WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.740 Kids are really inquisitive, right? They hit the stage where they ask why for everything. 00:00:04.419 --> 00:00:10.320 I'm like, why should I eat broccoli? Because it's good for you. Why? Because, you know, 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:17.839 it has lots of nutrients. Why? Et cetera, et cetera, right? And I was saying to my friend how 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:25.019 like without God, the ultimate why for me would probably be because I said so, right? 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:31.019 Right? Because I don't know. I don't have any other reason apart from that. But that's 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:37.700 very shaky foundation, right? To have an answer for why because that ultimately depends on 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:45.840 whoever's talking. But with God, the why ultimately boils down to who God is and what he wants and 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:52.219 what he's done. And so I was telling my friend, you know, that's what I would tell my kids when 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:56.839 I explain the ultimate why. And for us as Christians, when we come to God in prayer, 00:00:57.019 --> 00:01:03.939 our ultimate why is Jesus. He's our ultimate foundation for why God should do something for 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:10.859 us. When we ask God to help us, to provide for us, to save us. And if God were to ask us, 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:17.099 why should I help you? Why should I provide for you? We can confidently answer because of Jesus 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:22.079 because of Christ, who he is and what he's done. And the Psalms are full of cries to God for help. 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:29.760 We've been reading a lot in 119 and just throughout the Psalms. But, you know, as we read these things, 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:36.859 we can remind ourselves that it's ultimately Christ who is our foundation for why God should 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:42.500 answer our cries. So let's dive into this passage. We see three actors here or like, you know, people 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:48.640 mentioned, people moving in this passage. There's God, the psalmist, and the wicked. So God is the one to 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:56.739 whom the psalmist is appealing. God is great in mercy. That's in verse 156. 159, God gives steadfast 00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:04.700 love. Verse 160, God is righteous in his rules. So this is who God is. And the psalmist is appealing 00:02:04.700 --> 00:02:09.520 to that. So that's one person here. Another person is the psalmist himself who's crying out to God 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:18.640 to deliver me. That's verse 153. Give me life. That comes up in multiple spots. 154, 156, 159. 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:24.980 The psalmist doesn't forget God's law and he does not swerve from God's testimonies. He loves God's 00:02:24.980 --> 00:02:31.540 precepts. And this is unlike the third actor here, the wicked. The wicked don't seek God's statutes. 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:38.019 They don't keep God's commands. They don't care about God at all. And the psalmist says that he looks 00:02:38.019 --> 00:02:47.759 upon them with disgust. Not that the psalmist is without sin. He appeals to God that in his mercy, 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:55.500 God will give him life. That God would see that the psalmist is genuine and earnest in pursuing God. So, 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:00.319 you know, when the psalmist is saying, like, look upon him, it's not so much because I'm perfect, 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:06.139 right? But because he's genuine in heart. It reminds me of a couple places in scripture. One 00:03:06.139 --> 00:03:11.859 is in Luke 18, where it's the parable of the persistent widow. And she's going after that 00:03:11.859 --> 00:03:19.639 unjust judge for justice. And she keeps, she's just like persistently pursuing him, right? That 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:26.359 shows her earnestness. There's also Genesis 32. If you guys remember the story of when Jacob wrestles 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:32.280 with God, God appears to him before Jacob sees his brother Esau and he's afraid of meeting him. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:39.820 And before God goes, Jacob holds onto God and says, I will not let you go unless you bless me, 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:46.020 right? Which is a pretty bold thing to say to God. And Jacob's saying, like, you have to give this to 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:51.100 me, right? I'm asking you for this. I won't let you go. And the psalmist says the same thing, 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:59.060 right? Like, please, please give me life. He keeps repeating it. So I think about, like, that ask, 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:05.379 what did the, what did the psalmist want when he asked for this? I mean, what do we think he asked 00:04:05.379 --> 00:04:14.599 when he thought about giving him life, right? And we can ask ourselves that too. Like, what do we think 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:21.279 of when we think of life? If we're to ask God, give me life. One definition is found in John chapter 17, 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:28.879 verse 3. It says, and this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:37.480 whom you have sent. So we find, find life in knowing God. And we're reminded that this life is only possible 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:44.879 because Jesus' life was taken away. Verse 157 says, many are my persecutors and my adversaries, 00:04:45.020 --> 00:04:50.259 but I do not swerve from your testimonies. We've been going through Luke, and we remember easily 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:57.220 Jesus came across the Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers who despised him, mocked him, Pontius Pilate, 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:03.420 who didn't care about him. They were all against Jesus, but Jesus didn't turn, he didn't run, 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:10.740 but he stayed true to God's plans for him. Verse 158 says, I look to faithless with disgust. The 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:15.860 psalmist is saying this about the wicked, but we also know that God looked on Jesus with disgust 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:25.800 because of our disgust and sins. So yeah, it's because of Jesus. God doesn't see my mistakes, 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:33.340 my rebellion against him. When he looks upon me, I'm forgiven. We're forgiven because of Christ. 00:05:33.339 --> 00:05:39.419 Christ's righteousness because it belongs to us. So, you know, we're about to come to prayer, 00:05:39.859 --> 00:05:45.519 come to God in prayer. Why should God listen to us? Why should God listen to me? It's because 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:53.179 Christ is perfect. He's righteous. Jesus deserves God's blessing, and we belong to Christ, so we 00:05:53.179 --> 00:05:57.819 deserve God's blessing in him. Why should God have compassion upon me when I'm miserable? 00:05:57.819 --> 00:06:05.079 It's because Jesus has made peace between us and God, between me and God, and I have access to God's 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:11.980 heart of mercy. Why should he give me life? Because Jesus came to give life abundantly, 00:06:12.819 --> 00:06:20.079 and I cling to Christ. So as I think about application, a few questions that came to mind are, 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:28.399 what are some things that your heart desires right now? So what are some of the desires of your heart? 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:33.219 What are ways that you're crying out to God to give you life? 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:41.759 And then, as you think about that, you know, one thing we can do is examine our hearts to ask if 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.219 we're defining life the same way that God is defining it, 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:52.520 and see if our desires are good and right and wise. And if they are, if we find that our desires are 00:06:52.520 --> 00:06:58.060 within God's will, we can stand upon Christ. We can go to God and give him no rest until he gives it 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:05.600 to us, just like Jacob, and until he blesses us and gives us the desires of our hearts. So with that, 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:09.000 let's sing a song, and let's pray. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:11.379 Yeah.