Look with me again tonight, if you would please, to the book of Psalms, as we examine tonight Psalm 21. Psalm 21. Last Wednesday we had the opportunity of examining Psalm 20. In doing so, we gave reference to its connection, its relationship with the next Psalm, Psalm 21, that they somewhat complemented each other, with Psalm 20 being primarily a prayer for the deliverance of Israel to God, for which we can see not only the psalm in its context, as it would have applied to David and the nation of Israel, having been anticipating some battle against an enemy, but also there is some, if you will, pointing here to the fullness of deliverance that would come in Christ. And we see that even more so in Psalm 21, and we will see it all the more in Psalm 22 that follows. So tonight, we examine Psalm 21, which as instead of a petition to God, this is presented to us as a song of worship that would be fitting with regard to a worship, a time of worship among the people of Israel and the people of God even more so, to render thanksgiving to God for not only the deliverance that has already occurred, the victory that has already occurred, but also for the victories that are still to come. So let's look, if we could please, and go ahead and read through our psalm that we examined tonight, Psalm 21. The Bible declares, The king shall have joy in your strength, O Lord, and in your salvation, how greatly shall he rejoice. You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked life from you and you gave it to him. Length of days forever and ever. His glory is great in your salvation. Honor and majesty you have placed upon him. For you have made him most blessed forever. You have made him exceedingly glad with your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High, he shall not be moved. Your hand will find all your enemies. Your right hand will find those who hate you. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger. The Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their offspring you shall destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against you. They devised a plot which they are not able to perform. Therefore, you will make them turn their back. You will make ready your arrows on your string toward their faces. Be exalted, O LORD, in your own strength. We will sing and praise your power." Well, we had mentioned that the subject matter tonight is indeed the idea of giving thanks or thanksgiving. Some context for us tonight before we look at the nuts and bolts of this song for a moment, and that is the principle of the importance, not only the importance of giving thanks to God. But I believe the distinction that is made with rare exception between the believer and the unbeliever in their understanding of the importance of giving thanks. We speak of this and how it distinguishes us as God's children in understanding truly what God the Father has done for us. An interesting example of this, I think, that Christ wants us to see is found actually in the Gospel of Luke. It's a familiar story. If you want to turn with me and look at it, that's fine. If not, I'd like to read it to you. It's found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 17. It is a story regarding the ten lepers. So if I could share it with you briefly, the Bible records here in the Gospel of Luke in verse 11. Now, it happened as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as he entered a certain village, there made him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. So when he saw them, He said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priest. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found to return to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he said to him, Arise, go your way, your faith has made you well. There's a couple of things going on there in that passage we could take a great deal of time with in and of itself. But if I could call your attention to one main thing that's taking place, and that is the healing, if you will, of all 10 of these lepers and yet only one returning to give thanks. That's the overall picture we immediately see. Now, there's not a problem with any of the lepers. There's no weakness in their voices that they would cry out to the Lord to heal them. And in fact, if we go back and look at that passage again, it says they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. So there's an acknowledgement of who they're speaking to. They recognize, they've heard, they understand some measure with regard to Christ. And they cry out for relief, for deliverance, if you will, in the words of mercy. So in the act of mercy, Jesus tells them to go their way to show themselves to the priest. So why are they going to show themselves to the priest? Because if they are Jews and are and are lepers, that means doubly so. They have been made outcast from the temple. They are defiled, not allowed to come anywhere near it with regard to worship and sacrifice. And they've also been ostracized from the community for the same reason, because they are lepers and they are at the mercy in their daily lives. They are at the mercy of anyone's charity or pity. so that they are to survive that's what they rely upon so they've been told that they are to go and show themselves to the priest and then one comes back now the interesting thing about this is is the one who came back not only is the one who is grateful but he's also the one who is a Samaritan do you remember anything significant about what it means to be a Samaritan What's that now? That's exactly right. The Samaritan, on his cleanest day, is considered foul and unclean by an Orthodox Jew. They would have nothing to do with him. As Ted had just brought out, we have the famous lesson that we have learned that they would not even walk through Samaria. What hope did he have in showing himself to the priest? He recognized and realized that there's no other person to give thanks to. There's no temptation to go to a priest and to understand or look for man's approval or man's relief here with regard to the priest to receive him. For no one else would receive him. It is he and he alone who comes and gives thanks. And the fact that it is Jesus who acknowledges and identifies him as such. And then finally, what does he tell him? We look back at the last verse, he said, arise, go your way, your faith has made you well, is the word that is used here. Now, when he says well, what does he mean? Is he simply meaning that the leprosy has been relieved? I would suggest not. Because what has happened here in the translation of what's taking place here is every indication has been given that this Samaritan man, like the Samaritan woman at the well, has been made whole. The faith that has made him well is not the faith that he exhibited, but in fact the faith that Christ had given. Such that he understood the deliverance physically, he now desired the deliverance spiritually. Now, the irony, of course, is that the men, the Jewish men, it appears by implication, who would have gone and showed themselves to the priest, did not so understand that. Now, do we hold it against them because they looked at the priest? Well, hold it against them may be a strong word, but the distinction is made here. For when we look in John chapter 9 and the healing of the man blind from birth, The priests were critical. They were interrogating. They were seeking to use him to get at Jesus. But what is it that he came back to? He recognized, I don't know about you, but what I do know myself, if you allow me to paraphrase, is this man is the one who has healed me. This is the one that I know that has brought sight to my eyes. And it turns out this will be the one that I'll return to. For he will come back to Christ as the Samaritan did. There is a distinction here. It's not that one who does not know God through his son Jesus Christ cannot be grateful, but there is a distinction made in the believer because he understands that whether it is through the surgeon's hand, whether it is through the compassion of a hand that puts a cold rag on a feverish head, no matter if it's a scientist who discovered a breakthrough medicine that will bring relief, The believer knows the one he gives thanks to, above all else, is God. For there's no hope, there's no relief except in Him. One of the messages that really gets presented to us in Psalm 21 is an understanding of that, an appreciation of that. It is a great moment for the nation of Israel. They have a lot of bad moments too, but it is a good moment when this psalm, this song has been prescribed for worship and full throat is given to it. So when we think about the psalm and its similarity with regard to Psalm 20, both of them have the one stanza where the words are addressed to the Lord our King. Both of them have a stanza where the people are calling upon and are praising God. So we look at verses one through seven. Then verses 8 through 12, and then we have the concluding remarks in verse 13. I separate them as such because verse 13 is such a distinctive cry of praise to God by the people without a shadow of a doubt. We can have some discussions about the other verses as to who's speaking, although I believe that there's a great indication of who it is that we can discover by looking at the verses more closely. So when we look at verse 1, it says, The king shall have joy in your strength, O Lord, and in your salvation. How greatly shall he rejoice. All right. From the onset. We ask the question here, who is speaking? Is it the king himself that is speaking? That is possible. Is it a priest that is speaking in singular voice here? That too is a possibility. But most as they examine this in these seven verses, believe that this is indeed the people, the congregation that are speaking as they are speaking at the very end as well. And so they're offering a praise to God. I and in honor even of the king now as we began these verses not to not to bring too much confusion and understand the Prince what work here when you're examining a song like this it is it is twofold in its meaning and its benefit to us There is one in the context that we can certainly see this as a song of thanksgiving at the conclusion of a battle. Maybe King David has returned victorious to the city of Jerusalem and it's a time for praise and thanksgiving to God and worship. No problem receiving this. But secondly, there's something we ought to know always, as we're studying David and the Kingdom of Israel, David especially. He is linked, understandably, to the coming of Christ, our Messiah, because he is connected to a promise that is made regarding David's line, if you will, on the throne. But it is also associated with David fulfilling a standard, a promise and a blessing that David himself could never fulfill. The standard that is held here and the fulfillment is only ascribed to Christ because He's the only one who could and did accomplish that. So we see that tension here as we look in these first few verses here. And we'll even reference back to verse 1 here later in our psalm. But here, after we give some thought to who is speaking, we go back to verse 1 and we consider the blessings here that are spoken of in this song. We do it, by the way, whenever we gather for worship, when we're singing a hymn, it is not uncommon for us, too, to sing of the blessings of God. And so this psalm does the same. In the very first verse, it begins by saying, The king shall have joy in your strength, O Lord, and in your salvation, how greatly how greatly shall he rejoice so the first thing we see here is specifically victory but victory truth through the strength of God so what is our continual point here that the nation should never ever ever give glory and honor to itself regarding victory We touched on this last week as the Nation of Israel. We kind of made a remark that when you watch their military history, the Nation of Israel has never been able to attribute their great victories on the battlefield because they were highly trained, highly skilled, crackerjack units of military. In most cases, they were outnumbered. In most cases, they were outgunned. And thus, we find the phrase that we'll also refer to a couple of times tonight in Psalm 20 and verse 7, where it says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. What's the meaning of that verse? The meaning is, of course, that they're ascribing in their world and in their time the equivalent of saying some trust in tanks, some trust in guided missiles, some trust in drones, some trust in highly trained and skilled military personnel. But Israel says we will remember the name of the Lord. This, we know, is the source of our victory over all those things, and all those things are powerful and mighty things, but they are nothing. They are inadequate, they are incompetent outside of God's blessing. I'm never more reminded of that than what we remember in Judges chapter 7, the story of Gideon. So as Gideon is leading the people of Israel to victory, do you know what Cracker Jack commando unit he ended up with? He ended up with 300 men and they had clay pots and torches and apparently loud voices, alright? He started off with thousands and he still would have been outnumbered, still would have been outgunned. And the Lord said, that's too many. So he pared it all the way down to 300 and said, I want you to go over that hill and I want you to scream. Now, if they were Southern Jews, they would have given the rebel yell. All right. But I can't say that for sure. It wasn't there. It's only speculation. So then it's the waving of the torches, it's the breaking of the clay pots. And just like that, voila. the superior enemy is running in the other direction. So they understand that the king understands the joy that he has not only his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord, the deliverance that it brings, and he will rejoice in it. Verse two, you have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Now, verse two, in your outline, I said not answered prayers, the two words that I put there. Now I'd like to refer back to something else we discussed last week in Psalm 20. And that is the notion here that corresponds with this verse as well. And that is that the Lord would give him his heart's desire. In verse 4 of Psalm 20, if you might back up to that for a moment. The prayer and the petition said, may he grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your purpose. And we had some discussion about that, what it means to have answered prayer and on what basis. And we read a passage of scripture from Proverbs speaking about the man who delights in the Lord shall have the desires of his heart given. We examined John chapter 16 this past Sunday with the promise of Christ regarding answered prayer. So here we find it again in verse 2 that he can praise God and has not withheld the request of his lips, his heart's desire. So the heart's desire that has been put forward here today that they're giving thanks for appears to be victory in battle. But obviously salvation in our hearts and our minds renders a word that is far greater than victory on the battlefield. It speaks to us about the deliverance of our souls, the deliverance of our lives unto God the Father. So this answered prayer with regard to victory, what is it in line with? It means that that which the nation of Israel desired was that which pleased and honored God such that He would give it. That's incredibly important when we seek to have answered prayer from God, because it's the condition that's always been given to us. Now, verse three, it says, for you meet him with a blessing, blessings of goodness. You said a crown of pure gold upon his head. So now there's a blessing here that is spoken of that I described as one befitting a king. But it is a blessing that you and I can identify with as well if we're not careful. We look at this as its reference to the king and we imagine that somehow that it leaves us out of the picture. And that's not true. When I say it's befitting a king, it means a blessing that is befitting the calling that God has placed upon that person's life. That doesn't mean that he has to be a king. It means in whatever role that God has given you, the blessing that is befitting to it. You and I can identify with this. If we look at David and his kingdom, we understand his role. But what about those who are with him? What the Bible identifies Nathan the prophet and in some incredible circumstances in David. And I would contend to you that the same gratefulness and thanksgiving that is offered for the king bestowed upon him in his role could also be offered for a prophet by the name of Nathan. In the role that God had given him and the purpose that he served. Now I can identify that here and now with us too. When we look in the life of every believer. We underestimate the blessings and the honor that is bestowed, not simply upon those who find themselves standing in front, whether it be the pastor, whether it be a deacon or an elder, a leader in the church. But in fact, the Bible spells it out that the blessing of the church and the importance of the church is found in every single soul that makes it up. Paul goes to great length to give us an illustration of the importance of every member of the body of Christ. And I gave you a hint by telling you body. What did Paul do? He gave us the illustration of the parts of the body. He talked about how important it is. when we think about every role that we play from what seems to be the most minuscule to that which seems to be the one that's out front and gathers the most attention. But Paul makes certain as to whether it's the toe, whether it's the eye, whether it's the ear, whether it's the mouth, whether it's the hand and the fingers. The only thing we debated about this morning was the appendix because in God's divine providence, apparently he made certain we could live without that and made it something that people can take out for some reason, right? So in a wonderful, amazing way, he gave us that too. But in regard to the church spiritually, how we make it up becomes incredibly important. And every person in whatever role they play is a minister, is in fact a servant of God, is in fact as important to the nation and the kingdom of God as the king himself. Why? Because we have all been fitly joined together. Not because we are, but because God has made us so. Alright, so even as that which is befitting the king is befitting for us as well. Alright, so. Verse 4 interesting verse here in our song. He asked life from you and you gave it to him. Length of days forever and ever. Alright, length of days forever and ever. So when he says length of days forever and ever, what does this mean? Well, again, we've already hinted to the fact of David being the recipient of the promise that's recorded in 2 Samuel 7 and verse 16. When we look at that verse of scripture, it is a part of a larger passage in 2 Samuel 7 that we would consider God's covenant with David. And in that covenant, he says in verse 16, in your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you, your throne shall be established forever. All right. Wonderful promise. It is a promise that gave David some measure of assurance, not simply of his lifetime in which God had proven to him as he kept him on the throne, not only through divine protection from any enemies, but divine protection from himself. I and then comes his son Solomon who will follow him as such. But the promise that God was giving him regarding his throne was not simply about Solomon following him physically on the throne. The promise that he's giving him is as the divine portion of the Davidic line would be Christ. This would be the fulfillment of that promise and that covenant with God in its fullness. And so we recognize that it's simply not simply a reference to the duration of David's dynasty forever but a dynasty that can only be fulfilled in the coming of Christ. In fact there's an interesting part historically about this passage of scripture. that I had discovered in some reading. And that is in two different manuscripts of the Old Testament. The Jewish, what is referred to as the Jewish Targum, I believe is the correct pronunciation. If you know that word better than I, I apologize. But it is referred to as the Chaldean paraphrase of scripture. And then more of the earliest writings of the Talmud. When they made reference in the very first verse of this Psalm, when it made reference to King, it was interesting that they not only had the word for King as Melech, but the second word that accompanied it was Meshiach. It's Hebrew for Messiah. So originally, in the very first verse, the King was Melech Meshiach, which means King Messiah. Strangely enough, we're told that historically along the lines that that was edited and or corrected simply to say King. And there's a great deal of debate as to the reason why. But regardless of that, whether they knew it or they understood fully as it was from the original writing, it was a clear indication the twofold promise that is here the twofold Thanksgiving that was made no bones about even in the use of that word Messiah even if they were applying it to David it was applied imperfectly right because we know whatever David showed us in some measure of deliverance some measure of a king some measure of a leader of the people I at best He was a flawed, imperfect shadow, if you will, of that which was to come in Christ and proved Himself as such. So when we think about these days that go on forever and ever, some people would chalk it up as hyperbole from the court. I would not. I think it's a clear direction, if you will, to the eternity of Christ and His rule and reign. We hear those words length of days forever and ever. Verse 5 says his glory is great in your salvation. Honor and majesty you have placed upon him. All right. Once again, we see something here that is we can see is incomplete with regard to David, for you have made him most blessed forever. You have made or excuse me, his glory, his glory is great in your salvation, honor and majesty you have placed upon him. And so we see again, there are many look at those words, glory, honor and majesty, certainly in some measure could be attributed to David, but even a larger way. I again we're looking to Christ in the fulfillment of the one who's truly worthy of it for David only knows that in part. Verse six though for you have made him most blessed forever. You have made him exceedingly glad with your presence. Wonderful word that we can easily identify with David the joy of God's presence. We propose this morning That when we look at the life of David, a man after God's own heart, a man chosen by God from his youth to be the king of Israel, chosen not because he was the obvious choice, but because in a sense he was the least obvious choice of the sons of Jesse. But we recognize and see in David early on in his life God's hand upon him and his joy, if you will, in God's presence in his life. We can see the joy that David had in God's presence, but I think we can also identify a time when he did not have joy in God's presence. That God's presence was not even a source of joy. And then we find David longing for it to be that joy again. So it's not hard to identify the time when he had joy in God's presence. We can see him as that fighting man, leading the men, a day in which he had exercised such great judgment among God's leadership, when to be violent, when not to be, even if it means the result of wise counsel being given. But then there is a moment when David did not enjoy God's presence. Can you guess what I'm thinking about? Our mind immediately drifts to the great sin of adultery with Bathsheba. Now, we had some discussion here about when was this the bad moment about wanting to be in God's presence. Well, David is lured by his own lust, enticed by his own desire, such that he carries out this sinful act with Bathsheba. It results in her conceiving a child. And then we see David, the man after God's own heart, as so abandoned His understanding of that which is right, that which has been given to him by blessing of God, and instead has sought to take something for himself, now finds himself going to the extent of trying to cover up the sin that he has committed with Bathsheba on a couple of occasions, trying to get her husband back home under the guise of getting him into the bedroom, so that when everyone discovers that she's expecting, they'll believe that he is the father of the child, including himself. This did not work, and tragically, David was so consumed in somehow covering this up, that he went to the great lengths of making sure her husband would be killed on the battlefield. In effect, it was murder, by fiat, if you will, in David's plan, in David's instruction. Now, when is it that David was brought into God's presence? that it was a most unpleasant day. I contend that would have been the day that Nathan confronted him in his sin. For that was not just Nathan, the servant of God speaking, it was God speaking himself, confronting him in his sin. And there was nowhere to turn but to God, thankfully, for David. And David did, in fact, turn to God. And what was it that David desired of God once he had confessed and repented of his sin? Restore to me the joy. The joy of what? The joy of God's presence. Not to have God's presence again because God had been present and seen every bit of it. Because David belonged to God. But it was about restoring unto him the joy of God's presence. Knowing once again that though he had done horribly wrong, God in His mercy and His grace had accepted his confession had acknowledged his repentance and indeed restored him into fellowship with him. And you say, but how could David ever be the same after carrying out such an action? He would not be the same. This is the reality of our life in this body of flesh. You and I can know confession, repentance, and restoration in the fellowship of God. We can know it and it can be sweet. It can be restoring. It can be uplifting. But it's not as if the act that we did just simply magically goes into a puff of dust. There are consequences. After all, we understand the very basis of the deterioration of our bodies tonight is the result of what? Sin. All right? So we understand that. David knew this too. But in this moment, what a blessed thing it is to cry out to God and for the people to speak with regard to the king, in this case, in its most immediate context. making him exceedingly glad with your presence with your honor verse 7 verse 7 is kind of a transition verse even though it still remains with regard to this but it's the security that is found in God notice how he affirms this all the more he says for the king trust in the Lord and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. This of course is an easy play off the words of verse 7 in Psalm 20 as well where the scripture says some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Then the very first phrase of verse 7 in Psalm 21 is for the king Trust, trust, current, present. He trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High, he shall not be moved. Again, there's an interesting discussion here with regard to the words. First of all, the first word you see here is trust, or boda. And boda in this verse speaks of what the king and the people, in this case, must renew themselves in every day. When you speak of the human response to God, if the king is trusting in the Lord, that means he has to purpose himself to trust in the Lord every single day. That trust has to be renewed. Now, we think in the form of salvation and a relationship with God, and rightfully so. Our trust in the Lord, which, by the way, is initiated and sustained by the Lord Himself. But that trust is, as it were, to our salvation, our deliverance, our belief and following of Christ. Well, that is absolutely certain, yes. Why? Because it's in God's hands. It's a form of His unfailing love that we'll talk about here in just a moment. But our experience in the life of Christ means that every day we get up and we purpose ourselves to not trust in ourselves, not trust in the world, not trust in the things of the world, but we have to purpose ourselves to trust in the Lord. That's what that repeat that verse is in verse 7 of 20. Some trust in chariots. We trust we remember the name of the Lord, meaning we trust in him. That has to be done. It's a daily practice. But the other word that is used here, in this case, in the New King James, it refers to it as mercy of the Most High. But depending on your translation, you will find many of them will say the unfailing love. with regard to that term mercy and it is not a problem one does not contradict the other the word in the Hebrew is Hesed H-E-S-E-D all right and that word Hesed by the way in describing what it describes an unfailing unchangeable eternal action of God and love toward us Unchanging, it is the very essence of what it means to have security in the covenant keeping God. Now, when we speak about God having a covenant with us, it is important that we understand that God has initiated and is sustaining this covenant with all those men whom he has redeemed, as he did from the beginning, all right? Now you and I are contending to trust every day and you and I know that we fail every day in maintaining that trust. So if a covenant requires a response initiated, sustained by God, but still requires a response, where does the perfect response come from that keeps that covenant? Ah, and we find ourselves looking at Christ again. The promise of David is the one who's going to come, that perfect king. The promise of David is the one who's going to come is going to be that perfect keeper of the covenant. Where David has fallen short and so is everyone else, including us. Christ did not come short. In fact, he fulfilled it perfectly. He never failed to trust in the Lord. 24 hours a day, right? He never failed to acknowledge and obey. God the Father and everything that He commanded him to do. Jesus tells us repeatedly, that which I say, that which I do, is that which the Father commands me to do. I do nothing outside of that. So, when we start weighing that in the balance, then it's only Christ. It's only Christ who trusted God and never wavered. And therefore, the promise of the fulfillment of that covenant, the response in that covenant, God has made it and God supplied the response to it. The guarantee of it, the resolution of it in Christ on our behalf. And that's the reason why on Sunday morning we talked in John chapter 16 of how we pray to God the Father. But as he told the disciples, you need now pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Before they may have only said the Father because they were looking forward to the coming of Christ. To accomplish that, it's not as if they didn't believe, it's just they didn't know. but only in part. But now Christ is telling them beautifully, as he does in the Gospel of John, in that time of changing. Alexander McLaren gives a beautiful, I think, eloquent writing with regard to this point into Christ, if I could share it with you. He says, These daring anticipations are too exuberant to be realized in any but one, whose victory was achieved in the hour of apparent defeat, whose conquest was both his salvation and God's. who prays, knowing that he has always heard, who is king of men, because he endured the cross, and wears the crown of pure gold, because he did not refuse the crown of thorns, who liveth forevermore, having been given by the Father to have life in himself, who is the outshining of the Father's glory, and has all power granted unto him, who is the source of all blessing to all, who dwells in the joy to which he will welcome his servants, and who himself lived and conquered by the life of faith, and so became the first leader of the long line of those who have trusted and have therefore stood fast. Amen. Verse 8. Your hand will find all your enemies. Thus we begin in verse 8, a section here where we are giving thanks. The psalmist in the psalm is giving thanks, not simply for the victories that have already occurred, but for the victories that are still to come. This section is not for the faint of heart to understand what this means and the judgment that it speaks of coming from God. He says, your hand will find all your enemies. Your right hand will find those who hate you. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger. The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Can you imagine? This may have been responsive reading, but it's very likely to, and understandably, at some point, it will be put to music. What do you think the tune is? Behind your hand will find all your enemies, your right hand will find those who hate you, and you'll make a fiery oven in the time of your anger. Swallow them up in your wrath, fire shall devour them. A minor key, I like that. Those are not the verses we normally turn to in our hymnal, is it? We seek to honor and praise and glorify God and understandably so, but there is a time and a place for giving thanks to the fact that though we take no pleasure in it, we do rejoice in that God is honored Both in his love, mercy and grace extended to those whom he loves and delivers. And God is also honored in the fact of what frustrates us every day. If we're honest. We look at what's happening around us. And we are always tempted to imagine that these people, these acts. They're getting away with something. We look in the destruction of our families. I, the drugs, the abuse, the addictions. And our hearts are broken. And we look at the evil, the demonic eye that feeds it, that promotes it. And we imagine in our mind's eye that what is God going to do with this? When is He going to do with this? And it is tempting for us, but I would assure you that you and I need to restrain ourselves immediately for a moment, rest in the truth that God will handle this, and don't try to consult with Him about it. This is our difficulty. Understandably so. There's truth in God's word that tells us that God wants us to know that none of this is going unnoticed. Nobody's nobody's absconding with anything. I was reading a story in the local paper just today about two drunk 21 year olds. who left a restaurant because they didn't pay the bill, jumped on a golf cart, that's Peachtree City after all, and they tried to escape. What a pathetic picture they were. The police found them constantly picking one another up and putting themselves back on the cart. This is the world of sin. It stumbles and bumbles around thinking it's smarter than it actually is, imagining somehow that they can pull the wool over God's eyes. and come away victorious. And the saddest commentary is, is not a single one of them that God does not redeem will escape the judgment that they absolutely deserve. Now, lest we want to rejoice with that, you and I better hang our heads with that. And then you and I better cry out to God and give thanks one more time, because if not for the grace of God, I'm that stupid drunk on a golf cart. making a fool of himself. So if we recognize this, this idea of this fact that is spilling out to us that God seeks and destroys the enemy, it is an understanding of the word all here. Notice what it says. Your hand will find all your enemies. The irony of that is, is that we give thanks to God. Why? Because he has cleansed us from all our sin. Just as complete a work. First John 1 7 but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses our excuse me blood of Jesus Christ his son that cleanses us from all sin cleanses us from all sin make no mistake a complete work now we talked about this this need to trust this implication of trusting on a daily basis earlier in these verses and so We must do that with a sober heart and sober mind of the temptation for that sin, that sin that we've been cleansed from, that can still so disrupt our lives, that can still so rob us of the joy of God's presence as it did for David. And thus we need to be mindful when we think about God's completeness in his judgment and completeness in his salvation that we desire not to even for a moment, if at all possible, to appear, not to appreciate the righteousness that God has brought to our lives in His Son, Jesus Christ. Notice what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4, where he reminds us, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. Now, the first thing that tells me is, is the weapons of our warfare. The way we beat this back is not cheering on law enforcement. The way that we beat this back in our own lives is not imagining some incredible strength in our hearts and our lives, not even trusting our spiritual death. Instead, he says, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We had shared some material in our Sunday school classes about the idea of what it means to change our thoughts and our practices. It's not to be minimized. In our daily devotion, in our daily time with God that should be taking place, in our daily prayer to God that is taking place, there is a need to do all we can to establish a boundary in our mind. I with regard to these thoughts to push out those that would tempt us to commit sin. Those that would tempt us even in how we think of the world. It is Paul who said that we were to think on those things that are good. Think on things that are lovely. Things are of good report. There's an importance there that needs to be brought forward with regard to God's Word in our daily walk with Christ, because we don't want to even give the appearance. Of acting like the enemy. That God is going to seek out. And judge fully. Verse 10, Their offspring you shall destroy from the earth and their descendants from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against you. They devised a plot which they are not able to perform. Therefore you will make them turn their back. You will make ready your arrows on your string toward their faces. What a vivid description here of this complete and utter victory. that God will have over those who would stand against Him, those who have no knowledge of Him. This is a glaring affirmation of what God's Word tells us with regard to wickedness and depravity. The fact of the matter is that there are people in this life, there are people historically and there will be people up until the time of God's return, who may say words that are found in Scripture. who may make certain acknowledgments with regard to God and not know God. Have a heart that bends with the wind. Have a notion of right and wrong that vacillates with the standards that are put before us. We see it today. We see scores of people that are establishing and trying to apply some twist of a biblical principle to rationalize and justify that which God's word has already declared as sin. evil, wicked, abomination. These are the words that are used to describe some of the things that now have been so turned around that the suggestion is that you're not spiritual, you're not loving, you're not Christ-like if you don't accept and applaud these actions that God determined as sinful. Therefore, those same people are really not going to like singing the second stanza of this psalm. It's not going to be popular. Verse 13, the people respond. Their response is, oh, no. No, that's not their response, is it? Instead, their response is, be exalted, oh, Lord. Be glorified, oh, Lord. Be lifted up, oh, Lord. Be honored, oh, Lord. In your own strength, we will sing and praise your power. your strength. There is a part of us in our nature that has a tendency to drift over to I, me, and mind. Even as we want to acknowledge God's power and God's strength, we'll say God's power in me. God's power in this or God's power in that and how it reflects me. But you notice the purity of this psalm is not about it. It's already acknowledged God's victory. But it says our desire is to saw exalt you and you alone. In your strength. We desire nothing greater than to praise your power. Your glory. It's very hard for us to do. It's very tempting to praise power and glory as it applies to us. As it benefits us. But there is a moment here that is striking in verse 13 that distinguishes it from everything else in the psalm. I pray we would know that, too. There is a confidence that we can have, but the confidence must be in God. There's a confidence being extolled in this psalm, but it's a confidence, again, in God. Everything is saying, you have done, you have done, you have done. Verse 8 says, and you will do. How do they know he will do it? Because he's declared it so. He's proved it so. Let me ask you a question. Paul takes the approach in his pastoral epistles when he encourages the Corinthians to have absolute confidence in their resurrection from the dead in Christ. What is it that he told them? If you allow me to paraphrase, he said, if you believe that God the Father raised Christ from the dead, Why would you think he'd have a problem raising you from the dead? The scripture is filled, filled with examples of God's judgment, filled with example of God's justice and wrath on display. Wiping out people, giving little old Israel victories over superior armies, marching around the walls of Jericho and they all come crumbling down. Victories that were exemplifying God so much so that there were people in fear, not of Israel, but they were in fear of the God of Israel. That's what Rahab told those fellows that night in Jericho. Why would we have any other thought than to know that God will take care of His enemies today as surely as He took care of them then? same principle at work for our resurrection. I pray we could live in that kind of confidence because there's a lot of noise out there that easily discourages us, that easily plants a seed of doubt and wonder. Let us never doubt God for a moment that he is true to his word. Does anyone have any question on these verses?