WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.320 I know you wouldn't believe it to look at me now, but you've heard me say a few years ago I got really into long distance running. 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:15.140 And at the time that I started to get into long distance running was about the same time that I became a girl dad. 00:00:15.860 --> 00:00:28.039 So coinciding with this new passion for torturous exercise was also our family's really kind of love for Disney vacations, Disney parks. 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:37.399 And it didn't take very long through that process for me to find an avenue in which those two interests could be brought together. 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:46.079 I joined a running group. It was started by a man who runs a podcast and travel agency for Disney vacations in particular. 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.079 And the group, it grew to several hundred people at one point. 00:00:51.659 --> 00:00:57.320 Here's the point of me telling you that. Everything about that group had a very narrow focus. 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:03.339 It was narrowly focused on bringing together those two interests that I just mentioned to you. 00:01:03.339 --> 00:01:07.840 It was focused on running distance races at Disney parks. 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:16.239 The discussions in the Facebook group, they were all about general information related to these Disney races. 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:24.180 In-person meetups of the group, they took place at Disney parks and at Run Disney events. 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:31.380 There was a strong community of people whose entire relationship was built around one thing. 00:01:32.160 --> 00:01:35.020 Running races at Disney World. 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:42.980 And from the outside looking in, you might think or others probably think that this group is a bit obsessive. 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:45.219 Obsessive about one interest or the other. 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:56.260 But the fact remains, the very existence of the group, the very function of the group, was fundamentally about Run Disney races. 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:02.780 So everything that it did and the interaction that the people had within it centered on that particular thing. 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:12.240 Now, in a similar way to that group, Christianity also has a central, all-consuming focus. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:16.800 It is fundamentally about the gospel. 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:28.180 The good news that God has provided eternal salvation to sinners through Jesus Christ, his sinless son. 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:35.040 We could say Christians are essentially gospel people. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:44.780 Our covenant together is built entirely on a shared confession of faith in the gospel message. 00:02:45.739 --> 00:02:49.120 When we gather, we celebrate that gospel. 00:02:49.299 --> 00:02:51.079 That's the purpose of our gathering today. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.239 At times, we partake in gospel ordinances. 00:02:56.899 --> 00:02:58.419 Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 00:02:58.859 --> 00:03:04.659 Covenant signs of our belonging to God through the gospel of Christ. 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:09.359 We have God's word, the Bible. 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:12.199 Which has a grand message. 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:15.060 One really central, focused message. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.379 Entirely, the gospel. 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:22.680 And the gospel is all about Jesus Christ. 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:30.280 So we understand then that all of the Bible is then intrinsically about Jesus. 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:30.560 Jesus Christ. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:44.580 And of course, while the gospel's truth is unchanging, it is variously expressed through the scriptures based on God's progressive revelation in history. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:48.199 In other words, the gospel message is the same from Genesis to Revelation. 00:03:48.199 --> 00:04:00.060 But where you read of the gospel in, let's say, Paul's epistles is expressed differently than the way that you read that same gospel, let's say, in the Psalms of David. 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:03.979 Alistair Begg has a helpful statement here. 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:06.239 We find Christ in all the scriptures. 00:04:07.079 --> 00:04:09.500 In the Old Testament, he is predicted. 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:12.839 In the gospels, he's revealed. 00:04:13.459 --> 00:04:15.719 In Acts, he is preached. 00:04:16.159 --> 00:04:18.800 In the epistles, he's explained. 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:22.519 And in Revelation, he is expected. 00:04:23.719 --> 00:04:30.159 Indeed, the Bible is about Jesus and his gospel from beginning to end. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:39.860 Therefore, Christians are all about the gospel from beginning to end and everything that we are and everything that we do. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:47.760 There's core tenets of this gospel message that Christians tend to explain in different ways. 00:04:47.840 --> 00:04:54.800 Right now, you're learning in Lakeside Connect on Sunday mornings, a presentation of the gospel essentially that follows four things. 00:04:55.260 --> 00:04:58.560 God, the righteous creator, that was the focus this morning, right? 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:01.860 Man next week as the sinner. 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:04.280 Christ as the Savior. 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:07.339 You'll have the response of repentance and faith. 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:12.060 But then, ultimately, you get to redemption, final redemption, right? 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:17.920 Another way of using kind of that same framework that's very common among Christians is to follow this. 00:05:18.259 --> 00:05:24.139 Creation, fall, redemption, restoration, right? 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:26.379 It's a framework for presenting the gospel. 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.779 We might preach the same gospel using questions. 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:35.040 Why is there something rather than nothing? 00:05:36.159 --> 00:05:39.279 Answer, there's a creator that put it there. 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:42.339 Well, what went wrong with it? 00:05:42.939 --> 00:05:44.680 Answer, sin. 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:47.699 Is there any hope? 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:50.360 Answer, Christ. 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:52.579 Where's all of this going? 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:54.959 Answer, judgment. 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.099 Great judgment. 00:05:57.099 --> 00:05:59.060 Great judgment for the unbelief. 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:07.979 No matter which approach you take in sharing or explaining the gospel, for it to be the true gospel, it must begin with God. 00:06:08.659 --> 00:06:11.159 It must address man's sin. 00:06:11.719 --> 00:06:15.459 It must proclaim Christ's atoning death and resurrection. 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:20.659 It must call for sinners to respond in repentance and faith. 00:06:20.859 --> 00:06:26.139 And it must look forward to the great day of judgment and the eternal kingdom of God. 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:32.299 And wherever you go in the scripture, that gospel is present in different ways. 00:06:32.979 --> 00:06:33.659 But it's there. 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:41.620 And when we come to Psalm 14, guess what we have again? 00:06:42.340 --> 00:06:43.560 We have the gospel. 00:06:44.840 --> 00:06:47.980 It's the gospel according to David. 00:06:47.980 --> 00:06:57.120 His historical context was such that Jesus is not explicitly named in Psalm 14. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:02.560 But that doesn't mean that Jesus isn't explicitly preached in Psalm 14. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:03.900 For he is. 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:12.839 What we look back to in redemptive history, David was looking forward to in redemptive history. 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:19.079 Placing his faith and trust in the promises of God that would come through God's King and Messiah. 00:07:19.299 --> 00:07:20.939 We do the same exact thing. 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:24.120 Salvation functions exactly the same no matter where you look. 00:07:24.359 --> 00:07:29.239 We look back and we know that that Savior and Messiah is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:33.860 David looks forward, unknowing of exactly who that would be. 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:36.600 Not knowing exactly how that would unfold. 00:07:36.819 --> 00:07:37.980 But his faith is the same. 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:39.360 His trust is the same. 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:40.780 The gospel is there. 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:44.759 All the core tenets of the gospel are present in Psalm 14. 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:49.220 David addresses the universal human condition. 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:54.400 Rebellion against the creator. 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:59.019 He speaks of two groups with two distinct ends. 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:04.759 And then he emphasizes salvation for God's people through the work of God's King. 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:05.319 Okay? 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:06.740 So that's what we want to see here. 00:08:07.160 --> 00:08:10.079 We want to see the gospel according to David using those three things. 00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:14.620 First, notice the universal human condition. 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:16.840 The universal human condition. 00:08:16.960 --> 00:08:17.400 Verse 1. 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:21.220 The fool says in his heart, there is no God. 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:23.319 They are corrupt. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:25.980 They do abominable deeds. 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:28.259 There is none who does good. 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:34.259 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, literally the sons of Adam, 00:08:35.059 --> 00:08:37.559 to see if there are any who understand. 00:08:39.319 --> 00:08:43.779 Understanding them being described as seeking God, who seek after God. 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:45.779 They have all turned aside. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:48.240 Together they've become corrupt. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:49.960 There is none who does good. 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:52.620 Not even one. 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:53.680 Harsh words, right? 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:55.019 True words. 00:08:56.220 --> 00:09:00.299 So in the opening stanza here, David introduces us to the atheist creed. 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:02.360 There is no God. 00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:07.940 But still we need to understand this within its historical context. 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:14.000 Today, an atheist is someone who rejects all notions of supernatural. 00:09:14.180 --> 00:09:16.500 It's not just about a rejection of God. 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:22.960 It's a rejection of all things that are supernatural, including God, including any divine being. 00:09:24.300 --> 00:09:32.380 But did you know that in the early centuries of the church, those who were labeled and persecuted as atheists were the Jews and the Christians? 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:36.799 It's not because they denied the supernatural. 00:09:36.939 --> 00:09:37.659 Of course they didn't. 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:39.639 It's not because they said there's no God. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:40.980 Of course they believe that. 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:44.519 It's because they believe there was one exclusive God. 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:47.240 They denied the pluralism of their age. 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:50.519 And in their Greco-Roman culture, that brought great persecution. 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:55.699 It wasn't that their culture had a problem with them following Jesus. 00:09:56.019 --> 00:10:02.319 It wasn't that their culture had a problem with them worshiping the Jewish God or the God of the Hebrew Bible. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:09.399 It's that they did that exclusively and they proclaimed that unless everybody else did that exclusively, they would be judged by God. 00:10:10.019 --> 00:10:11.539 So they were labeled as atheists. 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:14.399 And they were persecuted as such. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:25.120 When David wrote this psalm, it is highly improbable that atheism as we know it today even existed. 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:31.600 Everyone had at least one God they worshipped and appealed to for blessing. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:40.460 All of Israel's enemies were linked to some false deity, be it Bel or Dagon, Molech, 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:46.019 some other variation of what the Bible calls demonic influences. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:52.160 So then who exactly is David talking about when he says the fool says in his heart there is no God? 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:59.900 David probably didn't have much of a category for somebody like we would in that sense, using that particular phrase. 00:11:00.660 --> 00:11:03.740 A few observations here I think will help us. 00:11:04.400 --> 00:11:05.700 The first observation is this. 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:10.540 This is defiance more than it is denial. 00:11:11.580 --> 00:11:11.740 Okay? 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.440 It's defiance more than it is denial. 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.340 The fool's creed is not so much a denial of God's existence. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.820 It is a rejection of God's rule. 00:11:25.020 --> 00:11:26.500 His sovereignty over them. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:32.759 They declare that there is no God to which they will ultimately be accountable. 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:36.279 That's really what we're dealing with here. 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:44.600 No divine being that cares enough to actually look on humanity and judge those who displease him, 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:51.860 or at least in the way that the Hebrew Bible was declaring there was a God who must be appeased. 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:53.620 Derek Kidner helps here. 00:11:53.620 --> 00:12:01.320 The assertion there is no God is in fact treated in Scripture not as a sincere if misguided conviction, 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:07.299 but as an irresponsible gesture of defiance. 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:13.560 And this feature of the sinner's attitude has already been addressed in many of the Psalms we've dealt with, 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:15.799 particularly in Psalm 10. 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:19.200 Psalm 10, verses 4 and verse 11. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:24.280 In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek God. 00:12:24.640 --> 00:12:27.780 All his thoughts are, there is no God. 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:31.360 And this is further explained in verse 11 when David says, 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:34.780 he says in his heart, God has forgotten. 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:37.240 He has hidden his face. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:39.840 He will never see it. 00:12:40.140 --> 00:12:40.460 Do you see? 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:44.740 This is more of a defiance than it is a denial. 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:52.060 Which helps us to understand the universality of this human condition. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:57.639 We're not looking simply at people through this verse that say there is no such thing as a God. 00:12:57.799 --> 00:12:59.460 There is no such thing as the supernatural. 00:12:59.940 --> 00:13:05.860 We're looking at all people who, by nature, defy the rule of God in their life. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:08.000 That's who this is addressing. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:16.340 Interestingly, while a modern atheist claims to deny God's existence, 00:13:17.179 --> 00:13:21.940 God's word denies the existence of a true atheist. 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:23.740 Interesting, isn't it? 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:31.899 Instead, the Bible describes them as rebels who suppress the truth. 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.200 That God says is evident everywhere. 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:36.679 That's Romans 1, isn't it? 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:41.279 So before he quotes this particular psalm in Romans chapter 3, 00:13:41.439 --> 00:13:43.279 Paul makes his point clear in Romans 1. 00:13:43.739 --> 00:13:51.759 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who do what? 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:56.319 Who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:01.059 For what can be known about God is plain to them. 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:03.259 Because God has shown it to them. 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:03.659 Do you see? 00:14:03.939 --> 00:14:06.559 Paul's dealing with the same category that David's dealing with. 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:07.559 In Psalm 14 here. 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:12.399 For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:17.799 have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:20.119 So they are then without excuse. 00:14:20.699 --> 00:14:25.659 No person claiming to be an atheist will have an excuse before the Lord to say, 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:27.459 well, there was no sign that you existed. 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:29.439 Paul says, no, it's there. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:31.519 They're just suppressing the truth of it. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.579 And he continues. 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:41.699 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. 00:14:42.439 --> 00:14:43.620 What did they do? 00:14:44.139 --> 00:14:45.179 They defied him. 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:46.639 They defied him. 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:49.579 They became futile in their thinking. 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:53.420 Their foolishness, in other words, grew. 00:14:54.420 --> 00:14:57.620 It went deeper as they continued to suppress the truth. 00:14:57.920 --> 00:15:02.600 So this form of atheism that David deals with in Psalm 14 continues to grow progressively 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:04.940 into the atheism that we understand today. 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:09.879 Their foolish hearts, Paul says, were darkened. 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:15.240 They became fools, claiming to be wise, the intellectual elite. 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:19.240 They actually became fools. 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:20.879 Same word David uses. 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:28.220 And they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:29.379 and animals and creeping things. 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:33.340 This is the progression of the suppression of the truth. 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:42.660 And according to the scripture, the fool's creed is fundamentally an act of defiance against God 00:15:42.660 --> 00:15:48.540 more than it is an intellectually credible conviction about his existence. 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:55.600 As men and women have continued to do this, the futility of their thinking has deepened. 00:15:55.700 --> 00:15:57.120 Their hearts have darkened further. 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:04.560 And that has produced more blatant expressions of the foolish creed that David refers to. 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:10.080 So the first observation of this here is that this is defiance more than it is denial. 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:11.659 But there's a second observation. 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:14.820 We are all fools by nature. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:20.779 By our nature, we fit the description of verse 1. 00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:31.500 This form of atheism, if we even want to call it that, it's expressed through universal corruption. 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:36.419 By nature, we all live in rebellion against our creator. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:42.919 Though we may be open to his existence, we reject his sovereign rule over us. 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:44.259 He gives us his word. 00:16:44.579 --> 00:16:46.000 We say, no thank you. 00:16:47.839 --> 00:16:49.100 I'm good with you being there. 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:50.740 I certainly want your blessings. 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:53.299 When I do something good, I want you to reward that. 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:56.220 But when it comes to all the other things, no thanks. 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:57.519 That's our nature. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:04.460 Every person by nature functions with that disposition towards God. 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:10.599 Therefore, we enjoy what God calls, according to David here, abominable. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:18.159 We refuse to do those things that is the most essential good. 00:17:18.159 --> 00:17:22.819 To love, obey, and worship the Lord. 00:17:23.679 --> 00:17:27.939 David isn't saying here that no person can do a good thing. 00:17:28.019 --> 00:17:28.719 That's not what he's saying. 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:33.339 He's saying we are incapable in our nature of doing the most basic good. 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:39.339 That even the goodness that we perform is tainted by our disposition towards God. 00:17:39.339 --> 00:17:41.179 Our rebellion towards God. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:46.000 Certainly, some people are more blatant in their rebellion than others. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:55.640 Still, the fact remains that in our natural state, we belong to the plotting peoples and the raging nations of Psalm 2. 00:17:55.640 --> 00:18:00.540 Who set themselves against the Lord and his anointed son and king. 00:18:01.120 --> 00:18:03.420 We know to be Jesus Christ. 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:14.320 So then David's assessment in verse 1, we're all fools by nature, is then affirmed by God in verses 2 and 3. 00:18:15.580 --> 00:18:21.360 Despite the fool's claim that God will not see and judge, the Lord indeed does look on the children of Adam. 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:25.860 He has discerned that all are corrupt and sinful by nature. 00:18:25.859 --> 00:18:33.539 No one naturally acts with true understanding and seeks after God, the Lord says. 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:42.119 All people have been corrupted so that not a single individual is viewed by God as good. 00:18:44.399 --> 00:18:50.959 Now while we may discern levels of goodness as we relate to one another, certainly we can do that. 00:18:52.459 --> 00:18:55.419 God judges according to his perfect standard. 00:18:55.859 --> 00:19:01.119 And when it comes to his perfect standard, every single one of us falls short. 00:19:02.459 --> 00:19:06.139 He cannot look on any person and say that he is truly good. 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:18.019 And this truth that all people are corrupt by nature is precisely the point Paul made when he quoted these verses to the church in Rome in Romans chapter 3. 00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:26.160 And that whole discussion, the quotations that Paul puts in Romans chapter 3, it all culminates in verse 23, which you probably know well. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:31.139 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:35.940 A final observation should be made here before we move on. 00:19:36.580 --> 00:19:39.200 Remember, we're thinking the universal human condition. 00:19:40.600 --> 00:19:43.720 It's really a reference to defiance more than denial. 00:19:44.820 --> 00:19:47.460 All of us fit that description by nature. 00:19:48.320 --> 00:19:50.380 And here's the third thing that we have to acknowledge. 00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:54.580 Our corruption is a matter of the heart. 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:57.779 This is a heart level corruption. 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:01.240 Psalm 14, 1. 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:03.220 The fool says where? 00:20:04.299 --> 00:20:07.019 In his heart, there is no God. 00:20:08.579 --> 00:20:12.159 This creed, it is not first the language of the tongue. 00:20:12.419 --> 00:20:14.419 It is the expression of the heart. 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:20.779 The sinner's rebellion, it does not result from his circumstances. 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:27.240 It reflects who he truly is inside, within himself. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.059 This is biblical anthropology. 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:36.599 The biblical anthropology has been rejected by our therapeutic culture. 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:46.480 And it's even being abandoned by professing Christians who want to understand the human condition through secular psychology rather than biblical Christianity. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:46.599 Christianity. 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:54.839 The lie of the world tells us that all of our problems are outside of us. 00:20:56.099 --> 00:21:04.700 And the implication of that is that we are not then personally culpable and responsible for the attitudes and the behaviors that we demonstrate. 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:09.380 There's always a father issue that we can point to. 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:11.420 There's always a class system. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:12.960 Well, I didn't have the advantages. 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:14.480 I didn't have the privileges of somebody else. 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:16.000 That's why I am who I am. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.819 And that's why I act the way that I act. 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:20.640 The Bible says, no, that's not how this works. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:22.740 You are who you are. 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:23.980 You act how you act. 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:31.079 Because you are by nature, in your heart, at the deepest person of who you are, in corrupt rebellion against God. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.660 And therefore, you are culpable. 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.579 The Bible insists that the problem is the sinfulness inside of us. 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:42.539 That we are personally responsible for our sin. 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:46.139 That God is angry about our sin. 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:50.119 That he's determined to judge sinners. 00:21:50.639 --> 00:21:54.500 That our greatest need is the redemption of the whole person. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.819 Leading to transformation from the inside out. 00:21:59.819 --> 00:22:03.819 This is the actual human condition. 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:06.059 And it is universal in scope. 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:09.460 That's not my discernment. 00:22:10.579 --> 00:22:12.319 That's what the Bible says. 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:15.899 Over and over and over. 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:17.079 Not in one or two places. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:18.179 Everywhere. 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:21.399 It says, this is our condition. 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:24.220 We are sinners. 00:22:24.220 --> 00:22:24.420 sinners. 00:22:26.620 --> 00:22:27.559 That's the first thing. 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:29.440 Second thing we find here. 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:31.180 In the gospel, according to David. 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:34.680 Is we find the presentation of two groups of people. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:37.860 With two distinct ends. 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:39.579 Two groups of people. 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:41.180 With two distinct ends. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:42.440 Look at verses 4 through 6. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:44.259 Have they no knowledge? 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:46.240 All the evildoers. 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:48.779 Who eat up my people as they eat bread. 00:22:48.860 --> 00:22:50.000 And do not call upon the Lord. 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:53.660 There, they are in great terror. 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:56.740 For God is with the generation of the righteous. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.120 You would shame the plans of the poor. 00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:02.660 But the Lord is his refuge. 00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:05.000 So in the first section. 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:08.240 David reveals the universal human condition. 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:10.319 That we are all set by nature. 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:13.299 In rebellion against God's authority over us. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.779 It's not that we deny him. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:16.440 It's that we defy him. 00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:17.980 That's our human condition. 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:20.440 This part of the psalm. 00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:23.460 Shows that within fallen humanity. 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:27.019 Within all humans who have that universal condition. 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:29.640 There are two groups of people. 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:32.519 There are evildoers. 00:23:32.840 --> 00:23:33.460 He says. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.259 Who are contrasted then with those. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.019 Whom God has made his own possession. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:40.740 Because the my people. 00:23:41.360 --> 00:23:41.840 In this verse. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:44.840 There's the generation of the righteous. 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:46.359 In verse 5. 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.059 That's set against what is implied. 00:23:49.459 --> 00:23:51.259 To be the generation of the wicked. 00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:52.019 Generation. 00:23:52.159 --> 00:23:54.459 Not speaking of a time frame. 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:55.199 In which you're born. 00:23:55.399 --> 00:23:55.859 Generation. 00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:56.980 That's group of person. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:57.799 Group of people. 00:23:58.459 --> 00:23:59.619 There's the generation of the righteous. 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:01.379 There's the generation of the wicked. 00:24:01.379 --> 00:24:04.379 There are the proverbial poor. 00:24:04.899 --> 00:24:06.220 In verse 6. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:08.279 Who take refuge in God. 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.539 And they are being made distinct. 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:11.859 In this verse. 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:14.339 From those who abuse them. 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:16.639 Two groups. 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:20.720 Two different ends. 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:22.240 For these groups. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:24.279 And you should notice. 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:26.579 There's no middle ground here. 00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:28.920 There's no third way. 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:32.640 We each belong to one group. 00:24:32.860 --> 00:24:33.700 Or the other. 00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:36.660 As Jesus put it. 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:38.519 You're either on the narrow way. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:40.480 Or you're on the broad way. 00:24:41.620 --> 00:24:44.440 You're either headed toward the narrow gate. 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:46.460 Or toward the wide gate. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.740 You're either building your life on the rock. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:51.800 Or on the sand. 00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:54.259 You're either in the kingdom. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:56.140 Or out of the kingdom. 00:24:56.460 --> 00:24:57.940 You're either the seed of the serpent. 00:24:57.940 --> 00:24:59.980 Or the seed of the woman. 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:01.519 You're either destined for heaven. 00:25:01.840 --> 00:25:03.980 Or you're condemned to hell. 00:25:04.580 --> 00:25:07.519 Psalm 14 is consistent with all of the Bible. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.080 In reducing man's existence. 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:12.759 Man's direction. 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:14.559 And man's destination. 00:25:15.080 --> 00:25:17.320 To only two possible categories. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:19.460 No matter how hard you try. 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:23.820 There's no possibility of having one foot in each camp. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.120 And any attempt to do that. 00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:28.139 Puts you squarely in the camp. 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:29.939 That's what the plotting peoples. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.539 And the raging nations of Psalm 2. 00:25:31.659 --> 00:25:33.259 Who are actually set against God. 00:25:33.439 --> 00:25:34.459 Now why would we say that? 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:36.939 Because God is the one who has told us this. 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:41.119 And to fall short of any of his program. 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:43.159 Is to be against him. 00:25:44.019 --> 00:25:45.379 There's no middle ground here. 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:47.559 So let's look a little closer. 00:25:47.659 --> 00:25:49.679 At the two possibilities presented. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:50.279 First. 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:50.880 First. 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:52.259 There's rebels. 00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:54.980 And those rebels are judged. 00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:57.680 Rebels are judged. 00:25:57.799 --> 00:25:58.900 Most of the section here. 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:04.160 It focuses on those who continue in defiance against God. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:06.120 We all begin in defiance. 00:26:07.120 --> 00:26:10.799 But most of the focus here is on those who continue in this defiance. 00:26:11.320 --> 00:26:13.660 And the emphasis is on their future judgment. 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:21.740 A judgment of which David says they seem willfully ignorant of. 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:24.259 Verse 4. 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:26.160 It categorizes the group in two ways. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:28.640 They do not call upon the Lord. 00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:31.340 They refuse to trust and obey him. 00:26:32.300 --> 00:26:36.540 And they devour the people who do trust and obey the Lord. 00:26:37.340 --> 00:26:38.300 Interesting characteristics. 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:42.960 But because they have suppressed the truth. 00:26:43.619 --> 00:26:47.919 God says they behave as if they don't even realize that there is a coming judgment. 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:50.480 Isn't that what he says in verse 4? 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:52.659 Have they no knowledge? 00:26:53.639 --> 00:26:54.759 Do they not realize? 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:58.299 Are they truly that foolish? 00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:01.799 To think that all of this isn't heading somewhere? 00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:05.220 We go back to the four questions we asked in the introduction. 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:06.259 The gospel questions. 00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:07.819 Where is all of this headed? 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:11.440 The first half of that answer is judgment. 00:27:11.919 --> 00:27:13.000 It's all headed to judgment. 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:15.779 God says are they really that foolish? 00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:19.319 That they behave as if there is no judgment. 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:25.980 Nature itself teaches us that there is a creator to which we are accountable. 00:27:26.899 --> 00:27:28.379 We reject that truth. 00:27:29.139 --> 00:27:31.119 We live in opposition to it. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:35.319 And we store up more of God's wrath for the day of judgment. 00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:38.500 Calling them fools here is not a put down. 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:44.240 David's not being aggressive just to agitate these people. 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:45.980 That's not what he's doing here. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:47.639 He's speaking of their reality. 00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:49.439 This really is foolishness. 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:50.539 It's ignorance. 00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:54.740 They're willfully ignorant of their coming judgment. 00:27:54.879 --> 00:27:56.879 They have deceived themselves. 00:27:56.880 --> 00:28:03.100 And the reality of the coming judgment is made explicit in verse 5. 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:07.319 Here's how Christopher Ashe puts it. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:12.699 There vividly opens up a vision of judgment to come. 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:15.720 Quoting Calvin, he says, 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:19.160 It is as if the psalmist pointed to it with his finger. 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:26.100 There, in the place of judgment, that's where they will be seen. 00:28:26.360 --> 00:28:27.220 There they are. 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:33.420 Those who so casually despised God's people in great terror. 00:28:33.860 --> 00:28:34.940 That's where they are. 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:38.120 That is their destiny if they do not repent. 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:43.299 Of course, in the setting of Psalm 14, they're not in terror at the moment. 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:46.799 They think they're doing great in the moment. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:50.099 No, the psalmist, he's pointing to a future. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:54.259 He's saying there, at that judgment, at that final reckoning, 00:28:54.980 --> 00:29:02.079 that is when they will fear, feel the terror that they put on the people of God in David's context. 00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:06.799 Friends, don't suppress the truth. 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:09.740 Don't do it any longer. 00:29:10.980 --> 00:29:11.919 Don't you know? 00:29:11.919 --> 00:29:14.960 There is judgment coming. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:18.419 It's coming. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:22.859 You may not be in terror now. 00:29:24.659 --> 00:29:26.180 But a judgment is coming. 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:30.000 And at that judgment, you will, on your own, 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.379 you will stand before the God that you have defied. 00:29:34.339 --> 00:29:36.079 That you have continued to defy. 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:39.379 And you will face his wrath. 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:44.799 There, in that place, he will judge your disobedience. 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:51.940 And apart from repentance and faith in Christ, he will cast you into eternal hell. 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:55.019 Rebels are judged. 00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:56.440 There's a second group, though. 00:29:57.539 --> 00:29:58.680 Oh, there's gospel hope. 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:00.259 Gospel means good news. 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:01.539 All we've talked about is bad news. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:03.500 Is there any good news here? 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:05.419 Yeah, of course there is. 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:09.360 Not only will rebels be judged, but he says, no, believers will be saved. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.240 There is a hope here. 00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:18.880 Despite our universal corruption, there's a second group of sinners in this passage 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:23.039 who will not face God's wrath as the first group will. 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:28.859 My people, in verse 4, is the first hint, apart from David himself, 00:30:29.339 --> 00:30:34.440 that the Lord takes some corrupt humans for his own possession. 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:39.200 Do they have the same condition as the wicked? 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:40.559 Yes. 00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:42.799 But they're in a different group. 00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:44.680 They have a different end. 00:30:45.659 --> 00:30:46.799 Wrath is not their end. 00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:49.019 Salvation is their end. 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:57.740 Still, we must acknowledge this group does not represent people who are morally superior to the others. 00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:07.339 It's not that they've committed fewer sins or obtained a higher level of goodness that merits God's favor. 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:08.099 No. 00:31:09.660 --> 00:31:16.759 The covenant saving relationship that they enjoy with God is made possible only by his grace. 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:19.240 It is grace-powered. 00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:21.180 And what is grace? 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:24.160 It's favor that is not merited. 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:30.720 If it's merited by our goodness or our morality, then it isn't grace. 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:34.519 And yet, over and over and over, the Bible emphasizes not what we do. 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:36.579 It emphasizes the grace of God. 00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:43.140 We receive it how? 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:46.140 We receive it by faith. 00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:47.579 Verse 6. 00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:47.579 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:49.059 What do they do? 00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:53.259 They take refuge in God. 00:31:54.599 --> 00:31:58.640 They trust him rather than defy him. 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:04.119 They submit to him rather than rebel against him. 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:05.519 They believe him. 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:09.140 And their belief is counted as righteousness. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:13.700 That's what Romans 4 tells us when addressing Abraham in particular. 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:14.240 Paul says, 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:19.080 For if Abraham was justified by his works, he has something to boast about. 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:21.259 Except before God. 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:23.860 For what does the scripture say? 00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:32.200 Abraham believed God, faith, and it was counted to him as righteousness. 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:34.380 It is not actual righteousness. 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:38.240 It is credited to him as if it is true righteousness. 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:42.400 This is the generation of the righteous in verse 5. 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:46.799 But as we noted in Psalm 1, their righteousness is not actual. 00:32:48.339 --> 00:32:52.160 The theological word is imputed, which just means credited. 00:32:52.160 --> 00:33:06.460 If you get paid by your employer through direct deposit, and however long or however often you get paid, there is a set of money that is credited to your account. 00:33:06.540 --> 00:33:07.140 You don't put it there. 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:08.000 Someone else puts it there. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:11.960 That's justification by faith. 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:15.720 It is credited to us. 00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:25.819 In other words, though we are naturally corrupt sinners, God declares that we are righteous instead. 00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:29.220 That's the good news of the gospel. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.819 That though this is your true condition, it doesn't have to remain so. 00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:43.059 That God will declare you righteous by his grace through faith. 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:46.759 And the biblical word for this is justification. 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:49.899 It means to be declared in a legal sense. 00:33:50.259 --> 00:33:50.960 It's a courtroom. 00:33:51.379 --> 00:33:52.359 Declared righteous. 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:55.819 Though you are guilty, he says not guilty. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:33:59.960 But what's the basis of the righteousness? 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:05.140 When we stand at that great judgment, does God just lie about us? 00:34:05.299 --> 00:34:06.819 Is that what this justification is? 00:34:07.019 --> 00:34:11.579 Does he acknowledge that we are sinners, but he just kind of has an affinity for us, so he's going to say, never mind. 00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:13.840 I'm just going to say you're not guilty. 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:15.619 No, that's not what he does. 00:34:16.300 --> 00:34:17.920 That's why Jesus is so important. 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:20.220 That's why he's the central focus of all of the Bible. 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:22.440 He's the central focus of our salvation. 00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:24.699 Without him, there is no justification. 00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:27.099 Without him, there is no true righteousness. 00:34:27.099 --> 00:34:30.099 Without him, there is no grace. 00:34:31.099 --> 00:34:33.719 In love, God becomes man. 00:34:35.239 --> 00:34:41.199 Jesus Christ, born of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary. 00:34:41.719 --> 00:34:46.759 Meaning that though he was truly a man, he did not have our corrupt nature. 00:34:47.659 --> 00:34:48.579 He's sinless. 00:34:49.839 --> 00:34:54.339 And he perfectly fulfilled God's law, living the life that we were supposed to live. 00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:57.120 And then he died the death that we deserve to die. 00:34:57.420 --> 00:35:03.260 Having never sinned, he becomes the perfect substitute for sinners. 00:35:03.260 --> 00:35:13.100 So when God declares a sinner righteous, it's not because they're actually righteous, and it's not that he lies about them. 00:35:13.720 --> 00:35:24.580 When he declares them righteous, it's because Christ took the punishment for their sin and bestowed upon them his perfect righteousness. 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:37.900 A transaction has taken place by God's grace through faith, whereby God says, my son will pay the punishment for your sin, and he will in return give you his righteousness. 00:35:38.420 --> 00:35:43.799 So as Romans says, God then becomes just and the justifier. 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:46.120 And we've said this so many times before. 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:54.180 When you come to Christ for salvation, it's not as if God says, okay, thanks for filling out this plan of things that I told you to do. 00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:57.100 Now that you've done that, I'm just going to kind of turn a blind eye to what you've done. 00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:58.880 That's not what salvation is. 00:35:59.140 --> 00:36:00.860 No, it must be paid. 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:04.420 Every sin must be judged. 00:36:04.700 --> 00:36:10.060 But for those who come to Christ, Jesus takes that judgment for us. 00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:23.199 He is judged for our sins rather than we being judged for our sins, which means that imputed to us and credited to our account before God is not our righteousness. 00:36:23.579 --> 00:36:25.559 It's the perfection of Christ. 00:36:26.599 --> 00:36:32.239 God looks at us and he sees Jesus rather than us. 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:40.439 He who makes the many righteous brings us back to life again. 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:47.259 Dying, he reversed the curse, rising, crushed the serpent's head. 00:36:47.399 --> 00:36:48.179 That's what we sing. 00:36:49.179 --> 00:36:58.379 The good news of the gospel is that though you are a sinner who deserves God's wrath, he will forgive your sin. 00:36:59.159 --> 00:37:01.000 He will make peace with you. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:03.800 He will adopt you into his family. 00:37:04.219 --> 00:37:06.039 He will give you eternal life. 00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:10.719 And he will do it only through Jesus Christ. 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:19.380 You can't receive any of those things by cleaning up your morals or finding some kind of middle ground between the two groups in this psalm. 00:37:19.739 --> 00:37:20.920 It won't work that way. 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:21.619 It doesn't work. 00:37:22.980 --> 00:37:27.400 You receive it by turning away from your defiance. 00:37:28.659 --> 00:37:30.219 You say, I still got a bunch of questions. 00:37:30.219 --> 00:37:31.579 Great, so do I. 00:37:31.659 --> 00:37:32.879 And I've been a Christian a long time. 00:37:35.179 --> 00:37:36.519 But I trust him. 00:37:37.959 --> 00:37:40.259 I'm turning away from that defiance. 00:37:42.599 --> 00:37:44.480 Repenting of my sin and rebellion. 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:48.879 And I'm taking refuge in Jesus Christ. 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:54.400 I'm trusting that what he has done is sufficient for my salvation. 00:37:54.400 --> 00:37:59.660 And I will follow him as Savior and as Lord. 00:37:59.659 --> 00:38:02.319 Again, we sing. 00:38:02.319 --> 00:38:05.359 Oh, fill the Spirit's gentle work. 00:38:06.359 --> 00:38:10.059 Who breaks with love the fortress heart. 00:38:11.019 --> 00:38:13.659 Then speaks to it the sweetest word. 00:38:14.940 --> 00:38:17.799 Stand forgiven, child of God. 00:38:17.800 --> 00:38:19.860 Only trust him. 00:38:20.340 --> 00:38:22.019 Only trust him. 00:38:22.700 --> 00:38:24.200 Turn to Jesus now. 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:25.680 He will save you. 00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:27.260 He will save you. 00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:29.180 With simple faith. 00:38:30.300 --> 00:38:31.300 And childlike trust. 00:38:31.300 --> 00:38:35.460 We see the universal human condition. 00:38:36.260 --> 00:38:39.039 We see two groups with two destinies. 00:38:39.600 --> 00:38:40.240 Two ends. 00:38:41.880 --> 00:38:44.380 But then this gospel presentation is completed. 00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:46.539 The gospel according to David in verse 7. 00:38:47.539 --> 00:38:49.420 We have salvation through God's king. 00:38:50.700 --> 00:38:51.960 Salvation through God's king. 00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:52.660 Again, verse 7. 00:38:52.659 --> 00:38:56.659 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion. 00:38:57.940 --> 00:39:00.539 When the Lord restores the fortune of his people. 00:39:01.139 --> 00:39:02.619 Let Jacob rejoice. 00:39:03.619 --> 00:39:05.019 Let Israel be glad. 00:39:06.579 --> 00:39:09.440 Much of this psalm is a callback to Psalm 2. 00:39:10.099 --> 00:39:13.099 If you were here for our study in those first two psalms, you'll remember. 00:39:14.019 --> 00:39:17.159 Those two psalms are introductory to the entire Psalter. 00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:24.099 Every psalm should be interpreted through the lens of those first two psalms. 00:39:24.699 --> 00:39:24.819 Okay? 00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:29.859 This psalm in particular brings us back to Psalm 2 over and over again. 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:33.519 It's in Psalm 2 that we're presented with the raging nations. 00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:37.519 With the plotting peoples who set themselves against God and his anointed king. 00:39:37.819 --> 00:39:41.039 Those who say there is no God in the sense as David means it here. 00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:49.420 Most of what we've studied in Psalm 14 continues to reflect on that human corruption and rebellion that's first presented in Psalm 2. 00:39:50.119 --> 00:39:56.000 But this final verse, this is the most explicit statement of hope in the passage. 00:39:56.699 --> 00:39:58.179 It's also linked to Psalm 2. 00:39:59.079 --> 00:40:00.800 Psalm 2 verses 4 through 9. 00:40:01.579 --> 00:40:04.320 He who sits in the heavens laughs. 00:40:05.259 --> 00:40:06.860 The Lord holds them in derision. 00:40:06.860 --> 00:40:13.079 Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, 00:40:13.940 --> 00:40:17.700 As for me, I have set my king on where? 00:40:18.920 --> 00:40:21.820 Zion, my holy hill. 00:40:22.220 --> 00:40:23.460 I will tell of the decree. 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:26.380 The Lord said to me, You are my son. 00:40:26.660 --> 00:40:27.400 This is the king. 00:40:27.980 --> 00:40:29.340 Today I have begotten you. 00:40:29.700 --> 00:40:34.180 Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. 00:40:34.179 --> 00:40:39.440 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 00:40:39.940 --> 00:40:42.799 You can go back to Psalm 2 and see how we unpacked all of that. 00:40:42.899 --> 00:40:44.819 But just briefly in connection with Psalm 14. 00:40:45.279 --> 00:40:47.199 Zion, this is poetic language here. 00:40:47.480 --> 00:40:50.440 This isn't referring to a specific place in Jerusalem. 00:40:51.619 --> 00:40:53.480 This isn't even speaking of Jerusalem itself. 00:40:53.739 --> 00:40:55.539 This is speaking of the place where God is. 00:40:55.639 --> 00:40:56.359 This is heaven. 00:40:56.480 --> 00:40:57.899 This is the place of God's throne. 00:40:58.899 --> 00:41:03.239 The place from which he sovereignly rules and judges his creation. 00:41:03.239 --> 00:41:09.279 Jesus Christ is the messianic king and son of God here. 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.899 Through which the world is judged and God's people are saved. 00:41:15.099 --> 00:41:17.139 You can go all the way to the end of the Bible in Revelation. 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:21.279 He quotes these Psalms, pointing us to Jesus. 00:41:21.419 --> 00:41:23.939 That Jesus is the fulfillment of them in this judgment. 00:41:25.299 --> 00:41:26.719 So what does David do here? 00:41:26.719 --> 00:41:35.559 He prays for and he longs for God to send forth his king from Zion to fulfill the promise of Psalm 2. 00:41:36.199 --> 00:41:41.279 And I've already told you how Jesus came to deliver us from God's wrath and bless his people. 00:41:42.059 --> 00:41:46.719 What David prayed for here, at least in part, has already happened. 00:41:47.859 --> 00:41:49.059 The Christ has come. 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:51.839 He has provided salvation. 00:41:51.840 --> 00:41:58.500 But just as David prays in Psalm 14, 7, longing that one day the Christ would come, 00:41:59.019 --> 00:42:08.600 we too now pray that he would come back, that he would return in glory and in judgment. 00:42:09.980 --> 00:42:15.120 Salvation has come through Jesus' death and resurrection. 00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:21.319 And salvation will come through his glorious return. 00:42:22.199 --> 00:42:31.319 In both cases, salvation comes only through God's king, Jesus, his son. 00:42:32.799 --> 00:42:41.779 Through him alone, God's people, Jew and Gentile, rejoice and are made glad. 00:42:41.779 --> 00:42:41.880 Amen. 00:42:45.119 --> 00:42:51.559 While it's expressed through the lens of David's place in redemptive history, we can't discount that. 00:42:52.519 --> 00:42:58.079 The gospel, according to David, is the same gospel that's preached everywhere else in the Bible. 00:42:58.599 --> 00:42:59.960 There is no other gospel. 00:43:01.039 --> 00:43:01.759 This is it. 00:43:04.019 --> 00:43:08.559 You and I are, by nature, rebels against our creator. 00:43:10.339 --> 00:43:11.960 We deserve his wrath. 00:43:11.960 --> 00:43:12.019 We deserve his wrath. 00:43:15.119 --> 00:43:20.259 But in his great love, God made a way for us to be forgiven. 00:43:22.519 --> 00:43:28.079 A way for us to be redeemed through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:38.619 And all who turn away from their inerrant rebellion to trust and follow Christ can be sure of God's eternal blessings in heaven. 00:43:38.619 --> 00:43:39.619 You will rejoice. 00:43:39.619 --> 00:43:40.000 You will rejoice. 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:40.940 You will be glad. 00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:43.199 You have a foretaste of that now. 00:43:43.779 --> 00:43:46.239 It will be made complete then at his return. 00:43:46.239 --> 00:43:50.599 But the inverse is also true. 00:43:50.599 --> 00:44:02.519 All who continue in their rebellion, through outright defiance, or maybe a more subtle approach in trying to mix various things together, 00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:07.239 they will face God's eternal wrath. 00:44:07.239 --> 00:44:10.579 We don't gloat in that. 00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:15.059 But it is given to us as a warning. 00:44:16.699 --> 00:44:24.919 No one in this room will stand before the Lord one day and be able to say, no one told me or I didn't get it. 00:44:26.419 --> 00:44:30.659 You'll stand before the Lord and you'll have to say, I just denied it. 00:44:30.659 --> 00:44:32.920 I just suppressed it. 00:44:34.679 --> 00:44:36.779 But you don't have to do that any longer. 00:44:37.940 --> 00:44:42.519 There's an open invitation from Christ to all people. 00:44:44.219 --> 00:44:48.440 Come to me, all who are weak and heavy laden. 00:44:49.059 --> 00:44:50.519 I will give you rest. 00:44:52.039 --> 00:44:58.199 Take my yoke upon you, he says, and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. 00:45:00.659 --> 00:45:02.699 Turn from your sin. 00:45:03.759 --> 00:45:04.859 Confess Christ today. 00:45:05.639 --> 00:45:07.139 He really is your only hope. 00:45:08.019 --> 00:45:09.399 And he's a certain hope.