Welcome to the audio channel of the Reverend Dr. C. H. E. Sadoffle. His purpose is to preach Christ, teach the Bible, and make disciples. Now let us open our Bibles and our hearts as we listen to him proclaim the Word of God. Church, I would invite the congregation to stand and please turn to Psalm chapter 9, verse 13. as we will first pray and then read the word of God. Psalm number nine, verse 13. Let us pray. And now we humble ourselves before God Almighty, whose grace has gifted us and whose love has saved us. Patiently now we wait for thee. You word is a lamp to our paths and a light to our feet. May the Holy Spirit strengthen his servant to deliver a word of truth. so that many to Jesus will come and meet. Amen. Psalm number nine, verses 13 to 20. Be gracious to me, O Lord, see my affliction from those who hate me, you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may tell of all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made, in the net which they hid their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment. In the work of his hands, the wicked is snared. The wicked will return to Sheol, even all the nations who forget God. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever. Arise, O Lord. Do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged before you. Put them in fear, O Lord. Let the nations know that they are but men. Please be seated. So church, today will be the final sermon on Psalm number nine, the third and final exposition of Psalm number nine. And what we've established in our prior expositions is that Psalm number nine is a hymn of hope that teaches us how to hope in God's justice. In Psalm number nine, King David is in the midst of adversity. And David begins by praising God. He solidifies his strength and fortifies his confidence in the Lord. That confidence is rooted, that confidence is grounded in the fact that God is sovereign. The bedrock of hope of Psalm number nine is found in verses seven to eight, where the text says, but the Lord abides forever. He has established his throne for judgment, and he will judge the world in righteousness. He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. Now today we're going to focus on King David's prayer at the end of Psalm 9, verses 13-20. But notice, in the midst of injustice, in the midst of adversity, David does not begin talking about, David does not begin looking at the adversity first. In Psalm number nine, he's surrounded by people who hate him. And these individuals who hate him are afflicting him. But this Psalm does not begin by David looking at the injustice. This psalm begins by David looking up, by him praising God. After David looks up, he then looks inward and examines himself. Then David looks back to remember, to rehearse what God has already done. And after David does that, he looks in, he looks up, he looks in, he looks back. It is then that he looks out. and begins to speak to God through prayer. So in verses number 13 to 20, King David is praying. What is King David praying for? He's praying for God's justice. He's praying that by God's grace, the Lord arrives. and let men know that they are but men because God is God. Now before we dive into this morning's verses, we have to remember something. Psalm number nine is a song. There's an introduction to Psalm number nine that says, to the choir director, to be composed on a muthleben, meaning it's a tune or a melody that has a precise order to it. So verses 13 to 20 are not just a prayer. They're also a prayer that's also a song. And that song is meant to be rehearsed by a choir. That song is not meant to be rehearsed individually. It's a song that's meant to be rehearsed communally in public with other people. This is the first point, point number one. How to pray for God's justice, point number one. Don't just pray as a sole agent, pray as a group. Never, church, forsake the power of communal prayer. Hebrews 10.25 says, not forsaking our own assembling together. Matthew 18.19 to 20, Jesus says, again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, There I am among them. James 5.16 says, The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Now let me ask you this. If the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much, What about the effective prayers of righteous men? What about the effective prayers of righteous men and women? What about the effective prayers of a righteous church? Point number one is don't pray. Don't pray Psalm number nine as a sole agent. Pray as a group. David begins his prayer by saying, Be gracious to me, O Lord. This is a wise start. Because the way in which any believer secures anything in prayer is by God's grace, is by God's mercy. God owing no one anything bestows spiritual blessings on those whom he knows as a function of his grace. When we entreat God for His grace or mercy, that admits not only humility, but also our spiritual neediness. When we, by faith, bring our empty vessels to the fountains of His grace. But not only that. Someone who is regenerated, someone who is born again has a particular confidence, they have a particular boldness when they come to their Heavenly Father and ask Him for grace. Why? Because the reason why someone is born again is because of God's grace. The reason why we pray is because the God of grace has ordained prayer as a means by which we can secure his grace. And when we, by God's grace, ask him for mercy, we're not asking God for something alien or foreign, because the God of the Bible is a God of grace. David says, be gracious to me, O Lord, see my affliction. From those who hate me, you who lift me up from the gates of death. From the gates of death is a figurative way of saying from dire adversity, from a deep, deep pit of tribulation. And praise be to God. that Yahweh Elion specializes in lifting his people up out of great adversity. The God of the Bible is the One. who lifted up baby Moses, a defenseless, innocent baby who was let go down the Nile in a makeshift ark. God of the Bible was the one who lifted Jonah up out of the depths below, out of the mouth of the whale into safe territory. God is the one who walked on water and extended his hand to lift Peter up out of the water when he took his eyes off of his beloved Savior. The one praying here, Church, is King David, also known as the giant slayer. And even the giant slayer knows there are some ditches, there are some holes in life that only God can pull you out of. But praise be to God again that there never is a ditch so low in this life. that's out of reach of God's grace, out of reach of God's mercy. But David says, be gracious to me, O Lord. Why? He gives us a reason why he's asking for God's grace. He says, be gracious to me, O Lord, that I may tell of all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. Look at what David is doing. David's prayer request is not directed at solving his acute injustice. David, yes, is asking for God to act as a just judge, but his ultimate aim is not David's problem. David's ultimate aim is that God would be glorified. David says, God, help me in my predicament so that ultimately I may boast about you. Here's the second point. How to pray for God's justice. Point number two. Consider your motive. Consider your motive. You find yourself the victim of an injustice, something that is wrong, something that is immoral, something that is not just, and I ask you now, consider your motive. If you want justice right here, right now, what do you want justice for? Is it to satisfy your own predicament, or is it for God's glory? Are you praying for your own vindication or are you praying for God's glory? What David is telling us here is that the point of God's mercy is not self-satisfaction. The point of God's mercy is the glory of God. We are only in Psalm number 9. But we've already noticed a theme running through the Psalms. David is giving us a key to effective prayer. God has a tendency to answer prayer requests that have a disposition towards His glory. In Psalm number 6, verses 4 to 5, David finds himself on the verge of death. What was his prayer there? He doesn't say, God save me so that I can be safe. He says, God save me because if I die, who will praise you? If I die, who will glorify you? Psalm 6, Word 5, it says, Return, O Lord, rescue my soul. Save me because of your loving kindness. For there is no mention of you in death. In Sheol, who will give you thanks? People tend to think of the river of God's mercy as one way, top down, from heaven to earth, and it does flow that way. But that's our perspective. From God's perspective, the river of mercy is circular. where it flows down to us, where He fills up our earthen vessels, and we therein use that grace to praise and glorify Him. There's a parable in the New Testament about servants who got talents. Guess what? God gives the most to those people who make the most use of the resources God gives them, the more grace God gives to someone there when we respond, not by selfishness, but by more glorification and praise of God. Church, verse 13-14 of Psalm 9 tells us something. that God often allows deep trouble to happen to some of His servants so He can now orchestrate a big deep rescue. God allows us to fall into deep trouble so he can now orchestrate a deep rescue, so that now what? So that now the praise, so that now the glory, now the testimony that we give in praising God into God's people will be all the more powerful and all the more fervent. So when we pray for God's justice, we pray, church, with the intent of praising God when he demonstrates grace and delivers us. David says, Be gracious to me, O Lord, that I may tell of all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion. Gates of the daughter of Zion refers to the place where God's people are. That's the place David has determined he will boast in the Lord and make God look good. Charles Haddon Spurgeon says it best. He says, quote, Saints do not want mercy for the self. They want mercy's diamond so that they can reveal it to others, end quote. David says, so that I may rejoice in your salvation. Now, we're in the Old Testament, I know. This is before the cross. This is before Jesus. But we're not David. We're not looking forward, anticipating the cross. We can look back both at David and the public ministry of Jesus Christ. So when David says, your salvation, This is salvation not only from the acute predicament. It's salvation not only from the acute trouble. It's also referring to eternal salvation. That is the salvation that God has provided, purchased, and secured in the person of Jesus Christ. Your salvation is God's salvation and that is the only salvation that works. It's the only salvation that saves. It's the only salvation that deals with the problem of sin and guilt. It's the only salvation that delivers us from the figurative grave now and the literal grave later on. Yes, many people trust in alternative salvation plans, but they don't save. Why? Because they're not God's salvation. God only has one salvation plan, Church, and that salvation plan is the person of Jesus Christ, the Son. Now as you can probably tell, Psalm number nine verses 13 to 14, David is drawing closer to God in prayer. But while David is now drawing closer to God in prayer, there's now a contrast between God's salvation that picks someone up and alternatives that drive nations down. Verse 15. The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made. In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made himself known. He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands, the wicked is snared. Higeon selah. Here's the third point. How to pray for God's justice. Point number three. Pray knowing that the issue is not how powerful the nations are. Pray knowing that God is against those nations who are against him. Again, pray knowing that the issue is not how powerful the nations are. Pray knowing that God is against those nations who are against him. Church in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 9-10. The apostle of hope tells us who the people of God are. And we are a people called out of darkness into his marvelous light. But guess what? The entire world was not called out of darkness. There are many individuals, there are many leaders, there are many nations, there are many factions that are still walking in darkness. And when nations walk in darkness, what are the effects? The effects are injustice. The effects are murder. The effects are oppression. The effects are bondage. The effects are persecution. And walking in darkness, many nations may delude themselves and say, we're winning. We're making progress. We're making tremendous natural strides. But what this psalm is telling us is this. The progress that the nations make is self-deluding, because while they think they're ascending higher and higher to heaven to save themselves, they're actually descending lower and lower and lower, digging the pits into which they themselves will fall. I'll give you an example. In the book of Exodus, Pharaoh gave the order that all newborn Hebrew male babies should die. At the time, Pharaoh thought that was a great idea. but he dug the ditch that Egypt would subsequently fall into. Because what happens when the 10th plague hits the nation of Egypt? Who dies? If the angel passed by a house that did not have the blood of the lamb on the doorpost and lintel, every firstborn Egyptian child died. Later on, Pharaoh told all Egyptians to throw newborn Hebrew male babies into the Nile to drown them. Pharaoh once again digs his own grave. What subsequently happens? God's people, the Hebrews, pass through the sea safely, and then God now drowns the entire Egyptian army. Church, what God tells us time and time again in his word is that when men, when nations spill blood, God then uses that blood to write their sentence of condemnation. So we pray, knowing that the issue is not how powerful nations are, we pray knowing that God is against those who are against him. When you look at the world today, there are so many nations who pass legislation or who craft a worldview that is against the family. The family is the primary social unit upon which all of human civilization is built. From the beginning of time, societies grew, beginning with the family. All a nation is is essentially a conglomeration of families. What's a God-ordained family? A daddy, a mommy, a children. That's it. That's where our morality, the scripts that people live, are primarily derived from the family. The minute you begin, tinkering or messing with what a family is, what now happens? Society unravels and now the nation that's passing laws that disrupts the family ends up dying because you destroyed the family. Nations dig the pits into which they fall. Now there's a phrase that I read At the end of verse 16, hegeon selah, that's not meant to be pronounced, but I'm pronouncing it here for a reason. We know that selah means stop, pause, think, meditate. What does hegeon mean? It means a muttering, it means a low musical tone. So when the Psalm says hegeon selah, It's almost as if David is saying, stop, stop, pause, pause, meditate, meditate. What was just said is critically important to reflect on. So what was just said? Why is Higeon Selah inserted here at the end of verse 16? Verse 16 says, What this verse tells us, church, is that God not only reveals who he is in his word, God also tells us who he is based upon what he does. God's actions reveal something about His character, and God makes Himself known by the judgments He executes. And the judgments, like in the nation of Egypt, the judgments that God executes are always open, they're always public, so there are plenty of eyewitnesses. And what God reveals about himself in his judgment is that the wrath of God is made known against all manner of ungodliness. And when we are praying for God's justice, know this, that in the end, ultimately, As long as God is God, He will not spare the unrepentant and guilty. And not only will God not only not spare the unrepentant and guilty, He will also make the wicked to become their own executioners. Do we realize, Church, that God never actually has to send anyone to hell if they buy their one-way ticket in advance? Do we realize that by their own works, someone digs the own pit into which they now fall into? And because we know that God is holy, and because we know that the unrepentant and guilty will not go unpunished. Do you know what this tells us? That in the world, there really isn't a problem with evil. Hear what I'm saying. That's not to say evil does not exist. People think there's a problem with evil only if someone gets away with it. But what is this psalm telling us? They're not going to get away with it. They can't get away with it because who is sitting on the throne? God is. And he will not Let the unrepentant and guilty go free. Will they escape men? Of course they will. Will they escape God? That's impossible. For the Lord has made himself known. He has executed judgment. Now when we look at verse number 16, we also best understand it looking at verse number 10. What does verse number 10 say? Verse 10 says, and those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. What did we say last time? That those who know God, trust Him. Those that trust Him, seek Him. Those that seek Him are safe in the refuge who is God. And because those who know God are safe in the refuge that is Him, they are never forsaken. And why do people know God? Because the Lord has made Himself known. But wait a minute now. The Lord has made himself known, but there are some people who don't want to know God. The Lord has made himself known, but there are some people who reject that knowledge and don't trust God. Even though the Lord has made himself known by his judgments, there will still be some who won't trust God, who won't seek him, and therefore they are now not safe. because they are not in the refuge that is God. Church, the Lord has made himself known, but there are many individuals who want to be free of God. They don't want any bands in their life now. But because the Lord has made himself known, there will neither be any bands in their death. As Robert South once wrote, quote, the wages that sin bargains with the sinner are life, pleasure, and profit, but the wages it pays him with are death, torment, and destruction, end quote. So now here's the question. We now know that evil will ultimately be dealt with. that still does not rescue us from enduring evil, from enduring affliction, from enduring injustice right here, right now, on earth. So here's the fourth point. How to pray for God's justice. Point number four. Pray that God strengthens you to wait on His justice. Point number four, pray that God strengthens you to wait on His justice. It's a Bible fact, church, that the elect will endure transient suffering here, now, on earth. But while we endure suffering for a moment, we will enjoy God forever. And when we pray that God equips and enables us to wait on him, we do so knowing, church, that faith is never in a hurry. Faith is never in a hurry. Faith is what enables us to wait on God. The more we wait on God, the more we pray to Him. And the more we pray to God, now the more comfort we have resting night by night in His stronghold, and the more comfort God gives us. the more our faith grows, and therein, the more at peace we are in waiting on him. Pray that God strengthens you to wait on his justice. And I make this point clear to say this, Psalm number nine ends. The text does not tell us. It doesn't give us any historical insight into how or if the injustice was answered, so this psalm was likely prayed over and over and over again. And the only way the community of God's people would have the patience to pray this psalm over and over again is if they have the faith-inspired ability to wait on God. Verse 17 says, the wicked will return to Sheol, even all the nations who forget God. Regardless of what you may have heard, Church, forgetting is never normal. Remembering is normal. Forgetting is not normal. There's a common phrase people use, forgive and forget. That is not in the Bible. That's not in the real Bible. That's from the fake Bible. The book is Third Abominations. Forgetting is not normal. In the medical field, when people get older and they begin forgetting, that's actually labeled something, which is not normal. When this text talks about forgetting God, It is not normal. And this forgetting is not something passive, like you just forgot where you put your keys. When this text talks about forgetting God, it is active, it is purposeful. And forgetting God means to exclude God from one's thoughts, which is the root of sin. Forgetting God means you push God out. So now there's something else, there's a substitute that is now the center of everything in your life. And this verse, Psalm 917, the theology of this verse tells us something critically important. This verse tells us the reason why the wicked are wicked, the cause of the wickedness of the wicked is that they did one simple thing, they forgot about God. And the grand irony is that those who forget about God now will go to Sheol where they will now be forgotten by God forever. Now, why do men forget? Why do nations forget about God? Well, that's simple. Shame and guilt. If someone remembers God, they remember his morals. They remember his sovereignty. They remember his lordship. They remember his judgment. And that now induces feelings of shame and guilt. Just like Adam, when God came down, he ran. God said, where are you? And he was now naked in the shames in the bushes, covering himself with fig leaves. The reason why we live in a world right now that's filled with so many distractions is all of these distractions are intended to occupy your mind so that you will now forget about God. When men forget about God, because human beings are made in the image of God, when men forget about God, they forget who they are. They forget who other people are and are therefore enabled to commit injustice. When people forget about God, they forget who they are, and they now forget that they're in perilous danger. Although men forget about God, newsflash, God never forgets. For the wicked will return to Sheol, even the nations who forget God. Now as I meditated on this verse over and over and over and over again, Superficially, this verse seems to be talking about the wicked. And it is. The text says, the wicked will return to Sheol. But if forgetting God is the cause of the wickedness of the wicked, it struck me. You can only forget if you first knew something. If you never knew something, can't forget it. People who remember or know the most, therefore, are the most prone to forgetting. The more you know, the more, therefore, likely you are to forget. My point is that you can't forget unless you first know something. And the more you know, the more prone you are to forget. Who does verse 17 apply to the most? The people of God. It applies to the church. Who's supposedly supposed to know the most? Who supposedly remembers God the most? The people of God. So here's the fifth point. How to pray for God's justice, point number five, pray to remember. Pray to remember God first and foremost in all things. Remember to set aside time to pray and remember who you are praying to. Pray to remember. Remember that the Lord is worthy of all praise, joyful songs and hymns. Remember his mercies and remember to praise him with all your heart. Remember when you're praying for God's justice to examine yourself and consider your motive. Because if you are praying for God's justice and your motives are self-centered, that would now be unjust. Forgetting about God, church, when we're talking about the people of God, forgetting about God is one of the most dangerous sins someone in the church can make. Because forgetting about God will manifest as something I'm gonna call beautiful evil. Where people outwardly, they do the right thing. They even do the right thing the right way, but they do it for the wrong reason. They do it out of a posture that doesn't seek to glorify God. They do it for a reason that glorifies men, that glorifies themselves, that glorifies something else. When we talk about the application of this verse to the church, forgetting about God can now manifest as beautiful evil. And that is one of the highest forms of cosmic treason against God, because now you're sinning against God in His name, in and amongst God's people, in the name of religion. Forgetting about God, manifesting as beautiful evil, will give you people who are spiritual but have no faith. It'll give you people who are doing what's outwardly good, but who are inwardly rebellious. It'll produce people who are nice, who are quaint, and who are civil, but they have no love. It'll give you people who simply go through a routine, but in reality, they hate God and have nothing better to do. Forgetting about God manifests as beautiful evil. That is why we pray to remember, so that out of the posture of glorifying God, we now do His will, which equates to doing the right thing His way. This is why so many of the things we do as a church are designed for us to remember. We come together with a particular frequency at the Lord's table to remember the sacrifice of Christ. We remember our weekly Sabbath meetings to sit under the word, to remember what God has said. We remember in corporate prayer to pray for other saints. We remember those who feel forgotten and we remember those who forgot to remember. We pray for God's justice, beloved, and we pray to remember. Verse 18, for the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever. Sixth point, how to pray for God's justice. Point number six, pray pleading the promise that the needy will not always be forgotten. Pray pleading the promise that the needy will not always be forgotten. This word needy does not refer to people who lack stuff. does not refer to people who simply don't have a lot of resources in their bank account. The word needy actually refers to people who are rich in faith, but they know they need God. They are utterly and totally reliant upon the Lord. The needy are God-trusting, and they are not self-reliant. And the needy who trust God, God will remember. But what does this verse say? It says, the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever. If the needy trust God, and God doesn't forget his own, then why would this text say, for the needy will not always be forgotten? Because real life, beloved, does this to any sincere, genuine saint. There are gonna be times when we feel forgotten. There are gonna be times when our hope fades. And anyone who's really honest with themselves and really wants to know what's really real, there are plenty of times when a regenerated believer will ask, has God forgotten about me? Is there a point in anything anymore? That's what unbelief does. Unbelief tickles and whispers at your heart and tells you God's forsaken you. God's forgotten about you. There's no point in hoping anymore. But know this, church, we pray pleading the promise. that the needy will not always be forgotten. God is omniscient. It's impossible for him to forget. God never forgets his own. And guess what? God's providence, God's sovereignty still works when our faith fails. God is still in charge. God's providence is still fully functional when our faith fails. And when we're talking about things that we hope in, the reality is there are plenty of things in our life that are going to fail us. That's because the objects of our hope weren't hope worthy. We may hope in an expectation. We may hope in a wish. We may hope in a person, we may hope in a particular situation, but all of those objects of hope will fail us. And God will often allow those objects of hope to fail to open our eyes to see that He and He alone is the only eternal imperishable object of hope. Our one hope that we are assured will never perish is in our Lord who was risen forever. In suffering, we grieve with hope, and in injustice, we pray with hope. In Luke chapter 16, there was a man called Lazarus. He was a beggar who was needy with a capital N. Now the Bible doesn't tell us what Lazarus was thinking during his earthly life, but as a beggar who sat outside of a rich man's house, it's safe to presume that from time to time, Lazarus felt forgotten. Lazarus's hope would diminish. Lazarus was forgotten by passersby. He was forgotten by the rich man outside of whose house he lived. Lazarus, perhaps, was only remembered by the dogs that came by him to lick his wounds. But although Lazarus was needy, although Lazarus presumably felt forgotten, and presumably his hope perished during his earthly life, when Lazarus died, where did he go? He went to be with his father. He went to rest in the bosom of Abraham. He went to a place so that now when Lazarus looks back, he now realized, although he may have felt forgotten by God, God will now remember him forever. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever." Church, the one thing we can be assured of is that God will never forget His own, and He will especially never forget His children when we pray to Him. Because the Son of God died, the Son of God lost His life, and one of the spiritual benefits of that is so that now God's children have an open door to their Heavenly Father through prayer when we pray to God for His justice. God paid too high of a price to forget His own. Final verses this morning is verses 19 and 20. where David says, arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged before you. Put them in fear, O Lord, let the nations know they are but men. How to pray for God's justice. Point number seven, final point. Pray for God to arise. Pray for God to arise. When David prays to God and says, arise, O Lord, those are fighting words, that's a declaration of war because believers fight with prayer. We fight with our prayer language because the one to whom we are praying cannot be defeated. The one to whom we are praying cannot lose. The first time this phrase, arise, was used in the Bible is Numbers 1035, where you have the Ark of the Covenant ahead of the people. You had Moses, behind him, all of the Hebrews, the entire nation of Israel. So when now the community was on the move, Following the ark, following God, Moses said, arise, O Lord, so that God would deal with his enemies. So just as I said at the top, this prayer for God to arise is not a supplication made individually, it's made corporately by God's people. And when David says, arise, O Lord, the request is then, do not let man prevail. As I alluded to, in many nations who walk in darkness, there are going to be many times in reality where it seems like men are prevailing, where it seems like the spirit of the age is prevailing, where it seems like the enemies of God are prevailing. But when David says, do not let man prevail, he knows that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, will not allow the idolatrous arrogance of men to go unchallenged. Because when God arises, Church, there are some men who never see God as God. There are some men who never come face to face with the fact that they are inosh, that they are dust, that in God's eyes, they by themselves are feeble, weak, and helpless. There are some men who will only know they are but men when God shows himself for who he really is. Hence, arise, O Lord, let men know they are but men. Because the reality is this, men in the natural world like to beat up and oppress other people because that's the only way they can feel like little g-gods. That's the only way they can elevate themselves and make themselves feel important. But there is only one God, and when He arises, every man knows exactly who they are. It doesn't matter how many accolades a man has, how many degrees, how much money, how many cars, if he's secretary general, if he's prime minister, if he's president, if he's senator. It doesn't matter how much power he has. It doesn't matter how many schemes, ideas, or plans, or how many worldviews he concocts. It is all vanity. Because there is a God in heaven who will, in due time, remind men exactly who they are and set things right. Now when David says, arise, God did arise 2,000 years ago. On the third day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. and those who recognize God has revealed himself, God has made himself known. There are many now who see God arising and recognize God for exactly who he is. We now admit our weakness, our helplessness, and we praise and exalt God as our risen, resurrected Lord. That was the first big time in history when God rose up. But when Jesus now comes back, That's going to be the final, ultimate time when God arises and lets the world know who he is. Because, church, these last two verses of Psalm number nine point forward to the very end of time. What does the text say? It says, arise, O Lord. Do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged before you. Put them in fear, O Lord. Let the nations know they are but men. The Bible tells us there's only going to be one time in history when all the nations, when all of humanity is judged, that is when Jesus Christ comes back. This psalm is about God's justice, but it ends pointing forward to the end of time. And at that point, all men will know that they are but men because Christ is Lord. I'll close by saying this. When we talk about God's justice, I'm going to use human language now. Theologically speaking, when we think about how God was going to deal with fallen humanity, if God is good, how could he forgive sinners? If God is a just judge, and a sinner walks into his courtroom, how could he just forgive them? That would be unjust. If a blasphemer, if a forgetter, if a liar, if an adulterer, if a coveter, if a dishonorer of parents walks into his courtroom, and God is really just, and God is really good, how could he just forgive that sinner, knowing God is holy? And the answer is, at the cross of Jesus Christ, we now have the harmony of God's justice and God's mercy. where the unleashing of the full, unadulterated wrath of God that crushed the Son, that decimated Him, was the full outpouring of God's wrath on the Son, so that now His justice was satisfied through the atonement that the Son made. Now God, because the guilt, because the penalty has been paid, now He can justly forgiven undeserving sinner by His grace. And look at how this psalm points forward to the work that Christ did. Verse 12, for he who requires blood remembers the afflicted. God not only remembered the afflicted, us, Before He sent His Son to the world, God also remembered the afflicted one, Jesus, as He made an atonement on the cross. And the blood of Christ satisfied God's requirement of justice for us. Verse 15, The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made, in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. The darkest hour of humanity was when the Jews and the Romans nailed Jesus to the cross. They thought they were making progress by getting rid of this man who dared to call himself God. But they were the ones who fell into the pit which they dug, because in crucifying Jesus, That now was the means of atonement, that God would now set his people free, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was God's route to which we would have the resurrection. Verse 16, the Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment. Church, when we talk about God's justice, God has already executed judgment on the Son. And when that justice was satisfied, the resurrected Christ made himself known to the world as Savior and Lord. When you look around the world and see injustice, know that God's justice is not dead because our risen Lord is the living, breathing manifestation of justice. We therefore pray in the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ to the Father for God's eternal, perfect justice. Let's pray. Precious Lord, it is clearly evident as we make our way through your Psalms that you are the author of reality. Because your Psalms, your poetry, your word touches and gives us clarity and answers to so many vexing, troublesome problems with life. We know, oh Lord, that we will never have answers to everything. But the one answer we have, precious Lord, is you. You are our stronghold. You are our strength. You are our leader. You are our guide. And in the end, in paradise, you shall finally and fully make all things clear to those who trust in you. We pray, O Lord, above all else, enduring adversity and enduring hardship is something that we can say with words here in the 21st century West. But there are many Christian brothers and sisters who endure real physical, political, economic, and social injustice daily. And we make a corporate prayer today that you, divine spirit, strengthen them, strengthen their hearts, strengthen their faith, refine and augment their patience, and give them the gift of perseverance. So they shall not be weary. They shall fight the good fight and cleave to your feet, Lord Jesus, to wait on you in the height, in the peak of real earthly injustice. In the name of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray, amen. We do hope that you have been enriched and equipped by the preaching of Dr. Sadoval. For more valuable resources, please visit WCSK.org. Until next time, peace be with you and to God be the glory forever.