The first commandment of promise is that children should obey their parents, for this is right, and that they would live long on the earth, which really, if you just paraphrase that, it means that their life will go well. If children do not learn to honor, to obey their parents, then their life is gonna be miserable. And we can see that at the family level, and this is obviously God-given delegated authority, isn't it? So when, and this is very practical too, when a parent speaks to their child, they should speak to them as someone who is also under authority. A parent doesn't say, I expect you to do this just because I said so. Well, there's some truth to that, but it's not the complete truth. It's better to say both you and me. are under God's authority. And God has placed me in authority over you, therefore it's important that you obey your parents, because God said so. And if we both live by what God says, then we're both in subjection to God's authority. And so it's important that children learn that, and not just because there's several mistakes I think that I've seen parents make. One is that they just demand obedience. Just because they said so or another one is they try to reason with their children in order to persuade them to obey Just because they have a greater intellect the most the time at least until they're about five years old They're going to win most of the arguments But after that it's going to be a struggle and since our children are just like them at some point in their life They're going to grow tired and the children are not going to grow tired and there's going to be Arguments and it just goes endlessly on and on and at the end of the day the children were going to learn that the only reason they needed to obey mom and dad is because they were smarter than them and so there's no authority in the world. It's just whatever you want to do. Everyone does what's right in their own eyes. So there's just a breakdown in society when children do not learn to obey their parents. And more generally, more generally than parents, it's important that children are taught to obey all authority, all God-given authority, which includes not only their parents, but those whom their parents have enlisted for their children's own good, like their school teachers. And so mom and dad will explain that to their children, that when I send you to school, I expect you to respect the teacher, not to talk back to the teacher, not to make faces at the teacher, not to show your unsubmissive side, your ugly face, but to show submission. And don't just do it because I said so, do it as unto the Lord, you see. And this is always the theme, teaching our children and teaching ourselves that whatever we do in our submission to authority, we do it as unto the Lord. And by that I mean, we do it as if we're obeying God, because this is God's given authority, His delegated authority. So those are some of the authorities. And then, of course, we have the authority of servants and masters, which we don't have so many today. But there are employers, the masters, and the employees, their servants. And in that sense, the employees should not have this attitude that I'm going to be complaining all the time about my work conditions and all this other stuff, but just simply do what they do quietly with singleness of heart, it says in Ephesians chapter 6, singleness of heart as unto the Lord. Again, whatever you do, whether it be in word or in deed, do it to the glory of God, not for men. And if we would hold that, if the Lord would enable us to hold that by faith, then we would trust God to take care of the authorities that we are in subjection to. All right. And then there are civil authorities in our own cities, state, our federal governments. There are authorities there, and you can see their authority when you have to pay taxes, and it rankles us, it irritates us to have to pay taxes, but it shouldn't. We benefit, don't we, from those God-ordained, delegated places of authority. We may find fault with our leaders, and we may even speak against them. I don't think it's right. I've done it and I stand corrected. But the point here is that we're to submit to them as unto the Lord. These are ordained roles that God has placed men and even in some cases women in, in order to perform his will on the earth. Of course, there's always the account of the case where, well, what about that ruler who's wicked? What about some head of a country that we know that's a corrupt country? Maybe it's that country or this country. We can name all the countries and their leaders, but the point is, yes, there will be wicked rulers. But consider the cases God has given in Scripture. Remember in Babylon? Who was the ruler there? Nebuchadnezzar. What did God tell Israel to do? You go there and submit yourself to them. And so when Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego went to Babylon, they didn't rebel. They submitted. Daniel spoke very honorably, very respectfully to King Nebuchadnezzar. But also, we learn in that particular example of how we are to behave towards those rulers who are unjust and who require us to do things that God has told us not to do, or keep us, try to keep us from doing things God has told us to do. And what is, what was the, in the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter three, he said, they said to him, we're not careful. in how we answer you, O King." And they told him that basically, if you throw us into the fiery furnace, God is able to deliver us. But we are not going to bow down to your image. So they made it clear that they were serving the Lord. And when the ruler demanded them to do what God had told them not to do, Or in the case of the Apostle Peter and the Apostle John, when the rulers told them not to preach in Christ's name, in both cases they essentially said, we're going to do what God has said. Whether it's right for us to obey men rather than God, Peter told those rulers, you judge, but we're going to obey God. Okay, so it's clear that if the rulers require us to do what is against God's will, or if they keep us from doing God's will, that we're to disobey the ruler at that point because we serve the Lord. And we're to pray for grace to enable us to do that with wisdom and strength so that we do it in the power and for the purpose of exalting God's name and not our own case. We don't want to parade We don't want to make a show. We don't want to use that as a way of driving a wedge between others and the government. We just simply want to obey the Lord in our hearts. OK, so those are some of the practical matters. And then there's also authority in the church. And I want to address that just a minute here in Hebrews chapter 13. If you if you wanted to look at that, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse seven, it says, I'll just read it to make sure I get it word for word, just like it says. In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 7, it says, remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. All right, so clearly, according to this scripture, there are those in the church who have the rule. And those who do have the rule have this as the thing that God has told them to do. Notice, "...who have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God." How do they rule? What is their activity in their rule? It's speaking the word of God. And this is the way that God runs his church, through his word. And so the minister in the church is simply telling, if he's faithful to God's stewardship given to him, is telling what God has said. And then they say, it says here, whose faith follow. Notice, to follow their faith means to follow what they say as they, and then it goes on, considering the end of their conversation because they, if they're the Lord's people, they not only say what God has said, they believe it and they act accordingly. Okay, so that's important. And what he's really doing here is he's taking away the excuse. They've told you, they've shown you, now you need to obey that. And what does it mean then to obey these rulers? Does it mean that, like I've been at churches where the pastor tried to tell husbands and wives that they should be separated because I guess the wife wanted to do this and the church wanted to do that. I mean, the wife wanted to do what the church said and the husband didn't or something, so the pastors were telling the wives to separate from their husbands. But that's not right. So there was a division between the husband and wife because of this particular pastor. It wasn't that kind of obedience. It's not the kind of obedience where a preacher or a teacher says, okay, you need to have this kind of a job, you need to shop at this kind of a store, you need to wear these kind of clothes. That's not the point. A preacher is not a micromanager who's going to tell you what to do in all of the details of your conduct. That's not the obedience he's talking about here. He's talking about obedience that comes from the persuasion of the gospel being preached. When the gospel is preached, the Lord persuades the hearts of his people. And being persuaded then, we believe what God has said. And our hearts are not directed to the man, but to the Lord himself, so that we are taught to follow Christ. A person who is in a place of authority in the church, if they're doing their job, is going to lead people to Christ, not to himself. So John the Baptist is a classic example. He must increase. Christ must increase. I must decrease. So if we remember that, then we can see here that this exhortation in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 7 is taking all of the book of Hebrews and saying, look, these men who are preaching the gospel of Christ's accomplishments, that as the fulfillment of scripture, and the accomplishment of your salvation. They're preaching to you the word of God. Now be persuaded of it and believe it, and in obedience to the word, believe Christ, follow him, okay? All right, and then he says that in verse eight of Hebrews 13. He says, considering the end of their conversation, and then he immediately says, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. Notice, he takes the message of the rulers, which is Jesus Christ, and he says, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is the way he runs his church, the preaching of Christ and him crucified. Okay, so when we look at this psalm, Psalm 82, it's about authority. It's about the correction, the accusation God had against those who abused their authority and failed, neglected to do what God told them to do. And it's about authority in general, but especially in the church where the gospel is preached. All right, so we see that God accomplishes His will through delegated authority. We see that God's authority should be obeyed as we obey the Lord. We should obey the authority as unto the Lord. We do it for the Lord's sake, in honor of His word, in honor of Him, in faith, trusting Him to fulfill His will in our submission to authority, whether it be our parents, or wives to their husbands, or our faith in the gospel, faith in Christ, or paying taxes, or obeying the law enforcement, the officers of the law, or whatever it is. We just try to be submissive in all things lawful. And if the government or somebody else requires us to do what is opposed to God's word, then by God's grace we'll resist that in the fear of the Lord. And then, this clearly shows us that God accomplishes His will in this way, but we also see that men are sinful. This psalm is about that. Men who are in the place of authority are sinful men. Notice in verse six of this psalm, I have said you are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High, but you shall die like men. They're gonna die, because they failed to do what God gave them to do. They're going to be held accountable. God is going to hold those he put in authority to an account. And that's what he's saying here. You're going to die like men. So these men were sinful because they're going to die. The wages of sin is death. And since these men were put in authority by God, then we see that God puts those in authority who are mere men, who are even sinful men, and who even neglect their duties and abuse their authority for their own self-interests and their own self-serving motives and for the purposes of either advancing themselves, gaining praise, taking honor to themselves. Remember Herod, he was eaten by worms when he took credit for being so great, speaking so well. Or Nebuchadnezzar, remember Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was going to be driven out like an ox and eat grass and his body was going to be wet with the dew of heaven. because God was going to humble him as a result of his pride, and God did that. And at the end of that, that's when he said that the Lord rules in heaven, and on earth he does whatever he wants in heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can say to him, what are you doing? So that's, you can see how God puts men in authority who are mere men, who are sinful men, and who can die, because it says here in verse six, you'll die like men. Okay, so that helps us understand what is coming next in the study of this psalm. And I wanna go to John chapter 10, so you can see this. In John chapter 10, Jesus quotes from this psalm, and it's difficult to really understand what he is, how his quotation from this psalm enforces or reinforces the, the rebuke he had to these men who were accusing him and who would ultimately kill him. In John chapter 10, in verse 26 of John chapter 10, Jesus tells the Jews, In verse 24, the Jews came around him and said, How long dost thou make us to doubt if thou be the Christ? Tell us plainly. They were accusing him of being at fault for their own unbelief, which is ludicrous. But anyway, in verse 25, Jesus answered them. He said, I told you. I told you I was the Christ, you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me." So his own works were enough to tell them plainly that he was the Christ and his words also he had told them. Verse 26 he says, but you believe not because you are not of my sheep. This is the reason they couldn't believe they weren't Christ's people. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, those who are my sheep do hear my voice, in other words, they hear my doctrine, and they understand it, and they believe it, and I know them, because he knows all of his sheep, and that's the reason they hear his voice, he calls them, and they follow me. That's what faith is, faith is following Christ. And verse 28, and I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. So in that statement, the Lord Jesus is saying, look, these people who are my sheep, I'm going to call them, they're going to hear me, they're going to know me, I'm going to know them, they're going to follow me, I'm going to give eternal life to them, they will never perish, I'm going to keep them, I'm going to hold them, no one is able to take them from me, to pluck them out of my hand. And then he goes on in verse 29, building his case, my father which gave them to me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. So in this statement, he doubles down. He says, not only will I do this, but my father. So he's putting himself and his father in the same purpose and in the same work, which is to save his people, the sheep, to keep them, to save them, to give eternal life to them, to call them, and that they would believe him. All this is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for his sheep. All right, that's what he brought them to, and then he really brings the conclusion into a very simple statement, I and my Father are one. So when he says, my Father, he's saying, I'm the Son of God the Father. He's declaring plainly, I am the Son of God. And as the Son of God, and as Christ, I'm one with the Father. one in will, one in work, one in word, one in sheep, one in salvation, one in power, because he's able to keep these sheep and save them, and one in glory, one in nature, equal with the Father. That's what he's saying here. The Son is equal with the Father. And so that's when the Jews took up stones again to stone him. It says in verse 32, Jesus answered, many good works have I showed you for my Father. He reiterates, I'm the son of God, in that statement. For which of those works do you stone me? There was nothing wrong. Christ had done nothing wrong. Why are you stoning me? Which work? What did I do that was sinful, in other words? And they said, the Jews answered, saying, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. And because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." Okay, that's their accusation. You are merely a man, and you make yourself God. Now the Lord Jesus is going to show them from Psalm 82. He's going to silence them, really. He's going to put their arguments so, He's going to so disarm them in quoting Scripture and bringing what He said here in John 10 to bear upon them to powerfully convince them of many things, not the least of which is, yes, I am God, yes, I am the Son of the Father, the Eternal Father, the Eternal Son, and the Christ, but also that you are refusing, you are rejecting my word, which is the word of the Father, the word of God. And I want to show you that by considering what is said here in John chapter 10 in a comparative way, by taking the things that Christ says here and laying them side by side with what these men were and their thing. First of all, in this chapter, in John chapter 10, The Lord Jesus begins by saying he's a good shepherd, and he's the shepherd of God's sheep. But these men, he says, were hirelings, and they did not care for the sheep. So there's the contrast, you see. Christ, the good shepherd. These men, they're not shepherds, they're hirelings. They just do the job to get the money. And he's the good shepherd over God's sheep. And these men were thieves and robbers in chapter 10. He says in verse 1, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber, He that enters by the door of the sheep is the shepherd of the sheep, and so on. And he goes on to say, verse five, a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him. They know not a stranger. And he says in verse eight, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I'm the door. If any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes not but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life. and that they might have it more abundantly. Okay, see the contrast here? The contrast between the Lord Jesus Christ and these Jews. You are the hireling. You're the thief. You're the robber. You seek to kill and to destroy. I came to give life, and not only life, but abundant life to the sheep. And I'm the good shepherd, I'm the door. If anyone comes in, coming to God the Father by me, he shall enter in, and I will lead him in, and I'll bring him in, I'll bring him out. Out to green pastures, out to rest, out to safety. So he has this liberty through Christ. All right, so that's the first thing. The contrast between the hirelings, which the Jews were, the thieves and the robbers, those who come to steal, kill, and destroy, and the Lord Jesus, who is the good shepherd over God's sheep. He's the door by which these sheep come to God, the one by whom they go in and by whom they go out to find pasture. And then he comes to give them life, whereas these others came to kill and to destroy. The sheep know Christ's doctrine, they hear His voice, but they do not recognize the voice of strangers. These men are strangers, they're strangers to the sheep. And they're strangers because they were not sent by God. They assumed the place of God-ordained authority, but they did so by usurping that authority for their own self-serving reasons. They wanted the sheep to give to them. They didn't give to the sheep. They wanted to take from the sheep. Christ came to give, to give himself for the sheep and then give them eternal life and abundant life. to bring them to God, to give them green pastures, the green pastures of Christ and him crucified in the gospel and the rest through his spirit to trust him, all those things. The Lord Jesus Christ obviously cares for the sheep and loves the sheep because he laid his life down for the sheep. His father, if you look at verse 36 of John 10, he says, say ye of him whom the father has sanctified and sent into the world, So His Father first sanctified Him and then sent Him into the world. So we see that God the Father set apart His Son, the Lord Jesus, I should say His Son, to be Christ. and gave him this title, Christ, in order to fulfill that role as one under the authority of the Father, you see. So when we consider this now, let's read when Jesus answered these men, when they said, because we're trying to stone you, we're going to stone you because of your blasphemy, because you being a man made yourself God, in verse 33. Then in verse 34, look at this. Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law? Because obviously it was for them. I said, you are gods. So this is clearly a quotation from Psalm 82. He says in verse 35, if he, the Lord, called them gods, small g-o-d-s plural, which is the same word that's used throughout scripture, for God, God himself. And so he gave them that title. And he said, if he called them gods unto whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken, then, okay, so here's the way the argument unfolds. He says, listen, these men in Psalm 82 were called gods. They were merely men. and they were clearly sinful, and they were subject to death. So they were temporal, sinful men. He says, if he called them gods, to whom the word of God was given, came to them in this way of authority, to rebuke, to accuse, and to hold them accountable, and the scripture can't be broken, then, say ye of him whom the Father has sanctified, Now, the men in Psalm 82 were sinful men, but God sanctified the son and then sent him into the world. So he is not just a man, he is eternal. because he was sanctified even before he came into the world. He was set apart. God chose him. God ordained and appointed him to be the Christ and God anointed him. He prepared a body for him and then he anointed him with his spirit. without measure, and sent him to perform his will, to finish the work God gave him to do, to speak his words, and to testify, and then to, having completed that work, to ascend, rise again from the dead, take his life up again, ascend to heaven, and take his place at the right hand of God. So are you saying, you sinful men who have neglected the role that you claim was yours by God-given delegated authority, as mere men, as sinful men, as men subject to death who are accountable to God because they failed to do what God said. Are you saying now that the one who is not a mere man, but the eternal Son of God, and who as the Son was set apart and therefore had to stoop to make himself of no reputation in order to take upon himself the form of a servant and as a man become obedient unto his father as he says in verse 17 in this same chapter the father loves me because I lay down my life no man takes it from me I lay it down on myself I have power to lay it down power to take it again and this commandment have I received from my father so God set him apart for this, sent him into the world, enabled him by his spirit, and then he, in obedience, perfect obedience, fulfilled that job, that authority that God gave him to do in laying down his life as a servant. And then, furthermore, that he would speak his own father's words clearly He was the Son of God, and that because He was the eternal Son of God, are you saying then that these sinful men in Psalm 82, who were called gods by God Himself in Scripture, that I am blaspheming because I as the eternal Son of God sent by the Father, and before I was sent, sanctified, set apart for this purpose, to accomplish His will, to magnify His name and the salvation of His people? Are you saying that Somehow I am blaspheming? No. In fact, this is driving home the fact that Psalm 82 cannot be fulfilled by a mere man, but only by the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, and that's the message of Psalm 82. And so he says here, to finish this part here, are you saying that I'm blaspheming because I said I am the son of God? If I do not the works of my father, believe me not, but if I do though you believe not me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the father is in me and I am in him. So he's saying to them, look, I have this authority. I have the authority of God as the Son of God, but I was ordained and I was set apart by God for this, and I've come to you as a man, the Christ of God. You better listen, you better listen, because if you refuse to submit to me, you'll die like men, and there won't be any salvation whatsoever. So if you're going to oppose the Good Shepherd, then you oppose your own salvation, you see. If you refuse to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ, you refuse to submit to God the Father who sanctified and sent him. These are his words. So you can't say he's blaspheming by saying who he is as the son of God and since God sent him and scripture calls those temporal sinful men gods, then how much more is it right that he himself says, I am the son of God? All right, back in Psalm 82. I'm just briefly going to have to close with this, but I want you to see this. This is the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in this psalm. So this psalm is talking, therefore, ultimately about the Lord Jesus Christ who would fulfill the role of authority that God gave him, and that role was to save his people from their sins. He would have power over their sins by laying his life down, bearing their sins under his own ability as the Son of God to bear up under those sins, and to lay down his life, and then as the Son of God to take up his life again. and therefore justify his people. He would fulfill this role, this will God gave him to do, and he would do it as the ultimate one who was given this authority for God to accomplish his will and his work in the world. Because that's what this psalm is about, how God accomplishes his will and his work. And so here in Psalm 82, just to close on this, he says in verse two, how long will you judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked? That's what they're supposed to judge justly. They're not to accept the persons of the wicked, but they were doing the very opposite, these sinful men. So what would the Lord Jesus Christ do then? And what do the preachers of the gospel do who are also men under Christ? Well, they're going to judge justly, and they're not going to accept the persons of the wicked. So how do they do that? Well, there's only one way that God is going to judge justly. and his name be glorified. It's through the righteousness of God, which the gospel is. The gospel teaches us, is revealed in the gospel, the righteousness of God, which is the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ unto death and fulfillment of all of God's law. And in putting away of the sins of his people and enclothing them in this very righteousness so that When God's people trust and look to Christ only as their righteousness, what are they doing? They're submitting. They're obeying the One God has given all this authority to. Jesus said, this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him should not perish, but have eternal life. And I'll raise Him up at the last day. So that's the will, that's the work, and God teaches us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So if the Lord says this, from Romans chapter 8, if God himself says this in Romans 8, who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. And who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, who is risen again, who is even seated at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. If that's what God is saying, then what will those who are under God's authority say? They'll say what the Lord says, won't they? And isn't that what this means here, to judge justly is to declare that in Christ the righteousness of God is manifested because God is both just and the justifier of the ungodly in the blood of his son. And so, in verse three he says, defend the poor and fatherless and do justice to the afflicted and needy. The poor and fatherless, the afflicted and the needy, those are poor sinners who hear the gospel. And the gospel comes to them about the Lord Jesus Christ, who was sent of God, sanctified and sent by the Father in order to lay down his life for the sheep. And they hear his voice and they believe him, they come to him, and they could never be happier than to trust him and know that he who laid his life down for them is the Lord of glory. able to do all of His will, and so they trust Him, and they want Him to have the glory too, because only He can. He's done the work, and only He can do it. And so, in verse 4, deliver the poor and needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked, And you can see this throughout scripture, how the Lord Jesus Christ came to the aid, to the help, and the defense of those, like in John 8, the poor woman taken in adultery, and so many other places where the Pharisees and scribes accused them, and he defended them, and he stood in the gap, and he bore their sins, so that he could remove those sicknesses that afflicted them, because he bore them himself. And he did it according to the will of God. He did it to the honor of God's law. He did it to the honor of God's own name. And that's a faithful man. That's a faithful servant of the Lord. And that's why this psalm is so powerful. And so at the last verse he says, Arise, O God, Judge the earth, for thou shalt inherit all nations." The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of every person and the Lord of all. But specifically, He's the God and the Lord and the Savior of God's elect. And they love to have it that way. And the difference is, as we saw in John chapter 10, those who hated the Lord Jesus Christ did not believe Him. And they could not, ultimately they could not because they were not his sheep. Because the Lord Jesus said, only the sheep hear my voice and they follow me. All right, may the Lord cause us to follow Christ, believing him, trusting him, and doing all for his name's sake as the scriptures teach us to do. And in the process of doing that, trust that even in these places of authority that God has given to us to humble us, because we need humbling. I'm speaking to myself. to humble us and to teach us to obey the Lord in these things that he would give us that grace. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your goodness in everything you do. Lord, we admire who you are, sovereign And yet you give to the Lord Jesus all your work to do and all your glory to be His glory because He fulfilled all your work. And help us to also glorify you in Him by trusting Him and following Him as your dear sheep. We pray, Lord, this grace by your Spirit enable us to trust Christ, to love Him and to follow Him all the days of our life. Don't let us go. We pray, hold us fast and keep us. Deliver us from the wicked. and defend us and cause us, Lord, to receive the proclamation justified by the blood of my Son. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.