Let me ask you to remain standing. This is something we're doing a little bit different as we've tweaked the order of service a little bit.
You know there's precedent to this? When the Word of God is read that His people would stand.
In the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8, after the children of Israel had returned, the remnant had returned to Israel.
And they were gathered together, and Ezra stood with the Word, and he began to read the Word.
And as he did, the whole congregation stood. And they stood, and they worshipped through the reading of the Word like we're doing this morning.
So we're in our series on Psalms, and we've made it to Psalm number 7 this morning.
I don't know if you have your Word with me, but after we read, I'd ask that you would open to Psalm 7.
But listen as I read the Word from Psalm 7.
Oh, Lord my God, in You do I take refuge.
Save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces with none to deliver.
Oh, my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause.
Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.
Arise, O Lord, in Your anger.
Lift Yourself up against the fury of my enemies.
Awake for me.
You have appointed a judgment.
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about You.
Over it return on high.
The Lord judges the peoples.
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may You establish the righteous.
You who test the minds and the hearts, O righteous God.
My shield is with God who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge
and a God who feels indignation every day.
If a man does not repent, God will wet his sword.
He has bent and readied his bow.
He has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
I will give to the Lord the thanks
due to his righteousness.
And I will sing praise to the name of the Lord,
the Most High.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Fathers, we open your word this morning.
I pray that you would open our ears.
That as we hear your word,
proclaim that, Father, you would help us to hear,
not just with physical ears,
but spiritual ears, God.
That we would hear this truth,
and you would grow us in understanding.
Father, help us to look at your word
and see the truths that are written therein.
And Father, I pray that it would move us
deep within our hearts.
That you would move us to worship you,
the righteous judge.
Amen.
Please have a seat.
I forget those little transitions,
and my memory is bad.
Frank and Melanie, thank you for these flowers,
but if I leave them there,
I can almost grant you I'll knock them over.
So see if I can move it without knocking it over.
All right.
I would encourage you,
if you brought your Bible to open,
so you can look at the words
as we talk about this psalm.
I want to remind us of this.
We read,
and we just read an Old Testament text,
but I want to remind us,
but we're listening with New Testament ears.
Let me say that again.
We read an Old Testament text,
but we hear it with New Testament ears.
What does that mean?
That means on this side of the cross,
in this new covenant in which we stand,
we understand something spiritually.
David wrote this in his context,
and the physical things that were happening in his life
are written by David,
and certainly we see these truths,
but you know that every word that's in Scripture,
every single word was written by the hand of men,
but they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
And what we have here is the very words of God.
Not only do we see the story of David,
but I just want to say this,
that God in the message of this psalm
has a spiritual message for us to hear.
You know that when God prompted him to write this,
he was thinking far in the future as well.
He prompted him to put these truths in this psalm,
and that's what I hope the Lord will show us this morning
as we walk through this.
So I want you to look at the first four words,
and we want to start there.
You know, David could have said,
oh my God, or oh Lord God,
but you know what he said?
He said, oh Lord, my God.
There's something extremely significant about the word my.
And I wonder for you,
as you find yourself praying,
do you pray to the God who's far off?
Or do you pray to the God who's near?
Do you pray in this way
that illustrates that you have a relationship with him?
As you walk,
as you read,
as you live,
can you say this?
Is this true for you?
Is he your God?
Is there a close personal nature
to your relationship with him?
You know,
if we were to look backwards
in the scriptures,
and we were to go back
to the time when David was a shepherd in the fields,
you know what we'd see?
We'd see a God that spends
days upon days upon days
by himself
in the wilderness
tending for his flock,
taking them to the grassy fields
and water,
sources of water,
protecting them
at night
from the enemies
that would come against the sheep.
And what we would also see
is a boy
that came to know
a God
that is greater
than we can possibly understand,
and it was David's practice
to worship.
He carried a harp with him,
and he would sing
to this holy God.
And David can certainly say,
you're my God.
I've seen you
in the wilderness.
I know you.
I've heard from you.
I've watched your power
on display
as I've cared for this flock.
Now,
I asked us the question
this morning,
is he your God
in that way?
Do you experience him personally?
Do you worship
when you're alone?
Do you find yourself
constantly in conversation
with him?
It's my hope
that the answer to that
for all of us is yes.
So I want you to see
the relationship
that's so obvious
in these first four verses.
David says,
O Lord, my God.
And he says something
powerful after he says this.
In you,
I take refuge.
Not in myself
and my ability.
Not in the warriors
that walk with me.
Not in some other country
to come to my rescue.
I take refuge in you.
Do we live like that?
Would you say
that it's true for you
that you entrust yourself
into the hands of God?
Do you see him
genuinely
as your refuge?
Do you trust him?
Do you know him
in such a way
that you would take
your very life
and say,
God,
I'm not going to
any longer
try to protect myself.
What I'm going to do
is I'm going to take my life
and into your hands
I give it.
Whatever you choose
is okay with me
because I know
who you are.
you're the sovereign God
who loves me
and who can care for me
and into your hands
I take refuge.
I sure hope
that's true for us.
You know,
I think as we grow
in our spiritual journey,
we begin to digest
the reality of this truth.
We begin to know him
in a deeper
and a deeper
and a deeper way.
So much so
that at some point
along the way,
we realize
that a change
has taken place
in the way
we relate to God
that more so now,
hopefully,
than ever before,
I entrust myself to him.
He has shown himself
strong on our behalf.
You know,
the word declares this,
that God looks
to and fro
across all the earth
looking to show himself
strong
on behalf of those
whose hearts
are surrendered to him.
Is your heart
surrendered to him?
Are you his?
Do you really believe
that he'll show himself strong?
David did.
David says this,
Oh Lord in you,
my God in you,
I take refuge.
He says,
Save me and deliver me.
Save me God.
Deliver me God.
I know that you're able
and I'm calling out on you
to save me
and deliver me.
From who David?
From who?
Well, his pursuers.
There are those
who are in pursuit of him
to kill him.
And we'll look at a passage
in Samuel
in a little bit.
Two passages.
But there's a group of people
that are after him
to destroy him.
Instead of turning
and fighting,
what does he do?
He turns to God in prayer
and says,
You are the one
in whom I take refuge.
I trust you.
Save me and deliver me.
From whom?
From these pursuers.
Lest,
look at the wording here.
Lest,
like a lion,
they tear my soul apart.
Rending it in pieces
with none to deliver.
So these pursuers,
if he's given into their hands,
we see what the result might be.
He uses an illustration
from his days as a shepherd.
Do you see the illustration here?
Do you know what would happen
if a lion gets a hold of a sheep?
If you don't like blood,
don't go on YouTube
and don't look this up.
Because if you were to look it up
and you were to see it,
the powerful mouth of a lion,
the damage it inflicts on a lamb
is gruesome.
And you can just picture
this lion grabbing this lamb
and the force of his jaws
crushing the bones of the lamb.
And then he takes his head
and he slings it right
and he slings it left.
And what happens to the bones
and what happens to the body
of this little lamb?
It's just,
it's ripped apart.
It's broken to pieces.
It's separated.
There's pieces on the ground
for this lion
who's destroying
and trampling on
and feasting on
this lamb
that he's
caught.
You know,
the New Testament eyes
I talk about,
when we read this,
David is telling a story
that's this
illustration from his time
as being a shepherd.
But you know
the word of God
refers to somebody else
in this way?
In 1 Peter 5, 8,
you would remember
a verse that has been
oft quoted.
It says this,
to us as Christians,
Christians,
Christian,
it says,
be sober-minded,
be watchful.
Your adversary,
the devil,
prowls around
like a roaring lion
seeking someone
to devour.
We realize that
we have an enemy.
We have a pursuer
against us
as Christians,
as children of God.
So in our New Testament eyes,
we see that
there is
this accuser,
there is
this lion,
this one who prowls
and seeks to destroy.
You know,
Christ
tells of a parable
and he said,
the thief comes
to steal,
to kill,
and to destroy,
but I have come
that they might have life.
You know,
the enemy
hates us
because we're
stamped
with his mark,
because we're
called by his name,
because we're
covered in his blood.
He hates us.
And like a lion,
he pursues us.
And so in
the real
physical scenario
that David
is referring to,
there is a
physical army
or group of men
that are chasing him
to do him damage
and to kill him.
And he cries out
to the Lord.
And it's interesting
in verse 3,
he says again,
oh Lord,
my God.
He has three ifs.
I wonder if you see
the three ifs here.
Lord God,
if I have done this.
What, David?
If you've done what,
David?
If I have done this.
What is he referring to?
You know,
truthfully,
I don't know exactly
what he's referring to,
but I do know
it points back
to the preface
on this psalm.
If you look
at the preface,
it says this.
This is a psalm
that David,
which he sang
to the Lord
concerning the words
of Cush,
of Benjamite.
Who is Cush?
His name is never
mentioned in the scriptures
except here.
It's mentioned
in the preface
to the psalm.
So it begs the question,
what did he say?
What are the words
of Cush
to which David
is referring to here?
Whatever those words are,
he says this.
Oh, Lord,
my God,
if I have done this,
whatever those accusations are,
if I have done this,
if there actually
is wrong in my hands,
if my heart
is intending wrong,
and I've done
that which is wrong,
if I have repaid
my friend with evil,
or if I have plundered
my enemy without a cause,
then,
in your justice,
God,
let the enemy
pursue my soul
and overtake it.
and let him
trample my life
to the ground
and lay my glory
in the dust.
Do you hear
what David's saying?
He's appealing
to the righteous God,
to the righteous judge.
And he says,
Lord,
you heard it.
You know what
Cush has said.
You know the accusation.
And God,
if that is true,
and I have dishonored
your name,
and I've dishonored you,
and I've dishonored
your kingdom,
then it's right
that I would be captured.
It's right that I would be
broken in pieces
like the lion
to the sheep.
It's right that
that would happen.
Then let them trample me,
God.
You judge
and let them trample me
if I've done these things.
But look at verse 5.
And I would add this phrase
if we look at it
in the flow of the text.
If I've done these things,
then in your justice
allow them to pursue me
and catch me
and destroy me.
But if not,
but if not,
if I'm innocent, Lord,
if I've not done
what they've accused me of,
then arise,
lift yourself up,
awake for me.
You hear the cry?
Arise, Lord.
Lift yourself up.
Don't wait.
Don't sit.
Don't sleep any longer.
Awake for me, God.
I want us to see that
in this call of God
to rise up,
what is he calling God to do?
He's calling God
in his wrath
and his anger
to judge
those who are truly
evil.
those who are truly
wicked.
And let me stop
for just a second.
You realize that
all of us
fall into that category?
In our natural state,
we're all wicked.
You know,
last week
when we looked at Psalm 6,
David claimed
the same thing.
He talks about
the anger of God
against him,
the discipline,
the languishing
as bones are troubled,
soul is greatly troubled.
Why?
It's the effect of sin.
We all are wicked.
You know,
we don't have to turn
far into Psalms.
I turn to Psalm 14.
Listen to what Psalm 14 says
about you and me,
about all men.
It says this,
the Lord looks down
from heaven
on the children of man
without exception,
all men,
to see if there are any
who understand,
who seek after God.
In verse 3,
it says this,
they have all turned aside.
Together,
they have become corrupt.
There is none
who does good,
not even one.
You know,
there's no person
on the planet
can claim
that they do good
and they honor God
with the way they live
and think and act.
We're all wicked.
We're all slaves to sin
apart from the touch of God.
And even if we skip down
to verse 11 real quick,
God is a righteous judge,
a God who feels indignation
every day.
Why does He feel indignation?
The offenses of our sin
against a holy,
righteous,
loving God.
Everything is open
unto the eyes of Him
with whom we have
to give an account.
He sees it all.
There's nothing hidden.
But by the grace of God,
we would suffer
this judgment
that is talked about.
Notice He says
in verse 5,
Arise, O Lord,
in your anger.
Do you view God
as one who has anger?
Let's look at a couple
of verses right quick.
I will turn there.
No need for you to turn.
Just quickly.
The Word of God
in Romans 12,
this is Paul
sharing to the church
this.
He says,
Beloved,
never avenge yourselves,
but leave it
to the wrath of God.
Do you know
there's a day coming
when the wrath of God
is going to be
fully on display?
He says,
leave it to the wrath of God
for it's written,
vengeance is mine,
I will repay,
saith the Lord.
You know God
calls us to love?
He says,
don't you go
seek vengeance
for those who wrong you.
You let me do that.
You live for me.
You serve me.
You entrust yourself to me.
You honor me.
You obey me.
All that's in my court.
There's a day coming
where every wicked person
is going to face my wrath.
You know what?
It is not a day
that's going to be great for them.
It's not going to end well.
For the enemies of the church.
Notice the way it's worded here.
David says this,
in your anger
against the enemies,
the enemies I would say
certainly of David,
but I would also say
from New Testament eyes
against the enemies
of the church,
against the enemies
of the bride,
there's this cry
for judgment.
There's this cry
that says,
how long will you wait, God?
Every day they continue
to dishonor you.
They continue
to spit in your face.
They don't worship you
the way you deserve
to be worshipped.
How long will you wait?
In your anger,
rise up against the enemies
you have appointed
for judgment.
What is judgment?
You see that as being
a biblical truth?
Is there a day coming
where men will be judged?
We just read it this morning,
earlier in the service.
Listen to the words
of 2 Peter.
This is apostle of Christ
who writes this
to Christians.
He says,
just taking a little chunk here,
the heavens and earth
that now exist
are stored up for fire,
being kept
until the day of judgment
and destruction
of the ungodly.
You know there's a day coming
where the ungodly
will be destroyed,
where the earth
will be,
in a sense,
burnt up
and made new.
But there's a judgment
coming for all
who don't know
the Lord Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior.
For all who haven't
bowed the knee
to worship and obey
a holy God.
Revelation 6
says it like this.
And it's talking about
the classes of men
and he touches
all these classes of men
when he makes his statement
in Revelation 6.
It says,
then,
meaning,
on that day,
that judgment day,
here's what's said about it.
Then the kings of the earth
and the great ones
and the generals
and the rich
and the powerful
and everyone,
slave and free,
hid themselves in the caves
and among the rocks
of the mountains,
calling on the mountains
and the rocks,
fall on us
and hide us
from the face.
We've seen that word, right?
Hide us from the face of God.
Remember what he told Moses?
No man can see my face
and live.
Hide us from the face
of him who is seated
on the throne
and from the wrath
of the Lamb
for the great day
of their wrath has come
and who can stand?
There's a judgment coming.
In essence,
David is calling out to God,
bring it.
Bring it, Lord.
How long will you delay, Lord?
How long?
In essence,
you know what he's calling for?
He's calling for the kingdom
of God to come.
You know when we read
the Lord's Prayer,
you know what it says?
Thy kingdom come.
That's twofold there.
Thy kingdom come in my heart
that you would reign
inside of my heart.
But yet,
thy kingdom come.
The creation groans
and waits
for this new heaven,
for this new earth,
for the redemption
of all these things.
There's this crying out,
even in creation,
and certainly crying out
of the heart of believers,
I can't wait
to the time
where I'll see him
face to face.
I can't wait
to the time
where I'll have perfect fellowship
with the Father.
God, bring it.
Why do you wait, God?
You see all this evil
that seems to prosper.
Why, God?
Destroy.
Bring your day.
Bring your kingdom.
And here's this,
verse 7's so beautiful,
but we could miss it
if we don't understand
what he's saying.
In verse 7,
it says this,
Let the assembly
of the peoples
be gathered about you.
That takes us back
to a picture
in the Old Testament,
does it?
You remember
when the tabernacle
was dedicated?
You remember
what happened?
That God descended
in that pillar of fire
and he went into
the Holy of Holies
and what did he do?
The smoke of his presence
just spilled out
from under
and the awe
that was in the hearts
of the people
as they stood back
and in the incredible
presence of the Holy God
in the middle.
And what was common
when the people
really served
and worshiped him,
what was common?
They gathered for prayer.
They gathered for worship
as a nation.
God descended
into the midst
of the camp
and they all gathered
to worship.
Do you know
that 1 Chronicles 13
reveals something
about the time of Saul?
After David
was anointed
and there was
an overlap in time
between Saul
and David
was fleeing
from Saul,
he was being chased
by Saul.
After the fact,
after that happened
that Saul died
and David became king,
here's a truth
that we see
back in Chronicles
that says this,
David consulted
with commanders
and it said,
let us bring again
the ark of our God
to us
for we did not
seek it
in the days of Saul.
You know,
in the days of Saul,
there was not
the gathering
of worship
for worship.
It's like every man
did his own thing.
It's like the nation
was running,
his wheels were running
off the chariot,
so to speak.
They weren't honoring God.
They weren't
worshiping God.
They didn't have God
as a central focus
of the nation.
And you know what
David is saying here?
God, save me.
Here's why I'm asking
you to save me,
so that the people
will gather for worship.
God, if you will save me,
God, if you,
the righteous judge,
will judge me,
God, if I'm wrong
in this,
then destroy me.
Allow them
to destroy me.
But if I'm right
in this,
God, show your righteousness
in your judgment.
Judge them
so that the people
will see your righteousness.
They will see
that you protect
those who are innocent.
It's this picture
of this act
of deliverance
that would inspire
the people
to worship.
Is that true
for you and I?
Is it true
when you see
the mighty hand
of God
on display
in your life
or in the life
of another,
do you tend
to worship?
When God
pulls back the veil
just a little bit
and we see his glory,
what's the response?
It's worship.
You know what God's saying?
God, deliver me.
I'm willing to die,
but deliver me
so that the people
will come together
and begin to worship you again
because you are worthy
of our worship.
You are our God.
We are your people.
You deserve to be worshipped.
God, these evildoers
that are chasing us down,
those who are righteous
that are hiding
because of the evil
that is in pursuit of us,
the wicked are in pursuit of us.
God, show yourself strong
on our behalf
that we might come together
and be inspired
to worship you
for you deserve it.
You're worthy.
Over it,
that is the nation,
return on high
as the sovereign,
holy one
that we would see you
for who you are.
We would worship you
for who you are.
And then verse 8.
Verse 8.
How in the world
can David say this?
The Lord judges the people.
Judge me, O Lord,
according to my righteousness
and according to
the integrity
that is in me.
How can David say
that he's righteous
and full of integrity?
What's that?
It's Christ.
It is the picture of Christ.
And you stole my thunder, brother.
We will get there at the end.
We want to look at Christ
in the pages of Psalm 7.
But you're exactly right.
That is a picture
of the only one
who can say that, right?
There's only one
that can say,
judge me according
to my righteousness
according to
the integrity
that is in me.
Jesus Christ can say that.
He alone can say it.
There's none other.
But yet David says it.
So how is it
in the text,
in the context
of what's going on
that he could say this?
Well, perhaps
it's hard to know.
I would say this.
It's hard to know
the timing of the psalm.
It's hard to know
where in the history
of the nation
and where in the history
of David
that this takes place,
that this psalm
spills out of
some time frame
in his life.
Perhaps.
Perhaps it's
in response to this.
If we were to turn,
and I don't ask y'all
to turn,
but I'm going to briefly
just remind us
of a couple of events
that happened
in 1 Samuel 24 and 26.
And I'll just,
I'll just
paraphrase
instead of taking
all the time
but just don't have time
to read the sections
that would be beneficial
to read.
But you remember
when Saul
was pursuing David
and his guy said,
he's in the wilderness,
let's go.
And he grabs 3,000 men
and they chase him
out in the wilderness
to try to kill him,
capture him and kill him.
And David and his men
were hiding in the cave.
And Saul goes in the cave
to relieve himself.
And you remember the story
that David,
the men,
they said,
there he is.
God has delivered him
in your hand.
Kill him right now.
He's the one that
without cause
is chasing you.
You've done nothing wrong.
You've served him well.
And yet he's chasing you
to kill him
because these people
are telling him
these words,
these things
that aren't true about you.
That you're out
to kill him
so he's defending himself.
It's not true.
And he's killing him.
God has done this.
God put him in the cave
so you can kill him right now.
David says,
no way.
No way will I harm
the one who's been anointed
by God as the king.
Far be it from me
to step in front of God
and make a decision.
I leave that
into the hands of God.
But he took his knife
and very skillfully
he cut off the edge
of Saul's garment.
And Saul walks out
of the cave
and as he walks out
and he gets the distance away,
David walks out behind him
and he calls
the name of Saul.
He says,
Saul, what are you doing?
Why are you believing
the lies that you're being told?
I'm not out to get you
for if I were out
to get you,
you see this?
This is the corner
of your road.
God delivered you
into the cave
and delivered you
into my hand.
But I value your life
because you are the king,
the anointed of God.
I will not harm you.
Don't listen
to the stories
of your commanders
and your people
that are in your ear.
Don't listen to them.
I do not mean you harm.
Saul realizes
at that moment
and he leaves.
But Saul doesn't get
the message very well,
does he?
And so again,
he hears in 26,
we see another story
that he hears
that David's in the wilderness
so he grabs 3,000 men again
to do what?
To go kill him.
And they're out pursuing him
and David is in the wilderness
and Saul and his people
are encamped
and David hears
that they are there
and he goes up on the hill
to see the camp
that's laying asleep
and he and one other
walk into the camp
and they walk right
to the king
and his top commander,
Abner,
and they take the water jug
and the spear,
they pluck it out
of the ground
and they walk up
to the hill
and they turn around
and they start yelling
the name Abner.
Abner,
the one who's supposed
to protect the king
with his life,
who allowed the king
to be killed
because he was asleep
on his job.
But he says this to Saul,
Saul, again,
I tell you,
here's your spear,
here's your water jug,
you do know
that I had God
delivered you in my hand
the second time
that I could have killed you
but I value your life
because I trust the Lord
that has anointed you as king.
I will not harm you.
Hear the words
two times I've told you
and two times you've seen
that I am not out
to harm you.
Whatever the accusations,
whatever the words
that are in your ear,
do not believe me any longer.
And so we turn back
to verse 8
in Psalm 7,
perhaps,
perhaps in that scenario
he can actually say
that I've honored you,
God,
by not killing Saul.
And I stand
with a level of integrity
because I've trusted you
and I follow your leading.
I do not take vengeance
into my own hands
but I allow vengeance
to be in your hands.
In verse 9,
oh,
let the evil,
the evil of the wicked
come to an end.
When will that happen?
When will the evil
of the wicked
come to an end?
It will never come
to an end
until the last day,
right?
Until the second coming
of Christ
when he makes
all things new.
We read in Revelation
this day that's coming,
this judgment day
when all that is evil
will be done away.
All who are evil
and are not covered
with the blood of Christ
will be destroyed.
They will be judged
and they will be judged
to spend eternity
away from the grace
and the love of God.
Eternity away.
And he also says
that you may establish
the righteous.
When will the righteous
truly be established?
It's the new heavens
and the new earth,
isn't it?
With New Testament eyes
we see
that he's talking about
God is woven
into the text here
this new world,
this hope that we have
that we can hold on to.
This hope of heaven,
this hope of
this kingdom of God
where the gates
will not need to be shut
to protect.
Where we'll have
perfect fellowship
with an almighty God.
Establish the righteous
this time
when your kingdom comes
and your will
is always done.
Where sin is done away with.
Where those who are evil
are done away with.
Where everything
is full of your love
and your grace.
Where your kingdom
has fully been established.
He's looking ahead.
The text is looking ahead
and pointing us there.
Verse 10.
My shield
is with God
who saves
the upright in heart.
You know,
God saves
those who've been
changed by him.
God saves
those who've been
bought with the blood
of Christ.
God saves
the truly
born again believers.
When he sees us
and we stand
before him,
can we say
we're guiltless?
Not a chance.
All of us are sinners.
All of us have gone astray.
But you know what
he's done on our behalf?
He's covered us
with the blood of Christ.
He's forgiven us
because of the
substitutionary death
of Christ on the cross.
And we've been
imputed with righteousness
because of the faith
we have in him.
He gave us the faith.
He opened our eyes.
He showed us the Savior.
And he says,
come.
And he establishes
his kingdom
and his kingdom
is full of the righteous.
Those who've been
made righteous.
Not those who were righteous.
Those who've been
made righteous
by the blood of Christ.
Through faith.
And notice what it says here.
It's through repentance,
isn't it?
Verse 12.
If a man does not repent,
what's the end result?
Judgment.
What does judgment look like?
Look at the illustration here.
If you ever watched
any movies
or you've ever seen
where a guy takes a sword
and he cuts into another person
and the sword is wet
with the blood
of the one that was struck.
And it's the picture,
this illustration
of what it's going to be like
for those who don't repent.
There's coming a day
when God will wet his sword
with the blood
of the enemies of his church.
with those who are wicked
and evil.
His bow,
he has bent
and has readied his bow.
He has prepared
for him his deadly weapons
making his arrow
fiery shafts.
What is a fiery shaft
of an arrow?
In the old days
when they would go to war,
they would light,
they would put a pitch
on the end of the arrow
and they would light it on fire
and they would pull it back
and they would shoot it
into these walled cities
and straw-covered roofs
of these places
would alight
and it would perhaps
burn the city down.
That was certainly the attempt.
But it's this destruction
that's being foretold here,
this judgment day,
this day that is coming
that God himself
is going to rise up
in his wrath
and he's going to destroy
all who don't repent.
So brothers and sisters,
let me ask you,
have you repented?
Have you come to the place
in your life
where you see your sin
for what it is,
that it's an offense
to a holy God
and that recognition
grieves you
the way that Matthew 5 says it?
There's a mourning
in our heart,
there's a heaviness
in our heart
when God opens our eyes
to see how offensive
our sin really is
to a holy God.
Have you mourned
over your sin?
Are you truly sick
as you see your sin
for what it is?
Have you come before him
and confessed
and said,
God, forgive me,
forgive me,
forgive me.
I did not know
until you opened my eyes
to see that I was
an enemy of yours.
I was in rebellion to you.
God, forgive me
for the sins
that you've opened
my eyes to see
and I come before you
with nothing
except the blood
of my Savior Jesus.
I now see why
he died on the cross.
He died for me.
He died that I might
trust in him.
I might take my sins
and my evil
and I would hang it
on the cross
and he would take it
to the cross
and he would die
that I might know life,
that I might be forgiven.
Have you repented?
It's my heart's desire
that every single one
of us in here
would be believers,
that we'd be born again
in newness of life,
we'd be spiritually born
because we've come
to understand this
and we truly see our sin
for what it is
and we turn
and worship him.
The wicked conceives evil
and mischief and lies.
Every thought,
every action,
every word is against God.
The result of that
is judgment.
And I love the way
that David finishes this psalm.
He's calling out
for the kingdom of God
to come.
He's calling out
for the protection of God.
He's calling out
for God to judge righteously.
God, you see the thoughts
and intents of every heart.
Based on what you see,
judge.
Your judgment is righteous.
For those who are trusting in you,
Father, establish your kingdom.
For those who are not trusting in you,
who are evil and wicked
in every thought, deed, and action,
God, destroy them.
Rise up in your anger
so that your kingdom can come,
so that your church
will be gathered for worship.
You know that in heaven
we're going to truly worship him?
When he really gathers
all of us together
in all this wilderness,
this place,
this sin that so clings to us
is going to be done away.
And when we worship there,
it's going to be unlike anything
you've ever experienced before.
It's going to be pure and genuine
with no taint of sin.
We're going to worship him
with all our heart.
It's going to be incredibly powerful.
I just look at the angels
and what they say,
holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty.
And look what David says,
God, even in this circumstance,
even though they're chasing me
to kill me,
I will give you thanks
and I will sing praise
to the name
of the Most High Sovereign God.
You're my God.
I trust you.
I worship you.
I praise you.
I leave myself.
I trust myself in your hands.
And brother,
where do you see Christ?
Where do you see Christ here?
You know the true accuser?
The one in Revelation 12
that's talked about,
the accuser of the brethren.
You know who he is?
He's Satan.
He's a true accuser.
And we know that he
was out to kill Jesus, right?
And what did Jesus do?
Did he take vengeance
in his own hand
or he entrusts himself
to the Father?
You know, he said
he could have called down
legions of angels.
To protect him.
When he was walking
through that last week
of his life,
he could have called down
legions of angels
to fight on his behalf,
but he did not.
Why?
Because he knew
that it was the route
of the cross
that was going to
give life to those
who trusted in him.
Without him being willing
to go to the cross,
we would never live.
He entrusted himself
to God.
And like a lion,
Satan comes to devour.
But you know what's powerful?
As God only allowed Satan...
How should I say this?
Satan desired...
Have you seen the movie?
Or you read the book
about Aslan?
This picture
that's illustrated
in the book
that he gives himself
into the hands
of the white witch
and they put him
on the table
and they kill him
on the table.
The table is split.
He allows himself
to do that
for the sake of the people
and then what happens?
He comes back to life.
He comes back in power.
All along,
Satan thought...
In that movie,
you see Demonstrator.
In that book,
you see Demonstrator
this incredible excitement
and the hordes of evil,
the ones that followed
the wicked witch.
And they were salivating
to get their hands
on Aslan to kill him.
You know Satan
and the demonic kingdom
are just like that?
They're salivating
to get their hands...
They were salivating
to get their hands
on Christ.
And when they got
their hands on him
and they spit on him
and they mocked him
and they beat him
with reeds
and they beat him
with a whip,
his body was a pulp,
all but dead
through the beating
and he carries his cross
at least part of the way
up Golgotha.
But you know
not one bone of him
is broken.
God allowed Satan
to do
only so much
for his son
to his son.
And Christ likewise
could say
if I have done evil,
if I have sinned
and I deserve it,
did Christ ever sin?
No, we know he didn't sin.
And so Christ
in verse 8
can say
judge me
of Lord
according to my righteousness
and according to
the integrity
that is in me.
You know what Jesus said?
well done
my son,
good and faithful.
I'm pleased
with my son.
We heard it
audibly.
We didn't hear it.
They heard it
audibly
when Christ says
I am pleased
with my son.
Because why?
Because
he never sinned.
Have you trusted
in him today?
Is he your
Lord?
Let's pray.
Father,
I'm grateful
that
Father,
you've opened
our eyes
to see
that you are
the sovereign God
and we can
entrust ourselves
into your hand.
That you're more
than able
to care for us.
Father,
in those circumstances
are heavy
in our lives
and those things
that we don't
understand
happen to us.
God,
we trust you
anyway.
And God,
we thank you
even for the
hard situations
because we know
you're doing a work
in our lives
that's for our good
and it's for your glory.
So God,
give us the courage
and the strength
to be faithful
in pursuing you
and be willing
to entrust our lives
to you.
God,
that we would present
our bodies
as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable
to you
which is a reasonable
expectation of worship.
And Father,
we worship you
by offering ourselves
to you
in order that you
might be glorified.
God,
I pray that
that you would
speak to every single
person here
this morning,
Father,
and if there's anyone
here that truly
is not born again
that doesn't know you
as Lord and Savior,
I pray that you would
speak especially
of their heart
that they might come
to see
your love
in the person
of Jesus Christ.
They might come
to know
the forgiveness
of their sins
through Jesus Christ.
God,
I ask that you
would bless
this song
that we're about
to sing this time.
We're about to worship you
and I pray that
from our hearts
we would lift you up
and I pray in Christ's name.
Amen.