WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.220 Psalm 54, I will read it out loud. 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:10.320 To the choir master with stringed instruments, 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:15.040 a maskill of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:17.359 is not David hiding among us? 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:23.179 O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might. 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:28.320 O God, hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.480 For strangers have risen against me. 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:33.200 Ruthless men seek my life. 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:36.200 They do not set God before themselves. 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:37.159 Selah. 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:41.000 Behold, God is my helper. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:43.880 The Lord is the upholder of my life. 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:46.760 He will return the evil to my enemies. 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:49.960 In your faithfulness, put an end to them. 00:00:51.400 --> 00:00:54.400 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:58.399 I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. 00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:01.600 For he has delivered me from every trouble. 00:01:02.199 --> 00:01:05.400 And my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. 00:01:07.299 --> 00:01:09.799 So the title of our psalm says, 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:11.739 To the choir master with stringed instruments, 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:14.599 maskill of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:16.180 is not David hiding among us? 00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:21.659 So this is a reference to the story told in 1 Samuel 23, 15 to 29. 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:25.780 And so David was basically a man who couldn't catch a break. 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:28.539 He's being pursued. 00:01:29.179 --> 00:01:33.140 He's really close to being killed by King Saul. 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:36.259 And he's hiding in Ziph. 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.539 And while he's hiding in the wilderness of Ziph, 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:42.459 the Ziphites, who has nothing to do with him, 00:01:42.539 --> 00:01:44.199 like, I mean, what did I ever do to you, Ziphites? 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:46.199 They go and tell King Saul, like, 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:47.920 Hey, David's hiding among us. 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:48.519 Come and get him. 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:58.819 And so it's in that state that David maybe pens the psalm 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:00.299 or prays the psalm out loud, 00:02:00.399 --> 00:02:02.859 and then later he records it at some point. 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:05.799 And so that's the back story. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:09.240 And you could tell David is, you know, wary. 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:12.560 You know, his men, along with him, 00:02:12.700 --> 00:02:18.320 are probably, you know, tired and maybe just haggard 00:02:18.320 --> 00:02:19.939 from all the fleeing and hiding. 00:02:20.420 --> 00:02:22.379 And now they have to be on the road again, 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:25.480 fleeing from Saul because of the Ziphites. 00:02:26.140 --> 00:02:29.260 And so it is at this point he writes this psalm 00:02:29.260 --> 00:02:32.620 in order to teach us that, or to really remind himself as well, 00:02:32.660 --> 00:02:34.780 that those who look to God for deliverance 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:37.260 will look in triumph on their enemies. 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:39.859 So that's really the main point of the psalm, Psalm 54, 00:02:40.679 --> 00:02:43.099 and that those who look to God for deliverance 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:44.859 will look in triumph on their enemies. 00:02:45.379 --> 00:02:48.539 And so first we see in verses 1 to 3 his cry to God, 00:02:48.939 --> 00:02:51.639 and in verses 4 to 5 his confidence in God. 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:55.199 And then in verses 6 to 7 we see his confession of God, 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:56.359 his future confession of God. 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:01.000 And so in verse 1, first David cries out to God. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:01.959 He's cried to God. 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:05.099 He says, O God, save me by your name 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:07.980 and vindicate me by your might. 00:03:08.140 --> 00:03:12.240 So he invokes in his prayer God's name and God's might, right? 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:16.219 So by calling on God to save him by his name, 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:19.920 so David's really referring to God's entire person and character, 00:03:20.040 --> 00:03:21.860 which is what the name represents. 00:03:22.700 --> 00:03:25.400 And so he's basically calling upon his character and saying, 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:27.120 God, you are the almighty God. 00:03:27.219 --> 00:03:28.620 You are the creating God. 00:03:28.620 --> 00:03:31.439 You are the Lord of all the earth. 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:35.719 You have been steadfast in your love and your faithfulness toward me. 00:03:35.780 --> 00:03:37.819 So God, by your name, save me. 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:39.180 So be who you are. 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:42.500 Be who you say you are in your name and save me. 00:03:42.539 --> 00:03:43.099 That's what he's saying. 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:47.560 And then similarly, David calls upon God to vindicate him by his might. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:51.900 And so the word vindicate, if we were to translate it more literally, 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:52.879 just means judge. 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:54.900 So he's asking God to judge. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:56.680 So not only is he calling upon God's character, 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:58.920 he's saying, God, you are the judge of all the earth. 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:03.300 So I am in the right and these people are pursuing me and they're in the wrong. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:07.560 So judge rightly in this situation and vindicate me, save me. 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:14.120 And so the reason he prays this way is because he recognizes that in this flight, 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:16.480 it's not just his life that's at stake, 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:20.220 but it's God's own glory and reputation and name that's at stake. 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:22.560 And so he prays on the basis of those things. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:26.560 And then having cried out to God on the basis of his character, 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:30.259 David cries out in a more personal way in verse 2, 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:32.540 Oh God, hear my prayer. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.220 Give ear to the words of my mouth. 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:39.579 And the anthropomorphism here. 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:42.899 The pipes. 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:43.160 Okay. 00:04:43.459 --> 00:04:43.620 Yeah. 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:43.800 Yeah. 00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:48.860 That's very distracting. 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:50.280 It's okay. 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:52.480 So the anthropomorphism, 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.939 just attributing human characteristics to something that's not human, right? 00:04:56.980 --> 00:04:58.360 So God is not human, 00:04:58.840 --> 00:04:59.819 but it's almost, 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:01.400 he uses human terms, 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:05.080 he refers to God's ear as if he has an ear like us. 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:09.460 And that really makes the prayer feel much more intimate and personal, right? 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:09.759 He says, 00:05:09.840 --> 00:05:10.139 Oh God, 00:05:10.280 --> 00:05:12.819 give ear to my words of my mouth, 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:13.939 to the words of my mouth. 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:14.300 So it's, 00:05:14.719 --> 00:05:18.219 David's not relating to God abstractly as this distant deity, 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:24.100 but he's relating to him personally and concretely as someone that's with him and hears him. 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:24.540 So God, 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:25.639 I know you're there. 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:27.500 So don't turn a deaf ear to me. 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:30.920 Turn your ear to me and hear the words that I'm speaking to you now. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:32.800 So he's relating to him in very personal terms. 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:34.819 And then in verse 3, 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:36.620 David brings together verses 1 and 2, 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.959 that kind of basis prayer on the basis of God's character, 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:41.060 and then prayer based on his personal plea. 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:43.680 For strangers have risen against me. 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:45.319 Ruthless men seek my life. 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:48.199 They do not set God before themselves. 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:49.019 Selah. 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:53.100 So these wicked men seeking David's life, 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:58.319 that's connected to the fact that they have not set God before themselves. 00:05:58.459 --> 00:05:59.079 So once again, 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:01.939 it's God's glory and name that's at stake here, 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.500 not just David's personal skin. 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:05.639 And so, 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:11.220 and David's heartfelt cry to God here in this two verses is instructive for us, 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:15.139 because when we cry out to God for deliverance in all of our situations, 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:16.360 the troubles that we face, 00:06:16.420 --> 00:06:17.600 the temptations that we face, 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:18.920 the problems that we face, 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:21.560 when we bring our request to God in prayer, 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:25.500 we have to recognize that we need to seek God's will in the midst of it, 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:25.720 right? 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:27.540 That's how Jesus taught us to pray, 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:27.819 right? 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:29.740 It's our Father in heaven, 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:31.220 hallowed be your name, 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:32.840 your kingdom come, 00:06:32.960 --> 00:06:35.000 your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:38.780 And so it's our prayers as we come to him have to be aligned with his will, 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:39.819 as David's doing here. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:40.939 It's about his name. 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:41.379 It's about, 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:42.960 it's about people who are pursuing him, 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:43.120 whose, 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:43.860 who are, 00:06:44.019 --> 00:06:45.639 whose lives are not set before God. 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:48.960 Our cry to God has to be aligned with the will of God. 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:53.000 And it's only then that we can have confidence in God, 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:54.780 which is what we see in verses four to five. 00:06:55.280 --> 00:06:57.300 Notice the future tense in verse five, 00:06:57.300 --> 00:06:59.480 the deliverance for David hasn't come yet. 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:00.680 But even then, 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.180 even though that hasn't come yet in faith, 00:07:03.340 --> 00:07:04.920 David expresses his confidence. 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:05.980 He says, 00:07:06.379 --> 00:07:06.939 behold, 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:08.720 God is my helper. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:11.680 The Lord is the upholder of my life. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.939 He will return the evil to my enemies in your faithfulness, 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:17.480 put an end to them. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.980 So there's a repetition of the word life here that beautifully contrast the Lord 00:07:22.980 --> 00:07:23.860 with David's enemies, 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:25.400 because in verse three, 00:07:25.400 --> 00:07:25.920 David said, 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:28.259 the ruthless men seek my life. 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:34.240 But David assured that the Lord is the upholder of his life. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:40.819 So that should give us tremendous confidence and hope in our day to day, 00:07:40.900 --> 00:07:41.480 because the word, 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:42.879 and the word Lord, 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:44.620 notice here is not in caps, 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.840 which means it's not the proper name of God, 00:07:46.900 --> 00:07:49.160 but it's the word that means Lord or master, 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:49.860 right? 00:07:49.900 --> 00:07:53.720 So when people in our lives seek to do us harm, 00:07:53.819 --> 00:07:56.000 then we can remember from this Psalm that God, 00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:56.699 that our Lord, 00:07:56.780 --> 00:07:58.879 our master is seeking to heal, 00:07:58.980 --> 00:07:59.579 not harm, 00:07:59.579 --> 00:07:59.859 right? 00:08:00.219 --> 00:08:04.379 When the circumstances of our lives seem to conspire against us for evil, 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:06.419 we can remember that our master, 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.019 our Lord seeks our good, 00:08:08.539 --> 00:08:08.659 right? 00:08:08.659 --> 00:08:11.279 And when everything around us seems to bring us down, 00:08:11.539 --> 00:08:13.099 we can remember that our master, 00:08:13.219 --> 00:08:14.879 our Lord is lifting us up, 00:08:15.039 --> 00:08:15.159 right? 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.099 He's the upholder of our lives. 00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:23.040 And nowadays it's the people are so sensitive about being, 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:23.600 you know, 00:08:23.640 --> 00:08:24.360 politically correct. 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:24.820 And that, 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.240 that the sentiment that's expressed in verse five, 00:08:27.520 --> 00:08:27.960 uh, 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:29.800 makes some Christians a little queasy. 00:08:30.140 --> 00:08:30.640 You know, 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:30.900 it says, 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.639 he will return the evil to my enemies in your faithfulness, 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:35.700 put an end to them, 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:35.899 right? 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:36.340 It's pretty, 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:36.639 uh, 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:37.940 forceful language. 00:08:38.540 --> 00:08:39.399 And it's true. 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:40.759 Sometimes people will ask Christians, 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:40.899 well, 00:08:40.920 --> 00:08:41.060 like, 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:42.840 didn't Jesus teach us to love our enemies, 00:08:43.040 --> 00:08:43.300 right? 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:43.960 I mean, 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:45.360 didn't he tell us to turn, 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:46.019 uh, 00:08:46.019 --> 00:08:46.820 the other cheek, 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:47.580 right? 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:49.160 And to pray for those who persecute us. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:50.379 And these things are all true. 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:52.139 Jesus did teach us, 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:53.460 us to love our enemies, 00:08:53.460 --> 00:08:56.620 but that doesn't mean that God won't judge the wicked, 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:57.060 right? 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:00.080 That God will avenge his people at some, 00:09:00.180 --> 00:09:01.300 at some point of the day. 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:02.060 And, 00:09:02.160 --> 00:09:02.540 and it's, 00:09:02.540 --> 00:09:04.280 that's the scripture teaches that, 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:04.420 right? 00:09:04.420 --> 00:09:04.960 Romans 12, 00:09:05.020 --> 00:09:05.480 19 says, 00:09:05.560 --> 00:09:05.900 behold, 00:09:06.060 --> 00:09:07.320 never avenge yourselves, 00:09:07.460 --> 00:09:09.700 but leave it to the wrath of God for it is written. 00:09:09.900 --> 00:09:10.980 Vengeance is mine. 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:12.060 I will repay, 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:12.740 says the Lord. 00:09:13.180 --> 00:09:16.840 And remember that David's not here merely seeking his own selfish, 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:17.259 you know, 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:18.120 well-being, 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:21.560 but he's seeking God's glory and name and reputation in this as well. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:23.720 And so when we recognize that, 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:24.300 then we, 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:24.840 that this, 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:25.740 his prayer is, 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:30.320 his forceful prayer for the judgment of his enemies makes more sense because God's, 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:32.660 is the one who avenges his people and, 00:09:32.660 --> 00:09:32.879 and, 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:33.840 and protects, 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:34.780 uh, 00:09:34.780 --> 00:09:35.440 his glory. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:38.820 And we also need to recognize that whenever we pray for justice, 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:39.100 right? 00:09:39.160 --> 00:09:40.580 There's always two sides involved, 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:40.920 right? 00:09:41.040 --> 00:09:41.240 I mean, 00:09:41.300 --> 00:09:41.880 there's a, 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:42.180 uh, 00:09:42.180 --> 00:09:46.160 justice will affect both the victim of injustice and the perpetrators of injustice, 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:46.540 right? 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:46.940 So when, 00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:47.620 uh, 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:48.320 in order for, 00:09:48.400 --> 00:09:48.640 you know, 00:09:48.640 --> 00:09:49.940 sexual abuse to stop, 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:50.280 right? 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:50.900 It's the, 00:09:50.900 --> 00:09:52.060 the abusers, 00:09:52.060 --> 00:09:52.460 uh, 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:54.180 need to be caught and jailed, 00:09:54.180 --> 00:09:54.380 right? 00:09:54.380 --> 00:09:57.060 In order for the human trafficking to stop, 00:09:57.220 --> 00:09:57.360 right? 00:09:57.480 --> 00:09:57.700 The, 00:09:57.700 --> 00:09:58.220 the, 00:09:58.220 --> 00:09:58.740 you know, 00:09:58.780 --> 00:10:02.440 the kidnappers and traffickers and slave owners need to be punished, 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:02.780 right? 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:06.539 So when David simply making explicit in his prayer, 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:09.480 what we implicitly pray for whenever we pray for justice, 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:12.480 because there can be no justice apart from judgment of the wicked, 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:12.759 right? 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:13.199 So it's, 00:10:13.199 --> 00:10:13.439 it's, 00:10:13.439 --> 00:10:13.779 he's, 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:14.519 so those things, 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:15.839 two things go hand in hand. 00:10:16.199 --> 00:10:18.839 We can't let our compassion for sinners, 00:10:18.839 --> 00:10:19.539 uh, 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:21.139 lead us to condone sin, 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:21.480 right? 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:21.959 So here, 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:22.720 uh, 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:25.779 so there is rightness to David's prayer and calling for God's vengeance. 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:27.740 So he expresses his confidence in God. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:29.600 And having done that, 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:31.220 he turns to the final phase of his prayer, 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:32.539 verses six to seven, 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:33.279 uh, 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:36.480 where he anticipates his future confession of God. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:37.240 Uh, 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:38.220 verses six to seven, 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:38.439 it says, 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:39.879 with a free will offering, 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:41.339 I will sacrifice to you. 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:43.159 I will give thanks to your name, 00:10:43.199 --> 00:10:43.480 O Lord, 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:44.559 for it is good, 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:50.120 for he has delivered me from every trouble and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:55.579 So those who look to God for deliverance will look on their enemies in triumph. 00:10:56.199 --> 00:10:56.559 Uh, 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:01.279 and David knows that God will answer his prayer and that he will in turn in response, 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:01.899 uh, 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:04.379 worship God and give thanks to his name. 00:11:04.819 --> 00:11:05.519 Oh Lord, 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:06.600 that's his proper name. 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:07.659 That's why it's in caps, 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:08.199 right? 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:09.919 So he's saying that in the future, 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.480 in response to God's faithfulness in answering his prayers, 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:15.519 they will confess his name because it is good. 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:16.539 Uh, 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:16.819 and, 00:11:16.819 --> 00:11:17.120 uh, 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:22.539 and we know that David's confidence was not unfounded because God did deliver him from Saul, 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:22.860 right? 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:23.799 And God did, 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:24.199 uh, 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:24.879 uh, 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:26.819 make him king over Israel as he promised. 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:28.659 And David did look on triumph, 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:30.059 look in triumph on his enemies. 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:32.000 But that's not the end of the story, 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:32.299 right? 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:33.019 For the Psalm, 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:37.399 because Israel continued to sing the Psalm in their life long after David was dead. 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:42.879 And the church continues to sing the Psalm and to pray the Psalm today because it applies 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:43.679 today, 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.539 even actually even in a fuller sense than it applied for David, 00:11:46.539 --> 00:11:47.279 uh, 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:49.159 because David cried out to God in verse one, 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:50.860 save me by your name. 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:51.779 Uh, 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:52.019 and, 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:55.079 and the Hebrew word there for save is yashe, 00:11:55.199 --> 00:11:58.419 which is the word from which we get the yes, 00:11:58.579 --> 00:11:59.299 yesu, 00:11:59.600 --> 00:11:59.759 right? 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:00.419 Or Jesus. 00:12:00.419 --> 00:12:01.259 That's his name. 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:03.600 And that's why in Matthew 121, 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.600 an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph who was betrothed to Mary. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:07.100 And it says, 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:13.779 she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from 00:12:13.779 --> 00:12:14.399 their sins, 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:15.340 right? 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:18.740 So all the enemies that God's people vanquish in the old Testament, 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:22.920 they all represented and pointed to are the ultimate enemies of the soul, 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:24.580 which Ephesians two talks about it, 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:24.700 right? 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:25.240 The world, 00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:26.399 the flesh and the devil. 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:29.000 And then the passage we will look at, 00:12:29.060 --> 00:12:29.200 right? 00:12:29.300 --> 00:12:30.700 And this coming Sunday, 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:33.759 Ephesians six talks about how our battle, 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:36.080 our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:40.020 but against the rulers and against the authorities and against the cosmic powers over this present 00:12:40.020 --> 00:12:40.440 darkness, 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:43.139 against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:44.840 And likewise, 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:46.379 if the enemies of the old, 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.580 of old pointed to these ultimate enemies, 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:53.080 then all of God's redemptive acts in the old Testament in saving his people also pointed 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:58.180 to and was fulfilled by Christ's ultimate redemption of his people. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:12:59.080 That he is Jesus, 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:02.220 the one who saves us from our sins. 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:04.240 So the main point of the Psalm, 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:06.300 those who look to God for deliverance, 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:08.040 will look in triumph on their enemies, 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:10.080 applies to us in a much richer, 00:13:10.300 --> 00:13:10.720 fuller sense, 00:13:10.800 --> 00:13:13.480 because Jesus lived the perfect life of righteousness, 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:14.980 died for the, 00:13:15.160 --> 00:13:16.460 bear the punishment for our sins, 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:18.340 absorbed the wrath of God, 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:19.399 the justice of God. 00:13:19.660 --> 00:13:22.700 And then he rose again and ascended to the heaven for our vindication, 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:28.220 so that we who have placed our trust in him are united with him in his life, 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.000 in his glory and reign. 00:13:30.520 --> 00:13:34.040 And so that we can rightly say that our enemies have been vanquished, 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:35.020 have been conquered, 00:13:35.400 --> 00:13:36.920 and we can look to Christ for that. 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:40.160 So then the application of that is that when we are, 00:13:40.520 --> 00:13:41.100 you know, 00:13:41.660 --> 00:13:42.740 harassed by the world, 00:13:43.300 --> 00:13:44.879 and everywhere we turn, 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:45.180 right, 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:47.780 the world teems with temptation, 00:13:48.400 --> 00:13:48.600 right, 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:50.600 even though we live in such world, 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:54.639 and all the pressures and influences of this world seek to lead us astray from God, 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:58.000 we could look to Jesus to save us by his name, 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.779 to look to Jesus for deliverance, 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:02.680 and we will look in triumph over those enemies. 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:04.560 And when we live by, 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:07.080 then we will live by his way and not by the ways of this world. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:10.279 And when we're weary from battling our own flesh, 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:10.580 right, 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:12.060 the sinfulness of our own hearts, 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:15.019 when we see in all the good deeds we do, 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:16.480 it's tainted with sin, 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:18.040 and we wrestle with that, 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:21.860 and we wrestle with just the entrenched sinfulness of our lives, 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.139 we look to Jesus for deliverance, 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:26.679 not placing our hope in our own righteousness, 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:27.480 but in him, 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:32.539 and then we can be rest assured that we can look in triumph on our enemies. 00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:34.519 And then finally, 00:14:34.699 --> 00:14:37.000 when we are assailed by Satan and his minions, 00:14:37.459 --> 00:14:39.399 when we fall to their lies, 00:14:39.599 --> 00:14:40.379 their accusations, 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:42.799 telling us that we are not worthy of God, 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:43.959 telling us that we, 00:14:44.579 --> 00:14:46.899 God does not love us or care for us, 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:48.699 that he has neglected us, 00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:50.699 and that's why these things are happening to us, 00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:53.980 then we look to Jesus once again for deliverance. 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:58.019 And he will help us to triumph over our enemies, 00:14:58.079 --> 00:15:01.340 because he has vanquished the world of flesh and the devil. 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:06.179 And so my encouragement to you all tonight is just whatever you might be dealing with, 00:15:06.179 --> 00:15:09.559 just remember that your enemies have been defeated by Christ, 00:15:09.979 --> 00:15:12.279 and in his name there is deliverance for us, 00:15:12.319 --> 00:15:14.339 and look to Jesus for deliverance, 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:17.000 and then we will look on our enemies in triumph. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:18.719 So with that, 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:21.200 let's pray.