WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.439 Our scripture reading this morning is from Psalm 63, and I'm going to invite Douglas Carter to come and to read that passage for us. 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:17.039 ! A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:20.760 O God, you are my God. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:23.019 Earnestly I seek you. 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:25.379 My soul thirsts for you. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:27.940 My flesh faints for you. 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:32.219 As in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 00:00:33.300 --> 00:00:38.920 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:44.700 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 00:00:45.579 --> 00:00:48.460 So I will bless you as long as I live. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:51.579 In your name I will lift up my hands. 00:00:51.579 --> 00:00:56.460 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food. 00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:59.899 And my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. 00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:05.700 When I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night. 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.239 For you have been my help. 00:01:08.740 --> 00:01:12.740 And in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:15.539 My soul clings to you. 00:01:15.539 --> 00:01:18.239 Your right hand upholds me. 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:24.739 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth. 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:28.140 They shall be given over to the power of the sword. 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:31.099 They shall be a portion for jackals. 00:01:31.099 --> 00:01:34.759 But the king shall rejoice in God. 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:37.899 All who swear by him shall exult. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.379 For the mouths of liars will be stopped. 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:43.019 Amen. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.899 All right, we're working our way in the summertime through some of the psalms in the mornings. 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.919 And we've said most weeks that psalms are prayers. 00:01:54.259 --> 00:01:55.079 Sometimes they're prayers. 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:57.099 Sometimes the psalms are meditations. 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:02.699 Meditations where the author is actually talking to themselves about the experience of the Christian life. 00:02:02.899 --> 00:02:15.400 And when you look at all the psalms together, all 150, what you have is a guidebook really or a blueprint for what it is supposed to be like to experience seeking after God. 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:20.299 So what the experience of seeking God's face in this normal life should be like. 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:24.259 And you can look at all 50 together to get a sense of what that's like. 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:32.699 Like, Psalm 63 is probably one of the two or three purest examples of what it is to seek God. 00:02:32.799 --> 00:02:37.120 What it looks like played out from the internal thought life of David here. 00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:41.180 It is a prayer entirely about the experience of communion with God. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:46.060 So you would have noticed that as Douglas read it, just the language like, 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:47.599 I thirst for God. 00:02:48.740 --> 00:02:51.340 Or my soul clings to you. 00:02:51.819 --> 00:02:54.340 Or your love is better than life. 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:58.840 So this is language of deep communion with God. 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:04.439 And so this is one of the purest examples of really what the whole of the book of the psalms is doing. 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:07.520 So last week we were on holiday the past couple of weeks. 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:14.920 And I watched a short little film that somebody sent to me on YouTube made by some of the churches in England. 00:03:15.540 --> 00:03:19.960 And it was about the awakening of spiritual hunger in the UK. 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:24.379 A story that many of us will have read and thought about and seen in the media. 00:03:25.200 --> 00:03:28.200 And it talked about how in the early 2000s, really all the way up to COVID, 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:34.299 so many folks were still in a space of militant atheism, of anger at religion. 00:03:34.799 --> 00:03:37.679 But since COVID, there's been a shift towards spiritual hunger. 00:03:38.079 --> 00:03:40.679 And so one of the questions that's been coming up is, 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:43.719 what does it even mean to have an experience of God? 00:03:44.359 --> 00:03:47.439 What's it look like to have a real experience of the real God? 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:48.799 And so lots of people are asking that. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.939 And then some of the people that they did testimonials with, 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:56.719 they were being interviewed and they said that their experience of God was things like, 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:01.599 you know, I heard God tell me in my normal work day, 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.139 stop what you're doing and go plant a church next to this cafe. 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:11.060 And so different people were giving their different takes on what an experience of God might be like. 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:13.020 And there's confusion. 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:15.460 I think anybody in this room would probably admit, 00:04:15.939 --> 00:04:20.720 it's hard to really know the answer of what should an experience of God be like? 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.920 What should deep communion with God feel like? 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:24.779 What should it look like? 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:26.360 What should be happening to me? 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:28.360 Should these things be happening to me? 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.560 If I'm having real experiences of God in my life? 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:34.900 And we here at St. C's are, 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:37.500 this is a Presbyterian church, free church. 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:42.420 And that means we are oriented towards being a cerebral bunch. 00:04:42.960 --> 00:04:46.160 So we like to write what we believe on paper. 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:48.040 We like to read it. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.819 And that means that we will always tend towards a more intellectualist side of the pole 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:55.819 of what it means to experience God. 00:04:55.819 --> 00:05:00.579 We will think of experiencing God as knowing God through knowing propositions, 00:05:00.719 --> 00:05:01.620 through knowing ideas, 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:05.699 through learning more about God means knowing God deeper and deeper communion. 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:07.759 Of course, there's the opposite end of the pole, 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:11.319 which is the mysticism tradition of the Christian faith. 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:16.680 And in the most far-reaching mystical ideas that have been around in Christianity, 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:20.560 the idea is that you seek an unmediated experience of God, 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.259 which means you want to vacate your mind of concepts and language and words. 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:29.459 And only then could you get closest to the God who you can't really know. 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:36.979 And so Christians throughout the centuries have vacillated between shifting between those two things. 00:05:37.099 --> 00:05:40.879 Personality has a lot to do with it and the tradition you may have been brought up in. 00:05:41.599 --> 00:05:44.199 And so we feel oftentimes confused and saying, 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:48.859 what should an experience of real communion with God actually look like and be like? 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:50.620 Where do you go? 00:05:50.840 --> 00:05:59.100 Well, the book of Psalms all collectively actually tells us what it looks like to experience God 00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:01.560 according to God's own word, according to God's own hand. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.900 And Jonathan Edwards, he's one of the great theologians, 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.840 pastors of the American Christian tradition. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:14.919 And he's well known for thinking about the experience of God and communion with God 00:06:14.919 --> 00:06:17.699 more than most others in the past couple of centuries. 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:19.459 And this is what he talks about. 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:25.179 He says, experiencing God can never be divorced from knowing things about God. 00:06:25.500 --> 00:06:26.120 That's a must. 00:06:26.239 --> 00:06:29.839 But in knowing the truth about God, there's something else. 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:30.779 And this is what he calls it. 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:33.639 He says, a profound inner sense of the heart. 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:40.919 Where you taste God's infinite beauty and holiness that transforms what you care about 00:06:40.919 --> 00:06:41.719 and what you love. 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:46.699 So Edwards says, the biblical model of the experience of communion with God 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:48.939 absolutely includes theology. 00:06:49.159 --> 00:06:51.680 It includes knowing things about God that are true. 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:53.379 But then there is something else. 00:06:53.479 --> 00:06:59.419 There is a inner sensation, an inner taste of God's divine beauty 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:04.600 that displaces things you used to love and changes what you care about. 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:12.379 And very famously, Edwards says, there's a world of difference in knowing that honey is sweet, 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:18.020 learning that honey is sweet, and tasting honey, and delighting in honey. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:19.500 And he says, you need both. 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.240 You need to both know the sweetness of God, 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:26.560 but you also need to have an experience of the taste of the beauty of God. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:31.280 You need to not only be told honey is sweet, you need to be able to taste that honey as well. 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:35.879 And that's what you see happening in Psalm 63 and throughout so many of the Psalms. 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:42.500 David here is undeniably experiencing an immediate felt experience of God's presence. 00:07:42.840 --> 00:07:47.500 And he's not here necessarily saying God is telling me things and giving me new information. 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:49.840 Instead, how does he express it? 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:53.680 He says, the experience of God is, my soul thirsts for you. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.079 And so that means that when I think when you look at the Psalms as a whole, 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:00.379 one of the things you realize, if you were to ask the question, 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:05.160 is a real experience of God something God gives you to hear primarily? 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:11.939 Is it an experience of vacating your mind and try to experience the transcendence of God 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:13.319 in a way that you've never met before? 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:17.500 I think when you look at the Bible, the main thing that we're given is, 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:23.259 you know you're experiencing God in your life when you have an appetite for God. 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:29.740 So the main thing that we're given here in Psalm 63 is that, that when you can say in some measure, 00:08:29.899 --> 00:08:38.299 any measure at all, I do thirst for God, then that means that you are and have had an experience 00:08:38.299 --> 00:08:39.639 of the real God in your life. 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:43.100 So let me dig into that a little more, according to David here, 00:08:43.939 --> 00:08:46.699 thinking about the details of the experience of God he gives us, 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:49.720 and then secondly, the experience of God in the wilderness. 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:54.100 And then lastly, just a very brief reflection on the basis of that experience. 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:57.159 So what is this experience? 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:59.620 A little bit more detail on that idea. 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:00.460 So look at verse one. 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:03.879 This is the main idea of what he means by an experience of God here. 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:08.399 He says, oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.200 Now the order, that's the main idea of the whole Psalm, 00:09:12.439 --> 00:09:15.759 the order of that, those two clauses matter so much. 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:21.500 Oh God, you are my God, therefore I seek you with earnest. 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:24.240 And it can't be flipped around. 00:09:24.580 --> 00:09:25.659 It has to be in that order. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:27.419 The order matters so much. 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:32.259 This is when he says, my God, that's covenant language. 00:09:32.259 --> 00:09:37.279 It's the same way that God told Abraham to speak only after God came to Abraham and said, 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:42.120 I will save you, I will deliver you, and I will make you, I will be your God, 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:43.120 you will be my people. 00:09:43.259 --> 00:09:46.319 And only then was Abraham able to say, this is my God. 00:09:46.779 --> 00:09:47.779 And so notice the order. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.519 David says, my God, therefore earnestly I seek you. 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:56.019 One writer points out the importance of saying my God. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:59.399 You can think about it this way, as I read this week. 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:04.439 Like, how many people in your life do you say my about? 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:11.579 So if somebody comes to you, if somebody comes to me at the end of the service during tea and coffee 00:10:11.579 --> 00:10:16.340 and says, I'm new here, I haven't gotten to meet Heather, 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:19.779 I might say, do you mean my Heather? 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:23.199 Because there's multiple Heathers that go to this church, 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:25.720 but I do have a my Heather here. 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:28.080 Or if somebody asks, where's Isabel? 00:10:28.300 --> 00:10:29.560 I might say, do you mean my Isabel? 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:31.340 I have a wee daughter named Isabel. 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:37.960 But if they come to me and they say, you know, I was hoping to get to be introduced to David, 00:10:38.560 --> 00:10:42.160 I probably wouldn't say, do you mean my David? 00:10:45.460 --> 00:10:49.800 Or Don told me this, and there's lots of Don's around here, 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:52.899 but I wouldn't say, are you talking about my Don or another Don? 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:57.279 Now, I love all the Dons, and I love all the Davids, 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:04.579 but there's a difference, because friendship doesn't even really allow you to say my. 00:11:05.979 --> 00:11:12.500 And so when David says, my God, he's talking about deep covenant family relationship with God. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:17.379 So much so, that if you look down to verse 7 and 8, 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.200 he uses two more words that really help us see this. 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.100 He says, for you have been my help. 00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:26.940 And this is one of the rare places that the word help shows up. 00:11:27.019 --> 00:11:28.820 This word help in the Old Testament, 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.919 and it's the same word that shows up in Genesis chapter 2 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:35.120 for the way Adam talks about Eve, 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:37.259 or the way Eve is described to Adam. 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:38.259 She is my help. 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:40.460 That's not language of servitude in Genesis 2. 00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:42.580 It's language that throughout the rest of the Old Testament 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:46.240 is only ever used of God to say, he is my help. 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:49.060 He is so intimately close to me. 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:50.100 It's marriage language. 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:52.259 And then down in verse 8, right after that, 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:54.320 my soul clings to you. 00:11:54.620 --> 00:11:58.000 That's the same word that shows up rarely in the Old Testament, 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:00.700 but in Genesis 2.24, when it says, 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:03.900 a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave, 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:05.540 hold fast, cling to his wife. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.060 And so these marriage metaphors are being used 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:11.179 with covenant language to show the intimacy of this relationship 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:14.139 that God has, that David has with his God here. 00:12:14.219 --> 00:12:17.219 Now the order, therefore, the main idea, 00:12:17.599 --> 00:12:20.639 is that the order he puts this in is the gospel itself. 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:26.039 He says, you are my God, therefore earnestly I seek you. 00:12:27.219 --> 00:12:28.099 And here's why. 00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:29.059 Because in the Bible, 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:32.479 we learn that every single human being 00:12:32.479 --> 00:12:34.719 is spiritually hungry for the real God, 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:35.779 for this God, the God of the Bible. 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:36.739 Every person is. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.019 And even in the most ardent campaign 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:41.679 against Christianity and the other religions 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:43.959 from militant atheism in the early 2000s, 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:45.639 the Bible actually still teaches 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:47.719 that even Dawkins and Hitchens, 00:12:47.979 --> 00:12:49.479 at their greatest powers, 00:12:49.819 --> 00:12:51.539 still were hungry for the real God. 00:12:51.619 --> 00:12:53.639 They still actually want the real God. 00:12:53.739 --> 00:12:55.559 That's part of what's deep down in the human soul. 00:12:55.939 --> 00:12:56.879 We were made by God. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:57.919 We were made for God. 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:01.220 And he is our only and truest and deepest satisfaction. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:02.980 But at the same time, 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:05.259 the Bible says that nobody wants God. 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:07.519 So because you were made by God, 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:09.059 actually you do want God. 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:09.879 But at the same time, 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.360 because you are a sheep that has run away, rebellious, 00:13:13.500 --> 00:13:14.299 you don't want God. 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.580 So Romans 3 says, no one seeks for God. 00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:17.320 No, not one. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:18.639 We have all gone astray. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.360 We have all run away from God. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:21.639 And so we've got this great tension 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:24.980 that generic religion, the world religions, 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:26.000 what are the world religions? 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.799 The world religions are simply expressions 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:31.620 of people's hunger for the real God. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.759 But because they don't actually want the real God, 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:37.360 because we're all idolaters, all rebellious, 00:13:37.659 --> 00:13:39.500 they've just attached themselves to things 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:40.539 that aren't actually the real God. 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:41.360 Hinduism, Buddhism, 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:43.460 this is just expression of desire, 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:44.539 hunger for the real God, 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:47.279 except they misplace worship to the wrong thing. 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:49.259 And in the same way, 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:51.440 every single one of us wants the real God. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:52.139 And at the same time, 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:53.379 we don't want the real God. 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:54.919 What does that mean for this psalm? 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:56.319 What it means for this psalm is this. 00:13:58.139 --> 00:13:59.839 If you today can say, 00:14:00.459 --> 00:14:04.879 God, I seek communion with you in any way, 00:14:05.719 --> 00:14:08.699 it is because God has already sought you. 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:12.679 You can only say earnestly, 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:14.259 do I seek the God of the Bible, 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:19.279 if the God of the Bible has already made you his child. 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:21.679 You see, the order, the order is the gospel. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:24.239 He says, oh God, my God, 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:26.399 therefore, only because you first sought me, 00:14:26.479 --> 00:14:28.339 can I now say, I seek you. 00:14:28.959 --> 00:14:31.719 And I hope this is a word of assurance 00:14:31.719 --> 00:14:33.019 to every person in here, 00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:34.500 because I would imagine for some of you, 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:35.139 if you're like me, 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:37.479 you read Psalm 63, 00:14:37.479 --> 00:14:38.219 and you say, 00:14:38.739 --> 00:14:41.399 I would love to have communion like this with God. 00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:44.000 But I can honestly say, 00:14:44.079 --> 00:14:45.120 I'm not sure the last time, 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:47.279 I can't remember being able to pray, 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:48.279 say things, 00:14:48.439 --> 00:14:50.299 and feel the way that David feels 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:52.039 about his God in this psalm. 00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:52.360 But look, 00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:55.939 if you have the slightest inkling, 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:56.840 even if you say today, 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:01.159 I wish I had more of this communion than I do, 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:04.740 then that tiny feeble desire 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:06.779 is only because you have had an experience 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:07.519 of God in your life. 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:08.759 Because the Bible says, 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:09.919 no one seeks God, 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:10.860 no one wants God, 00:15:10.939 --> 00:15:12.079 no one chases after God, 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.319 only unless God is already chasing after you. 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:16.360 And that means you are experiencing God in your life. 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:18.379 If there's any sense that you can say, 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:20.659 I want God in the slightest degree, 00:15:21.139 --> 00:15:21.840 maybe like this, 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:22.480 you might say, 00:15:23.319 --> 00:15:25.600 the things that I thought 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.039 were going to fulfill me in this life 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:28.019 that I have been pursuing 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:30.139 have become less and less 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:31.919 and less attractive over time to me. 00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:34.019 Maybe you got some of them, 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:36.039 and you realized they weren't exactly 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:37.039 what you had hoped for. 00:15:37.579 --> 00:15:39.159 And only in that space, 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:40.980 you feel slightly more inclined 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:42.079 to want God more. 00:15:42.579 --> 00:15:44.059 That is God working in your life. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.459 That is the experience of God 00:15:45.459 --> 00:15:47.000 that is taking place in your life. 00:15:47.059 --> 00:15:47.959 And so you can come today 00:15:47.959 --> 00:15:49.199 with assurance that 00:15:49.199 --> 00:15:50.959 if you desire God at all, 00:15:51.199 --> 00:15:51.819 the real God, 00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:53.079 it is because God 00:15:53.079 --> 00:15:54.259 has already desired you, 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:55.379 has already chased after you. 00:15:55.539 --> 00:15:56.699 That means God's grace 00:15:56.699 --> 00:15:58.199 is already at work in your life 00:15:58.199 --> 00:16:00.099 according to the experience of God 00:16:00.099 --> 00:16:01.059 that David receives here. 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:01.579 Now secondly, 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:04.139 we learn here that 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:05.160 that means 00:16:05.160 --> 00:16:07.160 one of the most important ways 00:16:07.160 --> 00:16:08.200 the Bible teaches us 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:09.740 about the experience of God 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:12.240 is through the evidence of appetite. 00:16:13.540 --> 00:16:14.879 So do you have an appetite, 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:16.080 a hunger, 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:17.259 a thirst at all, 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:18.220 like David puts it here, 00:16:18.280 --> 00:16:18.700 for God? 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:19.800 And that's the evidence 00:16:19.800 --> 00:16:20.780 of God's work in your life. 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:24.120 But where does this tend to grow? 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:25.980 Where does this tend to happen best? 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:27.639 Where does this experience 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:29.060 tend to really come out? 00:16:29.680 --> 00:16:32.360 And we learn that also in the psalm. 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:33.519 Look at the title, 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:35.700 what we call a superscript. 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:37.360 So superscripts, 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:39.820 the little smaller printed text 00:16:39.820 --> 00:16:40.259 in the Bible 00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:41.420 is also part of the Bible. 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:42.500 It's also part of the text. 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.159 And we have an introduction here, 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:45.120 a psalm of David, 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:45.960 King David, 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:48.639 when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:50.860 And so almost all the commentators agree 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:52.240 that the wilderness of Judah 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.200 is a reference to the time 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:55.659 that David fled Jerusalem 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:57.759 because his son Absalom 00:16:57.759 --> 00:16:59.259 was trying to overthrow him 00:16:59.259 --> 00:16:59.939 and take the throne. 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:02.139 And so this is a story 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.899 from 2 Samuel 15 to 20. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.639 And in that section, 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:10.680 David's own son Absalom 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:12.759 had been plotting for years 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:15.399 to overthrow David 00:17:15.399 --> 00:17:16.920 and ultimately have him assassinated. 00:17:17.819 --> 00:17:19.039 And that means that 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.379 when David writes this psalm, 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:21.399 what has taken place 00:17:21.399 --> 00:17:22.559 is what has taken place 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.440 in 2 Samuel 15. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:25.900 He has run for his life 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:26.460 from Jerusalem. 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:28.000 He's crossed the Kidron Valley. 00:17:28.420 --> 00:17:30.299 He's gone up the Mount of Olives 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:31.400 and he's entered 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:33.160 into the wilderness of Judah. 00:17:33.600 --> 00:17:34.940 And there he's starving. 00:17:35.080 --> 00:17:35.500 He's thirsty. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:36.299 The text tells us 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:37.259 that he was barefoot, 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:37.799 weeping, 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:39.559 that he had no armor, 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:40.600 hardly any clothing. 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:42.240 And he's crying out. 00:17:42.320 --> 00:17:43.100 And can you imagine, 00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:43.620 you know, 00:17:44.100 --> 00:17:45.039 being kicked off your throne, 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:46.320 being displaced from your home. 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:48.000 But, of course, 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:49.460 we read later in the story 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:50.460 that the greatest pain 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:51.039 he experiences 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.839 is because this is his son. 00:17:53.179 --> 00:17:54.059 It's Absalom 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:55.179 that has done this to him. 00:17:55.919 --> 00:17:57.179 And it's here 00:17:57.179 --> 00:17:58.899 where we get Psalm 63. 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:00.079 That's the context. 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:01.039 Now, what's so striking 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:02.019 about that is because 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:04.539 what you read about here 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:07.179 is not Absalom 00:18:07.179 --> 00:18:08.139 or getting kicked off the throne 00:18:08.139 --> 00:18:08.919 or the loss of a son. 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:09.759 What you read about here 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:11.480 is him just going directly 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:13.279 into the sweet communion 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:14.099 of God's presence 00:18:14.099 --> 00:18:14.639 and saying, 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:16.000 I need you, 00:18:16.179 --> 00:18:17.079 I thirst for you, 00:18:17.179 --> 00:18:17.939 I hunger for you. 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:18.759 He is literally 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:19.899 in a physically dry, 00:18:20.199 --> 00:18:22.039 parched, weary, thirsty land. 00:18:22.379 --> 00:18:22.799 And, of course, 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:24.359 his soul is absolutely dry 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:25.000 and parched and weary 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:25.419 and thirsty 00:18:25.419 --> 00:18:26.639 because of what his son 00:18:26.639 --> 00:18:27.399 has done to him. 00:18:28.019 --> 00:18:30.019 But it's seeking the honey, 00:18:30.219 --> 00:18:31.319 the sweetness of God's presence 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:32.199 that he goes to. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:33.779 What does that mean? 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:34.439 It means this. 00:18:35.419 --> 00:18:36.419 Communion with God 00:18:36.419 --> 00:18:38.399 does tend to grow 00:18:38.399 --> 00:18:39.619 in the wilderness experience. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:41.419 Communion with God 00:18:41.419 --> 00:18:42.579 does tend to arise 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:43.939 more palpably 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:45.080 when you walk 00:18:45.080 --> 00:18:45.620 into the wilderness. 00:18:46.100 --> 00:18:47.279 And Charles Spurgeon 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:48.519 points out in his sermon 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:49.340 on Psalm 63 00:18:49.340 --> 00:18:51.420 a few different 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:52.860 wilderness experiences 00:18:52.860 --> 00:18:54.180 that we might be going through. 00:18:54.299 --> 00:18:56.240 One is the wilderness experience 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:57.519 of terrible circumstance 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:58.680 like he's walking through. 00:18:58.880 --> 00:18:59.779 Something you don't want, 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:01.039 something that you didn't choose. 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:02.600 But the others 00:19:02.600 --> 00:19:04.460 are the wilderness experience 00:19:04.460 --> 00:19:05.259 that sometimes 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:06.960 God puts us in, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:07.559 which happens 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:09.039 in other Psalms of David 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:10.880 where we're put 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:11.860 in a wilderness experience 00:19:11.859 --> 00:19:13.159 because of patterns 00:19:13.159 --> 00:19:14.240 of sin in our life. 00:19:15.139 --> 00:19:16.879 And as one writer puts it, 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:19.979 sin is the great suppressant 00:19:19.979 --> 00:19:21.099 of appetite. 00:19:21.939 --> 00:19:24.179 So the more we are 00:19:24.179 --> 00:19:25.719 in patterns of sin 00:19:25.719 --> 00:19:26.419 in our lives 00:19:26.419 --> 00:19:27.319 and the more God 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:28.299 puts us in a wilderness 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:29.119 to wake us up 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.019 and shake us back up, 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:31.659 the more we will struggle 00:19:31.659 --> 00:19:33.099 with any desire for God. 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:34.059 And so if you come today 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:34.319 and say, 00:19:34.459 --> 00:19:35.259 I'm struggling 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:36.240 with desire for God, 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:37.419 I don't thirst for God, 00:19:37.419 --> 00:19:39.119 I don't seek God 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.139 as sweeter than honey 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:40.700 in my life. 00:19:40.800 --> 00:19:41.840 One of the first questions 00:19:41.840 --> 00:19:42.720 Spurgeon and I think 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:43.700 the text is drawing us 00:19:43.700 --> 00:19:44.300 to ask is, 00:19:44.780 --> 00:19:46.000 is there a pattern 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:46.600 of sin in my life 00:19:46.600 --> 00:19:47.700 that we haven't confessed yet? 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:48.540 Because sin is the great 00:19:48.540 --> 00:19:49.440 appetite suppressant. 00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:53.340 It is eating sweets all day 00:19:53.340 --> 00:19:54.360 and not wanting your dinner. 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:55.660 The very thing 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:56.520 that is so good for you 00:19:56.520 --> 00:19:56.920 is dinner, 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:58.220 the vegetables at dinner, 00:19:58.280 --> 00:19:59.340 but you eat sweets all day 00:19:59.340 --> 00:20:01.740 and sometimes God puts you 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:02.860 into the wilderness experience 00:20:02.860 --> 00:20:04.180 to awaken to that 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.000 and then that draws you 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:07.380 back into sweeter communion, 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:09.100 deeper communion with God. 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:10.159 Another wilderness experience 00:20:10.159 --> 00:20:11.759 that is pointed out 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:12.439 by some of the authors 00:20:12.439 --> 00:20:14.099 is just the wilderness 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:14.619 of the heart. 00:20:14.719 --> 00:20:15.299 So you may say, 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:16.519 look, I don't have 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:17.719 any obvious patterns 00:20:17.719 --> 00:20:18.559 of sin in my life 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:19.439 that I could point to 00:20:19.439 --> 00:20:22.179 in some extreme way 00:20:22.179 --> 00:20:23.419 and I'm not going 00:20:23.419 --> 00:20:24.279 through bad circumstances, 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:25.480 but I am just walking 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:26.099 through the wilderness 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:26.899 of the drought. 00:20:27.179 --> 00:20:28.339 I just don't care. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:29.219 I have apathy. 00:20:29.459 --> 00:20:30.659 I just don't feel like 00:20:30.659 --> 00:20:31.839 seeking after God at all 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:33.719 and there's all sorts 00:20:33.719 --> 00:20:34.339 of things we can do, 00:20:34.399 --> 00:20:34.959 but let me give you 00:20:34.959 --> 00:20:35.959 two things you can do 00:20:35.959 --> 00:20:37.059 according to David here. 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:38.419 Of course, 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:39.320 we need to self-examine. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:39.680 Of course, 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:41.140 we need to ask, 00:20:41.300 --> 00:20:42.220 are there patterns of sin 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:42.580 in my life 00:20:42.580 --> 00:20:43.600 that I'm not even aware of? 00:20:43.800 --> 00:20:44.440 All of those things, 00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:44.960 but let me give you 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:45.840 the two main things 00:20:45.840 --> 00:20:47.160 David gives you 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:48.160 from the psalm 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:49.100 very briefly 00:20:49.100 --> 00:20:49.880 and here's the first. 00:20:50.840 --> 00:20:51.200 Notice, 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:52.360 in this prayer, 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:54.220 he does not ask 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:55.120 for his circumstances 00:20:55.120 --> 00:20:55.779 to change. 00:20:57.340 --> 00:20:58.320 Not yet, at least, 00:20:58.560 --> 00:20:59.160 and instead, 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:01.120 what David does here 00:21:01.120 --> 00:21:02.640 is he gives you 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:03.220 a very particular 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:04.279 type of prayer 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:05.819 and so you can see it. 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:07.920 It's almost chiastic. 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:10.299 It moves in and out. 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:10.960 In verse 3, 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:11.819 he says that 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:13.059 my lips will praise you. 00:21:13.139 --> 00:21:13.660 In verse 4, 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:14.059 he says, 00:21:14.379 --> 00:21:15.379 I will bless you 00:21:15.379 --> 00:21:16.339 as long as I live. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:17.819 In your name, 00:21:17.879 --> 00:21:18.879 I'll lift up my hands. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:19.440 That's a reference 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:20.000 to worship. 00:21:20.379 --> 00:21:20.920 In verse 5, 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:22.160 my mouth will praise you 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:23.220 with joyful lips. 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:23.839 Back to lips. 00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:25.220 He's talking about 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:26.619 worship and praise 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:27.839 through the lens 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:29.200 of a specific type of prayer 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:30.000 and that's the prayer 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:30.799 of adoration. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:31.399 So, 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:33.980 if you read the Psalms, 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:34.779 you'll see all types 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:35.359 of prayers, 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:38.480 adoration and confession, 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:39.440 thanksgiving, 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:40.159 petition, 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:41.440 and if you look 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:42.480 at our order of service 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:43.299 here at St. C's, 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:44.299 you will see that we try 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:45.659 to do every type of prayer. 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:47.039 We begin with a prayer 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:47.619 of adoration, 00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:48.539 we move to a prayer 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:49.119 of confession, 00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:50.599 then a prayer of thanksgiving, 00:21:50.839 --> 00:21:51.859 and then a prayer 00:21:51.859 --> 00:21:52.919 of petition. 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:54.680 And you'll see all this 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:55.139 throughout the Bible, 00:21:55.139 --> 00:21:56.319 but the most important 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:57.220 type of prayer is what? 00:21:58.159 --> 00:21:58.599 Adoration. 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:00.139 It's the beginning 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:00.820 of every other type 00:22:00.820 --> 00:22:01.180 of prayer. 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:02.160 And what David here 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:03.040 is in the midst of this, 00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:04.700 he just starts praying 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:05.940 about God's beauty 00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:07.120 in the midst of 00:22:07.120 --> 00:22:08.540 pretty terrible circumstances. 00:22:09.540 --> 00:22:10.420 He doesn't say, 00:22:11.060 --> 00:22:11.780 Lord, give me. 00:22:11.860 --> 00:22:12.180 He says, 00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:13.080 Lord, I adore you. 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:14.420 Now, he's going to come later 00:22:14.420 --> 00:22:15.200 to, Lord, give me. 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:15.720 I need. 00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:17.000 But he begins with, 00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:17.880 Lord, I adore you. 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:18.360 And we're being, 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:20.100 you're being invited here 00:22:20.100 --> 00:22:20.580 to see something 00:22:20.580 --> 00:22:21.360 that's very simple, 00:22:21.360 --> 00:22:24.440 but just that prayers 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:25.880 of adoration to God, 00:22:26.020 --> 00:22:27.300 contemplating through prayer 00:22:27.300 --> 00:22:28.280 on God's sweetness, 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:28.980 His beauty, 00:22:29.340 --> 00:22:30.080 His attributes, 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:31.640 is really the key 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:32.480 in the Psalms 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:33.960 to sweeter and deeper communion, 00:22:34.060 --> 00:22:35.100 to every other type of prayer. 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:36.720 That if you reflect 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:37.860 on God's power 00:22:37.860 --> 00:22:39.660 in all of Him 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:40.320 and His beauty 00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:41.400 and His infinite majesty, 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:42.740 that leads you 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:43.220 towards prayers 00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:43.800 of confession. 00:22:44.560 --> 00:22:45.340 And that's exactly 00:22:45.340 --> 00:22:47.160 what David shows us here. 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:48.640 He gives this whole person 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:50.000 into adoration 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:50.600 and praise 00:22:50.600 --> 00:22:51.860 as the primary response 00:22:51.860 --> 00:22:52.980 to His circumstance. 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:54.160 The second thing 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:55.440 is that prayer 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:56.240 of adoration here 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:59.000 leads to what we call 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:00.400 Christian meditation. 00:23:01.620 --> 00:23:01.819 Okay. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.380 The Psalms are prayers, 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:05.180 but often, 00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:06.480 if you read them carefully, 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:08.319 the Psalms are not prayers. 00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:09.640 They are meditations. 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:11.200 And that's slightly different. 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:12.500 So what are meditations? 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:13.420 You can see one 00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:15.500 at the bottom of this Psalm, 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:16.579 verse 9 to 11, 00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:18.400 when he turns away 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:19.059 from prayer 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:20.059 and he says, 00:23:20.180 --> 00:23:21.140 but those who seek 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:22.059 to destroy my life 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:22.680 will go down 00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:23.259 into the depths. 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:24.079 He's not talking 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:24.559 to God there. 00:23:24.619 --> 00:23:25.319 He's turned to just 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:26.259 talking to himself. 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:27.680 That's a meditation. 00:23:28.220 --> 00:23:28.519 Of course, 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.319 he's talking there 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.519 about the circumstances 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:32.700 and so his great friend 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:33.599 Ahithophel, 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.980 who ate dinner with him 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:37.379 almost every single night, 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:39.759 has been the main partner 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.160 with his son Absalom 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:42.019 in plotting 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:43.579 his assassination and coup. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:45.480 And so very probably 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:46.140 when he says, 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:47.180 those who seek 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:48.140 to destroy my life 00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:48.940 shall go down 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:49.759 to the depths of the earth, 00:23:49.879 --> 00:23:50.579 he's thinking of 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:51.200 the treachery 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:52.420 of his friend Ahithophel here. 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:53.840 He's talking very specifically 00:23:53.840 --> 00:23:54.800 about the circumstance, 00:23:54.980 --> 00:23:55.740 but that's a meditation. 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:56.940 Look at verse 6. 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:57.600 He says it outright. 00:23:58.840 --> 00:23:59.400 He says, 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:00.259 when I remember you 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:01.200 upon my bed 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:03.480 and meditate on you 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:04.600 in the watches of the night. 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:05.680 So there it is, 00:24:05.840 --> 00:24:06.279 meditation. 00:24:08.080 --> 00:24:09.420 The Old Testament 00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:11.840 in the time of Jesus, 00:24:12.080 --> 00:24:13.120 we looked at this 00:24:13.120 --> 00:24:14.440 in the series we did 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:15.500 in June on Luke 24, 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:17.720 is divided into three sections. 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:19.279 The books of Moses, 00:24:20.080 --> 00:24:21.360 what's called the prophets, 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:21.979 but the prophets 00:24:21.979 --> 00:24:23.419 actually begin with Joshua, 00:24:23.679 --> 00:24:24.439 the history books, 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:26.119 and then the Psalms 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:26.839 are the writings, 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:28.559 which starts with the Psalms. 00:24:29.159 --> 00:24:29.559 So you've got 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:30.539 the first five books 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:30.979 of the Bible 00:24:30.979 --> 00:24:32.379 and then section two 00:24:32.379 --> 00:24:33.019 of the Old Testament, 00:24:33.939 --> 00:24:34.319 Joshua, 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:35.059 section three 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:35.659 of the Old Testament, 00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:36.179 Psalms. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:39.039 Chris preached on Psalm 1 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:39.399 recently, 00:24:39.699 --> 00:24:40.559 and you'll remember 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:41.199 that language, 00:24:41.979 --> 00:24:43.519 meditate on the law 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:43.839 of the Lord 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:44.319 day and night 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:44.779 in Psalm 1. 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:45.539 He meditates. 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:47.459 Joshua 1, 00:24:47.979 --> 00:24:48.859 in the second paragraph 00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:49.719 of the opening 00:24:49.719 --> 00:24:50.719 of that second section 00:24:50.719 --> 00:24:51.159 of the Bible, 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:52.259 what does it say? 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:52.559 It says, 00:24:52.899 --> 00:24:53.419 Joshua was given 00:24:53.419 --> 00:24:53.759 the command, 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:56.519 meditate on God's law 00:24:56.519 --> 00:24:57.059 day and night. 00:24:57.339 --> 00:24:58.699 So at every section 00:24:58.699 --> 00:25:00.139 of the Old Testament, 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:02.779 it opens by saying, 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:03.859 practice meditation. 00:25:04.379 --> 00:25:05.179 What is this meditation? 00:25:05.179 --> 00:25:06.159 We're told about it 00:25:06.159 --> 00:25:06.779 right here, 00:25:06.959 --> 00:25:07.859 and it's this. 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:09.559 It's contra mysticism, 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:12.059 contra Eastern religion 00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:13.359 where you're invited 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.019 to empty your mind 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:15.939 of all concepts 00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:18.320 and instead just experience 00:25:18.320 --> 00:25:18.880 whatever you happen 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:19.420 to experience. 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:19.960 Instead, 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:21.200 Christian meditation 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:21.799 in the Psalms 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:22.640 is when you actually 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.120 fill your mind 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:25.360 with the beauty, 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:26.059 presence, 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:27.340 and truth of God 00:25:27.340 --> 00:25:28.000 that you learn about 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:28.440 in the Bible 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:30.000 until God becomes 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:30.740 sweet to you. 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:32.380 So that's the practice 00:25:32.380 --> 00:25:33.080 of Christian meditation. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:34.140 Listen to Jonathan Edwards 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:34.779 talk about it. 00:25:34.820 --> 00:25:35.220 He says, 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:36.680 it's when you take 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:38.180 a single spiritual truth 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:39.980 and you deeply digest it 00:25:39.980 --> 00:25:41.140 until it moves 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:42.180 from a cold fact 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:42.860 in your brain 00:25:42.860 --> 00:25:44.460 to a sweeter taste 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:45.039 in your heart. 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:47.259 There was a woman 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:48.779 named Ann Bradstreet. 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:50.359 She was a Puritan author 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:51.519 in New England, 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:52.680 and we have just a host 00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:54.079 of her meditations 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:54.879 on God 00:25:54.879 --> 00:25:56.119 that have been preserved, 00:25:56.839 --> 00:25:57.539 and she's got, 00:25:57.720 --> 00:25:58.359 they're really worth 00:25:58.359 --> 00:25:58.759 looking at. 00:25:58.839 --> 00:25:59.799 They're absolutely beautiful. 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.139 But this is what she, 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:02.079 she talks about 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:03.240 her practice of meditation 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:04.619 or contemplation on God, 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:05.480 and oftentimes 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:07.240 she would look at nature 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:08.180 as a mirror 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:10.059 like Psalm 19 does 00:26:10.059 --> 00:26:11.200 and reflect on the sun 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:11.639 and the moon 00:26:11.639 --> 00:26:12.200 and the trees, 00:26:12.379 --> 00:26:13.099 and she says, 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:14.099 I don't just see 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:15.139 what's in front of me, 00:26:15.439 --> 00:26:16.459 but I see the sun 00:26:16.459 --> 00:26:16.799 and the moon 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:17.299 and the trees 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:19.079 as symbols or mirrors 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:20.119 pointing to God's 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:20.699 divine beauty 00:26:20.699 --> 00:26:21.519 and His power 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:22.000 and His order 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:22.659 and His love. 00:26:22.699 --> 00:26:23.219 And then she says, 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:23.919 she writes this 00:26:23.919 --> 00:26:25.159 in one of her meditations. 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:26.019 Lord, 00:26:26.139 --> 00:26:26.939 why should I doubt 00:26:26.939 --> 00:26:27.599 any more 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:28.919 when you have given me 00:26:28.919 --> 00:26:30.980 such assured pledges 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:31.639 of your love? 00:26:32.419 --> 00:26:32.859 First, 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:34.500 I see you are my creator. 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:37.039 I see I am your creature. 00:26:37.439 --> 00:26:38.279 You my master, 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:39.179 I your servant, 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:40.879 but my comfort arises 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:41.860 when I say this, 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.020 you are my father 00:26:43.020 --> 00:26:44.040 and I am your child. 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:45.780 So there she's practicing 00:26:45.780 --> 00:26:46.400 meditation, 00:26:46.780 --> 00:26:48.180 leading into prayer, 00:26:48.560 --> 00:26:49.420 and that's exactly 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:49.840 what we have 00:26:49.840 --> 00:26:50.320 all throughout 00:26:50.320 --> 00:26:51.600 the book of Psalms. 00:26:51.980 --> 00:26:54.820 It's pursuing conversation 00:26:54.820 --> 00:26:55.440 with God 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:56.960 through thinking about God 00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:58.220 all the time 00:26:58.220 --> 00:26:59.060 in the most ordinary 00:26:59.060 --> 00:26:59.840 moments of your day. 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:01.160 There's another writer, 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:02.980 Brother Lawrence, 00:27:03.580 --> 00:27:04.740 who Protestants 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:06.160 have sometimes pulled from 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:07.300 for some of the helpful bits. 00:27:07.380 --> 00:27:08.220 You can't take everything 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:09.660 from Brother Lawrence. 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:10.700 You leave some stuff behind, 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:12.740 but Brother Lawrence 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:13.300 in his book, 00:27:13.380 --> 00:27:14.759 Practicing the Presence of God, 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:16.640 he was a cook 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:17.259 at a monastery, 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:18.040 this guy, 00:27:18.560 --> 00:27:20.680 and he says, 00:27:20.820 --> 00:27:21.420 there is no manner 00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:23.120 of life in the world 00:27:23.120 --> 00:27:23.940 more sweet 00:27:23.940 --> 00:27:24.820 or more delicious 00:27:24.820 --> 00:27:26.779 than continual conversation 00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:27.360 with God, 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:29.300 and Brother Lawrence 00:27:29.300 --> 00:27:29.779 in his book 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:30.700 talks about how he 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:32.200 most communes with God, 00:27:32.360 --> 00:27:33.519 most thinks about God, 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:35.180 most talks to God 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:36.940 when he is doing the dishes, 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:37.540 that that was 00:27:37.540 --> 00:27:38.400 his favorite moment, 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:39.040 that he says, 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:40.320 the time of business 00:27:40.320 --> 00:27:41.340 does not with me 00:27:41.340 --> 00:27:42.800 differ from the time 00:27:42.800 --> 00:27:43.320 of prayer. 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:46.160 And so this is the practice 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.220 of what Paul means 00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:47.800 in the New Testament 00:27:47.800 --> 00:27:48.300 when he says, 00:27:48.600 --> 00:27:49.300 pray without ceasing. 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:50.920 It's learning to meditate 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:52.060 on the infinite beauty 00:27:52.060 --> 00:27:52.560 of God 00:27:52.560 --> 00:27:54.100 and let that draw you 00:27:54.100 --> 00:27:54.840 into prayer 00:27:54.840 --> 00:27:56.340 until your heart 00:27:56.340 --> 00:27:57.480 feels sweet 00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:58.640 with the reality 00:27:58.640 --> 00:27:59.480 of who God is. 00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:01.120 Sometimes 00:28:01.120 --> 00:28:04.120 that takes 30 seconds, 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:06.099 and sometimes 00:28:06.099 --> 00:28:07.479 that takes three years. 00:28:08.659 --> 00:28:09.079 Sometimes 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:09.919 you don't arrive 00:28:09.919 --> 00:28:10.799 at the sweetness 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:12.500 of the infinite beauty 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:13.219 of God's 00:28:13.219 --> 00:28:14.339 very being, 00:28:14.719 --> 00:28:15.139 meditating 00:28:15.139 --> 00:28:15.919 and praying. 00:28:16.179 --> 00:28:16.919 It doesn't really 00:28:16.919 --> 00:28:18.019 get into your soul 00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:19.639 until three years later. 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:21.459 And you might be 00:28:21.459 --> 00:28:21.899 walking through 00:28:21.899 --> 00:28:23.059 a 30-second season 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:24.299 or a three-year season 00:28:24.299 --> 00:28:25.899 on this very day, 00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:27.639 but the promise 00:28:27.639 --> 00:28:28.519 is that God 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:29.099 will give you 00:28:29.099 --> 00:28:29.619 that sweetness. 00:28:29.899 --> 00:28:30.839 That's the promise 00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:31.899 of Psalm 63. 00:28:32.099 --> 00:28:32.299 Listen, 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:33.279 I'll move on 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:33.939 to the final 00:28:33.939 --> 00:28:34.659 and very brief thing, 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:35.439 but let me give you 00:28:35.439 --> 00:28:36.279 what Edwards says 00:28:36.279 --> 00:28:37.059 about this experience. 00:28:37.199 --> 00:28:37.500 He says, 00:28:38.619 --> 00:28:39.299 I want, 00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:40.019 he says, 00:28:40.179 --> 00:28:40.879 excuse me, 00:28:40.959 --> 00:28:41.259 he says, 00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:42.199 in reading Scripture 00:28:42.199 --> 00:28:43.579 I seemed often 00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:44.879 to see so much light 00:28:44.879 --> 00:28:46.059 that I could not 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:47.199 get along in my reading. 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:48.399 Almost every sentence 00:28:48.399 --> 00:28:50.339 at times in my life 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:51.699 have seemed to me 00:28:51.699 --> 00:28:52.819 to be so full of wonders. 00:28:52.959 --> 00:28:54.379 I found from time to time 00:28:54.379 --> 00:28:55.379 an inward sweetness 00:28:55.379 --> 00:28:56.740 that used, 00:28:56.959 --> 00:28:57.259 as it were, 00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.459 to carry me away 00:28:58.459 --> 00:28:59.559 into contemplation 00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:00.339 about my God. 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:01.599 I felt alone, 00:29:02.159 --> 00:29:02.959 sweetly conversing 00:29:02.959 --> 00:29:03.439 with Christ, 00:29:03.619 --> 00:29:04.119 wrapped up 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:05.299 and swallowed up in Him. 00:29:05.659 --> 00:29:06.599 The sense I had 00:29:06.599 --> 00:29:07.579 of divine things 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:08.240 would often, 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:09.179 of a sudden, 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:09.619 as it were, 00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:10.859 kindle up a sweet 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:11.939 burning in my heart 00:29:11.939 --> 00:29:13.679 and ardor of my soul 00:29:13.679 --> 00:29:14.779 that I know not 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:15.859 how to express now 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:16.779 to you into words. 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:19.459 This is the experience 00:29:19.459 --> 00:29:20.419 that David is having 00:29:20.419 --> 00:29:21.299 in Psalm 63. 00:29:21.699 --> 00:29:21.859 Now, 00:29:22.639 --> 00:29:23.559 one application, 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:24.439 and it's this. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:25.819 This is so important 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:26.259 for us 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:27.839 in a cerebral congregation 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:29.619 as we will tend to be 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:30.479 in our Presbyterian 00:29:30.479 --> 00:29:31.419 theologically oriented 00:29:31.419 --> 00:29:32.039 tradition 00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:34.359 because it is my default. 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.179 I imagine it is 00:29:35.179 --> 00:29:35.939 some of your default 00:29:35.939 --> 00:29:36.519 to say, 00:29:36.739 --> 00:29:37.619 when you are feeling 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:38.839 spiritually low, 00:29:39.339 --> 00:29:39.619 to say, 00:29:39.719 --> 00:29:40.439 I want a spiritual 00:29:40.439 --> 00:29:41.099 pick-me-up, 00:29:41.179 --> 00:29:42.439 so I am going to put 00:29:42.439 --> 00:29:43.479 my favorite preacher 00:29:43.479 --> 00:29:45.559 on my favorite Spotify app, 00:29:45.639 --> 00:29:46.559 on the Spotify app, 00:29:46.599 --> 00:29:47.239 into my ears 00:29:47.239 --> 00:29:48.099 while I walk through the city 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:49.639 and dig in 00:29:49.639 --> 00:29:50.379 to what he has 00:29:50.379 --> 00:29:51.079 to say to me. 00:29:51.399 --> 00:29:52.739 And that's a very good thing. 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.799 I believe in preaching. 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:55.719 We're doing it today, 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:56.219 in fact. 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:57.960 And so, 00:29:58.039 --> 00:29:59.339 don't not do that, 00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:01.059 but we all know 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:03.180 that sometimes 00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:05.920 going to our favorite preacher 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:06.839 because we like 00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:08.120 the way they put things 00:30:08.120 --> 00:30:09.279 can leave us 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:10.960 in front of our favorite preacher 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:11.579 because we like 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:13.160 the way they say things 00:30:13.160 --> 00:30:14.339 and never taking 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:15.240 that next step, 00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:16.319 which is to actually 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:17.700 meet with God. 00:30:19.600 --> 00:30:19.759 So, 00:30:19.900 --> 00:30:20.700 do you, 00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:21.299 even today, 00:30:21.460 --> 00:30:22.200 even as we sing, 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:22.860 even as we pray 00:30:22.860 --> 00:30:23.440 in just a moment, 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:25.559 do you take the step 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:26.059 from saying, 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:27.099 I like the way 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:28.779 somebody may or may not 00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:29.940 have put X, Y, Z 00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:30.559 in a sermon 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:31.879 to actually saying, 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:32.919 I'm turning now 00:30:32.919 --> 00:30:34.339 to speak and converse 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:35.159 with the living God 00:30:35.159 --> 00:30:36.159 about what I've just 00:30:36.159 --> 00:30:37.299 seen and heard and read. 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:38.299 That's the step 00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:38.779 that we, 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:40.159 as theological Protestants, 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:42.000 often can miss. 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:42.339 And so, 00:30:42.419 --> 00:30:43.019 we're being invited 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:43.720 in Psalm 63 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:45.220 to deeper communion 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:45.839 and meditation. 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:47.240 On what basis, 00:30:47.419 --> 00:30:47.679 finally, 00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:49.119 as we conclude 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:49.619 very shortly? 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:52.619 Luke 24 tells us 00:30:52.619 --> 00:30:53.939 that Jesus 00:30:53.939 --> 00:30:55.579 read the Psalms 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:56.959 and he taught 00:30:56.959 --> 00:30:57.919 how they concerned 00:30:57.919 --> 00:30:58.419 himself. 00:30:59.179 --> 00:31:00.079 And that means here 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:01.219 that when you read 00:31:01.219 --> 00:31:01.899 Psalm 63, 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:02.719 like the rest, 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:03.619 especially the Psalms 00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:03.979 of David, 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:05.179 you have to say 00:31:05.179 --> 00:31:06.079 that they are ultimately 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:07.159 about Jesus Christ. 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:08.639 You have to read them 00:31:08.639 --> 00:31:09.459 in the light of him, 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:10.259 in the light of the gospel. 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:12.319 I don't think 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:13.359 it's coincidence at all 00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:14.419 that when you read, 00:31:14.819 --> 00:31:15.359 if you were to go read 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:16.819 2 Samuel 15 to 20, 00:31:17.379 --> 00:31:18.439 the story of David 00:31:18.439 --> 00:31:19.159 being run out 00:31:19.159 --> 00:31:19.739 of the city 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:21.220 because of this 00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:21.960 circumstance 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:22.880 of Absalom 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:25.559 that David goes 00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:28.000 barefoot and weeping 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:30.460 out from the center 00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:31.140 of Jerusalem 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:33.799 down through the Kidron Valley 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:35.240 up the Mount of Olives. 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:37.160 And there, 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:38.259 on the Mount of Olives, 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:39.460 he meditates 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:41.400 on the one 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:42.700 who ate dinner with him 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:43.599 yet betrayed him, 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:44.180 Ahithophel. 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:45.920 And it's there 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:46.940 that he starts to pen 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:47.799 the Psalms like these. 00:31:48.420 --> 00:31:49.460 It's no coincidence. 00:31:50.380 --> 00:31:51.480 That a great king 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:52.920 in the middle of history 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:54.220 would go up 00:31:54.220 --> 00:31:55.099 the Mount of Olives 00:31:55.099 --> 00:31:56.539 and pray a prayer 00:31:56.539 --> 00:31:57.200 like this 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:58.039 on the basis 00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:59.039 that the one 00:31:59.039 --> 00:31:59.880 he had been eating 00:31:59.880 --> 00:32:00.500 dinner with 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:01.420 had betrayed him. 00:32:03.180 --> 00:32:03.640 And of course, 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:04.200 this Psalm 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:05.799 is far more 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:06.480 about the true 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.240 and better David 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:08.180 that we read about 00:32:08.180 --> 00:32:09.559 in Matthew chapter 1 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:10.299 who went up 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:10.960 the Mount of Olives 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:12.059 and who stood 00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:12.740 in Gethsemane 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:13.839 and who was betrayed 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:14.420 by the one 00:32:14.420 --> 00:32:15.180 who had eaten dinner 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:15.559 with him 00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:16.880 just that very night. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:18.759 And he was 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:19.220 the true 00:32:19.220 --> 00:32:19.960 and better king 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:20.579 that was being 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:21.619 exiled where 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:22.900 into the deep wilderness. 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:25.519 But there's a difference 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:26.039 and the difference 00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:26.420 is this. 00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:26.980 David here 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:27.500 in this Psalm 00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:28.019 says, 00:32:29.579 --> 00:32:30.240 I thirst for you, 00:32:30.339 --> 00:32:30.519 God. 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:32.640 And God 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:33.539 comes to him 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:34.460 sweeter than honey. 00:32:35.720 --> 00:32:36.200 But the true 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:36.759 and better David 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:37.160 said, 00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:38.160 I thirst. 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:41.319 And in that moment 00:32:41.319 --> 00:32:41.940 he wasn't just talking 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:42.519 about his lips, 00:32:42.599 --> 00:32:43.220 his physical lips. 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:43.599 He was saying, 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:45.179 I thirst for communion 00:32:45.179 --> 00:32:46.439 with my father 00:32:46.439 --> 00:32:48.019 and he was nothing 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:48.639 but parched. 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:49.480 He was starved. 00:32:49.539 --> 00:32:50.199 He was forsaken. 00:32:50.579 --> 00:32:51.559 He was cast out. 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:52.279 And see, 00:32:52.399 --> 00:32:54.000 David did not deserve 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:54.919 communion with God 00:32:54.919 --> 00:32:55.559 and neither do we. 00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:56.619 We are rebel sheep. 00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:58.279 We are rebel sheep. 00:32:59.139 --> 00:32:59.959 David does not deserve 00:32:59.959 --> 00:33:00.519 this communion 00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:02.579 but God gives David 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:03.299 this communion 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:04.259 on the basis 00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:05.079 that one day 00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:06.000 the true and better David 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:06.379 will say, 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:06.899 I thirst 00:33:06.899 --> 00:33:07.419 and he will be 00:33:07.419 --> 00:33:08.339 ultimately exiled 00:33:08.339 --> 00:33:09.179 so that David 00:33:09.179 --> 00:33:10.059 can know the grace 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:10.879 of the sweetness 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:12.720 of God's infinite presence 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:13.280 with him 00:33:13.280 --> 00:33:14.300 in this very moment. 00:33:14.560 --> 00:33:15.320 And that is the same 00:33:15.320 --> 00:33:15.800 exact thing 00:33:15.800 --> 00:33:16.500 that is true for you. 00:33:16.560 --> 00:33:17.180 If you come today 00:33:17.180 --> 00:33:18.720 and you say, 00:33:18.800 --> 00:33:19.840 I'm struggling to pray, 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:21.120 I don't experience 00:33:21.120 --> 00:33:21.840 this sweet communion 00:33:21.840 --> 00:33:23.120 in my life right now, 00:33:23.160 --> 00:33:24.180 let me add one 00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:25.640 little facet 00:33:25.640 --> 00:33:26.300 to the discipline 00:33:26.300 --> 00:33:26.860 of meditation 00:33:26.860 --> 00:33:27.540 and it's this. 00:33:28.180 --> 00:33:28.660 Meditate, 00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:29.560 as he says, 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:31.380 on the steadfast love 00:33:31.380 --> 00:33:31.820 of the Lord 00:33:31.820 --> 00:33:32.860 which is better than life. 00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:33.700 But how do you meditate 00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:34.080 on that? 00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:34.780 You say this, 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:37.180 the steadfast love 00:33:37.180 --> 00:33:37.980 of the Lord 00:33:37.980 --> 00:33:39.940 expressed in Jesus Christ 00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:41.779 hanging on the cross 00:33:41.779 --> 00:33:42.480 for me, 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:43.860 that love 00:33:43.860 --> 00:33:44.740 is better than life. 00:33:45.400 --> 00:33:46.200 So you orient 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:46.880 your meditation 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:47.480 to the Christ 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:48.000 of the cross 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:48.960 and you say, 00:33:49.120 --> 00:33:50.059 that's where I know 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:51.580 that his love for me 00:33:51.580 --> 00:33:53.019 is better than life itself. 00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:54.240 Your heart, 00:33:54.340 --> 00:33:55.019 over time, 00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:56.100 your heart over time 00:33:56.100 --> 00:33:56.779 will start to see 00:33:56.779 --> 00:33:57.700 that the greatest benefit 00:33:57.700 --> 00:33:59.160 of prayers 00:33:59.160 --> 00:33:59.820 of communion 00:33:59.820 --> 00:34:00.420 with God 00:34:00.420 --> 00:34:01.440 is not, 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:03.200 it's not Lord give me, 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:03.880 it's not in getting 00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:05.240 whatever you're asking for, 00:34:05.539 --> 00:34:06.519 but it is in 00:34:06.519 --> 00:34:07.180 the very fact 00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:08.480 that you get God himself. 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:10.579 that will grow 00:34:10.579 --> 00:34:11.920 in your life. 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:12.960 Let us pray. 00:34:13.019 --> 00:34:13.179 Father, 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:14.360 we want an experience 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:14.760 of God 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:17.219 even today, 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:17.880 even now, 00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:19.460 and some of us 00:34:19.460 --> 00:34:19.940 are there, 00:34:20.059 --> 00:34:21.280 we're tasting 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:22.099 the honey 00:34:22.099 --> 00:34:24.320 that is the infinite beauty 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:25.940 that is condescended 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:26.699 in your presence 00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:27.159 with us 00:34:27.159 --> 00:34:27.980 as you promise it. 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:29.940 And for many of us, 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:30.380 probably, 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:31.340 more of us, 00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:33.599 we are feeling distant 00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:34.139 and cold 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:35.900 and struggling 00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:36.619 and saying, 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:37.960 yet I want this, 00:34:37.960 --> 00:34:38.639 and so Lord, 00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:39.940 first we ask 00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:40.980 that you would assure us 00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:43.000 that you are working 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:43.599 in our lives 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:44.460 if there's any hint 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:45.519 of desire in us 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:47.199 for knowing you more. 00:34:47.980 --> 00:34:48.480 And then secondly, 00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:49.400 we ask that you would 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:50.480 grant it to us even now. 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:52.159 So help us to turn away 00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:55.079 from the meager words 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:55.720 of some sermon 00:34:55.720 --> 00:34:57.139 from some guy 00:34:57.139 --> 00:34:57.740 and instead, 00:34:58.199 --> 00:34:58.320 Lord, 00:34:58.400 --> 00:34:59.300 all of us help us now 00:34:59.300 --> 00:35:00.539 to turn in prayer 00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:02.340 and communion with you, 00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:03.260 the living God. 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:03.880 So we ask for that 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:04.840 as we sing these words 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:05.659 of Be Thou My Vision. 00:35:05.820 --> 00:35:06.320 In Christ's name, 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:06.960 we pray. 00:35:07.099 --> 00:35:07.300 Amen. 00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:08.059 Amen.