WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.200 Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise that we can gather to give you worship as you draw us into yourself. 00:00:09.200 --> 00:00:19.160 We give you thanks and praise, Lord, for the sound of children amongst us, that it is truly a privilege to have these younger brothers and sisters with us as we worship you. 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:35.820 And Father, we just ask now that as you draw us into yourself, that you would take any distractions from this week, whether good or bad, and that you would help us to be focused on what you have to say to us through your word and Holy Spirit. Amen. 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:35.920 Amen. 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:43.740 So we are continuing our series through the Book of Psalms. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:51.939 Every summer, Church of Messiah, Messiah West here, and then the church downtown, Church of Messiah, they always go through the Book of Psalms. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:54.760 And we're nearing the end of the Book of Psalms. 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:56.600 We've been doing this for a couple summers now. 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:03.519 And the thing about this psalm is that when I first preached it, I got it completely wrong. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:13.260 It was something, when I did some more reading about the psalm, it was very humbling to find out that I actually got the psalm wrong. 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:15.800 But it's good to acknowledge it. 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:17.920 It's good to acknowledge when you get things wrong. 00:01:18.460 --> 00:01:20.079 And you can just try again. 00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:21.340 Because God is good. 00:01:21.460 --> 00:01:22.120 God is gracious. 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:27.439 When we get things wrong, nothing happens to him because he is sovereign. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:37.179 And as we go into this psalm, this psalm 139, the psalmist David, he is reflecting on these great truths about God. 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:45.039 In seminary, which is Bible college, a fancy name for Bible college, you have to, you take theology classes. 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:54.200 And the first thing you do in theology is that you have to, you go through the communicable attributes of God and the incommunical attributes of God. 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:55.640 And I know those are fancy words. 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:01.900 What it means is that the communicable attributes of God are things that we share with God. 00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:05.040 Though we are flawed in them, we share them with God. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:10.780 And these can be a desire for love, a desire for mercy, a desire for justice, and things like that. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:19.240 And then there's the incommunical attributes of God, which are these attributes that only God has. 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:21.719 Only the God of the universe has. 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.500 We can never possess them. 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:31.300 And David, in this psalm, the psalm we're looking at today, Psalm 139, he is reflecting on three of them. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:38.099 What he's reflecting on is God's omniscience, which means God is all-knowing. 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:40.060 He knows everything. 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:46.439 He's reflecting on God's omnipresence, which means God is everywhere. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:48.139 He's everywhere. 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:49.939 No matter where you go, God is there. 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:56.900 And then he's also reflecting on God's omnipotence, which means God is all-powerful. 00:02:57.560 --> 00:02:59.439 They're just fancy words for saying that. 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:00.579 God is all-knowing. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:02.599 God is all-present. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:04.919 God is all-powerful. 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:10.679 And David is meditating on this as he writes Psalm 139. 00:03:10.679 --> 00:03:12.939 And that is where we're going to look at. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:21.079 We're going to meditate on this psalm together and glean from it what David meditates from and what God has to say through it. 00:03:21.459 --> 00:03:24.500 So please turn with me to Psalm 139. 00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:32.139 It would be very helpful if you have your Bibles with you because you can see what's coming next and what has been said before. 00:03:32.139 --> 00:03:33.579 It's very helpful to have your Bible. 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:35.319 You can underline it. 00:03:36.079 --> 00:03:37.099 It's just helpful to have. 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:38.479 If you have it on your phone, pull it out. 00:03:38.519 --> 00:03:39.259 It's very handy. 00:03:39.779 --> 00:03:43.279 And we're going to look at this psalm in three ways. 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:47.319 We're going to look at it in one way, that God is always present. 00:03:48.279 --> 00:03:52.279 Another way we're going to look at it, God's presence is a threat. 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:57.580 And the last way we're going to look at it is God's presence shows his love. 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:01.319 Again, God's presence, God is always present. 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:03.439 God's presence is a threat. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.120 And God's presence shows his love. 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:07.479 So point one. 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:09.780 And we're going to begin in verse one. 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:14.599 Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:20.680 Now right away, right off the bat, David sets the theme of the psalm. 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:26.199 David is reflecting on how God has searched him and how God knows him. 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:28.540 So this has already happened. 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:36.180 And as he comes to this, as he writes it, he's reflecting on this great truth that God already knows him and God has already searched him. 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:37.800 God has already searched his heart. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:40.319 It's something like this. 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:46.379 In marriage, you'll be the closest to this person you'll ever be with anyone else. 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:53.399 And it's also said in marriage that you'll marry, when you marry, you actually end up marrying five different people. 00:04:53.719 --> 00:04:58.079 Because through lifetime with your spouse, we change. 00:04:58.199 --> 00:04:58.920 We all change. 00:04:59.159 --> 00:05:02.100 We are different from the day when we say I do to the day that we die. 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:02.959 We are different people. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:06.779 So in marriage, you are so close with this person. 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:10.639 They see you at your best and they see you at your worst. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:13.919 We could all reflect on these moments, those who are married here. 00:05:14.659 --> 00:05:20.300 But marriage is just a glimpse at how much God knows us. 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:25.939 God knows us deeper than our spouse can ever know us. 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:30.000 Knows us deeper than our spouse could ever know us. 00:05:30.419 --> 00:05:33.979 And David works this idea out in the next verses. 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:35.959 Verses two to three, he says this. 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:41.379 You know when I sit down and when I rise up. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:44.439 You discern my thoughts from afar. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:51.680 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 00:05:53.359 --> 00:05:58.419 So David is talking about here is that God knows him on the inside. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.000 In verse two, he says, you know when I sit down. 00:06:01.419 --> 00:06:03.099 You know when I rise up. 00:06:03.099 --> 00:06:05.459 You discern my thoughts from afar. 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.680 See, David is reflecting on this great truth that God knows him. 00:06:10.299 --> 00:06:11.699 Knows him on the inside. 00:06:12.359 --> 00:06:14.159 And then God also knows him on the outside. 00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:20.479 That every action he does, anything he does, God knows it and God sees it. 00:06:21.299 --> 00:06:26.099 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:31.100 This is a great truth to reflect on for us as we are in prayer. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:38.100 To reflect on this very humbling and sobering truth that God knows us inside and out. 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:41.160 In COVID, I know I'm bringing up COVID here. 00:06:41.260 --> 00:06:43.820 We try to forget about those COVID times. 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:45.939 It's amazing it happened five years ago. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:54.080 In COVID, the government used our phones to monitor movement to see where the outbreaks were happening. 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:56.500 It was something that needed to get done during that time. 00:06:57.359 --> 00:06:59.459 And they would see where people would congregate. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:01.500 They would see the movements of people. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.800 Again, that is just a glimpse at how much God knows what we do, what we think, and what we say. 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.259 Because he doubles down again on it in verse four. 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:14.039 When he says this, 00:07:14.539 --> 00:07:17.639 Even before a word is on my tongue, 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:21.899 Behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:27.199 See, David's reflecting on this idea that God knows all his thoughts. 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:31.420 C.S. Lewis, in his famous book, The Four Loves, 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:33.500 he reflects on four different loves. 00:07:33.599 --> 00:07:34.659 And one of them is friendship. 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:38.240 And as he reflects on this idea of friendship, 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:42.780 he talks about this time when he has these friends of his. 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:50.360 When they meet, they become united in one hobby or one interest that they have. 00:07:50.640 --> 00:07:56.060 And they become such good friends that they are able to finish each other's sentences in a moment sometimes. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:58.580 You may have had a friend where that's been the case for you. 00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:01.500 That when you're hanging out and you're laughing and you're having a good time, 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:06.979 that you can almost, in a sense, finish the sentence that they're about to finish. 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:12.500 But that also is a glimpse of God and what he knows about our thoughts. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.039 Because the thing with God, and what David is reflecting on here, 00:08:17.599 --> 00:08:23.339 is that he knows our past, our present, and future thoughts. 00:08:24.599 --> 00:08:27.459 God's omniscience surrounds us. 00:08:27.459 --> 00:08:30.000 His all-knowingness surrounds us. 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:35.019 And then David continues as he reflects on this great truth. 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:36.860 When he says this, 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:41.179 Where shall I go from your spirit, in verse 7? 00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:43.980 Or where shall I flee from your presence? 00:08:44.819 --> 00:08:46.919 If I ascend to heaven, you are there. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:50.240 If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:55.840 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:59.440 even there your hand shall lead me, 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:01.300 and your right hand shall hold me. 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:04.639 If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:06.580 and the light about me be night, 00:09:06.800 --> 00:09:09.060 even the darkness is not dark to you. 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:11.960 The night is bright as the day, 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:14.740 for darkness is as light with you. 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:18.800 David is reflecting on how God is everywhere. 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:21.360 Sheol is the place of the dead. 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:24.899 And when he says sea, 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:26.139 when he's reflecting on the sea, 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:27.600 like the greatness of the sea, 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:29.279 that there's no escape from God, 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:30.360 what that is, 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:32.440 is that David is in Jerusalem writing this, 00:09:33.060 --> 00:09:35.300 and that he's reflecting on the Mediterranean Sea. 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:38.500 So the distance between Jerusalem and the sea 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:40.419 is so vast for him 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:42.340 that he's reflecting on this moment 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:43.919 that God is everywhere. 00:09:44.680 --> 00:09:46.120 There's no place he can go. 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:47.180 Can't go to heaven, 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:49.180 can't go down into the place of the dead. 00:09:49.179 --> 00:09:50.579 God will be there. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:52.120 Wherever he goes, 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:53.419 God is there. 00:09:54.859 --> 00:09:56.479 There's no escaping God. 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:57.939 God's omnipresence, 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:02.479 God's all everywhere presence surrounds us. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:04.739 And lastly, in this first section, 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:08.959 David reflects on another great truth, 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.519 God's omnipotence, all-powerful. 00:10:12.899 --> 00:10:15.539 And he shows us this in these verses, 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:16.399 13 to 18. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:17.719 I'm trying to rip through the verses 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:19.279 so we can reflect on it 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:20.860 and go into the application after. 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:22.440 He says this, 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:25.500 For you formed my inward parts. 00:10:25.980 --> 00:10:28.139 You knitted me together in my mother's womb. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:30.139 I praise you, 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:32.800 for I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:34.600 Wonderful are your works. 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:37.639 My soul knows it very well. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:39.519 My frame was not hidden from you 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.540 when I was being made in secret. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:44.420 Intricately woven in the depths of the earth, 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:46.679 your eyes saw my unformed substance. 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:49.399 In your book were written every one of them. 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:51.719 The days that were formed for me, 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:54.559 when as yet there was none of them. 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:56.179 How precious to me are your thoughts, 00:10:56.319 --> 00:10:56.740 O God! 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.279 How vast is the sum of them! 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.000 If I would count them, 00:11:00.139 --> 00:11:01.439 they are more than the sand. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:02.139 I awake, 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.299 and I am still with you. 00:11:06.479 --> 00:11:08.279 David's reflecting on another truth, 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:11.699 that from conception to death, 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:14.159 our days are ordained by God. 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:17.519 God is in control of our lives. 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:19.939 From conception to death, 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:21.699 God is in control. 00:11:22.620 --> 00:11:23.519 And because of that, 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.720 because God is the creator of the world, 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:27.860 God is the creator of life, 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:30.439 those, 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:32.860 the ending of life, 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:34.860 not from natural means, 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:36.940 goes against God's plan 00:11:36.940 --> 00:11:37.480 for, 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.379 for his great work. 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:41.659 So, 00:11:42.180 --> 00:11:43.060 with God, 00:11:43.300 --> 00:11:44.159 abortion is wrong. 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:44.960 With God, 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:46.060 euthanasia is wrong. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:48.000 And I'm not here to point a finger. 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:50.580 I acknowledge that we are in a room 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:51.340 of many people. 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:53.519 Some of you may have done this, 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:55.320 or have no son who's done this. 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:57.539 God has not written you off. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:11:59.800 And we're not here to write you off either. 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:02.800 Because this is something that we wrestle with, 00:12:02.800 --> 00:12:03.600 with God. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:06.019 That God is the creator of life. 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:08.279 And God does not write us off 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:10.560 when we do things like that. 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:12.300 God does not write us off. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:14.060 His love is steadfast 00:12:14.060 --> 00:12:16.320 for those who put their faith and trust in Christ. 00:12:17.060 --> 00:12:17.340 Keller, 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:18.360 Timothy Keller, 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:20.740 a famous pastor who's recently passed away, 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:22.860 when he's commenting on this section, 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:23.820 he says this. 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:24.560 He says, 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:27.040 this isn't a political thing 00:12:27.040 --> 00:12:28.019 that David is writing. 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:29.740 This is before the culture wars. 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:32.019 It's just how it is with God. 00:12:32.019 --> 00:12:34.360 God's the creator of life. 00:12:34.819 --> 00:12:35.460 He is not the, 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:36.879 this isn't political. 00:12:37.579 --> 00:12:38.980 God is all-powerful. 00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:40.480 He's the creator of life. 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:42.639 His omnipotence surrounds us. 00:12:43.699 --> 00:12:44.799 See, this is the section, 00:12:44.939 --> 00:12:45.840 as I said at the beginning, 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.059 that when I first preached, 00:12:47.579 --> 00:12:49.860 when I first preached on this text, 00:12:50.199 --> 00:12:51.679 I got the psalm wrong. 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:54.879 Because the reason why I got this psalm wrong 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:58.439 is that if you only read it in the English language, 00:12:58.439 --> 00:13:00.399 if you don't go to the Hebrew text, 00:13:00.599 --> 00:13:02.519 you miss the whole point of the psalm. 00:13:03.479 --> 00:13:04.919 So when you read it in English, 00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:08.239 it looks like David is praying to God. 00:13:08.439 --> 00:13:09.759 He's praying the whole time. 00:13:09.859 --> 00:13:11.099 He's celebrating God. 00:13:11.459 --> 00:13:12.599 But in the Hebrew, 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.059 something else is actually happening here. 00:13:15.239 --> 00:13:17.339 Because this is written in the Hebrew language. 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:20.340 As David meditates on the psalm, 00:13:20.800 --> 00:13:22.899 as he meditates on these great three truths, 00:13:24.040 --> 00:13:26.560 he actually goes on a spiritual journey. 00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:30.340 You see him struggling with this concept 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:32.160 that God is everywhere, 00:13:32.660 --> 00:13:34.360 that God knows his thoughts, 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:35.100 every thought, 00:13:35.420 --> 00:13:37.300 that God is the creator of life, 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:38.080 the creator of the world. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:40.600 You see him struggling with it. 00:13:41.280 --> 00:13:43.360 So this brings us into the second point, 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.419 that God's presence is a threat. 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:49.200 If you look again at the first stanza, 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:50.560 verses 1 to 6, 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:53.100 if you go into verse 6, 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:55.360 at the end of the stanza, 00:13:56.560 --> 00:13:57.580 David says this, 00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:00.800 such knowledge is too wonderful for me. 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:03.500 It is high and I cannot attain it. 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:05.279 Now in the, 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:07.399 if you read this in English, 00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:10.080 this seems like he's just celebrating God 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:10.980 for this great truth, 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:12.240 that God knows his thoughts, 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:13.419 knows what he's doing, 00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:15.960 how he's rising up and is going to bed, 00:14:16.019 --> 00:14:16.799 just knows it all. 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:18.299 But that's not the case 00:14:18.299 --> 00:14:21.100 because verse 5 gives it away 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:22.100 about what's happening. 00:14:23.019 --> 00:14:23.740 David says this, 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:26.360 you hem me in behind and before 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:28.919 and lay your hand upon me. 00:14:29.659 --> 00:14:31.379 See what David is writing here 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:33.700 is that he's actually suffocating 00:14:33.700 --> 00:14:35.279 on this great truth 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:36.899 that God knows all his thoughts, 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:38.399 God knows all his movements. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.299 He's being suffocated by this knowledge. 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:43.539 He's feeling claustrophobic. 00:14:44.579 --> 00:14:45.319 There was a time 00:14:45.319 --> 00:14:47.259 when I used to be really into ice climbing 00:14:47.259 --> 00:14:49.699 and I would go to Alberta 00:14:49.699 --> 00:14:51.399 to do a lot of ice climbing in the mountains. 00:14:52.079 --> 00:14:54.879 And the thing with ice climbing in the mountains 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.039 is that you actually do a lot of the ice climbing. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:58.039 You climb waterfalls 00:14:58.039 --> 00:14:59.919 and it's in avalanche chutes. 00:15:00.459 --> 00:15:02.500 So sort of the avalanches come off the mountains 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:04.699 and you climb the ice that's in these chutes 00:15:04.699 --> 00:15:07.199 because it's the best ice that you can find. 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.620 And the thing about avalanches, 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:13.120 normally you check the conditions and it's fine, 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:14.100 but the thing with avalanches, 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:16.100 if you get stuck in an avalanche, 00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:17.379 you become, 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:19.620 the snow traps you in 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:20.840 and you end up suffocating. 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:23.440 That's what is kind of happening here 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:26.120 is that David is being avalanched 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:27.120 with this idea 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.980 that God knows everything about him, 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:32.720 knows the thought that he just did, 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:34.600 knows the action that he just did. 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.680 It's all consuming him. 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:38.920 He's stuck in this thought. 00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:41.180 So when he says in verse 6, 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.680 such knowledge is too wonderful for me. 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:44.720 It is high. 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:45.899 I cannot attain it. 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.279 He's actually saying in a way 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.279 that he's almost recoiling at it, 00:15:50.540 --> 00:15:52.840 that he's terrified of this great truth, 00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:55.080 that he feels threatened for it. 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:57.879 And that's how we slide into verse 7, 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:58.840 the second stanza, 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:00.660 when he says this, 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:02.720 where shall I go from your spirit 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:05.420 or where shall I flee from your presence? 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.259 Because this knowledge that he has 00:16:08.259 --> 00:16:11.820 of God's knowing everything about him, 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:13.300 that God is everywhere, 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:15.820 makes him want to run from God, 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:17.840 makes him want to flee from God. 00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:20.440 That's how this psalm is. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:22.480 That's how David sets up the psalm, 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:24.720 that he actually wants to run 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.540 from this great truth about God. 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:29.639 It brings us to verse 7, 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:30.480 that God, 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:32.120 that he wants to flee from God. 00:16:32.719 --> 00:16:34.959 That the idea that God knows everything 00:16:34.959 --> 00:16:37.279 and makes him want to flee. 00:16:37.719 --> 00:16:38.159 Rebellion, 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:39.339 running away from God, 00:16:39.620 --> 00:16:41.379 for this knowledge is too great. 00:16:41.579 --> 00:16:42.759 It's that sense of when, 00:16:43.459 --> 00:16:44.799 I don't know if you've ever been 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.219 so angry at somebody 00:16:46.219 --> 00:16:47.939 that you need to just leave the room 00:16:47.939 --> 00:16:49.620 because you just had to get away. 00:16:50.179 --> 00:16:51.719 It's that idea 00:16:51.719 --> 00:16:52.740 that this knowledge 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:54.679 just makes you want to flee the room 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:56.179 because it's too grand. 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:58.139 God knows everything about you. 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.440 This idea that God is all-knowing, 00:17:04.639 --> 00:17:05.399 always present, 00:17:05.659 --> 00:17:06.480 all-powerful, 00:17:06.639 --> 00:17:08.139 is threatening to us as well. 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:09.859 It's not just threatening to David. 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:11.859 It's threatening to us as well. 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.659 Because we are told from birth 00:17:14.659 --> 00:17:18.299 that we are the decision makers of our lives. 00:17:19.179 --> 00:17:22.139 That we are the entire beings of our lives. 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:23.179 That we are at the center. 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:24.019 It's about me. 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:26.180 But this psalm, 00:17:26.360 --> 00:17:27.080 this psalm, 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:28.420 shows us 00:17:28.420 --> 00:17:31.180 that we are not at the center of our lives. 00:17:31.360 --> 00:17:33.039 God is at the center of our lives. 00:17:33.360 --> 00:17:36.759 God is in control of everything about us. 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:38.360 He knows everything about us. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:41.060 But our hearts don't want this to be true. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.060 We want to flee from this thought. 00:17:43.580 --> 00:17:45.860 Because then we can't do the things we want to do. 00:17:46.100 --> 00:17:47.740 But our hearts have been like this 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:49.240 since the fall of man. 00:17:49.779 --> 00:17:51.720 And you read about that in Genesis 3. 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:54.079 But at the same time, 00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:56.500 we want this to be true. 00:17:56.900 --> 00:17:58.900 We want God to be the center of our lives. 00:17:59.120 --> 00:18:00.380 Because we want justice. 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:01.660 We want mercy. 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:02.740 We want love. 00:18:02.860 --> 00:18:03.640 And we want peace. 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.299 And those, 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:05.839 the likes of those. 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:08.360 But we can't have that 00:18:08.360 --> 00:18:10.640 without God being the center of the world. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.720 As soon as we put ourselves into the center, 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:15.060 you can't have that anymore. 00:18:15.320 --> 00:18:17.480 Because everyone has a different definition 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:18.759 of what love is, 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:20.900 what justice is, 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:22.060 and what mercy is. 00:18:22.320 --> 00:18:23.720 But with God at the center, 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:26.800 he has the one moral standard, 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:29.640 the one standard of what all these things are. 00:18:30.280 --> 00:18:31.420 Without God at the center, 00:18:31.860 --> 00:18:32.740 you can't have it. 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:34.220 With God at the center, 00:18:34.360 --> 00:18:35.140 you can have it. 00:18:35.140 --> 00:18:36.620 And David, 00:18:36.820 --> 00:18:38.200 in Psalm 139, 00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:40.200 realizes this halfway through. 00:18:40.300 --> 00:18:42.400 As he goes on his spiritual journey through it, 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:45.900 he realizes it in verses 10 to 12, 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:47.360 where he says this, 00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:48.640 even there, 00:18:48.780 --> 00:18:50.400 as he's talking about in Sheol, 00:18:50.540 --> 00:18:51.000 in death, 00:18:51.120 --> 00:18:51.740 in the sea, 00:18:52.340 --> 00:18:53.360 even there, 00:18:53.740 --> 00:18:55.259 your hand shall lead me, 00:18:55.820 --> 00:18:58.080 and your right hand shall hold me. 00:18:58.520 --> 00:18:59.259 If I say, 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.240 surely the darkness shall cover me, 00:19:01.600 --> 00:19:03.280 the light about me be night, 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.980 even the darkness is not dark to you. 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:08.319 The night is bright as the day, 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:11.160 for darkness is as light with you. 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:12.960 See, 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:15.399 only when we take ourselves off our pedestals, 00:19:16.139 --> 00:19:17.819 that we can joyfully say, 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:19.740 as David does here in the text, 00:19:20.379 --> 00:19:21.019 that you, 00:19:21.639 --> 00:19:22.599 your hand, 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:24.220 shall lead me, 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:25.680 your right hand, 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:26.740 shall hold me. 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:27.940 See, 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.500 as David has a heart change within this psalm, 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:32.240 he keeps meditating on it, 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:33.480 but his tone, 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:34.700 his tone, 00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:35.339 as he writes, 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:36.180 is so different. 00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:39.539 As he says in verses 17 to 18, 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:41.359 as he's reflecting on God's word, 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.220 God's thoughts, 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:44.900 that they are precious to him. 00:19:45.120 --> 00:19:45.720 They're gems. 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:46.599 They're priceless. 00:19:48.099 --> 00:19:49.940 And when it says in verse 18, 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:50.420 when he says, 00:19:51.539 --> 00:19:52.200 I awake, 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:53.319 and I am still with you, 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:54.900 what he's talking about here 00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:56.180 is actually not sleep. 00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:58.500 What he's talking about here 00:19:58.500 --> 00:19:59.240 is a death. 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:02.700 But how can David write about this? 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:03.640 How can he write that, 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:04.319 as I die, 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:05.019 I awake, 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:06.299 and you are still with me? 00:20:06.940 --> 00:20:07.140 See, 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:07.539 David 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:09.160 is promised 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:10.460 that the Messiah 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:12.099 would come through his offspring, 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:14.740 that he would have a resurrected body 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:15.599 at some point. 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:18.380 And if you look at the next verses, 00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:20.700 you see how this wraps up 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.480 in the next verses of the psalm. 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:23.400 It all wraps up. 00:20:24.120 --> 00:20:24.700 So David, 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:25.420 as he writes, 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:27.019 is reflecting on this great truth, 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:29.079 that he knows there will come a point 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:30.500 that the Messiah will come, 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:32.279 and that when he dies, 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:33.160 there will come a time 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:34.339 that he'll awake again, 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:35.059 and he, 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:35.460 God, 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:36.279 will be with him. 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:39.420 So in the next part, 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:41.059 in verses 19 to 22, 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:42.720 David writes this, 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:43.819 Oh, 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:45.119 that you would slay the wicked, 00:20:45.220 --> 00:20:45.759 O God, 00:20:46.139 --> 00:20:47.079 O men of blood, 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:48.200 depart from me. 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:50.279 They speak against you 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:51.379 with malicious intent, 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:52.019 and your enemies 00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:53.259 take your name in vain. 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:55.079 Do I not hate those 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:55.660 who hate you, 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:56.160 O Lord? 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:57.660 And do I not loathe 00:20:57.660 --> 00:20:59.200 those who rise up against you? 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:00.500 I hate them 00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:01.460 with complete hatred. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:02.720 I count them 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:03.519 as my enemies. 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:05.660 You might be thinking, 00:21:05.800 --> 00:21:05.960 well, 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:08.040 doesn't this go against 00:21:08.040 --> 00:21:09.360 the New Testament teaching 00:21:09.360 --> 00:21:09.820 of Jesus? 00:21:10.080 --> 00:21:10.360 Doesn't, 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:11.860 isn't this very 00:21:11.860 --> 00:21:13.000 anti-Jesus? 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:14.220 Well, 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:15.400 the thing is, 00:21:16.220 --> 00:21:17.279 Jesus hasn't come yet 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:18.180 as he wrote this. 00:21:18.800 --> 00:21:20.180 So what has happened 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:20.759 between 00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:22.140 the time of David 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:23.620 and the time of us now? 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:24.919 is that Jesus 00:21:24.919 --> 00:21:25.959 came into the world. 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:26.739 God's son 00:21:26.739 --> 00:21:27.739 came into the world. 00:21:28.579 --> 00:21:29.559 And Jesus commands 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:30.179 his followers 00:21:30.179 --> 00:21:31.019 to love 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:32.619 their enemies. 00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:34.919 You might also be thinking, 00:21:34.959 --> 00:21:35.559 you might be here 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:35.919 and thinking, 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:36.099 well, 00:21:36.159 --> 00:21:36.919 this Jesus guy, 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:37.879 why do I need him? 00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:39.299 Why do I need Jesus 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:39.959 in my life? 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:41.259 Why do I need to do this? 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:42.119 You see, 00:21:42.199 --> 00:21:43.239 sin entered the world 00:21:43.239 --> 00:21:44.979 and pushed us from God. 00:21:45.879 --> 00:21:47.399 Verses 19 to 22 00:21:47.399 --> 00:21:49.879 are actually aimed at us, 00:21:50.159 --> 00:21:51.119 at those who don't 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:51.799 know Christ. 00:21:52.419 --> 00:21:53.039 But Jesus 00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:55.039 takes this judgment. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:57.119 He takes this judgment 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:58.759 that we see in 19 to 22 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:01.379 and he puts it on himself. 00:22:01.939 --> 00:22:03.759 For those who have their faith 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:04.739 and trust in Christ 00:22:04.739 --> 00:22:05.699 and follow him 00:22:05.699 --> 00:22:07.119 will not face this judgment. 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:09.619 The thing that is so rich 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:10.559 about this psalm 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:12.619 is that it shows us 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:13.739 every human emotion. 00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:14.000 Sorry, 00:22:14.099 --> 00:22:14.959 the book of Psalms 00:22:14.959 --> 00:22:16.000 shows us 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:16.959 every human emotion. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:18.039 It's such a rich book. 00:22:18.419 --> 00:22:19.439 It's such a book, 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:20.500 a good book 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:21.279 that we should constantly 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:22.140 read from the Bible. 00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:22.920 We should read a psalm 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:23.420 every day. 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:24.720 Maybe 119, 00:22:24.840 --> 00:22:25.519 you split it up. 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:26.600 But we should read 00:22:26.600 --> 00:22:28.480 the psalm every day. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:29.420 Martin Luther, 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:31.680 who's a famous reformer 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:32.580 from back in the day, 00:22:33.080 --> 00:22:35.519 he said that the book of Psalms 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:37.080 is a mini Bible 00:22:37.080 --> 00:22:39.019 because you see Christ 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:39.960 all through it. 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:41.759 You see every human emotion 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:42.680 and you see Christ 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:44.019 dealing with the human emotion. 00:22:45.360 --> 00:22:45.539 See, 00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:45.940 Jesus, 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:48.299 Jesus went to the cross 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:49.059 for you and me. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:50.840 He took on 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:52.000 the punishment 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.960 that we deserved. 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:54.000 But the thing 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.019 that's so profound 00:22:55.019 --> 00:22:57.220 about Jesus on the cross 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:58.640 is that when he was on there, 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:01.299 he prays Psalm 22, 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:02.960 which opens with, 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:03.799 my God, 00:23:04.080 --> 00:23:04.900 my God, 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.460 why have you forsaken me? 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:07.680 See, 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:08.299 that psalm 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:09.259 is all about God 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:10.120 being far away. 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:11.940 But this psalm 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:12.960 that we have here 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:14.680 is all about God 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:15.820 being very present. 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:17.539 Why didn't he pray 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:18.279 that psalm? 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:20.039 Why didn't Jesus 00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:20.839 pray that psalm 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:21.720 on the cross? 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:22.519 See, 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:23.700 Jesus took the judgment 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:25.819 of verses 19 to 22 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:26.759 from us 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:28.139 and we are given 00:23:28.139 --> 00:23:29.759 the last part of it, 00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:31.039 that we can come to God, 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:32.480 that we are not alone. 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:34.539 Jesus became alone, 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:36.019 separated from God, 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:38.119 so that we can come to God 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:38.859 through him, 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:39.519 through his death 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:40.160 and resurrection 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:40.980 on the cross. 00:23:41.639 --> 00:23:42.639 The psalm ends 00:23:42.639 --> 00:23:43.299 with a prayer 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:45.119 that we should all pray 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:45.739 every day. 00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:47.079 This beautiful prayer 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:49.679 in verses 23 to 24. 00:23:50.639 --> 00:23:51.319 Search me, 00:23:51.459 --> 00:23:52.099 O God, 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:53.419 and know my heart. 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:54.739 Try me 00:23:54.739 --> 00:23:55.959 and know my thoughts 00:23:55.959 --> 00:23:57.339 and see if there be 00:23:57.339 --> 00:23:58.879 any grievous way in me 00:23:58.879 --> 00:23:59.979 and lead me 00:23:59.979 --> 00:24:00.939 in the way of everlasting. 00:24:01.959 --> 00:24:02.159 See, 00:24:02.239 --> 00:24:03.759 David opens the psalm 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:05.359 with the past tense 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:06.119 that God has already 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:06.619 searched him 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:07.219 and known him 00:24:07.219 --> 00:24:07.959 and it makes him 00:24:07.959 --> 00:24:08.959 recoil at it. 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:10.439 But now you see 00:24:10.439 --> 00:24:11.759 after the change of heart 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:12.319 at the end, 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:13.599 he asks God 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:15.059 to continually search him, 00:24:15.419 --> 00:24:16.839 to continually know him, 00:24:17.159 --> 00:24:18.679 to continually know his heart 00:24:18.679 --> 00:24:20.419 and to make it known to him 00:24:20.419 --> 00:24:22.240 so he can deal with it 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:23.879 and that he asks God 00:24:23.879 --> 00:24:24.539 to lead him 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:25.759 to the way of everlasting, 00:24:26.379 --> 00:24:27.559 to the way of salvation 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:28.899 and that is a prayer 00:24:28.899 --> 00:24:30.159 we should do every day 00:24:30.159 --> 00:24:31.579 is that we should ask God 00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:32.679 to look at our hearts, 00:24:32.939 --> 00:24:33.659 show us our hearts, 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:35.139 lay it bare for us 00:24:35.139 --> 00:24:37.119 and if you're here 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:38.259 and you feel like 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:40.319 God has left you, 00:24:40.939 --> 00:24:41.839 you feel like you're going 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:42.419 through a season 00:24:42.419 --> 00:24:43.359 that God is not 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:44.579 in your life 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:45.259 or you feel like 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:46.339 God has abandoned you. 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:49.019 In verses 11 and 12, 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:51.039 David writes about 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:52.139 that God is with him 00:24:52.139 --> 00:24:52.839 in the dark. 00:24:53.299 --> 00:24:54.220 Surely the darkness 00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:55.079 shall cover me 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:56.500 and the light about me 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:57.019 be night. 00:24:57.240 --> 00:24:58.199 Even the darkness 00:24:58.199 --> 00:24:59.599 is not dark to you. 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:00.980 The night is bright 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:01.619 as the day 00:25:01.619 --> 00:25:02.319 for darkness 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:03.459 is as light with you. 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:05.819 In John 1, 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:06.619 chapter 1, 00:25:07.459 --> 00:25:08.379 it says that Jesus 00:25:08.379 --> 00:25:09.720 is the light of the world. 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:11.380 Jesus is the light 00:25:11.380 --> 00:25:11.880 of the world 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:12.779 and if you feel like 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:13.240 you're going through 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:14.240 a moment of darkness, 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:15.480 you feel like you're going 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:16.620 through a desert season, 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:18.259 Jesus is the light 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:18.819 of the world. 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:20.779 He is the bread of life. 00:25:21.220 --> 00:25:22.059 He is the one 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:22.839 who has, 00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:24.400 he is the one 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:25.299 that will guide you. 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:26.200 He is with you. 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:27.600 Even though you may feel 00:25:27.600 --> 00:25:29.120 like your season 00:25:29.120 --> 00:25:30.140 is complete darkness, 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:31.740 Jesus is with you 00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:32.579 because he's the light 00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:33.019 of the world. 00:25:33.140 --> 00:25:34.100 He will guide you. 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:35.160 Just ask him 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:35.839 to guide you. 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:37.480 So as we wrap up, 00:25:38.199 --> 00:25:38.980 this psalm 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:40.059 is a great truth 00:25:40.059 --> 00:25:42.339 of God's great power, 00:25:42.959 --> 00:25:44.619 God's great omniscience, 00:25:45.859 --> 00:25:47.099 God's great omnipresence 00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:49.579 and God's great omnipotence. 00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:52.179 As we reflect on that, 00:25:52.679 --> 00:25:53.699 we can ask God 00:25:53.699 --> 00:25:54.500 to take control 00:25:54.500 --> 00:25:55.279 of our lives 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:56.319 because he is 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:57.619 the all-powerful God 00:25:57.619 --> 00:25:58.379 that we can never, 00:25:58.579 --> 00:26:00.480 we can never control 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.439 our lives on our own. 00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:03.319 So as we go 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:04.139 and we continue on 00:26:04.139 --> 00:26:04.619 in the service, 00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:05.819 let's reflect on that. 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:07.639 Let's praise God 00:26:07.639 --> 00:26:08.939 that he is in control 00:26:08.939 --> 00:26:09.659 of our lives 00:26:09.659 --> 00:26:11.659 and that he sent his son 00:26:11.659 --> 00:26:13.579 to die for you and me 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:15.199 so we can have eternal life, 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:16.099 eternal salvation. 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:17.099 Let's pray. 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:19.919 Heavenly Father, 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:20.720 we give you thanks 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.319 and praise 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:22.899 for your son, Jesus, 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:24.500 for his work on the cross. 00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:25.699 We give you thanks 00:26:25.699 --> 00:26:26.480 and praise, God, 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:27.759 that you are in control 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:28.740 of everything, 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.480 that you have searched 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:31.240 our hearts, 00:26:31.459 --> 00:26:31.980 you have searched 00:26:31.980 --> 00:26:32.539 our minds 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:33.259 and our thoughts 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:35.139 and you still love us. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:37.099 You still gave us Christ. 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:38.000 So Lord, 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:39.039 please strengthen us, 00:26:39.379 --> 00:26:40.599 please continually search us 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:41.319 and lay our hearts 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:42.199 bare to us 00:26:42.199 --> 00:26:43.959 so that we can follow you. 00:26:44.399 --> 00:26:45.299 In Jesus' name, 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:46.000 amen. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:46.139 Amen. 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:46.680 Amen. 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:46.680 00:26:46.680 --> 00:27:16.660 Thank you.