Well, if you have a copy of scripture, I invite you to take it now and turn with me to Psalm 77. Psalm 77. And we've already sung a part of this and we'll sing the remainder of this later today, but as you're able, please stand with me and we'll read verses 11 through 15 to help us focus our attention as we turn now to the preaching of the Lord. Psalm 77, beginning in verse 11. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders. Thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. Amen. Let us turn now to the Lord in prayer. Father in heaven, Lord, we pray that you would help us as we turn now to hear your word, that you would open our hearts, that you would illuminate us by your Holy Spirit, that we would be able to understand this rightly, help us to see the glory of Christ, even as it is contained in this psalm. These things we ask in Christ Jesus' precious name. Amen. And please be seated. Well, we turn once again in this occasional study that we've been going through as opportunities arise to look at these psalms in this third book of the Psalter. And so that's Psalm 73 through 89. And so it's been a little bit of time since we were last here. But just to remind you that these psalms share a common theme of crisis or devastation. And so they really highlight a low point in the life of Israel. So if you look at the book of Psalms, each book has a particular theme that's shared among them. And in this case, in these These Psalms that we're looking at in this third book share that same theme of crisis. So if you recall way back, we looked first at Psalm 73 and 74, and these were crises of faith. And so first was a personal crisis, and then it was that of Israel. And then the next two Psalms, Psalm 75 and 76, talked of the crises of who would lead. And so it's God that leads and God that reigns. And they come to that same conclusion. And so now we turn into another subsection of this book of the Psalms. And we are beginning now to look at seven psalms that center around Psalm 80 and this idea of the shepherd of Israel, God as the shepherd of Israel. And so these three psalms point, these next three psalms that we'll look at in this book will point to Psalm 80 and that shepherd of Israel. And then 81, 82, 83 will look back at Psalm 80 as well at that same central point. So this is really turning a page for us as we begin to look at this once again and help us focus our attention. So all of these psalms in this book, this third book of the Psalter, they share that theme of crisis. And so they share this sort of theme of lament, this crying out to God and pleading with God. And so Asaph is the main author of these psalms. And so he's seeking God out and trying to understand Since God reigns, and God is righteous and holy and just, why do the wicked prevail? Why is there chaos in the world when God is a God of order, and trying to reconcile these things that he knows about God and knows to be true, and yet his personal experience says otherwise? And this is something that we can experience every day in our own lives, that we often struggle with this reality of that we're still in this sin-cursed world, that we're waiting and groaning for that redemption of all creation. So as we turn to look at this psalm, I already said that Asaph is the author, but we see this inscription to the chief musician to Jaduthun, a psalm of Asaph. And so Hoping to not sound like a broken record here, Asaph was one of the three musicians, three leaders of worship appointed by David for Israel. And there's no reason to believe that this Asaph is any other Asaph. Asaph is called a prophet by Hezekiah. Jaduthun, who is also mentioned here, is set out to be the king's seer. He's also, Jaduthun, is also said to be, or named to be, Ethan as well. So if you're reading through the Old Testament, sometimes you might come across two different names for the same person. Ethan and Jaduthun, the choir master, that's the same person. So these three choir masters of Israel are Asaph, Jaduthun, and Heman. So Asaph is the musician, and I found it interesting or perhaps encouraging, I'm not really sure what the best word is, to read in Spurgeon's commentary that Asaph often touches the minor key. And I thought that was a beautiful, poetic way of really getting at the heart of these psalms of Asaph. Asaph only has one psalm that exists outside of this section of the Psalter, or of the psalms rather. And they do have this sort of sullen, sulky, gloomy tone to them. Asaph was clearly a man that experienced a lot of hardship. And it comes out in these psalms as God worked in him and through him to write these and record them for scripture. And so these psalms of Asaph, they share that theme, this lament, this melancholy, this sullenness that's there. But that's only one part of the inscription that gives us who the author is. The other part of the inscription to the chief musician, to the Jeduthin, indicates that this is a psalm for the worship of Israel. And it's hard to think that why would a psalm about crisis and pleading to God and lament really be for the people of Israel? But as we've already mentioned, we are still struggling with the same things they struggled, trying to reconcile the goodness of God amidst the difficulty of living in a sin-cursed world and the apparent chaos of it. And so we can cry out, even with Israel and with the psalmist here, and ask those questions. Have you cut us off? How long, O Lord, shall we wait? Will you remember your people? And so this is a psalm for the ages. So it's for the worship of Israel. And then this mention of Jeduthim indicates perhaps that this might have been a particular style. This heading in the Psalms, this inscription only occurs in two other Psalms, Psalm 39 and Psalm 62. And so there might be a stylistic or a musical arrangement that is indicated here by the mention of his name. So Jaduthun, though, was also over the gates. His sons and his clan there amidst the tribe of the Levites was responsible for overseeing the gates. And so perhaps this was also some sort of psalm of entrance into worship as well. So it's a psalm of worship of Israel. It has that theme of crises, that lament that Asaph is so prone to put into his writing. And so that is the inscription, and that gives us the context as we turn now to look at the body of the psalm. And I have to say that as far as really trying to divide this out and make sense of it, it's a little bit tricky. There doesn't seem to be any agreement by commentators on how best to really look at the psalm to be able to digest it in bite-sized pieces. Ordinarily, we could look, perhaps, at the Selahs that are in the psalm. And so that phrase there is kind of like a pause for effect, a pause for reflection as we read through. However, in this psalm, there's only three occurrences of that term or that phrase, and they don't really capture all of the transition points of the psalm. So we can't use that as our guiding point. Instead, this psalm has a unique feature. It has basically, I'm going to argue, two parts. And these parts are subdivided into sections of three verses. So our first part is verses 1 through 12. And this deals with the plea of the psalmist. The plea of the psalmist in verses 1 through 12 And then the second part is verses 13 through 20, and I know that's not a perfect set of three there, that last one, we'll get into that, but it's the praise of the psalmist. So we have these two parts, the plea of the psalmist, the praise of the psalmist, and then they're further subdivided into three portions. So we look now at the body of the psalm, and we begin in this plea. In this first section of three verses, we get the complaint of the psalmist. Verses 1 through 3, I cried unto God with my voice, evened unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the night and ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God and was troubled. I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed." Selah. And so we get this initial complaint here of Asaph. He is unceasing in his prayer of deliverance. Something has happened and so he is now questioning why is he in this trouble that he's in. And so even in verse 1 we have that repetition. Unto God with my voice I cried. Unto God with my voice I cried. And so it's emphatic that he's reaching out. In verse two, we have that phrase, and I really kind of dislike the King James translation of it here. I think basically all the other English versions we have capture it a little bit better when they translate it, that my hand was stretched out in the night and was not still. And so you get this picture of Asaph, the psalmist, day and night, in the midst of trouble, and he's seeking out God, he's crying out to God, and he's quite literally reaching out, and he's trying not to grow weary in his constant prayer of deliverance. And yet, he does not receive an answer, at least not yet. He's seeking the Lord, and yet he is not finding him. He's standing there waiting for the response of God. He knows God is holy and just and that he has delivered his people in times past. And so he's waiting for that same deliverance even now. He's unashamed in seeking God in the midst of this trial of faith that he's going through. He's not afraid to be seen by others as he is going about in the day seeking the Lord. And this should be an encouragement to us that we should do the same and we shouldn't grow weary even as we struggle in life to seek God. And we get a little hint of what's coming at the end of verse 1 there. God eventually does give ear unto Asaph. And so even at the outset here in dealing with these hard things that are contained in this psalm, we have that encouragement at the beginning that God has heard Asaph. that God does hear your prayers, beloved. We can think back to the book of Exodus. And as the people of Israel were there enslaved, and they cried out to God because of the affliction of the Egyptians, and God heard them. He saw their afflictions. and he answered their prayers. And that same promise and reality exists even to us, that God hears your prayers, that God sees your trials, and that God will deliver you. So be encouraged even as we begin in this and we think about the great trial that the psalmist goes through here, that God indeed has heard him and responded. And that you can, at the same time, seek the Lord while he may be found. It may not happen quickly. It may take some time. It may take some long nights of prayer. It may take some ceaseless days and shame from the world who hates God. But if you seek God, dear friend, if you're here today, if you seek God, while He may be found, you will find Him. So this is the beginning of this psalm. We have this complaint here of Asaph, that he has cried out to God, that he has struggled day and night. He's been unceasing in prayer. But he remembered God and was troubled. And that term, remembrance, or that theme at least, is present in this first section. It really unites these first four sections of three, or sub-verses of three here, that the psalmist remembers. So why would Asaph be troubled by remembering God? If God is the deliverer, if God is his hope in whom he is trusting in to get him out of whatever this great trial is, what on earth could be troubling him at the remembrance of God? Perhaps it's the realization that God is holy, and the understanding that he is a sinner, and so he can't forget to consider this aspect as we look at the psalm, this challenge of how can a holy God be among an unholy people? And this is really what a lot of the Old Testament is about, it's looking forward to that great reconciliation. That God can only dwell among a holy people by sanctifying them, that's setting them apart, covering their wickedness with perfect righteousness. And that perfect righteousness comes from Christ alone. And so Asaph here, the psalmist here, he remembers God, he's troubled, and he's overwhelmed considering all of this situation. But perhaps it might not be just a reflection of sin and the sinfulness of it, but also the fact that God has, in the past, worked and delivered his people. Here is the God that is so close that he can go to him in prayer and yet he is so far away in answering. And perhaps this is the trouble that distressed Asaph and that continued him in this psalm and this series of complaint to God. And so we pause there and reflect as we have this phrase, Selah, that so often in life We might reach out to God in prayer. We might struggle ceaselessly seeking God, seeking an answer for why things are the way they are, for why such hardships have come upon us. Perhaps even evaluating our own lives and saying, have I sinned? Is this the chastisement of the Lord upon me? And sometimes that answer is slow to come. And so you must persist. We must maintain that state of prayer and not grow weary in it, but continually seek the Lord, continually wait on Him, even if it brings us trouble and distress at the thought of the Holy God in our own unrighteousness. Because we have all of the promises of God. Remember we said that God gave ear unto Asaph? there in verse one, and so we can be encouraged that even as we struggle and we're terrified at the reality of the holiness of God, we can also be reminded that God has heard our plea, that God has delivered us through Christ Jesus, that we have been made righteous, and so we can come into the presence of the Lord. So his complaint is no different than our complaint. This is the plea of the psalmist, his complaint. But that leads us into our next section of three verses here, which deals with the consequences of this complaint. Thou holdest mine eyes waking. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night. I commune with mine own heart and my spirit made diligent search. And so here again in this section we have that same motif, rise up again of remembrance. He called to remembrance his song in the night. So in the midst of his trouble, in the midst of his pleading, he realizes that this occurrence, this trial, is of God. It's God that is holding his eyes waking, that is giving him no rest. And not just rest sleep, but rest from this trial. God is taking him through this. And so because of that, he's at first troubled. He cannot speak. And so oftentimes we go through trials and we grow weary at them. But this is not what we're told to do in scripture. James encourages us to count it all joy when we face diverse temptations. knowing that patience will have its perfecting work. So that's not an exact quotation, but you can turn there and look in James later and read there and be encouraged by that. That we can rejoice even as we face trials because we are being led through it. And through that experience, God is perfecting us. He's making us perfect. He's growing us to that perfect end that he has intended from before the foundation of the world. If God has planned this so long for you in time, how can you be so discouraged through it? And so this is the same situation that the psalmist is dealing with here. He's realizing that he is doing this because of the providence of God. This didn't happen outside of God's control. This is part of His perfect plan that God is even able to use wickedness to drive to His perfect ends. And sometimes that does mean that the saints are persecuted. That there are true great trials of faith. Our knee-jerk reaction is probably to become troubled at that. Become distressed at the reality of challenge and trial and struggle in life. But that's not where this ends. At first, the psalmist reacts, and so that's his situation. He's sitting there troubled, thinking of how God has led him through this, and wondering why. Those questions will come up. Why have you cast us off? How long, oh Lord, will this continue? And so this is his state of mind, but then, Verse 5, he considered the days of old and the years of ancient times. He's thinking back to all that he knows about God, all that he knows that has been transmitted through those faithful amongst Israel. How God made the world simply by the power of his voice. How God called Abraham out of that land of the Chaldees and brought him into the land of Canaan and sustained him as a stranger and a sojourner there. and how that promise that he gave to Abraham he extended to Isaac and to Jacob, and how they had that same promise even as they suffered under the affliction of the Egyptians, and how God led them out, and how God sustained them through 40 years of wilderness wanderings. and how he conquered those enemies of Israel in the land of Canaan and gave them over this land flowing with milk and honey. These are the things that he called to remembrance, that he looked back on. He looked back on even how God had blessed him so richly in his own life. And so he says in verse six, I call to remembrance my song in the night. And this isn't his song of despair that he's been pleading and holding out his hands to God with. This is probably a song of thanksgiving that he sang in times of old when the blessings of God were so richly upon him. And so he communes with his own heart and he makes a diligent search. And he starts in a series of questions. So the consequence of his pleading with God is his reflection on who God is and what he has done. That leads us into this third set of three in this first section, the questioning of the plea. And so here we have many rhetorical questions put forward. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. And these, these are those questions of lament. They're found throughout scripture. Has God cast us off? Have we been cut off from the presence of God? Has God forgotten to be merciful to his people? Has God's promise failed? That might be a real question that you struggle with in times of of great difficulty. Has God's promise failed? How can a good God allow such difficult things to happen in somebody's life? And so it would seem in those moments where you struggle through those things that perhaps God indeed has cut you off, that His mercy has dried up, that His grace is no more, that His promises have been shattered. And you sit and you think, can you ruminate on that? And so you're sitting there struggling with this reality of what you know God has done, and what God has promised, and yet at the same time you struggle with the reality of your situation. You know that God has done these great things in some time past, and yet you have been crying out to God day and night, ceaselessly. You get no rest. And where is God to answer your prayers? And so this is the struggle. This is questioning in your plea of deliverance. But these are just rhetorical questions. The answer to all of them is no, absolutely not. God forbid. God forbid that he is cast off his people forever. God forbid that he will no longer be favorable. God forbid that his mercy is gone, that his promise has failed. Of course, we have there again, and the negative, it's disjunctive. It sets apart the remembrance of the psalmist to the remembrance of God. Have God forgotten to be gracious? By no means. May it never be. This is intentional. This is a skilled craftsman that has put together this psalm to highlight the reality that God has not forgotten his people. A theme verse throughout all of the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 7 verse 9, which reads, know therefore that the Lord thy God is the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. God is the covenant-keeping God who is faithful and merciful. Thy mercy endureth forever is a common refrain found in scripture. And so even as the psalmist is struggling here, he's recalling that phrase, that God's mercy endures forever. But this points to an even greater reality for us now. We stand at such a time where we are so richly blessed to be unlike those saints of old that only looked with hope and faith to something forward coming. But we have that full revelation in Christ Jesus. And so now we also have the full inscription of the word where we can turn to Romans 8 and verse 35, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shout tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written for thy sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us for i am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. I hope that is an encouragement to you even as you struggle, even as you deal with the reality of living in a sin-cursed world and trying to reconcile the orderliness of God the perfection of God with the reality of a sin-cursed world, the chaos of it, that even in the midst of this, that God's mercy endures forever, and that already, beloved, you are more than a conqueror because of Christ Jesus who has set you apart, who has redeemed your soul, who has paid with his precious blood for you, and has secured you for all eternity. even when those pleading questions come in the dark night of the soul. Remember that. No thing can separate you from the love of Christ Jesus the Lord. And so that is the questioning of the plea here. And now we look to this fourth section And it is a call to action for the psalmist, and by extension, it's a call to action for Israel as they sing this together in worship. And even now, it's a call to action for us as we take it up and study it and use it as well. And I said, this is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely, I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of thy doings." This is what we ought to do. We ought to remember the works of the Lord. We ought to remember the wonders of old that he has done. Verse 10 opens there. This psalm is one of the few places in scripture where I really prefer other translations over the King James, but verse 10 should probably read something more like, and I said, this is my wound. This is the thing that has plagued me. The right hand of the most high has changed. Of course, if we render it like that, it would seem that we're saying something that's just impossible. God is the same yesterday, today, forever. God does not change. He is immutable. And so this complaint here, as he begins to change his mind and change his perspective and change his tone, is an admission of his own ignorance. In the midst of trial, the psalmist ignorantly said, God has changed. His mercy has dried up. His faithfulness has failed. But that is not the case. As we already said, God is the same yesterday, today, forever. He is the covenant-keeping God. He will not fail to do all that he has said. And so as he has sat there and he reflected on those rhetorical questions that he posed, he came to this realization that it wasn't God who has failed, but it was his own faith in God that was wavering. And so in his ignorance, he said something that was just simply not true. And as a result, instead of despairing, he recalls the actions of God, so he might rejoice in the Lord. And so, beloved, I pose this question to you in the face of challenge, in the face of trial. Are you saying what he had thought originally that God has changed? that God has cut you off, that God's mercy has dried up, that his promise has failed? Or do you realize the foolishness of that statement and instead turn and be encouraged by those same words in James to be rejoicing in the face of trials, knowing that it is perfecting you, that it's working to the perfect end that God had intended? Faith is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it will grow. And so there may be times where God does indeed lead you through trials. Think of that great Shepherd Psalm, Psalm 23. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Trial is a reality. It's all over scripture. Saints, we are not of this world. We are made new. We're new creations in Christ Jesus, and so we should expect difficulty and persecution even as we continue on in that pilgrim journey that God has called us to. We shouldn't despair when trials come about, but we should look to them and look at them as an opportunity for us to grow in faith. Yes, we should evaluate ourselves and ask, have we sinned and fallen short of God in some way? Is this the chastisement of the Lord upon us? And if it is, we should turn in faith and repentance. And if we can't find a particular reason in our own lives why this may have come about, this trial, We can still rest in God knowing that he has a perfect plan in this. And so we must remain faithful to him. And even as we go through these, we can take courage in all those things that God has already done. How he saved his people even from the Assyrians and the Babylonians, how he restored them, how he led them through those great trials with the Greeks and the Romans. and how he eventually brought about that one promised seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our redemption, who has risen from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God to make intercession for us. And so we can be encouraged, even in the midst of great trial, that God has not forgotten his promise. In our pleading, we can be sure that God has heard us and will give ear unto us. That is the plea of the psalmist. But that leads us into this second portion of the psalm, the praise. The praise of the psalmist that we find here in verses 13 and 20. And so this has another device that's used. So in the first portion, it was this motif of remembrance that was there in those four subsections. And here we have this device called an inclusio use. Thy way. Thy way, O God. And so this is pointing to two separate ways that people interact with God. So in our first section here under the praise of the psalmist in verses 13 through 15, we read of the worship of God. The tone has completely changed. Asaph has meditated on all these things and so he's come to the conclusion that he should recall the mighty works of God and he should look to them in faith and take hold of those promises that God has laid out and be encouraged by them. And so we read here, thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders. Thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. God's way is in his sanctuary. It's in holiness. And so this is for the people of God, that God might be found out through seeking him out, pursuing him, extolling his great name. Who is so great a God as our God? And so this statement really brings into mind the reality that these Old Testament people dealt with. And the ancient Near East gods, the gods of the nations, didn't have control over all things. They were not omnipotent. They were limited in their ability to control a certain territory or certain aspect of creation. And so we'll see this as we move through the psalm a little bit more, but that's something to keep in mind. There is no God like God because there is no other God. Our God is so great. His presence is there in the sanctuary. It's the place of his covenant. It's the place that he has specifically set apart for the worship. This was the time of the temple. And so they had that outer courtyard and the holy place and that most holy place there that held the ark of the covenant. Those 10 commandments, the budding staff of Aaron, that manna that was collected in the wilderness and the mercy seat, that propitiation. So if we want to use a theological word there, if you think through the Old Testament every time you see mercy seat, it's pointing to the reality of propitiation. That there is a sacrifice that can atone for sin. And that's where God's presence is in holiness. And so this looks back at the deliverance that those people of Israel had faced among the Egyptians. God had brought them out, and he had given them the ark, and he'd given them his covenant, and he'd given them all these things, like that manna in the wilderness. And it reminds them of their deliverance from Egypt. But it points to so much more. That manna from heaven, that bread of life, the Lord Jesus Christ. The true mercy seat, the true propitiation for sin, the true presence of God among His people. It's there in the sanctuary, in holiness God dwells, and so His people can come in holiness and experience Him. He's done all of these great things. He's shown his strength among the people. He's led them out by his mighty hand. He has sustained them and upheld them all through time. He rose Christ Jesus from the dead. Nothing can oppose God. Who is so great a God as our God? That's a question we should be reminded of continually. There is none. Our God is great. Children, you think of that song, our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing our God cannot do. And so perhaps even Israel might have had some similar song that they taught their children. And so their children would even ask this question, who is so great a God as our God? And this is the worship. This is how reflection on the works of God has changed the tone of the psalmist. He was there on the verge of utter despair, thinking that the promises of God had failed. And so now he thinks back to those same promises that he thought had failed and realizes they have not. And that God will continue to do all he has set out to do. He would deliver Jacob and Joseph. He will deliver the fullness of his people. And so with that in mind, he sits there and pauses and thinks again. And then he looks. He goes from the worship of God in praise to the works of God in praise. He thinks back to specifically those works that God did in leading his people out of Egypt. The waters saw thee, O God. The waters saw thee. They were afraid. The depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water. The sky sent out a sound. Thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven. The lightnings lightened the world. The earth trembled and shook." So a moment ago, I mentioned that in the ancient Near East, the people thought that their gods were contained to a certain area or a certain dimension of creation. And so here God is controlling the sky and the sea and the earth, and they shake and they tremble and they stand afraid at Him. There is no God like our God. He is the creator of all things. He made these. And as He brought Israel out of Egypt to deliver them from the Egyptians, that great oppression, the worst oppression that they could have faced in that time, He made the waters to stand still so they could cross that Red Sea. He brought out a storm to slow the armies of Pharaoh. He brought those same waters of judgment back down upon Pharaoh and his armies, and he delivered the people. At Sinai, he was there in the presence on the mountain and it shook and it thundered and there was lightning and there was great fear among the people because of the holiness of God even as he came down to give them his covenant. This is our great God who is in control of all things. There is nothing outside of his sovereignty. There is nothing outside of his control. And so we are further encouraged by this because if God has promised He will seek to do it, obviously. But since God has promised and He is powerful, He is able to do it. So many times you might hear a promise from somebody and it falls short. We can't keep the promises we make. That's just the reality. We are imperfect. But God is perfect. He will never fail to accomplish all that He has set out to do. He controls all things. All things exist and subsist and are sustained by his power. And so we can remember all those works of old that he has done and recall to mind that God has not only promised to do these things, but is able to accomplish them. So that's the works of God in praise. We should think back, even as we praise God, to all those things that he has done as we worship him. And then we come to our final section here in verses 19 and 20. So you recall I said these are sections of three. And so this is a stunning lack here that we find as we turn to these last two verses. It's only two verses, but we have the other half of the inclusio. Thy way is in the sea. Previously, we read that the way of God was in the sanctuary, and now we see the other side of this. Thy way is in the sea. and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. Thou lettest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. This is not the same way that was presented at the beginning of this section. God's way for his people was in holiness. And yet here this way is not known. It is through the sea and the deep waters. And so this is often a thematic way in scripture to tell of the justice and judgment of God, that the sea and the deep stand as God's judgment over his people. If you think of the book of Jonah, as Jonah fled from the presence of God, fled from the calling of God upon his life, he was thrown into the sea. He sank down into the depths of it. The wrath of God was upon him. And yet God sent a fish. to save him. That fish was his salvation. But that's not what's being told of here. This is looking towards an eschatological reality. That those who do not know God, they will be buried under the sea. That they will be in the great depths. They will be under the judgment of God. There's only two ways. to know God and to worship him rightly or to rebel against God and suffer his righteous wrath. And so we're reminded of this even as we finish this song. God is in control and God will settle the ultimate crisis of all time. And that day is coming. It's getting nearer and nearer as every second ticks by. But as The psalmist considers the way, on the one hand, the way of the wicked and their just judgment. He recalls, again, that God has led his people like a flock by Moses and Aaron. This is not some accidental usage of language. As we had said in the beginning, this is pointing us to Psalm 80. This is part of this subsection in the Psalms. And so it's looking forward to the shepherd of Israel. And so it's building on, it's preparing to build on this. And so God has led his people like a shepherd through his servants, Moses and Aaron. The mention of Moses and Aaron here points to something else. Aaron, of course, was the first high priest. It's the Aaronic line that has that duty of going into the Holy of Holies once a year in Old Testament Israel to offer that sacrifice of atonement on the Day of Atonement. It's restricted to only them. And so it's by the high priest that the people are led. But not only that, it's by the hand of Moses. the covenant mediator. God gave his covenant through Moses to the people of Israel as he brought them out of Egypt, as he redeemed them. And so this points us to the greater mediator, the Lord Christ Jesus, the mediator of a new and better covenant ratified in his blood. The great high priest who offered himself as a once for all sacrifice, who is the good shepherd and leads his people. And so this lack of that third verse there leaves us an expectation of the coming shepherd of Israel. It points us, even as we work through the challenge of pleading with God and praising God, of looking to Christ. This is the way. You can either rebel against God and suffer under the sea of His wrath, the great deeps of His crushing judgment, or you can come to God in faith and repentance as a sheep, helpless in yourself, resting in the Good Shepherd to be led through into that great promise of God. The praise of God, of the psalmist. The crisis does not end, but he is encouraged. And so are the people of Israel, even as they deal with this, even as they come and worship together. And they're looking forward to that great hope, the hope of the Redeemer to come. And of course, we have the fullness of that, that we can look instead of to some unsure future, but to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in him as our good shepherd who leads us through and is prepared a place for us. And so we wrap up here as we look back and we think about this psalm, we think about what we have learned, and we look to those same questions that we've used before. First, what does this psalm teach us about God and His covenant? Well, God is faithful to His covenant. He is the covenant-keeping God. He will not forsake it. His promises will not fall short. But also, God will not forsake His people. God has set them apart. They are his peculiar treasure. Beloved, dear Christian, you have been set apart by God, by the blood of Christ. You are his peculiar treasure. He holds you in his hands so dearly. He will never let you go. He will fulfill all that he has promised. This psalm is just another reminder of that. So it teaches us about God's faithfulness to his covenant. But second, we can ask ourselves, why do we have this in the canon? There seems to be so many psalms of lament, so why add another one? Well, because the trials that we experience here and now are so great. And we are so often stiff-necked and hard of learning. And so this is just a repetition of what God has continually taught us every step of our way, every step that God has led us on in our Christian life, that yes, there will be great trials, but in the midst of them, we are to call upon God and rest in Him, and that we should be constantly reminded, most of all, that in the midst of those trials, that we are pointed back to Christ. His strength is made perfect in weakness. There's nothing in ourselves that can deliver us. And so we must rest on that true Redeemer, the Shepherd of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, to lead us through. Amen. Let's stand together and pray. Our Father in heaven, Lord, we thank you for this psalm, this reminder of your covenant, this reminder of your mighty works of old and how you led people out of their slavery to the Egyptians and how you led them into the land of promise, how you gave them that manna from heaven, how you prepared your place amongst them, how you made them holy even though they were not holy in themselves, and how that points us to the even greater reality that you have led us out of a greater slavery, that slavery of sin. That we have been set free, that we no longer dread condemnation, but we are now free to worship you. That you have given us not some physical sustenance from heaven, but you have given us the bread of life, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so we can feast on him through faith. and be strengthened and encouraged. And we can continually look to our good shepherd king, the shepherd of Israel, the shepherd of the people of God, who continually leads us into that city prepared for the worship of you for all eternity in glory. Lord, help us to be encouraged in great times of despair, to look to you to rest in all those promises that you have laid out in scripture that we are already more than conquerors. that we will make it to the end. And Lord, by that, help us to persevere in the faith, not resting on anything in us, but resting on you. These things we ask in Christ Jesus name. Amen.