WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.400 Do you remember the big solar system project that you might have done in elementary school? 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:09.960 Anybody ever do a solar system project for your science fair? 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:13.820 Julie and I were talking about this yesterday. 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:21.019 I don't remember ever doing this, but I remember watching enough sitcoms on TV when I was growing 00:00:21.019 --> 00:00:26.539 up to know that this is a common thing, that somewhere around third or fourth grade, there's 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:32.079 a science project assignment typically that the teacher will give and the students are 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:36.060 required to make a 3D model of our solar system. 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:38.899 It's basically craft time. 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:44.239 It's a large craft time that parents are forced into participating in. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:50.140 And typically what it involves, if you're unfamiliar with this, normally there's some various size 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:55.719 styrofoam balls that the kids get to paint like the individual planets and the sun. 00:00:55.719 --> 00:01:03.339 Some long wooden dowels or if it's the night before and the parents forgot, maybe some skewers 00:01:03.339 --> 00:01:05.459 from the drawer or from dad's grilling kit. 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:10.840 You stick the balls on there and then you arrange them to make it look like the solar system, 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:11.079 right? 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:18.079 Now, the best I can come up with, there's probably two ways that this typically goes. 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:27.700 A child may choose to place the planets along with the sun in a straight line, beginning with the sun 00:01:27.700 --> 00:01:30.900 and then working its way out. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:36.319 Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. 00:01:37.140 --> 00:01:38.159 And if you're like me, Pluto. 00:01:38.539 --> 00:01:40.200 I don't think they get to do Pluto anymore. 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:42.079 We could have done Pluto when I was a kid. 00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:43.120 It was still a planet then. 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.840 So they might arrange them just in a straight line like that, right? 00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:48.380 And you might see them in a straight line. 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:50.740 Another child might choose to do it a bit different. 00:01:51.020 --> 00:01:53.500 Instead of putting them in a straight line, they may put the sun in the middle 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:58.700 and they may put the other planets in various positions in relation to the sun, 00:01:58.880 --> 00:02:01.180 but at proper distances away. 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:01.920 Does that make sense? 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:03.580 Can you picture it there in your mind? 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:07.980 If you were to have a child that did it in a straight line, 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:12.599 you really get the picture primarily from looking directly at it from the side, right? 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:16.860 You could get it from looking down on it, but really from looking straight at the side, 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:20.219 that's when you're really going to get the best understanding of what they're communicating in the project. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:21.960 For the other child, though, it's going to be different. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:25.599 You're not going to get it, really, if you're looking at it from the side. 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:29.340 You have to look at it from the top down, and when you look at it from the top down, 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.280 that's when you start to see what all they're communicating in their project 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:37.099 about our solar system and the things that they have learned. 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:40.879 Now, the technique that the child or the parent chooses 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.319 will probably depend on what kind of thinker they are. 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:46.620 You're going to hear me out on this. 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:52.159 All of us have a natural way of thinking and communicating. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:03:02.280 Linear thinkers learn and communicate best with structured processes and arguments. 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.079 Structured processes and arguments. 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:11.120 Those of you who are engineers, I think of Mark Fennin and I think of Shane Nall in particular, 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:14.580 they are most likely linear thinkers as engineers. 00:03:14.720 --> 00:03:20.860 They move from point A to point B through a series of logical steps, logical progressions. 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:25.680 And Shane and I have talked about this many times before when we're working on church stuff. 00:03:26.260 --> 00:03:28.920 He's used the word, schematics are good for him. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:32.460 He can see the logical progressions because that's the way that he thinks. 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:34.879 His mind is wired that way. 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:36.240 He's a linear thinker. 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:38.420 Now, not all of you are linear thinkers. 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:42.439 Some of you are non-linear thinkers. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:48.260 The artistic among us, the creatives among us, 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:53.180 tend to allow for more exploration and creativity 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:57.939 in the way that you learn and problem solve and communicate. 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:02.199 Biblical genres really function the same way, don't they? 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:04.419 Think about this for example. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:08.680 If you were to go to the New Testament and you were to look at the New Testament epistles, 00:04:09.259 --> 00:04:12.000 you'll find that generally speaking, 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:15.300 John's not so much, but generally thinking, 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:18.420 they follow linear thinking. 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:26.079 There is structured, logical progressions and arguments that are being made. 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:30.259 When you go to wisdom literature in the Bible, 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:32.959 it's not anything like that at all. 00:04:33.859 --> 00:04:35.240 It's circular thinking. 00:04:35.419 --> 00:04:36.459 It's circular reasoning. 00:04:36.979 --> 00:04:40.180 So that there is a central truth to the passage 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:44.500 and everything else in the passage just kind of revolves around that one truth. 00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:47.799 But the placement of whether it's at the beginning or the end or in the middle 00:04:47.799 --> 00:04:49.159 is going to vary. 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:53.740 Because there was a creative type that God used for that passage 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:57.300 and they, using their real personality, 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:01.900 have written God's word in the way that they have. 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:08.480 Paul, the apostle, writes like an engineer or a lawyer. 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:13.040 You can diagram sentences very easily with Paul. 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:14.140 Very long sentences. 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:18.020 But you can diagram his sentences and you can find his argument very easily doing that. 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:20.979 When you come to the Psalms and you look at what David writes, 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:25.219 if you try to diagram it out the way that you would diagram Paul, 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:29.479 you are going to be so frustrated because he just doesn't write that way. 00:05:29.979 --> 00:05:34.680 Most of what we see here is non-linear structure. 00:05:35.799 --> 00:05:39.099 And it's really important for us to acknowledge this when we come to the Bible, isn't it? 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:43.560 Because if you try to interpret a Psalm as if it is a New Testament epistle, 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.159 you're never going to fully grasp the intended meaning. 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:53.460 Vice versa, if you try to interpret a New Testament epistle as if it is a Psalm or a proverb or even a narrative, 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:56.520 you're not going to fully grasp the intended meaning. 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:57.980 We have to care about this, right? 00:05:58.340 --> 00:06:01.980 So it's not always helpful when we come to the Psalms 00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:06.040 to start at verse 1 and work through to the end. 00:06:06.200 --> 00:06:10.240 That's not always going to be the best way for us to approach the passage. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:18.759 Now, before we move forward with that, can we just appreciate for a moment God's good design in this? 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:26.840 Not only in the way that he has structured his word, but in the way that he has created his world, 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:33.319 in the way that he has created us, in the uniquenesses, the differences that we have, 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:37.980 that maybe sometimes feel a little bit more like iron sharpening iron, 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:39.319 which can be a hard thing. 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:40.279 That sounds really nice. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:41.079 It's not really nice. 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:43.579 It's really kind of hard to deal with sometimes. 00:06:44.659 --> 00:06:47.360 But there is purpose behind that. 00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:55.319 Life would be so boring and drab if everything was black and white. 00:06:55.319 --> 00:07:02.860 If everything was schematic, it would be boring. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.540 It wouldn't have the same kind of beauty to it that it has now. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:13.259 Life would be amazingly frustrating, maybe infuriating, 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:17.719 if everything in life was up for individual interpretation. 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:22.079 It would be maddening, chaos. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:26.579 And so, can we just appreciate that God is a good designer? 00:07:27.359 --> 00:07:29.459 That he has designed us well? 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.919 That he has designed his world well? 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:34.039 That he's designed his word well? 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:42.120 Now, as you might expect, Psalm 9 follows this non-linear way of thinking. 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:46.680 That doesn't mean that Psalm 9 is without structure. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:48.560 That's not what it means. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.379 It's just not linear structure. 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:58.540 Like many Psalms, this one is formed using a literary technique called a chiasm. 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:00.240 Now, you don't have to remember that word necessarily, 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:03.319 but it might be helpful for us to at least explain it. 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:08.439 If you remember back a year ago, we did a series through the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:12.839 If you remember, John wrote that in the form of a chiasm. 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:14.620 We talked about it at that point. 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:17.740 Let me explain to you in this Psalm what that looks like. 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:22.740 Chiasm, the word, it comes from a Greek letter, the Greek letter chi, 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:27.220 which the capital form of it, it looks like a capital X in English. 00:08:27.780 --> 00:08:35.060 And so, when this technique is used, the content moves in the shape of one side of that X. 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:37.039 It starts here and it moves in. 00:08:37.560 --> 00:08:38.620 The central truth is here. 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:40.500 And then it moves back out. 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:44.440 And the pieces that are moving are parallel to one another. 00:08:44.560 --> 00:08:45.639 They link to one another. 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:47.279 Now, I've got a diagram on the screen for you. 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:48.419 If you'll just throw that out there, Carson. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:52.720 If you can see that, I want you to see this is the way this particular Psalm is structured. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.399 Verses 1 and 2 correspond with verses 19 and 20. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.819 But they don't go in order. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:04.579 They correspond, but in a unique frame. 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:08.039 Same thing with verses 3 and 4, 17 and 18. 00:09:08.319 --> 00:09:09.959 5 and 6, 15 and 16. 00:09:10.319 --> 00:09:12.279 7 and 8, 13 and 14. 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:14.379 Now, do you see the movement, right? 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.019 You've got half of an X here. 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:22.460 The content in this Psalm is moving into a central truth that's found in verses 9 through 12. 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:24.899 And those central truths, we've just got some bullet points. 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:31.179 It's know God, trust God, seek God, leading to praising God, and then praying to God. 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:33.340 That's the central focus of the Psalm. 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:41.379 Everything that David writes in this prayer and in this song, it's revolving around verses 9 through 12. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:45.379 And then there's links between the other ones as they move out. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:47.679 So, this is non-linear thinking. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.799 This is non-linear frameworks of communicating. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.240 But that doesn't mean it isn't without structure. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.080 And the structure is actually quite helpful. 00:09:57.580 --> 00:09:58.440 This is creative. 00:09:58.759 --> 00:09:59.600 It's beautiful. 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:01.840 It's helpful to us, isn't it? 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.080 If we're looking at it the right way. 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:08.560 Now, as you can tell, there's these parallel stanzas moving through. 00:10:09.379 --> 00:10:16.419 The first section, verses 1 through 8, focus on passionate praise to God. 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:21.120 In this context, for delivering David from his enemies. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:34.000 The final section, verses 13 through 20, emphasize fervent prayer that God will continue that deliverance to the very end. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:38.340 Both of these expressions of devotion. 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:47.879 Praise, prayer are informed and motivated by what David says in the middle. 00:10:48.620 --> 00:10:48.780 Okay? 00:10:48.779 --> 00:10:51.519 You can't have praise. 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:55.639 In the context of this psalm, you can't have praise without what David says in the middle. 00:10:55.860 --> 00:11:01.299 You can't have prayer, or you won't pray, until you've grasped into belief what David says in the middle. 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:03.459 And I think the key verse is verse 10. 00:11:03.579 --> 00:11:04.959 Just set your eyes on it there. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:10.320 Those who know your name put their trust in you. 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:15.860 For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:28.040 I think the theme of Psalm 9 is focused on the various implications of knowing God and his saving work. 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:31.679 We're looking at knowing God and his saving work. 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:40.959 And when we know God and his saving work, what it produces in us is passionate praise, fervent prayer. 00:11:41.939 --> 00:11:44.399 So what I want to do is I'm going to start with the middle section. 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:46.079 And I'm going to spend most of our time there. 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:52.559 And then once we've got that, I want to look at the two types of expressions that are given here. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:58.839 Number one, if you want to keep notes in concert with what I have written here, write this down. 00:11:59.239 --> 00:12:03.239 Knowing God leads to truly trusting him. 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:09.299 Knowing God leads to truly trusting him. 00:12:09.959 --> 00:12:10.699 Look at verse 9. 00:12:11.739 --> 00:12:16.859 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:20.339 And those who know your name put their trust in you. 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:23.519 For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:27.960 Sing praises to the Lord, therefore, who sits enthroned in Zion. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:30.639 Tell among the peoples his deeds. 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:33.899 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them. 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.519 He does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:45.000 There's several affirmations here about God's love and care for the oppressed among his people. 00:12:46.180 --> 00:12:47.879 David declares who God is. 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.100 He declares how God acts. 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:54.019 And this initiates our faith. 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:58.040 And motivates our prayer and our praise. 00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:07.300 And the affirmations begin in verse 9 where David says that God is a stronghold for the oppressed in times of trouble. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.019 He's a stronghold. 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:10.620 That's another image, isn't it? 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:13.320 It's an image of a high fort. 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:21.960 A high fort, a place of refuge when under attack is the picture that David is painting for us here. 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:31.940 This word stronghold, it's akin to the uses of refuge in Psalm 2 verse 12 and in Psalm 7 and verse 1. 00:13:31.940 --> 00:13:34.480 But there's an important distinction here. 00:13:36.160 --> 00:13:43.320 Refuge in those previous texts refers to an action performed by those who are in trouble. 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:48.820 We take refuge in God. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.900 It's something that we do, right? 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:53.400 Not so as stronghold. 00:13:53.560 --> 00:13:55.420 Stronghold is used in a very different way. 00:13:55.780 --> 00:13:57.580 Stronghold here is not used as a verb. 00:13:57.680 --> 00:13:59.580 It's used as a noun. 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:04.620 Stronghold speaks to what God is. 00:14:05.920 --> 00:14:08.740 He is the stronghold. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:10.759 Do you see this distinction? 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:15.720 There is no human action at this point in Psalm 9. 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:21.580 It is an affirmation of God's saving character and of God's saving work. 00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:29.340 Before he tells anybody what to do, at least in this center section, David makes an affirmation, a declaration about God's character. 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:33.180 He says God is a stronghold. 00:14:33.560 --> 00:14:35.980 God is a savior. 00:14:36.560 --> 00:14:41.759 God is the place of refuge. 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:48.200 Taking refuge on our part involves running to God for shelter. 00:14:48.560 --> 00:14:52.680 But the stronghold, however, is what we may run into. 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:56.620 He is the saving one. 00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:02.019 Now, this dynamic of God's saving love, it's what sets up what follows. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:08.620 Verse 10, again, those who know your name, they put their trust in you. 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:14.519 For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:17.399 It's an amazing promise here. 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:25.500 An amazing promise that the Lord has not and will not ever forsake those who seek him. 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:40.419 Not only is he a capable stronghold of providing true refuge, but to continue with the metaphor here, God does not deny or remove access in his gates. 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:48.419 He is a stronghold that we may find shelter in. 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:52.679 We may find security and safety in. 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:57.579 But there's a qualification here that we have to meditate on, isn't there? 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:00.639 The Lord has not forsaken who? 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:05.899 He has not forsaken those who seek him. 00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:16.379 Now, while God's common grace extends to all people, believers, unbelievers alike in this life, that's true. 00:16:17.699 --> 00:16:30.100 The Lord's safety and security are only ultimately applied to those who will take refuge in him as the true stronghold. 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:43.460 To put it another way, if you do not seek the Lord, you will have no refuge when the time for judgment arrives. 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:49.279 Now, I was thinking about this a little bit. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:58.059 Those who seek God, in verse 10, do so because they know his name. 00:16:58.919 --> 00:16:59.799 Do you see it there in verse 10? 00:17:00.459 --> 00:17:05.720 Those who know your name put their trust in you, and you have not forsaken those who seek you. 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:07.480 Well, why are they seeking him? 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:09.399 Because they know him. 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:11.039 They know his name. 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:13.980 That doesn't mean that they know what to call God. 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:15.539 That's not what David means here. 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.139 It means that they actually know him. 00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:24.180 They have experienced his personal power and presence in their lives. 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:34.079 And since they know him in that way, since they have experienced God relationally and savingly, spiritually in that way, 00:17:34.379 --> 00:17:37.799 they continue then to trust him. 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:47.339 Those who know your name, who have experienced your power and presence, they continue in trusting you, Lord. 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:50.659 They believe that he has not and will not forsake them. 00:17:50.899 --> 00:17:56.779 Where we once persisted in sin and rebellion, now we persist in faith. 00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:02.579 Not without sin, but never without faith. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:04.379 Saving faith, that is. 00:18:04.659 --> 00:18:05.740 And think about that dynamic. 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:10.319 Before we come to Christ, before the Lord saves us, we are persisting in sin. 00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:12.059 We may do good things sometimes. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:13.880 We may do moral things sometimes. 00:18:14.120 --> 00:18:14.900 And that's good. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.640 I think that's common grace. 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:21.740 But our life is characterized by persisting against God. 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:23.819 Persisting in rebellion against him. 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:25.980 Persisting in sinfulness. 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:30.059 But after Christ, after we're redeemed, all of that changes. 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:34.819 Now we may go through a series of doubts and hardships in our lives. 00:18:34.899 --> 00:18:37.000 But what is present for those who know God? 00:18:37.379 --> 00:18:38.700 A persistent faith. 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:42.279 Maybe a struggling faith at times. 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:45.639 Maybe a sorrowful faith at times. 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:51.680 Maybe you have times since you've been a Christian that you felt like, I don't know that I'm going to continue. 00:18:51.860 --> 00:18:56.920 I'm afraid that I'm going to lose hope and that I'm going to turn away. 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:04.620 And then we sing a song like, when I fear my faith will fail, he will hold me fast. 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:10.419 You see, those who seek the Lord do so because they know him. 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:14.959 And what they know about him is that he is a stronghold. 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:21.599 And so even when they're uncertain in their life, they persist in that faith. 00:19:21.679 --> 00:19:24.099 And the Lord never forsakes them. 00:19:24.939 --> 00:19:29.000 But this entire sequence here, it begins with revelation, doesn't it? 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:36.819 No one can be known unless they reveal themselves in some way. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.660 Fortunately for us, God desires to be known. 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:47.980 He's revealed himself through the power of his Holy Spirit in his word. 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:54.720 So that as one experiences the personal presence and power of God's spirit in the scriptures, 00:19:54.720 --> 00:20:03.160 God works in them a heart of persistent trust and seeking after God. 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:04.339 It begins with revelation. 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:06.160 It doesn't begin with human action. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:12.279 It begins with God stating and revealing who he is in his saving character. 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:17.000 And we encounter that not through epiphany. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:22.920 We encounter that by the very spirit of God as we come to the word of God. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:28.359 In preaching, in reading the Bible, in having a conversation with a Christian friend. 00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:30.460 The Lord does his work in us. 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:31.880 He frees our hearts. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.980 He puts a new heart in us that we might believe and trust and follow. 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:39.339 He wants to be known. 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:40.539 It begins with revelation. 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:50.279 Isn't this part of the purpose of declaring among the peoples in verse 12 that they may know the Lord themselves? 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:53.680 That they may seek shelter in him? 00:20:55.000 --> 00:21:00.099 Such seekers, says David, are never forsaken. 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:03.940 But we have to ask another question now. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.859 Because life experience would force us to. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:09.859 Is it actually true? 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:15.799 That God has not forsaken those who seek him. 00:21:17.139 --> 00:21:18.480 Is that actually true? 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:22.139 Maybe David's excited about it in this moment. 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:25.379 Because perhaps he just came off a wonderful victory. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:34.200 But doesn't the very first verse of the next psalm indicate that David also had times where he felt God had forsaken him? 00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:36.720 Look at verse 1 of Psalm 10. 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:40.379 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? 00:21:40.539 --> 00:21:46.700 Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:50.299 That is authentic prayer, isn't it? 00:21:51.660 --> 00:21:53.120 Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:54.480 Lord, where are you? 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:57.059 Where are you in my life? 00:21:57.059 --> 00:21:59.880 Where are you in this situation? 00:22:00.539 --> 00:22:02.799 Where are you in this world conflict? 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:04.420 Where are you in this disaster? 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:06.259 Lord, why are you so far away? 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:09.039 Have you forsaken me? 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:11.660 How are we to understand this? 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:13.140 Is this contradiction? 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:14.420 Is it just emotionalism? 00:22:14.420 --> 00:22:15.200 Is it just emotionalism? 00:22:15.320 --> 00:22:16.660 What do we do with this? 00:22:18.100 --> 00:22:21.480 I think we need to understand what it actually means to be forsaken. 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:26.380 It doesn't mean that we're free from hardship or trouble. 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:35.839 Indeed, the very context of this psalm is oppression, trouble, affliction. 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:38.279 Those are the words being used by David here. 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:46.539 It is out of affliction, out of trouble, out of hardship, out of suffering, that David recognizes 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:51.019 that God doesn't actually forsake those who seek him. 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:59.299 Indeed, no one can actually grasp this dynamic of God's faithfulness apart from trial and suffering, really. 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:10.240 But those who know the Lord, interestingly enough, continue to trust him because despite how they may feel in the heat of the moment, 00:23:10.919 --> 00:23:14.599 they trust that God has not actually forsaken them. 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:16.359 Have you been there before? 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:17.819 I'm sure you have. 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:21.879 If you've been a believer for very long at all, I know that you've experienced this before, 00:23:21.879 --> 00:23:28.419 where what you felt seemed to contradict what you read in the Word. 00:23:29.299 --> 00:23:32.279 I love what Alistair Begat said. 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:35.139 I heard him say this maybe a few years ago. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:42.559 When I cannot sense his presence, I can trust his Word because his presence is in the Word. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:45.399 Your feelings will betray you. 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:49.000 Just ask your wife. 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:56.099 How many conflicts have you had with your spouse that really were probably blown out of proportion by one or the other 00:23:56.099 --> 00:24:01.240 because you felt in a way that wasn't actual, wasn't real? 00:24:02.659 --> 00:24:07.039 And as you begin to communicate through that frustration, you discover that your feelings maybe were misplaced. 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:09.480 Your emotions will betray you. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:15.579 How you feel at any given day may not be very close to the Lord. 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:18.459 Doesn't mean that he's forsaken you. 00:24:19.139 --> 00:24:20.240 We need to understand that. 00:24:20.879 --> 00:24:22.419 Can I give you a couple of passages for that? 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:24.120 Psalm 37, 25. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:31.120 David again, I have been young, now I'm old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken. 00:24:31.779 --> 00:24:31.980 He said. 00:24:33.080 --> 00:24:36.420 Now we know David saw the righteous persecuted. 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:41.180 David himself was run out of the kingdom at one point. 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:49.720 We know David witnessed faithful people struggle and suffer. 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.200 And yet he still makes this statement. 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:59.580 He still says, out of all my life, I have never, even at one time, seen God forsake the righteous. 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:02.560 How about a New Testament text? 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:06.360 Paul speaking in 2 Corinthians 4. 00:25:06.359 --> 00:25:08.879 We are afflicted in every way. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:10.659 But we're not crushed. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:13.719 We are perplexed. 00:25:14.219 --> 00:25:15.559 Not driven to despair. 00:25:17.719 --> 00:25:18.240 Persecuted. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:20.699 Not forsaken. 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:25.719 You see, forsaken doesn't mean an absence of difficulty. 00:25:25.979 --> 00:25:27.319 It doesn't mean an absence of suffering. 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:31.359 It doesn't mean an absence of hardship. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:38.119 To be forsaken by God in the biblical sins is not to endure trouble. 00:25:38.879 --> 00:25:43.759 It is to face his eternal wrath for your sin. 00:25:44.719 --> 00:25:47.219 That's what it means to be forsaken in the Bible. 00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:54.899 The context of this psalm, the oppressed are not forsaken, though they are genuinely afflicted. 00:25:54.900 --> 00:26:01.440 However, the oppressors are ultimately forsaken by God. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:03.560 Sentenced to death. 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:05.300 Eternal death. 00:26:07.600 --> 00:26:11.240 But there's another one who was forsaken by God that we have to note. 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:14.860 Mark chapter 15, verse 34. 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:19.620 At the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice. 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:23.000 Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:30.979 Which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:39.979 Jesus doesn't cry to the Father that he's forsaken because things were hard at the moment. 00:26:41.639 --> 00:26:45.139 Jesus dealt with hardship as you and I deal with hardship. 00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:57.280 Jesus cries that he's forsaken because in that moment, he experienced what we deserve to be experiencing for all of eternity. 00:26:58.259 --> 00:26:59.800 Cut off from God. 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:02.120 Judged by him. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:06.259 Enduring his wrath on the cross. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:12.240 Jesus experiences the fullness of what it means to be forsaken by God the Father. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:17.960 Peter says, though he committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:21.700 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:24.700 That we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:27.859 By his wounds, we are healed. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:33.559 He was forsaken so that we could be accepted. 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:40.440 Then God raised him from the dead. 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:41.980 But why? 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.860 So that we would know that what Christ did on the cross was sufficient. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:51.500 That it appeased God's wrath. 00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:55.400 It properly propitiated, if you want to use a New Testament word. 00:27:55.640 --> 00:28:01.039 It properly, eternally, sufficiently propitiated God's wrath. 00:28:01.120 --> 00:28:05.000 So that all who are in Christ will never be forsaken. 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:06.700 Never. 00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:06.819 Never. 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:09.620 We talked about it in Sunday school this morning. 00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:14.819 There's this amazing thing in the New Testament gospel that when a person comes to faith in Christ, 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:16.539 that is a work of the Holy Spirit. 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:19.920 And then the Spirit of God then indwells that believer. 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:23.660 And once he takes up residence, he doesn't leave. 00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:26.519 You're secure. 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:28.840 Guaranteed. 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:30.880 What Christ has done is sufficient. 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:35.780 Those who are in him will never be forsaken. 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:39.360 They will never face the wrath of God. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:47.079 And it's based on these affirmations of verses 9 and 10 that David continues to command in the very next verses 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:52.299 that those who indeed know the Lord should sing their praise to him. 00:28:52.419 --> 00:28:56.639 That they should tell among the peoples his deeds. 00:28:57.939 --> 00:28:59.479 So follow the progression here. 00:28:59.939 --> 00:29:01.240 God is a stronghold. 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:02.679 That's who he is. 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:06.380 That's how he reveals himself to be as a saving God. 00:29:06.680 --> 00:29:11.640 And then those who have experienced his saving power and presence continue to trust him. 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:14.480 Even when they feel forsaken. 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:18.299 And then they sing his praise. 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:21.740 They declare his deeds to others. 00:29:22.259 --> 00:29:22.620 Why? 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:25.680 So that others may know God. 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:30.620 So that they might take refuge in him as well. 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:38.139 And then those same believers run to that stronghold every single day. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:40.699 Again and again and again. 00:29:41.139 --> 00:29:42.419 Running in affliction. 00:29:44.919 --> 00:29:48.759 To the stronghold that our Savior and our God is. 00:29:49.899 --> 00:29:51.399 Alright, that's at the heart of the psalm. 00:29:52.179 --> 00:29:52.719 Second thing. 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:59.939 Knowing God leads to passionately praising God. 00:30:01.419 --> 00:30:02.599 Passionately praising God. 00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:05.759 Let's read the first eight verses again. 00:30:06.119 --> 00:30:08.119 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:10.579 I will recount all your wonderful deeds. 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:12.959 I will be glad and exult in you. 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:15.679 I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:19.919 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence. 00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:22.159 For you have maintained my just cause. 00:30:22.239 --> 00:30:25.339 You have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:25.539 Amen. 00:30:26.139 --> 00:30:27.439 You've rebuked the nations. 00:30:27.439 --> 00:30:29.099 You've made the wicked perish. 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:31.099 You have blotted out their name forever and ever. 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:34.439 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins. 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:36.339 Their cities you rooted out. 00:30:36.439 --> 00:30:38.179 The very memory of them has perished. 00:30:38.879 --> 00:30:40.959 But the Lord sits enthroned forever. 00:30:41.679 --> 00:30:43.759 He has established his throne for justice. 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:46.139 And he judges the world with righteousness. 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:49.000 He judges the peoples with uprightness. 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:57.920 Now, after spending so many times in psalms of lament to start this series, it's wonderful to come to a psalm of praise, isn't it? 00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:02.440 There's three phases to this praise. 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:06.220 Notice first the I will statements of verses 1 and 2. 00:31:07.100 --> 00:31:07.700 First person. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:11.640 I will give thanks to the Lord, my whole heart. 00:31:11.840 --> 00:31:14.039 I will recount all your wonderful deeds. 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:16.060 I will be glad and exult in you. 00:31:16.300 --> 00:31:19.180 I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:21.880 There's nothing superficial here. 00:31:22.180 --> 00:31:25.420 There's nothing mundane about this praise. 00:31:25.420 --> 00:31:33.259 With his whole heart, David says, all of his focus, all of his affection, he offers his thanksgiving to the Lord. 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:37.380 Is that how your thanksgiving is to the Lord? 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:48.600 Could you say to the Lord, seriously, with my whole heart, with everything that I am, 00:31:49.340 --> 00:31:54.220 with all of my affection, I offer my thanksgiving to you, Lord? 00:31:55.420 --> 00:31:57.779 If you don't know him, you could never do that. 00:31:58.060 --> 00:32:01.080 You can't offer your full affection to a Lord that you don't know. 00:32:05.580 --> 00:32:10.580 Even in the service this morning, what's the nature of your praise? 00:32:10.579 --> 00:32:18.139 The one hymn that we sing so often, tune my heart to sing your praise. 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:21.059 There's a divine tuning that takes place there. 00:32:22.399 --> 00:32:23.639 Prepares us for worship. 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:30.539 You in sync with the Spirit this morning as you sing your praise, as you sing how marvelous, how wonderful, 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:36.379 and my song will ever be, how marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. 00:32:36.380 --> 00:32:40.620 And in response to that, you offer your full affection to him. 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:49.240 The content of his thanksgiving is the recounting of all God's wonderful deeds. 00:32:50.340 --> 00:32:56.300 As the other song says, David counted his blessings, naming them one by one. 00:32:57.160 --> 00:33:00.760 Counting his blessings to see what God has done. 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:05.940 When's the last time you recounted all of God's deeds and praise to him? 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:09.920 Then David's glad. 00:33:10.099 --> 00:33:13.140 He takes pleasure in singing praise to God. 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:14.180 I will be glad. 00:33:14.539 --> 00:33:15.799 I will exult. 00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:21.160 That means that in his praise, he's the one that experiences joy. 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:23.099 He exults. 00:33:23.619 --> 00:33:25.440 It brings him joy to give God glory. 00:33:26.299 --> 00:33:27.319 Sing praise there. 00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:29.619 In verse 2, it's the same word for some. 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:33.639 Literally, David says, I will psalm the name of God. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:41.199 I think this indicates the importance and significance of hymnody and psalmody and song 00:33:41.199 --> 00:33:43.500 in our personal and in our corporate worship. 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:44.879 That's what's happening here. 00:33:45.139 --> 00:33:47.319 All right, then there's a second phase to the praise. 00:33:48.219 --> 00:33:53.139 Notice now it moves from first person to second person in verses 3 through 6. 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:54.859 Notice all the you have statements. 00:33:55.619 --> 00:33:58.639 Verse 4, you have maintained my just cause. 00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:02.280 Again in 4, you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. 00:34:02.620 --> 00:34:04.580 Verse 5, you've rebuked the nations. 00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:06.300 You've made the wicked perish. 00:34:06.820 --> 00:34:08.900 You've blotted out their name forever and ever. 00:34:09.180 --> 00:34:10.940 Verse 6, you rooted out their cities. 00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:14.260 David recounts the wonderful deeds of the Lord. 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:17.800 And he directs that praise to the Lord. 00:34:17.800 --> 00:34:19.940 You have done this. 00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:23.440 I praise you for you have done these things. 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:30.780 Grammatically, theologians label these you have statements as what's called prophetic perfects, 00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:33.240 which means they're presented in the past tense, 00:34:33.780 --> 00:34:37.240 but they refer to something that awaits a future fulfillment. 00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:46.039 So confident is David in God's ultimate judgment of the nations and deliverance of the righteous 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:50.339 that he speaks of the final judgment here as if it's already happened. 00:34:50.340 --> 00:34:54.000 And he lifts his praise to the Lord. 00:34:54.220 --> 00:34:57.240 Third phase is found in verses 7 and 8. 00:34:57.700 --> 00:35:00.059 He's first person in the first two verses. 00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:01.320 Then he's second person. 00:35:01.420 --> 00:35:02.800 He directs it to the Lord you have. 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:05.640 And then in this third phase, he goes to third person. 00:35:06.059 --> 00:35:08.300 He now addresses the listener. 00:35:09.300 --> 00:35:13.860 Notice the he has statements or things that would relate to that. 00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:17.280 Verse 7, the Lord sits enthroned forever. 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:20.860 However, he has established the throne for justice. 00:35:21.260 --> 00:35:22.540 He judges the world. 00:35:22.860 --> 00:35:26.340 He judges the peoples with righteousness and uprightness. 00:35:26.740 --> 00:35:33.880 The purpose of this praise is first to issue a warning to those who persist in sin. 00:35:34.980 --> 00:35:36.120 That judgment is coming. 00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:46.000 And then it's to encourage those who seek the Lord regarding the fact that judgment's coming. 00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:49.140 And for us, it will be a pleasant day, will it? 00:35:50.360 --> 00:35:51.019 Joyful day. 00:35:52.380 --> 00:35:57.760 David's praise then, it's both evangelistic and edifying, as all of our public praise should be. 00:35:59.780 --> 00:36:06.640 As you go through your days, your word should echo your praise so that sinners will be warned and Christians will be edified. 00:36:08.060 --> 00:36:09.900 And what's at the heart of this praise? 00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:13.320 That God is a stronghold for the oppressed. 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:16.460 And that he does not forsake those who know his name. 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:23.460 Finally, knowing God leads to fervently praying to God. 00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:27.760 Knowing God leads to fervently praying to God. 00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:29.519 Verses 13 to 20. 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:31.099 Be gracious to me, O Lord. 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:34.119 See my affliction from those who hate me. 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:39.360 O you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises. 00:36:40.099 --> 00:36:43.800 That in the gates of the daughter of Zion, I may rejoice in your salvation. 00:36:44.820 --> 00:36:47.139 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made. 00:36:47.219 --> 00:36:50.440 In the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. 00:36:51.139 --> 00:36:52.699 The Lord has made himself known. 00:36:52.780 --> 00:36:53.940 He's executed judgment. 00:36:54.139 --> 00:36:56.820 The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. 00:36:56.820 --> 00:37:01.000 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. 00:37:01.620 --> 00:37:03.640 For the needy shall not always be forgotten. 00:37:04.400 --> 00:37:07.240 The hope of the poor shall not perish forever. 00:37:08.420 --> 00:37:10.320 Arise, O Lord, let not men prevail. 00:37:11.240 --> 00:37:12.940 Let the nations be judged before you. 00:37:13.019 --> 00:37:14.200 Put them in fear, O Lord. 00:37:14.980 --> 00:37:17.620 Let the nations know that they are but me. 00:37:18.600 --> 00:37:20.500 So here David transitions. 00:37:20.680 --> 00:37:22.539 He's transitioning from praise to prayer. 00:37:22.539 --> 00:37:30.900 His confidence that God will do these things does not prevent him from still asking God to do it. 00:37:31.759 --> 00:37:35.559 You see, in the first part, he's confident. 00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:36.940 This is faith. 00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:42.519 He believes wholeheartedly that God will do these things that he has promised to do. 00:37:42.779 --> 00:37:44.960 And yet, when we get to the second half of the psalm, what does he do? 00:37:45.139 --> 00:37:46.539 He still asks for God to do it. 00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:50.159 I think this is a helpful model for us, isn't it? 00:37:50.159 --> 00:37:55.079 Notice how these stanzas now parallel the earlier ones. 00:37:56.659 --> 00:38:03.420 Because David knows God to be forever enthroned in righteousness, which he says in verses 7 and 8, 00:38:03.659 --> 00:38:08.420 because of that, he asks now for God to treat him graciously, 00:38:08.899 --> 00:38:13.739 to see his affliction, and to judge his enemies in verses 13 and 14. 00:38:13.739 --> 00:38:18.779 Because of what he believes God to be in 7 and 8, 00:38:19.439 --> 00:38:22.759 he pleads with God according to that in verses 13 and 14. 00:38:23.399 --> 00:38:27.659 He pleads to God as the righteous judge, even his own judge. 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:30.379 And notice how it's filled with faith. 00:38:31.839 --> 00:38:35.539 David knows that the gates of death cannot keep him from the gates of Zion, 00:38:35.939 --> 00:38:40.719 so long as the righteous judge brings his grace and mercy. 00:38:40.719 --> 00:38:46.179 He expects to receive God's salvation because of God's promises. 00:38:46.179 --> 00:38:52.219 He anticipates rejoicing in God's salvation before the throne of God. 00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:53.039 Amazing. 00:38:54.819 --> 00:39:02.980 The prophetic perfects of verses 3-6 are echoed in David's prayer for judgment against the wicked 00:39:02.980 --> 00:39:05.419 in verses 15-18. 00:39:05.420 --> 00:39:12.480 Because he believes wholeheartedly that God will judge the wicked, that he will judge sinners, 00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:17.639 he prays for God to then do that, to judge righteously in the second part. 00:39:18.039 --> 00:39:18.820 You see how they go together? 00:39:20.900 --> 00:39:26.099 And like in Psalm 7, he rehearses both a present and future element of their judgment. 00:39:26.099 --> 00:39:32.900 The Lord has made himself known as the nations have been betrayed by their own devices. 00:39:33.259 --> 00:39:35.679 They have been entangled in their own nets. 00:39:35.779 --> 00:39:36.960 That's the doing of God. 00:39:39.239 --> 00:39:42.239 But David also recognizes a final judgment, 00:39:43.279 --> 00:39:47.779 affirming that those who forget God as opposed to seeking God 00:39:47.779 --> 00:39:50.819 will return to Sheol. 00:39:51.239 --> 00:39:53.339 They will perish forever. 00:39:53.340 --> 00:39:59.420 However, there's coming a day when all oppression will totally cease. 00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:05.120 For God will cast all the wicked into eternal hell. 00:40:07.100 --> 00:40:09.380 Now on one hand, that should sorrow us. 00:40:11.420 --> 00:40:15.480 It should also thrill us. 00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:18.500 Because it means righteousness has been carried out. 00:40:19.059 --> 00:40:20.500 It means that our God is righteous. 00:40:20.500 --> 00:40:25.920 Finally, the summary plea of verses 19 and 20, 00:40:26.019 --> 00:40:29.260 they link to the opening declaration of praise in verses 1 and 2. 00:40:30.579 --> 00:40:34.380 The judgment of the Lord against the nations amounts to the wonderful deeds 00:40:34.380 --> 00:40:36.820 that David and all believers will recount in eternity. 00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.679 David's confident praise, it doesn't preclude his fervent prayer. 00:40:43.139 --> 00:40:47.780 Both elements of worship and devotion must be present in each of us who knows the Lord. 00:40:47.780 --> 00:40:52.220 We know that Jesus will return in power. 00:40:53.360 --> 00:40:56.540 And we still pray, Lord, come quickly. 00:40:58.740 --> 00:41:03.480 We know that God will save all who belong to him in eternity past. 00:41:03.560 --> 00:41:07.760 And we should plead with him to bring salvation to more people around us. 00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:12.060 We know that God is good and right in all that he does. 00:41:12.120 --> 00:41:17.160 And we should fervently pray that he continues to be good and right in all that he does. 00:41:17.620 --> 00:41:18.020 Praise. 00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:19.480 Prayer. 00:41:20.640 --> 00:41:22.000 All centered on what? 00:41:23.060 --> 00:41:25.700 That those who know the Lord put their trust in him. 00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:28.480 For he has a stronghold for the oppressed. 00:41:28.480 --> 00:41:34.280 And he will not ever forsake those who seek him.