deliverance. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:34.699 So the book of Psalms begins with a posture inviting us to deep trust. 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:38.279 And Psalm 62 is no different. 00:04:39.099 --> 00:04:44.899 Here we find David in an unidentified set of trials and trouble. 00:04:45.019 --> 00:04:50.079 But in the heat of that trial, his hope in God is secure. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:56.379 And actually, it's a hope that grows both in clarity and confidence as the psalm continues. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:05:03.240 And what's really interesting, I think, about this psalm is that we are invited into David's heart. 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:07.060 We hear his internal workings, his reflections. 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:10.339 So he talks both to and about God. 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:15.180 He talks both to and about his enemies to God. 00:05:15.659 --> 00:05:21.100 And he also talks to his fellow worshippers, inviting them to trust in God. 00:05:22.139 --> 00:05:23.839 And that's a gift because we're worshippers. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:25.839 And so that includes us. 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:36.899 And the message from David, if we could boil it down effectively, is learn to come and to run to your God and your King. 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:39.480 Come and run to Jesus. 00:05:39.659 --> 00:05:47.279 He is the powerful King of steadfast, saving love if we are to find our true rest and security. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:58.939 So let's look together at these first four verses where we see rest under stress. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:05.319 Truly, my soul finds rest in God, David begins. 00:06:06.119 --> 00:06:09.839 The question in verse 3, how long will you assault me? 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:19.759 So psychologists will tell us that in a situation of stress, a person who is stressed, their focus will narrow. 00:06:20.859 --> 00:06:24.299 We will develop something of a tunnel vision. 00:06:24.579 --> 00:06:26.620 And that can be a really good or a really bad thing. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.000 I think in David's case we're seeing where it can be a really good thing. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:35.480 So verses 3 and 4 we begin to see what David's stress is. 00:06:36.259 --> 00:06:41.319 That there are cruel men who are on the one hand picking on him in his weakness. 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:46.060 Would all of you throw me down this leaning wall, this tottering fence? 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:50.939 So they sense David's rule is somewhat shaky. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:56.839 And so there is this determined effort to topple him, picking on him in his weakness. 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:02.199 But also, they pick on him because of his strength. 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:07.259 Verse 4, surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place. 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:12.980 You know that instinct that we can have sometimes, he's the top dog, let's bring him down. 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:18.240 And so David is both being attacked because of his weakness and because of his position of strength. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:23.980 And what we see are enemies circling with betrayal and lies. 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:25.800 They take delight in lies, he says. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:30.480 With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:31.840 False friends. 00:07:33.020 --> 00:07:37.360 And so we might naturally expect this is where David would begin. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:45.600 And maybe this is what we would expect his tunnel vision would lead him to so that all he could see were his opponents surrounding him. 00:07:47.520 --> 00:07:52.379 That's what happens, I think, when we live with what's known as the fear of man. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:08:00.180 People can become so big in our vision that God can seem small and be blocked from our horizon. 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:03.519 But that's not what happens in David's story. 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:09.400 Because it's not where the psalm begins and it's not where his focus falls. 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:14.540 Rather, the psalm begins with this emphatic certainty. 00:08:14.780 --> 00:08:18.180 Truly, my soul finds rest in God. 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:20.840 My salvation comes from him. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.639 Truly, he is my rock and my salvation. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:26.460 He is my fortress. 00:08:26.579 --> 00:08:27.699 I shall never be shaken. 00:08:27.699 --> 00:08:31.139 Here's his testimony. 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:32.779 Here's what he knows about God. 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:33.960 Here's what he speaks to God. 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:36.960 In God, I find rest. 00:08:37.580 --> 00:08:39.000 There's a wonderful connection. 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:44.559 So in verse 8, if you look down at verse 8, David turns to give advice to the worshippers. 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:46.519 And he says, pour out your hearts to him. 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:48.360 For God is our refuge. 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:54.720 So David knows the wisdom and the goodness of pouring out our hearts, bringing our concerns to God. 00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:05.340 But then he also knows there is a time to rest, to wait with silence, to peacefully wait for God's answer. 00:09:06.040 --> 00:09:08.019 And so that's where we find David in verse 1. 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:13.120 We find him reflecting on the truth that in God, he is safe and secure. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.100 He is not that fence about to be blown down. 00:09:16.940 --> 00:09:20.960 Because he has found God to be his fortress and his shelter. 00:09:21.860 --> 00:09:24.820 He has built his foundation on solid rock. 00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:27.899 God is his salvation. 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:32.519 So he shall not be shaken and blown down. 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:40.240 If we think about Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock, we think about those solid walls and those heavy gates. 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:46.600 Imagine if an enemy attacked and the soldiers were behind those walls. 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:52.519 They would still be able to enjoy security because they had found that fortress. 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:58.259 Well, David takes that image to say, I have found my trust in my God. 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:02.179 I am secure in God's salvation. 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:08.860 I am unshakable because my life is established on God, this solid rock. 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:16.039 Like he says in Psalm 3, I can lie down and sleep in peace because God protects me and will deliver me. 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:24.480 He is able to rest under stress because he looks to God and because of what he knows about God. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:26.639 It's a wonderful testimony. 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:34.620 And this testimony, I think as well, of trust prepares us for a greater king, for King Jesus. 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:50.120 When we read the Gospels and we look at the life of King Jesus, don't we see this same feature that no power of hell, no scheme of man would ever shake Jesus from his steadfast trust. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:52.799 He was threatened. 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:55.320 People lied about him. 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:57.980 He was betrayed by a false friend. 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:04.580 But nothing would shake his trust in his father and in his father's will. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:11.019 And he died with that certainty. 00:11:12.180 --> 00:11:14.259 Praying into your hands, I commit my spirit. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:25.180 He knew the battle was over, that his victory had been won, that he would be vindicated, that God's plan of salvation has reached its climax. 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:35.600 And so he faced stress, resting in his father's care and his father's plan. 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:45.320 When we feel distress and sorrow, or we wake up in the middle of the night with panic or with fear, 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.460 maybe when we switch on the news and it stresses us out, 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:54.160 we need that tunnel vision that would take us to the right rock and refuge. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:01.960 That you and I would set our hopes on our strong Savior God. 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:08.139 To know by personal experience what we sang, that through the storms he is, Lord. 00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:16.500 That we would hear the invitation of Jesus to come when we're weary, when we're burdened, when we're distressed, and find rest. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:23.240 That we would turn to our everlasting, never failing, Redeemer God. 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:27.159 So David shows us rest under stress. 00:12:28.299 --> 00:12:32.960 And then in the middle verses, wonderful verses, verses 5 to 8, 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:38.139 we see rest that is to be both savored and shared. 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:46.299 I have recently got into cooking in a very small way, and a cooking app in a very small way. 00:12:47.059 --> 00:12:48.039 I like it. 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:49.480 You can browse the app. 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:53.500 If you see something that looks nice, you can hit like, and then you can look it up. 00:12:53.580 --> 00:12:55.120 You can find the recipe. 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:56.779 You can make the meal. 00:12:57.199 --> 00:12:58.519 So it's really nice. 00:12:58.580 --> 00:13:01.319 I have a nice set of really appetizing-looking meals. 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:08.320 But 6 o'clock at night, if I just open my app and that's it, that's going to be profoundly unsatisfying. 00:13:08.400 --> 00:13:09.140 We know this. 00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:17.200 We need to move beyond, here's the recipe to actually having the food prepared and before us. 00:13:17.260 --> 00:13:20.580 We need a meal to savor and to enjoy. 00:13:21.920 --> 00:13:29.000 When you and I face trouble and stress, David, in that sense, has given us the recipe for rest. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.120 What are the ingredients? 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:31.759 Well, simple. 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:34.179 We need to let God be all our hope. 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:39.120 That's the recipe for being able to rest under stress, that God be all our hope. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:44.100 But with each new experience of anxiety and stress, we need more than the recipe. 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:47.620 We need to taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:50.840 We need to actually put that into practice. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:14:02.420 We need the lived-in personal experience that I can place all my hope in God and I can rest because I trust Him. 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.399 I'm safe in His everlasting arms. 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:10.300 And David shows us this. 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:12.899 He shows us that rest is to be savored. 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:14.680 In verses 5 to 7. 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:20.919 Notice, verse 5 is very similar to verse 1, but this time he's speaking to himself. 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:23.599 He's like speaking to the gospel, speaking the gospel to himself. 00:14:23.719 --> 00:14:24.979 Yes, my soul. 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:26.759 Here's what you should do, my soul. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:28.620 Find rest in God. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:30.139 My hope comes from Him. 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:42.339 Because we know this, I think, that troubles, trials, anxieties, they can redirect us away from God to ourselves or to the circumstance. 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:46.180 They can distract us from our God and from our worship. 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.540 And so what David does is really helpful. 00:14:48.920 --> 00:14:53.440 He speaks truth to himself to recall those things that he knows to be true. 00:14:53.920 --> 00:14:59.540 So once again, he's setting his hope in God alone, calling himself to confident faith. 00:15:01.560 --> 00:15:05.040 Our trusting in God, our call to faith is not a one-time thing. 00:15:05.100 --> 00:15:06.180 It's an everyday thing. 00:15:06.179 --> 00:15:11.139 Every time that we have trouble or we struggle, we need to recall ourselves. 00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:14.259 Yes, my soul. 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:15.879 Here's what we need to do. 00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:18.620 Find rest in God. 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:26.559 And again, he's determined that what's going to fill his heart and fill his mind, it's not the enemy's circling. 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.079 It's not that circle of lies and betrayal. 00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:32.399 But it's the God of covenant love. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.980 That's what's going to fill his heart and his mind. 00:15:35.079 --> 00:15:37.500 That's who is going to fill his heart and his mind. 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:42.000 And so he again turns to think about his God. 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:45.360 And what truths about God does he savor? 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:52.259 And what truths about God are we invited to savor and to enjoy ourselves, to find rest and security? 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:55.019 Look at verse 5. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:03.919 You and I should be saying to ourselves as Christians, Jesus is my hope. 00:16:04.319 --> 00:16:06.580 Yes, my soul find rest in God. 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:08.720 My hope comes from him. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.419 We talk to ourselves about the cross. 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:16.639 Now we understand that Jesus has secured our salvation. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.580 He has paid the price in full. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.299 That the work of salvation is a finished and accomplished work. 00:16:25.819 --> 00:16:28.460 And so we look to the cross to find hope. 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:34.759 But we also talk to ourselves about the promises that we find throughout Scripture. 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:42.319 The promise, for example, of Jesus when he said, I will never leave you or forsake you. 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:50.539 That promise that he would give another comforter, the Spirit, to be in us and to help us and to teach us. 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:52.860 Jesus is our hope. 00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:57.659 We talk to ourselves about the reality of future glory. 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:02.879 That Jesus hasn't just guaranteed a victory over our sin. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.099 He guarantees our eternal reward. 00:17:07.379 --> 00:17:13.119 That we look ahead to his kingdom being fully established, the new heavens and the new earth. 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:14.980 That's our hope as the people of God. 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:18.200 So we talk to ourselves about the hope we have in Jesus. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:21.480 Verse 6. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:25.319 Truly, he is my rock and my salvation. 00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:26.579 He is my fortress. 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:28.880 I shall not be shaken. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.620 Jesus is my rock. 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:33.339 We tell ourselves that. 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:35.259 He invites us to do that. 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:37.380 And we'll get to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.799 We'll think about that parable that Jesus tells of the two house builders. 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:44.019 And the one that built their house on the rock when the storm came. 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:46.480 The house stood firm. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:50.759 And the rock is Jesus' life and Jesus' word. 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:53.500 Jesus' word of promise. 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:57.039 In him, we are safe and secure. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.839 In him, we will make it to the end. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:04.119 In him, we are never alone. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:06.700 Verse 7. 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:08.539 New idea. 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:13.579 My salvation and my honor depend on God. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:16.599 He is my mighty rock, my refuge. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:20.319 David looked to his God to vindicate him. 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:25.039 We look to Jesus to know that we will be vindicated. 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:31.779 Jesus has died for in our place, bearing all our guilt and shame. 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:36.680 Now, he is risen in honor and victory, vindicated by the Father. 00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:43.200 And when we are in him, we share in his honor, victory and vindication. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:45.220 That's true today. 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:49.080 And it will be true on the final day. 00:18:50.080 --> 00:19:02.220 And so, David invites us to recognize that under stress and facing anxiety, we need to speak the gospel again to our souls. 00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:08.640 To savor it in our lives, what we discover to be true about God. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:15.180 But also, this rest, this security is something to be shared. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:16.820 Verse 8. 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:18.940 Like a good meal that adds joy. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:23.020 David now turns to talk to his fellow worshipers. 00:19:23.280 --> 00:19:24.860 Here is the king, the worship leader. 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:25.700 And what does he say? 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:28.640 Trust in him at all times, you people. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:34.220 Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:41.920 David shares from his own experience for their encouragement, for our encouragement. 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:45.559 You can pour out your hearts to God. 00:19:46.460 --> 00:19:47.660 That's a wonderful thing. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:49.200 He is a refuge. 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:51.759 He is your safe space. 00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:55.319 He is your wonderful counselor. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:02.019 You can trust him completely and find rest, David says to us. 00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:04.700 And when you think about it, here is the king. 00:20:05.299 --> 00:20:07.099 And so, the people are looking to him. 00:20:07.639 --> 00:20:09.019 He is God's man. 00:20:09.619 --> 00:20:13.400 And he speaks very personally about how he deals with trouble. 00:20:13.740 --> 00:20:15.259 And he shows them his faith. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:16.279 He shows them his heart. 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:18.259 And he invites them to the same, which is wonderful. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:21.319 I mentioned Bonhoeffer this morning. 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.059 I mentioned him again this evening. 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:30.859 Because he said one of the wonderful things about Christian fellowship is that when we get to a point in our lives, and it does happen. 00:20:31.139 --> 00:20:31.960 Maybe it happens often. 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:33.859 When our faith feels weak. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.000 When we're struggling to hold on to Christ and his promises. 00:20:37.399 --> 00:20:38.159 When we feel low. 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:48.159 Bonhoeffer says one of the wonderful things about Christian fellowship is that we then have the opportunity to go to our brother and sister in Christ, whose faith is strong. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:52.080 And we can find hope as we see Christ in them. 00:20:52.300 --> 00:20:56.160 As we see their faith in Christ, then our faith can increase. 00:20:56.900 --> 00:20:59.120 We gain strength from Christ in one another. 00:21:02.620 --> 00:21:05.660 David has found God to be his wonderful counselor. 00:21:05.800 --> 00:21:10.960 He wants to be a good counselor to his people by inviting them. 00:21:11.800 --> 00:21:13.940 Speak to God about your troubles. 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:16.920 And understand that he is there for you. 00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:19.180 It's a wonderful thing. 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:29.360 If we're in a position, we're a privileged position, I think, to help somebody in trials of any kind, it's really important that we can listen well. 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:32.660 That we can ask good questions. 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:38.220 That we can care and show empathy and try and enter in. 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:40.220 But also that we can't listen well. 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:48.799 But also that we would be listening and be listening to the Spirit so that we would know how to gently speak God's truth appropriately. 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:54.460 To point people to find hope in Jesus, the sympathetic high priest. 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:57.839 Jesus, the rock and the refuge. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:11.379 Well, one last thing to see, and it's the last section, verses 9 to 12, where there's really this invitation to rest in true security. 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:15.340 So, let's imagine ourselves. 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:16.780 It's crunch time again. 00:22:17.340 --> 00:22:21.740 We return to that situation that causes us stress. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.840 We find ourselves in a fresh round of trouble or trial. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:31.500 The people that make life difficult for us or just the next trial that comes along in our path. 00:22:32.139 --> 00:22:34.659 And we're faced with another situation of threat. 00:22:36.139 --> 00:22:43.980 And so, the question then is, you know, when my rest and my security is being threatened, where will we look? 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:49.259 Where will we look for our help and for our comfort? 00:22:50.339 --> 00:23:00.680 And so, as King David continues to want the people of God to look to God alone, he presses us or he invites us to make the same decision as he did. 00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:09.660 And to help us to do that, it's as if he pulls out a set of measuring scales. 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:11.599 Those balances. 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:17.279 And he says to us, well, let's weigh our different options in the balance. 00:23:18.199 --> 00:23:20.959 Where would we typically look to find comfort? 00:23:21.179 --> 00:23:24.079 And how do they stack up in their effectiveness? 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:28.259 Because you see in verses 9 to 12, there's really three options in view. 00:23:28.339 --> 00:23:32.139 Probably the three typical places that people will go to. 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:33.980 We need rest and security. 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:35.519 We're feeling stress and anxiety. 00:23:35.639 --> 00:23:36.740 Will we turn to other people? 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:38.959 Will we put our hope in riches? 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:42.799 Or will we find our rest in God? 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:46.720 Look at verse 9 and 10. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:48.140 Verse 9. 00:23:48.340 --> 00:23:50.519 Surely the low-born are but a breath. 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.940 The high-born are but a lie. 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:55.340 If weighed on a balance, they're nothing. 00:23:56.340 --> 00:23:58.680 Together, they're only a breath. 00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:11.259 So on the scales between the eternal God and people, he's saying don't look to people in the end to save us and to give us lasting security. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:17.660 Because compared to God, the eternal, the rock, he says they're weightless. 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:19.420 They're like a breath. 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:27.600 Now this was good news for David as he was confronted by enemies because he's being reminded, here's the perspective. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:31.440 Compared to the God who will save me, these enemies, they're but a breath. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:48.120 But it's important for us to recognize the principle that when we find ourselves troubled, we want to find the strongest source of security. 00:24:48.380 --> 00:24:52.620 And David says to us, recognize where ultimate reality rests. 00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:56.239 He rests in the eternal God. 00:24:58.159 --> 00:25:06.379 He wants us to know that no one but Jesus is good enough and strong enough to be our Savior, the one who's always there for us. 00:25:06.679 --> 00:25:10.959 The one who will ensure that we will get through to the very end. 00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:12.679 The one who is always reliable. 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:22.359 Maybe he also wants us to recognize that if we ask someone else, a person to be a Savior to us, 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:25.779 then we will place way too much expectation on them. 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:34.539 We will place on them a crushing load that no one was ever meant to bear other than our God and Savior. 00:25:36.679 --> 00:25:41.899 So when we're looking for ultimate rest and security, we don't look to people, but nor do we look to money. 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:48.439 Verse 10, do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods, though your riches increase. 00:25:48.859 --> 00:25:51.559 Do not set your heart on them. 00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:53.559 Money is a vain hope. 00:25:54.679 --> 00:25:59.500 It can provide temporary relief, but not ultimate. 00:26:00.159 --> 00:26:05.559 It can provide temporary shelter from some of the trials that we experience. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:13.679 But it's the contrast between, you know, money is like the pop-up tent, whereas trusting God is a refuge. 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:14.639 That's the fortress. 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:17.480 There's solidity and permanence. 00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:21.240 Money can distract us. 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:23.380 It can ease some of our troubles. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:26.360 But there are things that money can't do, and we know this. 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:27.620 Money can't buy us hope. 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:30.259 Money won't stand the final test. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:32.799 We can't take our money with us. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:41.879 And so David very simply wants to say, when we face trouble, don't look for ultimate hope to money or to people. 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.720 The two negatives lead David to the great positive. 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:47.019 Verse 11. 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:49.420 One thing God has spoken. 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:51.539 Two things I have heard. 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:54.879 Power belongs to you, God. 00:26:55.500 --> 00:26:57.779 And with you, Lord, is unfailing love. 00:26:58.019 --> 00:27:02.940 And you reward everyone according to what they have done. 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:06.480 Where is true rest and security found? 00:27:06.620 --> 00:27:08.059 Well, David knows, and he tells us. 00:27:08.320 --> 00:27:12.200 It's found in the powerful king of covenant love. 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:19.000 It's what he knows by personal experience, and it leads him to worship. 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:27.860 He entrusts himself in the present and in the future for eternal reward to his God and Savior. 00:27:27.859 --> 00:27:38.299 And all of us are invited into that same rest and security to trust Jesus as our great and good and powerful and loving king. 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:44.759 The one who himself trusted his God and Father when threatened. 00:27:45.219 --> 00:27:48.659 The one whose faith endured beyond betrayal and attack. 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:56.040 The one whose steadfast love led him to the cross to secure and establish the new covenant in his blood. 00:27:56.380 --> 00:28:01.740 An unbreakable covenant commitment of God to love and always love his people. 00:28:04.340 --> 00:28:15.840 And so the psalm concludes with that invitation to rest and trust in the God of power and unfailing love. 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:19.980 To come unto Jesus and rest in his love. 00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:28.959 To find our security with him in God as our father, our rock, and our refuge.