Well, as we come to worship the Lord this morning, please turn with me to the book of Psalms. We will be in Psalm 138 this morning, Psalm 138. The early 19th century explorer and missionary David Livingstone once said this, I am immortal until the will of God for me is accomplished. And this is true for each and every one of us as we gather here this morning to worship the Lord. We are immortal. We will not taste death, as it were, until the Lord's will for each of us has been accomplished. And this view was also the view of King David. It was his conviction as he penned this psalm some 3,000 years ago. As we read in verse eight, the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. So despite the trials and tribulations that we will most certainly face in this life, each of us who are in Christ, we should face those trials and those tribulations with a confidence and with a boldness knowing that the Lord will likewise for us fulfill his purpose for each of us. And I think we can divide up Psalm 138 into three different sections. Firstly, in verses one through three, we see David's public praise of the Lord. And notice, firstly, the verbs associated with worship in the first two verses here. David says, I give you thanks. I sing your praises. I bow down. And then once again, I give thanks. So David here is offering worship to the Lord, but how does he offer this worship or in the presence of who does he offer this worship? And we would read again in verse one, he says, before the gods. Now this word gods, it could mean angels. It could mean the false gods of the nations, or it could mean the kings and the rulers of the earth. And I do believe that this last meaning best fits the context of Psalm 138. David's praise of the one true and living God is a public praise, if you will, that stands in stark contrast to the idolatrous kings and rulers of the surrounding nations. Notice also the reasons for David's public praise. Verse 2, David is moved to praise God because of who he is, namely for his steadfast love and his faithfulness. and these perfections of God are made manifest in God's exaltation of his name and of his word above all things. That is to say the promises of God that are expressed in his word will no more fail and be unfruitful and not come to pass than will God's name fail to be above all other names. And so we can once again look to verse eight, the Lord will fulfill his purposes. And I would suggest to you, brothers and sisters, that we should share this same confidence that God His purposes for us will be fulfilled as David is expressing in these verses. So as we continue here in this first section, moving to verse three, David gives praise to God, not only for who he is, but for what he has done, namely for answering David when he is called upon him. And as the verse says, increasing his strength of soul as he faced the wrath of his enemies. And the Lord must do the same for you and for me as we battle with the enemies that plague us in this present life. And whether that be the world, the flesh, or the devil, our adversaries in this age, we have to plead with the Lord to increase our strength of soul if we are to survive the onslaughts of our enemies. But I ask again, how do we pray for a strength of soul or an increase in strength of soul? I would say we do it confidently, remembering again, verse eight, the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. And among other things, one of the Lord's purposes for each of us here who are in Christ is that we overcome the world, just as Christ overcame the world. Now we do it through him certainly, but that is one of God's purposes for us. So let us not be slow to call upon the name of the Lord in confidence. as we navigate this present life. Well, as we move now to this second section, so we've seen David's public praise, verses four through six, there is a prophesied praise. Not only will King David give thanks to the Lord, the kings of the earth shall give thanks to God. They too shall sing of the ways of the Lord. This will surely come to pass. But why will this come to pass? Why will the kings of the earth praise God? Look at the second half of verse four. The kings of the earth will praise the Lord because they have heard the words of his mouth. And how did these pagan kings hear the words of the Lord? Did they not hear it from the lips of David himself as he was offering public praise to the one true and living God in the presence of the gods of this earth? I would submit to you that they did. They saw in David an example of someone who was serving and worshiping and praising the one true and living God. And I would submit to you that God uses the public praises of his people as a means to do what? To increase the public praises of his own name. And this prophesied praise is being fulfilled even now, because it's being fulfilled as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ does what? As we go into all the nations, as we preach the gospel of a crucified and risen Savior, as we make disciples, as we baptize them, as we teach them to obey all that the Lord has commanded, this prophesied praise is unfolding before our very eyes. And so I think in this way, as a corporate body, not just as individuals, but as a corporate body, we can also declare verse eight, that the Lord will fulfill his purposes for us, for his church. And one of those purposes is that the nations and the kings of the nations would be evangelized and brought to Christ through the work of the church. Well, finally, moving from this prophesied praise, we see in verses seven and eight, a persevering praise. Though David walks in the midst of trouble, the Lord does what? The Lord preserves his life. The Lord turns back the wrath of David's enemies and delivers him again because, verse 8, the Lord is going to fulfill his purposes in David. To use David Livingstone's words, King David is immortal until the will of God for him is accomplished. So despite walking in the midst of much trouble, despite the wrath of his enemies, David is immortal until the will of God for him is accomplished. God will preserve him, and by God's grace, David will persevere, praising the Lord along the way until the will of God for him is accomplished. And again, he can do this confidently, verse eight, knowing that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. And he can do it confidently at the end of verse eight, knowing that the Lord will not forsake him. So for those of you who are in Christ today, know that the purposes of the Lord for you will be fulfilled. You are immortal until the will of God for you is accomplished. Whatever circumstances are weighing on you as you have come to worship this morning, and I know all of us have circumstances. No one is immune to that. Whatever trouble you are in the midst of, and each of us to one degree or another is in some type of trouble. Maybe we've just come out of trouble, but in that case, what's ahead of us, surely, if the Lord tarries, and if we live long enough, is more trouble. So whatever trouble we're in the midst of, whatever cloud is hanging over our head this morning, know that the Lord will preserve you, know that he will deliver you and bring you safely into his heavenly kingdom. And even if the Lord in his infinite wisdom and in his infinite goodness chooses that you should bear a greater burden than perhaps your brothers and sisters bear in this life, Know that He is still in that burden, fulfilling His purposes for you. Know that His steadfast love towards you in Christ, it endures forever, that He will not forsake you. Verse eight, you are the work of His hands. David says, do not forsake the work of your hands. Brothers and sisters, you are the work of God's hands. He won't forsake you. You are precious to Him. And He will care for you. So let us praise our great God who preserves those who are His, the God who stretches out His hand to turn back the wrath of our enemies, the God who will fulfill and who is fulfilling His purposes for us in Christ. The God whose steadfast love endures forever. The God who will never leave us nor forsake us. Certainly we have reason for worship this morning. So let us offer praise to our great and mighty God this morning because he is certainly worthy of it. If you are able, please stand with me as we worship God and praise him through the reading and the hearing of his holy word. Psalm 138. Hear the word of God. Of David, I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart. Before the gods, I sing your praise. I bow down towards your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness. For you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me. My strength of soul, you increased. All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord. For great is the glory of the Lord, for though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Amen. May God bless the reading of his holy and infallible word. Please pray with me. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we come together this morning at your command to gather one day out of seven to worship you, to set aside for the public worship of the Triune God. And we ask, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the Holy Spirit of God would be poured out upon us this morning, that we might truly be able to worship you in spirit and in truth. Would you be merciful to us, O God, this morning and give us your Holy Spirit, not again because we have deserved it or have merited him in some way, but because the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy. We need you this morning to meet with us. And we ask that you would do so for your glory and for the eternal good of every person here who knows you. And Lord, if it be your will, for the eternal good of everyone here who does not yet know you. Meet with us this morning, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.