Psalm 5 to the chief musician upon the Nehaloth, a Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
Hearken unto the sound of my voice, my cry, my King and my God, for unto thee will I pray.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord.
In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee.
The foolish shall not stand in thy sight.
Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Verse 6, Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing.
The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy.
And in the fear of you, I will worship toward your holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness.
Because of mine enemies, make thy way straight before my face.
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth.
Their inward part is very wickedness.
Their throat is an open sepulcher.
However, they flatter with their tongue.
Destroy thou them, O God.
Let them fall by their own counsels.
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee.
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice.
Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them.
Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous.
With favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Would you pray with me?
Father, thank you for how you have breathed out scripture.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, you have put these words through the mouth of various prophets over thousands of years.
And you've preserved your word.
You've kept your word pure for the benefit of us, your people, and every living generation.
We gather, Lord, to hear your word, to hear from you by the power of your spirit.
We ask that you will speak despite the preacher, despite the shortcomings that each of us bring with our listening.
Lord, we pray that you will speak with power, the power of your Holy Spirit through your word.
And even more than that, that your Holy Spirit will take your truth and apply it to our lives.
That we will leave here changed.
That we will become more and more the pure bride that's prepared to receive you, the groom, when you return.
From 1 Timothy 1.17, we ask now unto you, our King,
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.
Be all honor, all glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
my exhortation for you today from Psalm 5 is live unto the King of heaven.
Live your life on earth as you're living unto the King of heaven.
One of the joys of being part of a church plant with each one of you
is by hearing of God's enduring love,
his long-suffering faithfulness in your lives.
And there are times when each one of us, when he gives you a new heart,
there's something that changes in the way that you experience being with God.
And part of the thing that's the hardest about this church,
and I think church life in general,
is as we hear one another's stories, there's also pain.
There's very real pain.
I think the hardest type of pain is the pain that we experience within the kingdom of God,
within the church.
And so Psalm 5, I really believe, is perfect for you today and for me.
Because Psalm 5, it's David.
Most likely, I think all the clues of the text point to the time
where he is in the wilderness with his family and household.
He's away from the temple of God.
And his prayer is that the king of heaven will rule over him and over Israel.
He's not on the throne.
The throne is up for grabs.
There's been turmoil and rebellion within the kingdom.
And that's the context of Psalm 5.
David away from the kingdom, praying for the kingdom,
looking to the king of heaven.
Well, sometimes when there's dissent against the high king of heaven within the church,
it's blatant and it's obvious.
And I've heard stories from you of church meetings where someone openly says,
I don't care if that's what God's word says.
We need to do this this way.
That's blatant.
That's obvious.
My stomach turned when I'm sitting in the seat and the pastor from the pulpit
spends, you know, two-thirds of the sermon disparaging the word of God,
pushing the word of God down.
That's blatant.
That's obvious.
But sometimes the pain we suffer within the church,
it comes in a twisted, subtle form.
And that's really hard to discern.
Because we question ourselves.
Like, David, we're sinners.
I know I'm twisted.
What am I hearing?
So as I try to apply what I've read in Psalm 5,
that's the context.
It's a man in the wilderness looking to the high king of heaven
and praying for the kingdom of heaven to come on earth,
beginning with his own kingdom.
And the first observation is this.
What does David do?
How does David live before the invisible king of heaven
when the visible kingdom on earth is so corrupt?
Number one, I've got about seven of these.
First one is this.
Before all else, David submits himself with reverence to the high king of heaven.
Look at verse two.
David says, give attention to the sound of my cry.
Even if my words are unintelligible, I'm crying out to you, Lord.
Notice who he says.
Listen, my king and my God, to you do I pray.
I don't put my hope in Egypt.
I don't put my hope in Babylon or Assyria,
the other surrounding empires or kings.
I don't even put my hope in who's going to be my successor.
To you, my king and my God, do I lift my voice.
See, David's sick of gossip.
He's sick of trying to get validation from men.
What do men know?
He goes straight to the Lord.
That's our first application.
When life inside the kingdom of God is hard, even confusing,
before all else, submit yourself to the high king of heaven with reverence.
He doesn't do this at the end of the day.
He doesn't just pray a little bit before he eats his food at lunch.
Look at when David prays.
He says, in the morning, in the morning will I direct my prayer.
In verse three, unto thee I will pray in the morning and I will look up.
I'm going to deliberately take my eyes off of those around me.
And I'm going to try to be like Stephen.
When God opened the skies and he could see the kingdom of heaven.
With the eyes of faith, I look up, Lord, because I don't know what else to do.
Someone pointed out, David also teaches us that there's no amount of injustice, discomfort, corruption, or even danger
that should keep any one of us from fellowship with God each morning.
And David says, I will direct my prayer.
See that word in verse three?
I will direct my prayer unto thee and I will look up.
That word direct, it can be translated a lot of different ways.
And the connotations are either of a priest or the military.
So I will direct my prayers.
I will systematically lay them out before you.
Like a priest lays out the loaves around the altar.
Like a priest arranges the wood for the sacrifice.
Takes the pieces of meat and sets them on the altar as God has instructed.
To direct his prayers to God.
That's how David says, even in the wilderness, away from the temple,
I will lay out my prayers.
I will direct them following your orders.
And it's also used to describe a soldier reporting for duty.
Give me my orders.
I direct my prayers to you.
I direct myself as a soldier to receive what you tell me to do.
And I will say, yes, sir, and go do it.
Or like an army that's been arrayed for battle.
It's the same Hebrew word.
That's what David says.
In the morning, I will lay out my prayers systematically before my God,
the way you have asked me to do that.
So how do you know how to pray in a way that pleases God,
how God has ordered it and directed?
Well, let Scripture teach you.
When you don't know how else to pray,
open up the Word of God in front of you.
Take a psalm.
If you don't know which psalm to pick,
you can, there's 150 of them.
Divide them by the days of the month.
You can have one psalm, you know, every day,
and just get a good rotation going.
So you're not repeating yourself.
And do your best to read a verse
and redirect that verse as a prayer to God.
Let God order your thoughts.
Let the Scripture shape how you even pray to God.
See, the kingdom on earth, we feel the injustice.
And in that injustice, we can all testify,
it's in those moments of injustice
with what's supposed to be the kingdom of God on earth
that then Satan comes in and twists it into lies
and sends us into backsliding and sin
and a hard heart toward God,
eventually a hard heart toward Christ and His church.
But you need to look to the King of Heaven
and remember, He is just.
He is the just King who does rule over heaven and earth.
Proverbs 29.4 says,
By justice, a king shall build up his land.
So you hold on to that promise.
Even though I feel the injustice,
I direct my cry to the Lord
because by justice, our King Jesus
will build up His kingdom.
And praise God, I'm part of it.
By His grace.
So live unto the King of Heaven, church.
Submit yourself first thing each day
unto the High King.
Who sits on the throne.
Well, how else do you live before the invisible King of Heaven
when the visible kingdom on earth is corrupt?
Number two,
evaluate what you are seeing
by the law of His kingdom.
He is just.
He sits on the throne.
He has a just law.
Don't let your emotions, your view.
Don't let the words of men shape how you evaluate what you're going through.
Let the Word of God Himself shape how you view His kingdom.
Look at verse 4.
David, he has studied God's law.
He has sought to understand the heart of God.
And in verse 4, David can say with confidence,
God is displeased with wickedness.
Evil cannot dwell with God.
And too often,
in the name of Christ,
people want to lower the standard.
They want to say things that God is clearly not pleased with.
They want to pretend like He is.
And they want to try to put words in God's mouth.
We need to realize what's going on
and evaluate what we are seeing
by the law of God's kingdom
and His kingdom alone.
How do you know what pleases God?
Can we even know that?
You must know what God has revealed.
Every kingdom has a law.
God has revealed what pleases Him
throughout all of Scripture.
All of Scripture gives us glimpses into the character,
the attributes, the desires of our God for His people.
And even better than that is through Jesus Christ,
He's taken that law
and He's put it inside of you.
He's written it on your hearts
and He's put it in your mind.
That's what we read in Jeremiah 31,
interpreted and applied in Hebrews 8,
that the church is able to test and approve
what is God's will,
His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Romans 12.
Because God has taken His moral law
and He has reformed your heart.
He's renewed your mind.
He has put His law inside of you.
So we can, as a church, know what pleases God.
And we must evaluate ourselves
and what goes on inside of His kingdom
by the law He has given.
In the book of Revelation,
we read of the unfolding events of the last things.
Something that should make all of us tremble in our boots
from Revelation is that Jesus Christ,
when He comes back to judge the living and the dead,
He begins His judgment with His own church.
He begins bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth
with the kingdom on earth first.
And then He judges everyone else.
That should make us tremble in our boots.
We need to seek what is it that pleases God.
And we need to pray and beg for His Spirit
to work that out in our lives.
And when there are areas where we are out of line,
we need to confess that quickly and humbly.
We need to forgive one another
and realign ourselves to the words of our King in heaven.
His judgment is coming
and He will begin by judging His own church.
See, if you don't align yourself with the kingdom of Christ
and you don't hide behind His righteousness alone,
you will stand before the judge of all the earth.
He will judge every soul
for the life you live.
Not one of us can live a life that's blameless.
We need the righteousness of Christ put on us.
And by God's grace,
He has done that.
Romans 3 tells us,
one is justified by faith
apart from the works of the law.
But listen to what Paul writes next.
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith?
By no means,
on the contrary,
we uphold the law.
So you see,
we don't save ourselves by keeping the law.
We can't do that perfectly.
Christ fulfilled the law for us.
His righteousness is put on His people.
But He doesn't leave His people lawless.
He doesn't send us out to be licentious.
The Greek word for law is nomos.
And this has been a controversy
over all the centuries.
We need to be very careful
that we don't fall to one side or the other.
We do not work for our own salvation under the law.
But if we belong to the true kingdom of heaven,
His law does rule in us.
By the work of His Spirit,
He has put it inside of His people.
And by His help,
we seek to uphold the law.
It does work its way out.
We are regulated.
We are constrained by His love.
So live unto the King of heaven.
Evaluate what you are seeing
by the law of His kingdom.
How else do we live
before the invisible kingdom of heaven
when the visible kingdom on earth
is so corrupt and twisted?
What we want to do
is we want to go around fixing
what we see broken, don't we?
We see the brokenness here on earth
and we want to go around
trying to fix other people's lives.
Maybe with our kids and spouse,
it shows up first,
but that's in our heart
and that'll be that way for the church.
That's what we want to do.
What we need to do
is to pray for God
to purify His kingdom.
See, there's a part
inside of every person
that man cannot touch.
Words cannot get in there.
The Holy Spirit Himself
must go
and renew the soul,
renew the inner being.
So the best we can do
is to pray
for God to work powerfully
and change what we can never touch.
Notice how
David prays, though.
He's evaluated
what's going on
in the kingdom.
These are a wicked people, Lord.
Just like you told with Moses
that they will desire
a king like all the other nations?
That's exactly what happened.
What did both Saul
and Absalom have in common?
They were handsome men.
Saul stood head and shoulders
above all the other men.
Absalom was beautiful
from head to toe,
the scripture says.
They wanted a king,
a poster boy,
so they could be like
all the other nations.
That's the temptation.
They want an earthly,
worldly king.
Well, don't we want
that same type of thing?
We want something worldly
because we think
that's the ultimate way
to have peace
and enjoy life.
It's with earthly prosperity
or earthly comfort.
And then we get puffed up.
You know,
just like they were puffed up.
Look at us.
We got Saul as our king.
We got Absalom.
Let's rally around him.
Forget David
and his shame
and his God clearly
is not a God
we can follow.
Not like he does.
So let's bring Absalom
and let's be like
all the other nations.
And look at verse 5.
David sees this.
He's evaluated it
by the law of God
and he prays this way.
He says,
fools who do not fear God.
They perform their iniquities
before him
and they bring the wrath of God
upon themselves.
He prays in verse 6.
God hates.
God abhors those
who speak lies.
He says they are bloody
and deceitful.
And he trusts God will
destroy them.
Now these are some of the
strongest words
in Psalm 5.
I want to break down
a couple of them.
In verse 5,
he refers to these
arrogant men
that are worldly.
He refers to them
as fools.
The word fools,
it's been translated
otherwise
as transgressors
of the law.
You know,
he says they do their
iniquities before God.
Iniquity is a,
it's a hand lifted up
to heaven like
I don't care
what God says.
And they do that
before God.
That's why they're foolish.
It's been translated
as the unrighteous.
Those who contradict
the precepts of God.
It comes from a root
which signifies
praisers of themselves,
proud boasters
and mockers.
David says
these are fools
that bring the wrath
of God
upon themselves.
and he says,
God,
I know you hate that.
I'm evaluating
what I'm seeing
by your law.
I know you hate this.
You abhor this.
You will destroy
men who act that way.
And it's not necessary
for us to try
to soften those words
to dilute the word
hate
or wrath
or destroy.
One commentator
pointed out
the reason God
hates that
it's because
there is no such thing
as abstract evil.
What that means
is that
anytime evil
is happening
it's happening
to someone else.
Evil
has victims.
Evil
hurts
the image bearers
and the people
of God.
So you see
these proud
arrogant men
within the kingdom
of God
in Israel
they are
hurting
God's sheep.
And God's wrath
boils up
to stop that.
See evil
is such a terrible
force in this world
as someone said
it wrecks
the lives
of God's
image bearers
and it ensnares
souls
for eternity.
And when God
hates such evil
that hurts his people
it's not an emotional
or reactionary
hatred.
It is
judicial.
See God
is not passive.
God is not
sitting there
letting us
inflict anything
on him.
God is
holy.
God is
just.
And his
justice
it bears
forth
on those actions
against him
and against his
people.
The justice
the wrath
of God
is merely
an expression
of God's
holiness.
We read in
Romans 3
verse 26
that God
shows his
righteousness
and how
does he do it?
God who is
both just
and the
justifier
of his
people.
That's how he
shows his
justice.
If you have
faith in
Jesus Christ
you no longer
get the wrath
of God
for he is
just.
you now
get justified
by that
very same
God
in the
person and
work of
Jesus Christ
his son.
So we pray
for Christ
to keep
his congregation
pure.
We pray
for God
alone to
purify his
people.
God change
our hearts
where we
can't change
ourselves.
God when
you see the
wickedness
the injustice
you go
and you
change it
Lord.
whatever it
takes you
bring your
true people
into alignment
with your
kingdom in
heaven.
And he
does this
through his
church as
well.
See the
church is
preparing the
bride for
Christ.
And there's
a word that
we hate as
Americans as
as Westerns
and it's the
word discipline.
But if you
are a true
disciple of
Christ it
means that you
are being
disciplined in
Christ.
He says my
yoke is easy
and my burden
is light but
you will be
discipled with
me.
You will
walk as
I walked.
My yoke
will be on
your shoulders
and I will
carry the
load but
you will be
discipled by
me Jesus
says.
And he does
that through
his church.
So when there
is blatant sin
within the
church it's
through church
discipline.
It's through
church discipline
that Christ
brings sinners
to repentance
again and
restores them
to true
worship.
The call to
be disciplined
and the call
to pray for
the purity
of the bride
that's really
to share with
the heart
of the groom.
You know in
Gethsemane when
Jesus prayed he
was in anguish.
That word is
hardly ever used
when it's
describing Jesus
praying.
He's in
anguish.
Someone defied
anguish as
anger,
love.
Anguish is
anger plus
love.
And when you
pray for Christ
to purify his
church you're
joining, you're
letting Christ
bind your
heart to his
and you're
praying that
he will
purify you
and purify
his church
to live
unto him
in his
kingdom in
heaven.
We read in
Hebrews 5
7 that during
the days of
Jesus's life
on earth
he offered
up prayers
and petitions
with fervent
cries
and tears
to the
one who
could save
him from
death.
And he
was heard
because of
his reverent
submission.
Being God
of very God
that's how
Jesus prayed
while he was
on earth.
While he was
bringing the
kingdom of
heaven here
to earth.
That's how
our Lord Jesus
prayed.
And that's
how we
ought to
pray for
him to
purify his
bride,
the church.
So how
do we live
before the
invisible king
of heaven
when the
visible kingdom
on earth
feels so
broken?
I want to
draw your
attention next
to verse
9.
I'm skipping
verses 7 and
8 for now
because I see
those as really
the heart
of Psalm 5.
So I want to
bring those to
you last.
So look at
verse 9.
David teaches
us to
guard yourself
against deadly
temptation out
of love for
your king.
He prays in
verse 9.
There is no
faithfulness in
the mouth of
those wicked
ones.
Their inward
part is very
wicked.
He says their
throat is an
open sepulcher
and they flatter
with their tongue.
That's verse 9.
Look at verse 11.
He says,
let them that
love thy name
be joyful in
thee.
I highlight that
because he
says these
men, they are
flatterers.
In other words,
they're trying to
hold out for me
a fake joy.
They're trying to
use their words
in their mouth
to draw me
toward them.
But in verse 11,
he's resolved.
No, let those who
find their joy in
God.
Let those who
find their joy
in God be
protected by
your love.
That's why he
says their throat
is an open
sepulcher.
A sepulcher is
like a hole
cut into a cave.
And he's
describing that's
where you would
carry in a dead
corpse.
So that's the
entrance to
death itself.
It's decay and
rotting and
eternal damnation.
If I listen to
what comes out
of their
throats, what
comes out of
their lips is
death for me.
It's not
faithful because
it spews out
what's in their
hearts.
Their inward
part is very
wicked.
They're fools
who don't love
God.
So David
says guard
yourself, guard
your ears from
deadly temptation.
And why do you
do that?
You do it
because of
verse 11,
because you
love the
name of the
Lord and you
know that true
joy is only
found in
him.
Colossians
1 16
encourages me.
Listen to the
promise we have
of the love of
God and the
joy of belonging
to him.
For by him
all things were
created in
heaven and on
earth, visible
and invisible,
whether thrones
or dominions or
rulers or
authorities, all
things were
created through
him and for
him.
So do you
hear the words
of someone in
a position of
influence?
Do you hear
these words of
temptation that
are leading you
away from joy
and loving the
name of God?
See, they serve
a higher king.
It was God who
set every ruler
on his throne.
If someone
enjoys influence
for a small
short season, it's
because God gave
that to them.
Think of
Nebuchadnezzar.
He wanted to be
like this foolish
king.
He wanted to
puff himself up
and the Lord
humbled that
man.
He said,
Nebuchadnezzar,
if you have had
any kind of
influence on my
earth, it's
because I gave
it to you for
a season for
my purpose.
So don't be
ensnared by the
words of those
who are puffed up
against God.
There is a
higher king in
heaven, the
creator of heaven
and earth, who
made all things
visible or
invisible.
Don't fall for
any other
temptation.
Don't bow your
knee to any
lesser king.
Live unto the
king of heaven.
Out of love for
your king, guard
yourself against
deadly temptation.
Well, how else
do we live before
the invisible king
of heaven when
the kingdom of
earth feels so
corrupt?
Not only do you
need to guard
yourself, David
teaches us in
verse 10, you
need to separate
yourself from
those who rebel
against your
king.
Look at verse 10.
He says, make
them bear their
guilt.
Oh God, let them
fall by their own
counsels because of
the abundance of
their transgressions.
Cast them out for
they have rebelled not
against me.
They have rebelled
against you.
David is asking the
Lord to take the
punishment, the
justice that their
sin deserves and put
it on them and let
that justice weigh on
them and drive them
out of the presence of
God.
He's asking God,
Lord, this is your
kingdom.
You purge your
kingdom.
Separate from this
congregation.
Separate from your
people, this church.
Separate those who
have sinned against you
blatantly, who are
unrepentant.
That's what he's
calling for.
And it's hard for us
to live in that
mindset of ancient
Israel and a time of
war.
And out of the 150
Psalms, Psalm 5 here
is one of the 12
that's an imprecatory
psalm.
It's a psalm where
the believer is
crying down judgment
on those who have
opposed God and his
kingdom.
Does that make David,
as some have accused,
a vengeful brute?
I think that the
answer is no.
I think that this is a
sanctified way to
uphold the purity of
God's kingdom even on
earth.
And to understand what
David is asking, he's
asking that those who
are in the land,
outside of covenant
relationship with God,
they need an awakening
right now.
You are not in his
kingdom.
You are exiled from his
holy presence.
So to understand what
David is praying and
asking, we need to
situate Psalm 5 in
redemptive covenant
history.
When the Lord Jesus,
or I'm sorry, when the
Lord God, through Moses,
when he called his
people to the base of
Mount Sinai, he says,
I am the Lord your God,
you are my people.
He gave them covenant
language.
In the book of
Deuteronomy, he laid
before them the two
ways to live.
There's the way that
brings blessing and
obedience to my law.
And there's a way that
leads to death and
curses and banishment
and exile from my land.
He laid that before the
people.
So blessing in the land
of God is tied to
obedience to God.
Blatant disobedience to
God.
Flagrantly disobeying
his covenant,
disregarding his law.
That is what leads to
being cast out of the
land.
Covenant breaking rebels,
they're rejecting the
gracious God who rules
over them.
So God, David here is
simply asking for God to
carry out the terms that
you gave our nation.
Carry out the terms under
this law.
Purge the land, Lord.
Purify it so that you
might preserve your
kingdom.
Well, for the church
today, this is one
reason it's so important
that we very carefully
present the free gospel
to whosoever will come.
And at the same time,
like John the Baptist,
we look for fruit in
keeping with repentance.
We don't want to give a
false assurance to
someone who later will
come under church
discipline.
So as a church, we need
to be very vigilant.
We need to show that
kind of love.
We need to disciple one
another out of love
and preparation, knowing
that Christ will come for
his church first.
We need to encourage one
another toward holy
lives.
We need to confess our
sin and encourage one
another to be cleansed,
be purified as the
bride of Christ before he
returns.
There's a sense of
earnestness and urgency
for the people of God.
Many will say, well,
isn't God love?
Isn't that what John
preaches?
God is love.
Yes, and John also
preaches that God is
light.
And he preaches that
the light of God
through Jesus Christ,
it repels all darkness.
And there are parts of
the life of a Christian
that need that darkness
to be chased away by
more and more of the
presence of Jesus
Christ.
with Christ, there can
be no darkness.
How do you live before
the invisible king of
heaven, knowing that his
kingdom will come on
earth as it is in
heaven?
You stay close to your
king by the abundance
of his steadfast love.
love.
This brings us back to the
heart of Psalm 5.
Look at verses 7 and 8.
I picture David in the
wilderness.
In 2 Samuel, we read how
the people in the towns,
they were giving them bread
and honey and milk and
nourishment because they
were in exile.
They were going to starve in
the wilderness.
And look at where David's
prayers take him in verses
7 and 8.
David says,
But I, through the
abundance of your
steadfast love,
will enter your
house.
Lead me, O Lord,
in your righteousness
because of mine enemies.
Make your way
straight before me.
So there's David in the
wilderness.
He's not even near the
tabernacle.
The temple hasn't been
built.
David was of the tribe of
Judah.
He was not of the tribe of
Levi.
So he could never enter into
the tabernacle.
He could never be inside.
But he prays,
Through the abundance of
your steadfast love, I will
enter your house.
I'm there in my soul, in my
prayers.
I'm with you.
David's thoughts are with
the priests.
The holy reverence as they
got themselves dressed.
As they prepared
themselves, went through a
purification ceremony and
entered in to minister the
sacrifices that God called
for.
David was obeying the Lord,
even in exile, using the
means of grace available to
him at that time.
And he was enjoying the
presence of God leading
him.
He says, lead me, O Lord, in
your righteousness.
My enemies are many, but you
make the way straight for me,
Lord.
And then verse 8, he says, I
will bow down toward your
house.
This can be translated your
holy temple or your
tabernacle.
Even though I'm not there
physically, I will bow down in
that direction, thinking of
you, turning my life toward
you and your gracious
presence.
Out of the steadfastness of
your love, I direct myself
back to you, the place where
you promised to me saved
sinners like me.
He says, I prepare a sacrifice
for you in verse 3, and I
watch.
I watch to see how you will
work, O Lord.
See, there's comfort for you
and me.
On this earth, when things
feel confused, when we feel
so deeply hurt, even by other
Christians or by our own
family, those cuts that cut the
deepest, it's not your
faithfulness to God that gives
you grounds to approach him, his
throne of glory.
God's love for you.
It's the steadfastness of God's
love for you.
The same steadfastness that he
showed David.
He calls for you to turn
yourself back to him.
Turn your life toward his holy
hill in heaven.
And the Lord Jesus Christ is your
priest that you're thinking of.
He is the one who has prepared
everything.
He has laid out the means, the way
that you can receive grace from the
holy God.
Think of Christ interceding on your
behalf from his throne in heaven.
And you stay close to your king
because his steadfast love for you
is so abundant.
If you are more close to your king
today than you were one year ago,
it's because he is steadfast to you.
If you look back on your life five
years ago and you think of ways in
which your sin is so embarrassing and
so shameful and you look at ways in
which he's cleaned you up now, it's
because of the steadfast Lord for you
over these years.
It has been so abundant for you.
So when you're in that distress of the
kingdom on earth feeling twisted, know
that same steadfast love will carry you.
It will be for you tomorrow.
And that same steadfast love will carry
you one year from now, five years from
now, as many days as God gives you on
earth.
And it's the steadfast love of Christ
that will usher you into his heavenly
kingdom when he returns or when your
soul gets there before your body.
Stay close to your king by the abundance
of his steadfast love.
Live unto the king of heaven.
See the last little image here in Psalm
five is of protection in battle.
Look again at verses 11 and 12.
David says, let all those that put their
trust in the rejoice.
Let them ever shout for joy because thou
defendest them.
Let them that love thy name be joyful in
thee.
That's emotional language shouts for joy.
It's the cry of an army after a great
battle has won.
God came and avenged them.
He defended them.
Now notice the emotions.
They flow from the truth.
He begins by declaring who God is and
it's not the other way around.
It's not a whipped up emotionalism.
That's really empty.
It's the the word of God ministering to
David, ushering him back in by the
means of grace God has provided.
But it's loaded with emotions on the
backside.
So if you're truly in God's kingdom, if
Christ is truly your defender, you
should not be cold.
You should not be emotionless, but it
should be an outcome of his true work
in your heart.
We should hear some shouts for joy when
we go when we gather as a congregation.
I know we're more influenced by the
Greek, you know, Northern European
maybe, but man, we need to learn from
our brothers and sisters around the
world.
There should be some loud amens every
now and then.
Shouldn't be fake.
Should be in response to truth.
There should be, you know, clapping.
I mean, it's OK to express your joy in
Christ.
In fact, you're disobeying him if you
don't.
And look at what he says in verse 12.
Thou, Lord, will bless the righteous.
With favor will thou encompass him.
As with a shield.
He's used the word shield before in the
earlier Psalms, but here it's a
different word for shield.
The word he's used before is a smaller
shield that was a circular that you'd
wear in your arm.
So it's lighter way.
It's mobile.
You could run with it and you could go
into battle.
The shield that he uses here at the end
of verse 12 of Psalm 5.
It's the size of a door.
It's rectangular.
It's going to cover your whole body.
You are you're not walking with this
thing. You're standing there holding it
like this, forming a wall.
What a great picture for the church.
Christ is our shield.
Every part of us is tucked behind him
and nothing can get through the shield
of Jesus Christ.
We're behind the shield.
We're shouting for joy.
He defended us.
Though they came after us.
Our God is our shield.
Because our king became our high priest.
In Hebrews 4 verse 16.
Let us then approach God's throne of grace
with confidence so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need.
So Christian,
if you trust God
and if you love his name,
live unto the king of heaven.
You can be truly joyful
even on earth
because Christ is your shield.
So live unto this king of heaven.
God's favor is upon you
in Christ.
So live unto the king of heaven.
Let's pray.
Echoing verses 11 and 12.
Father,
let all who put their trust in you rejoice.
Let us ever shout for joy
because you defend us.
Let us who love your name
be joyful in you.
In you alone is true joy.
By the work of your son,
apply to us
by your Holy Spirit.
The sanctifying work.
Prepare your bride.
Keep us pure.
We trust that you,
Lord,
will bless the righteous.
With favor,
you will encompass
your own people.
Those upon whom
you have put your righteousness
as with a shield.
and help us to trust
your promise
that King Jesus
is with us
and his favor
shields us.
By his most precious name,
we ask,
Lord,
that you will be glorified
in our lives
as we live unto you,
our high king of heaven,
for your glory alone
and for the sake of Christ's name
we pray.
Amen.
Take a moment to respond
to the word that you've heard
from Psalm 5.