Please now turn to the book of Psalms and to Psalm 9. Psalm number 9. As we come to Psalm 9 this evening, you will note that we're returning to a psalm of lament again. And there is good reason to think of both Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 as being closely related to each other. For the sake of time this evening, we're not going to read both those Psalms, though it would be very profitable for us to do so, and to read them straight through without any break from the end of Psalm 9 through Psalm 10. And I would encourage you to do that sometime in the week that lies ahead. and that will be helpful as we begin our expositions of Psalm 9 and Psalm 10. But for this evening, we're going to read the first 10 verses of Psalm 9 as we begin to look at this psalm this evening. So, Psalm 9, verses 1 through 10. Again, this is God's holy word. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence. For you have maintained my just cause. You have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. You have rebuked the nations. You have made the wicked perish. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins. Their cities you rooted out. The very memory of them has perished. But the Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for justice. And he judges the world with righteousness. He judges the peoples with uprightness. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed. A stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Amen. And thus far, God's Word. Now, as I referenced in those prefatory remarks to our reading of this passage of Psalm 9, the bringing together of these two psalms has been the cause of much study and examination by the scholars and commentators The absence of a title to Psalm 10, as you will see if you look down in your Bibles, has led many to the view that Psalm 10 is simply an extension and follow-on from Psalm 9, and in the opinion of many, should not even be given a separate number in the psalm book, but rather should be together simply as one psalm that we could call Psalm 9. That view is strengthened by the fact that if you look at the structure of the Psalms, Psalms 9 and 10, particularly in the original Hebrew, you will see that they're structured in such a way that supports this kind of view. There is a particular form of the Psalms, it's called an acrostic. This was a particular form that Hebrews liked to use where they began each verse with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So, they'd start verse 1 with a Hebrew word that began with Ale, the first word, the first letter of the alphabet, and then verse 2, as we would know it, would begin with the second letter, Beit, and so on it would go. And so, as they look at these Psalms 9 and 10, they find that pattern, though it is not perfect in Psalm 9, some of the letters are missing, it's not a perfect acrostic, but where it stops, it seems to take up again in Psalm 10. And so the following on letters to the end of the Hebrew alphabet are used as the beginning words of the verses of Psalm 10. And so putting all of this together, many think that this is indeed just one psalm and not two. But taking other things further into consideration, I think it is right to still see this as two separate psalms, as they are in our English Bibles, and as they are indeed in many of the original manuscripts. of the Hebrew Scriptures. For one thing, the subject matter of both these psalms are not identical. And there are differences in emphasis in what we might call the mood of the psalmist as he was writing 9 and 10. Again, they are not identical as you might expect if it was one single composition. They're distinct enough I think for us to conclude that though there might be these other factors to take into consideration, they are separate psalms. But nevertheless, we ought not to think, because they are distinct, that they are unrelated. I trust that we've seen enough in our studies of the Book of Psalms already to see that the psalms are grouped together in a particular way. They were not just randomly collected in one place after another without careful thought. by the various individuals who brought together these psalms as they were written. And so they may well have been written as companion pieces, one conscious of the other, so that they might complement each other. They do seem to be concerned with two main subjects, although they are treated in different ways. They deal with what we call the twin realities of life as we find it in a sinful, fallen world. The first reality is that of the certain triumph of God. Even in the midst of seeing a world that's in rebellion, the reality is God is still on the throne. He still reigns. And the triumph of God in all of his sovereign purposes is not under any doubt. And we see that as a dominant theme in both Psalms 9 and 10. And even if in the present time it seems as if the enemies of God and our enemies as the people of God are prospering in this world, God still reigns and God will still triumph. Because of that, then we come to the second reality that we see in a fallen world. but from the eternal perspective of God and His revelation, that there is hope for the godly. Because God's triumph is certain, God is on the throne, then there is certain hope for the godly. And that lies in the affirmation of God's just rule from that great eternal throne of heaven. He sits on the throne, He rules as He reigns. and he executes judgment and justice. And ultimately, judgment will come to those who are described often in the book of Psalms as the wicked, those who oppose God and his purposes. Now, by way of final comment in the introduction, it is not possible for us to date this psalm particularly to any certain period in the life of David. Again, it is a Davidic psalm. The title tells us a psalm of David, but unlike perhaps some of the other psalms where we were given hints of particular times in the life of David when he penned some of these psalms, this has no further information. Nevertheless, we can conclude from the content it is again a time of difficulty in the life of David. And so this is again one of those psalms we call a psalm of lament. He's surrounded again by enemies. in difficulties. But the portrayal and picture of the enemy is purposefully left vague, or we might say it is ambiguous. In other words, it's not meant to point to a particular one enemy of David that we can identify. This is deliberate, so it permits this psalm to be used in a variety of ways by God's purposes down through the generations with all of his people. so that it can be used by the community of God's people as a lament of the circumstances they may find themselves in, but turning them to, as David did, to the certain hope that they have in God, the ruling King. Because throughout this psalm, though the psalmist is surrounded by difficulties and enemies again, there is still the note of praise, the praise of the great King. Why is that? so that the psalmist and those down after him through the generations of the people of God might not be paralysed by fear of these enemies, but rather the praise of God knowing who he is and that he ultimately reigns and rules is the great antidote to the fears of the people of God. When we know who God is and that he rules and reigns from heaven, That is the great antidote to the fear of the Christian, even though he may be surrounded by his enemies. Well, by that, by way of somewhat of an extended introduction, let's come to our summary this evening. What do these verses tell us? Well, we're going to take a summary of the entire psalm, and Lord Wayne will unpack that over two weeks, this week and next. But Psalm 9 gives to the needy child of God a sense of confidence in God's just rule and His faithfulness to His promises, as well as hope in the acts of God in behalf of His children. Let me repeat that. Psalm 9 gives to the needy child of God, a sense of confidence in God's just rule and his faithfulness to his promises, as well as hope in the acts of God in behalf of his children. Well, as we see, to consider that summary this evening, we're going to do so under three headings. First of all, individual praise. Secondly, the judged wicked. And thirdly, a sure hawk. So, individual praise, the judged wicked, and then a sure hawk. So first of all then, individual praise, verses one and two. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. In response to the difficult and distracting situation that the psalmist finds himself in, He brings himself to praise God in anticipation of what God would do for him in the hour of future time, for certain, of his deliverance. If we read later in the psalm, in verses 13 and 14, we find the psalmist prays for God's mercy and promises to praise him in public when he has been delivered. And so there was an anticipation that God was going to come, as he heard and answered the prayers of the psalmist, for deliverance. Then in verse 19, he prays more particularly for God to strike the enemies, that he would deal with them, that he would judge them, that he would bring them to nothing. And so in anticipation of God answering these prayers, right up front, the psalmist can say, I will give thanks. to the Lord with my whole heart, I will recount all of your wonderful deeds." So, what is the psalmist doing here? He's exhorting himself to praise the Lord, even in the midst of his difficult circumstances. Saying, that is what I will do. I will give thanks. I will recount all of the Lord's wonderful deeds. I will be glad. I will exult in God. I will sing his praise. Now, this is not to be thought of as some method of therapy for the psalmist. Here is a set-out procedure. Here is a set-out method that if only you were to follow these steps, then at least you will forget your troubles for a little while. It's not set out to be that man-centred way of dealing with trouble in this life. You know how so often the pages of books and magazines are filled with this sort of approach, aren't they? How might we distract ourselves from the reality of the difficulties of living in this fallen world? We're surrounded by those and words upon words of ways we might do that. That's not what the psalmist is doing here. Rather he does this in anticipation of God coming and doing what God has promised he would do. He exhorts himself to do these things such that it might deepen his trust in the Lord who will come and answer his prayers. And notice the depth of gratitude and joy and praise that we find with the psalmist here. He uses five different expressions building one upon the other to express his praise to God. I will give thanks, I will recount, I will be glad, I will exalt, I will sing praise. Here this multiplicity of verbs, one after another, denoting praise, looking at it from slightly different angles, but expressing the intensity of the psalmist's love for God, even in the midst of difficulty. even surrounded by enemies. He says, I will do this. And he gives himself to it, doesn't he? He doesn't just do it for a moment and then say, well, that's my duty done. There's repetition here as there is often in Hebrew scriptures to emphasise and to focus and to draw things of great importance to our attention. Of course, he's praising God. And that's not something that we ought to pass quickly over. He is none other than the God of great wonders who has worked these for his people. He is the one whose name is the Lord, Yahweh, the covenant God of his people. The one who alone is most high. This is the one who is the object of the praise of the psalmists. To the Lord, the one most high. Now notice again that the psalmist uses much of what the Lord has done as the subject of his praise. He recounts the history of God's mighty acts. I will recount all of your wondrous deeds. And so we see here that praise involves a number of things. Of course it involves often the individual as the beneficiary of God's great mercy and grace in these wondrous acts. It involves the acts themselves, the great work of God ultimately in redemption, the great story, the great narrative of what God has done for his people. And then it involves the community of God's people as a whole. So, you see often the individual, you see the work of God, his mighty acts, and the people of God together who are the beneficiary of these great and mighty works. And so here, first of all, the psalmist praises God with his whole heart. It's very individually focused. It is he as an individual who loves the Lord without reservation, and so he expresses that. And it's right and appropriate that we do that. That we express our personal devotion and love for God in our praise of God. I give thanks. I do it with my whole heart, with everything that I am. I recount His wonderful deeds. I am glad. I exult. I will sing praise to God most high. You see, praise in this way, as the Scriptures depict it, is not something that someone does on your behalf. You cannot pay someone to do this service for you. There are many things in this world that can be done in that way, can't they? If you don't desire to do them, you can nominate someone to do it in your place. Perhaps you pay them to render that service for you. But the praise of God, He has to be first and foremost individual. If there is love for God truly in the heart of the Christian, then that Christian praises God with his whole heart. That's what we too, brothers and sisters, are to do, even in the midst of these difficult circumstances. We secondly draw to our attention, of course, the wonderful actions, deeds of God, ultimately in our great salvation, the great acts of redemption that God has accomplished in his son Jesus Christ for us. Of course, there were many great pictures, weren't there, in the Old Testament of what God would do for his people. We think of the exodus, the bringing of the people out from slavery of Egypt through the Red Sea, ultimately into the great land that he had promised that we begin to read of in the book of Deuteronomy as we did this evening. The people of God are to meditate, are to think upon these things. And as they do so, they are the great fuel. They are the great substance from which our praise arises. Sometimes you talk with Christians and they might say to you, well, I don't really feel like praising God. If you ask them a little more, well, why is that the case? And if they're prepared to be honest with you, they say, well, I don't know that I have much to praise for. Look at my circumstances. Things are not going well for me. I feel and look at others and they may have good reasons to praise God, but I'm not sure I have. Well, what is God's word antidote to that perspective? Not so much look at ourselves and our circumstances, but look at what God has done as a foretaste and picture of what He now has done in His Son, Jesus Christ, and ultimately what He will do when He brings all of that to culmination and consummation on that last great day. I will recount all of your wonderful deeds, the psalmist says. I will be glad in exalting you. I will sing your praise. Of course, the psalms often make mention of the wonderful acts of the Lord, don't they? They were the constant theme of the psalmists. One example, Psalm 75, verse 1, for instance. We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. Of course, often these deeds cover all the works of God, both in creation and redemption, and they were regularly recounted and rehearsed amongst the people of God as a reminder of his goodness, of his love, but especially for comfort in time of need. What is the best way in which we can comfort one another when we find ourselves in difficulties and distress? Well, yes, there is a place for sympathy, for entering into the circumstances of the brother and sister. Of course, to weep with those who weep. Of course we are to do that. But ultimately, the remedy to their circumstances, if they are downcast, if they are bereft of seeming joy and gladness, then ultimately the arm around the shoulder is not going to restore that, is it? What is it that will restore them? It is bringing to their minds again God and what He has done for them, the wonderful deeds of God, particularly reminding them of God's great work of salvation that demonstrates His goodness and love towards them as a believer and brings to them the comfort which truly only can comfort them in their time of need. So, brothers and sisters, we are to individually praise God. But there is a community aspect to the praise. It's not simply individual. The psalmist here loves the Lord. He has confidence in the power and wonder of God's acts and therefore encourages the community in his expression of praise. And we will see that later on in the psalm and Lord willing, deal with that a little more next week. But for now I just want you to see that that too is part of it. It's individual. I will sing and praise and so forth. It's based on the great grounds of God's wonderful acts. But we're not to leave it there. It ought to be part of our thinking and it ought to be part of our activity as a community of the people of God. That we remind one another of that. Often, of course, that is part of what we do as we sing our great hymns of praise. Yes, we're singing them to the Lord as we reflect on all that he is and all that he has done to us. But, of course, Paul reminds us that we sing to one another as we sing praise. And what's the purpose of that in the horizontal dimension? Well, that corporately, as we are singing, brothers and sisters, we are reminding one another of what God has done. It is a corporate act, isn't it? We don't all come and go to different parts of this building and sing God's praise individually. We don't all have our little compartment in this building that we might come and sing a hymn and sing it only to God. Of course, we can do that in our own personal and private devotions. It's an appropriate thing to sing God's praise in that way. But there's a corporate dynamic to it, that we sing collectively to recognise that, to recount His wonderful deeds, But as we do so, we speak to one another, as Paul says. We're exhorting one another, we're encouraging one another by this activity. Well then, that brings us to the second place, to the judged wicked in verses 3 through 6. Of course, the wonderful deeds of which the psalmist speaks here continue when the Lord comes and acts for his people. And as the Lord would come and remove the particular immediate problem that was assailing David, and ultimately when he comes at the end of the ages to deal with all his and our enemies as he consummates his kingdom. Here David prays that the Lord will turn back the enemies so that they will be no more. Now notice at the beginning of verse 3 he says, when my enemies turn back. The verb here that's used in the original Hebrew could be rendered as it is in the ESV here, when. It also could be rendered in a way that is what we might call causal, could be rendered because my enemies turned back. Both are possible. It is not, the way the verb's form is used in Hebrew, it does not make it absolutely clear. The same form does double duty, we might say. It can be rendered when my enemies turn back or because my enemies turn back. But I think when we read it in the context, the ESV has probably got it right. It should be rendered when. It's more natural to read that way in the context and fit the context of the prayer for deliverance. I will give thanks when my enemies turn back. They stumble and perish before your presence. And so, verse 4 here, following on from verse 3, acts as a hinge, as it were, linking what he has said already and what he's about to go on to say. Verse 4a, the first part, for you have maintained my just cause, offers the concluding reason for the psalmist's opening praise. How is it that he's praising God? For you have maintained my just cause. I'm not simply doing this in denial of all that is going on around me. But as I see the ultimate reality of God reigning and ruling, and as God comes and manifests that reign in my circumstances, you have maintained my just cause, gives the reason for his praise. So it acts as a hinge linking to what has gone before, but also links to what he is about to say, as he introduces the great theme of the Lord as the righteous judge, which dominates this section, verses 4 through 6 and indeed onward into the rest of the psalm. So here the psalmist is indicating his great confidence, his confident assurance that God's judgment, the Lord's judgment, has already been decided in his favour, though yet it has to be fully demonstrated in the details of his circumstances. That's why he can say in verse 4, you have maintained my just cause. It's in the past tense. The judgment has already been given by the righteous judge upon the throne. As I said, the dominant emphasis in this section, in these verses, is on the Lord's character as a righteous judge who sits upon the great throne for judgment. This theme of the righteous judge links Psalms 9 to 10 as we will see with what has gone on before in the Psalms, particularly in Psalms 7. That's why we should always be looking out, brothers and sisters, as we read through the book of Psalms, for these themes that link the various Psalms together. As I hoped I'd persuaded you over a number of weeks as we've looked at this, the Psalms are not isolated individual compositions. Yes, they're written in different places, in different times, perhaps by different authors and so forth. But nevertheless, in the God-superintendence of their being written by God, the Holy Spirit, under inspiration, then there are themes that link them together. And that as we see these, we should remember, yes, I've seen that already in what we've read so far. And as I will see it again in what the Lord might say in a subsequent passage. Back in Psalm 7, God judges the wicked. They're envisioned there, for the most part, as members of the community surrounding David, you remember, as the nation was in rebellion often, and particularly in the rebellion under Absalom. He was falsely accused by his enemies. They were individual, they were particular to David at that time and place. But Psalms 9 and 10 pick up that theme but expand it. Notice here how those wicked are described. They're no longer focused upon as individuals. The theme of divine judgment of the enemies includes now the nations. Those non-Israelite peoples who attack and oppress God's people. So the theme has expanded here to all who may take up the rebellious cause against God and his people. Of course, this, under God's superintendence as he wrote his word, allows for its greatest and widest application. It's not simply of one saint, David, in a particular time and place, that God wrote his comforts and his word of assurance to his servant. But it could be applied to all places and all times, that God was going to come and judge the wicked, be they an individual, be it Absalom's son of David, or be it even the greatest empire nations of the known world who oppress the people of God. God will come. He is the just judge, both of individuals and of nations. And so in a series here of parallel phrases, the psalmist describes that judgment on the opposing rebellious nations. The Lord has rebuked them. He has made them to perish, verse 5. They have come to everlasting ruin which has overtaken them. Yahweh has rooted out their cities. Of course, cities in the ancient world were a symbol of strength and of being established and permanent And so the picture here of rooting them out means of coming with consonant judgement upon them, that they are no longer established and have strength and are able to remain in their place. And so the Lord comes and ruin overtakes them and roots out their cities, verse 6. As a result, in contrast to the eternal name of the Lord that is mentioned in verse 2, the very memory of these enemies is going to perish, verses 5 and 6. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins. The cities you rooted out, the very memory of them has perished. This is great judgment, isn't it, when the Lord comes and deals even with nations such that the memory of them will fade and be gone forever and ever. But by contrast, the great eternal King and Judge sits upon his throne forever and ever. His name is God Most High." Now this confident assertion of Yahweh coming in judgement of the nations, it may in the first place have been interpreted by the people of God with regard to of course the judgement of God upon the Canaanites as they came into the land. There God came when the fullness of time was come upon the sins of those people and brought consummate judgment, didn't he, in the conquest of the land and the Joshua. And they were to go and wipe them out. It was to be what we call theologically holy war in the right sense of the word. And these Canaanites were to be wiped out from the face of the earth as God came in judgment of them. But equally, because God's word continues to speak, it is not just limited, as we've often seen, to a particular one-time fulfillment. The people of God eventually saw also the fulfillment of this in God's judgment upon other nations, not just the Canaanites. But upon the judgment of the nation of Assyria, you remember, which had been the instrument of God in the land of Israel when they had rebelled. Upon the Babylonians, who had been the instrument of God for the land of Judah, of all the great empires of the world who, for the time and purpose God had determined, served His purposes as an instrument, but nevertheless were not guiltless for all of their sin and rebellion against God. And so all of the wicked nations, whoever they may be, God rebukes them, He makes them to perish, He blots out their name forever and ever. However they may seem so permanent on the face of the earth, when God's time comes, they're gone. They are but as, not even in memory, God says, will remain of them. And so those great and wicked nations who may have sought to destroy the people of God, historically have been destroyed. And that again will continue to be the great picture and pattern of what God will do. Even our enemies in terms of today, whoever they may be, be the individual, be at the national level, be it on the global stage, God ultimately will come in judgment. The wicked will not prevail. Brothers and sisters, we need to hear this message again and again and be assured of it. because yes, we can know it intellectually, we can know it in our minds, but how so often we are prone to doubt that it is so when we're surrounded by the seeming circumstances of the prospering of the wicked, whether it be from individuals, whether it be from the nation in which we may live, or whether it be across the nations of the earth in the world in which we live. But we need to have that same confident assurance that God is the just judge of all the earth, of all the nations, of all the peoples of this world, and He will judge the wicked in His good time. And so, thirdly, that brings us to assure hope in verses 7 through 10. What is the ground of hope as we come to God in prayer and pray that He will come and deliver His people? It is in the firm belief that the Lord rules and the Lord reigns. Brothers and sisters, if we are not convinced of that, then when we come in prayer, we will always come doubting and wavering. If you are not convinced that the Lord reigns, then in what spirit do you come when you pray? Surrounded by enemies, surrounded by difficulties, surrounded by all the circumstances of this fallen world, what confidence can you have? But it makes a world of difference, doesn't it? When you are assured by God himself, by his spirit, that God is king, God is the judge upon his throne, he is the one who rules and reigns and ultimately will judge the wicked. And so, again and again, we have to remind ourselves that in contrast to the temporary threat of the wicked, and it is real, we are not to deny it, it is naive to simply think that it's not there. And we do often what the young children do, they cover their eyes and say, well, because I can't see you, you don't exist. Simply naive, isn't it? We're not saying that. But we are saying we are to see them for what they are. Temporary and those in the hands of the eternal King of all the universe. They may be a threat, but they're no real threat because God is in control and He rules. He reigns. Because He has established His throne for judgement, verse 7. The Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for justice. He's going to uproot all these other things, even these two permanent cities of the nations. But the throne of God is established forever. And God sits to judge. The picture of permanence, the picture of established justice, same sort of idea when we see in the courts of our land that the justice comes in and sits and gives his judgment. You know that that judgment comes with authority, don't you? He sits in the place that's established for that to be done. He's in the office that he's given that gives the pronouncement. It's not just you or me kind of break into the building and sit in the place and pretend we can fulfil and have that office. No, no, this is the man who has been given that. He sits in the place. He is the judge. When we take that place and elevate it to the God of heaven, he sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for justice. And so, the hope of the godly during difficulties, even during times when we feel pressed, pressed down by our enemies, On the great duress we might say, our great hope is that we are the Lord's. We belong to the King. We are His people. We're part of that Kingdom of God that is forever and ever. And though it may not always be apparent in this world at this time, we remember that great hymn that we sing, The Lord is King, lift up your voice. The Lord is King. His throne is established forever. Now, as we seek to come to a close, I want to show you how belief and firm conviction in this kingship affects our outlook upon life. And so it must do. Often people think of, they read the scriptures and they think of the great doctrines of the scriptures. and the great truths of God's word, and they say, but where is the practical application? Well, here it is, even this evening, where what we believe affects how we live in this world. How you think of the great ruling of the great king does and will impact how you live in this world, the outlook that you have upon life. First of all, the doctrine of God's kingship affirms the conviction of the difference between his rule and that of the nations. His rule is forever, it's eternal, it does not come and go. His rule is just and righteous, characterised by uprightness. There's no miscarriage of justice with the great king and judge. And of course, that's in great contrast with the nations, isn't it? We were thinking about that in context with our Lord's trial this morning. But again, again, that pattern can be repeated where there's not justice in every corner of the earth. It's not established forever. It may come and it may go. There may be a time when the people are blessed with justice in the land, but then things change politically and all of that swept away. but not so with this judge, not so with this king. His justice is eternal, it is righteous, it's upright. Secondly, the doctrine of God's kingship gives hope in the biblical teaching that he will establish righteousness here on the face of the earth, verse 8. And he judges the world with righteousness. He judges the peoples with uprightness. And again, sometimes, brothers and sisters, we get a disconnect in our minds. Somehow we think that of course, in Heaven, all is done righteously and perfectly and justly. God rules there, of course, in that way. But somehow here on earth, that doesn't work. As we find ourselves in this sinful world still, somehow we think that God is wrestling with this and maybe He's not going to make it. We somehow think that God is in a way of reforming the justice system of this world and the outcome of that is somewhat uncertain. Is he going to prevail? Or will it be somehow he will fail in that? You know how it can be that we can see attempts made in various nations where there's not been established justice and an attempt is made to bring that. And sometimes it succeeds and sometimes it doesn't. And if it doesn't, it can be worse than it was before the attempt was made. Sometimes, even as Christians, we can wonder, perhaps not that we would articulate that or ever say that to one another, but we can wonder, is that ever going to be the case here? God assures us from our text this evening that a time is coming when that will be the case. that in all of created reality, heaven and earth, the king will reign in perfect righteousness, that the wicked will be judged, they will not get away with it forever, though we may see that they seem to do so in our present day and in our circumstances. The psalmist here is confident that God's rule is beneficial to the godly, to those who know the name of the Lord, It may well be for His good, wise and sovereign purposes, He does not bring in His consummate judgment in the here and now. And we bow before God's sovereignty whilst that remains the case. But He does not split the skies and come in great glory as we thought about this morning, right now, and establish perfect justice in heaven and on earth. But that does not mean, brothers and sisters, that He is not going to do so. He will. And that is our great assurance and confidence. It's not going to be that somehow it is the case in heaven, but it's never the case on the face of the earth. That the Christian always will, in certain circumstances, be left in this battle with the enemies of God. He is coming and he will fulfil his purposes. Because God's justice and righteousness have been ultimately demonstrated in the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. And the hope of the Church, ultimately, is in the inauguration of God's Kingdom by the Lord's Anointed, Jesus Christ. What was it that all the Old Testament Church looked forward to as they looked through the shadows and the types that God gave them of the Old Covenant? It was the Great Coming King, Jesus. who came inaugurating the kingdom, proclaiming the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so the promise of the Father's care, of his justice, of his dealing with the wicked and judging them and bringing relief to his people is confirmed ultimately in Christ. Not in some mere political deliverance, of a nation under oppression in a particular part of this world, as the Jews thought, that as Christ comes to deliver them from all of their enemies, even that last great enemy, death itself. That great promise is confirmed in the words of our Lord Himself. Remember, as it's recited by the writers of the Hebrews, 13 verse 5, For He has said, I will never leave you, forsake you. That's a great working out, isn't it, of the covenant promise. I will be your God and you will be