Well, if you would, turn to Psalm 5. I'm too short for this podium. That's okay. We're in the fifth psalm tonight. Psalm 5. Later, you can get it next time. Psalm 5, this is the word of the Lord. To the choir master, for the flutes, a psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you, and watch. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness. Evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth. Their inmost self is destruction. Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue. Make them bear their guilt, O God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Because of the abundance of their transgressions, cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord. You cover him with favor, as with a shield. This ends the reading of God's perfect and inspired word. You may be seated. Well, if you're ever nervous to speak in front of a crowd, just get up there and tell everybody God hates them. It'd be a great icebreaker. But actually I think the main theme in this psalm is that God in his love has provided an appropriate sacrifice to take away our deserved punishment. So I hope you hear that as we go through this together tonight. Okay, so the overarching message of this psalm is God's steadfast love that enables us to approach him by the sacrifice that he requires. And you'll see in this psalm too that because God is righteous, He has a perfect and complete hatred of sin and of the unrepentant sinner. And it's only the appropriate sacrifice that can appease God's wrath and take away that punishment. If you don't understand God's wrath towards you, you won't offer the appropriate sacrifice. But the psalm also does offer a solution not only to escape God's wrath, but even to enjoy his favor and love. So those are our three points tonight. If you take notes, the first point will be the wrath of God and his hatred of sinners. Next will be the right sacrifice needed to avert God's wrath. And then third, the refuge given to those who trust in Jesus. The wrath of God, the right sacrifice, and the refuge in Christ. So let's look at the wrath of God. The Psalm very plainly says that God hates the wicked. So how does God hate the wicked, or how does he show his hatred for the wicked? Notice it says in verse 10, let them fall by their own counsels. And you'll see that happening over and over again throughout scripture, is that the wicked fall by their own counsels. I think especially of Psalm 7, verse 15. It says, he, that is the wicked, makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends." So the wickedness of the wicked always comes back to them. Augustine famously said, sin is its own punishment. In other words, God uses the sin of the wicked and it comes back as their punishment in the end. The same crime that the wicked wanted to commit against the righteous, God brings back against them. If you think of the story of Haman, maybe this is the easiest example of this in the Bible. But remember how much Haman hated Mordecai and wanted to kill him and had a gallows set up at his house for Mordecai. And his plan was to kill Mordecai and all of Mordecai's people as well. And then what happened throughout the course of that story is that Haman was actually hanged on that gallows, and his sons were too. So his wickedness came back to him in the end. Even Jesus said, he who lives by the sword dies by the sword. The evil of the wicked will return to them. And notice the psalmist here, sorry, one second. It's that COVID getting to me again. The psalmist pays special attention to this. to the speech of the wicked. Because God will bring every careless word to judgment. Charles Spurgeon said of this psalm, it would be a great mercy from God if the wicked would only shut his mouth. So be careful how you speak and how you use your mouth. If you remember the story when Jesus was enduring his sham trial and Peter was outside And people were identifying Peter with Jesus. And he would deny it. Finally, the third time, the Bible says, he started to call down curses on himself. And said, I swear I do not know the man. And listen, if you want the unbelieving world, young people, if you want the unbelieving world to think that you're just like them and that you've never been with Jesus, All you have to do is talk the way that they talk and they'll tell from day one. But the Bible says not to walk in their ways because sin is its own punishment. And note again how the Psalm says that God really does hate the wicked and will condemn unrepentant sinners because of their sin. You know, you've heard it said that God hates the sin, but he loves the sinner. And that's not what Psalm 5 says, is it? If you look at verses four to six, there are seven phrases to show God's perfect and complete hatred. for sinners. For you're not a God who delights in wickedness. Evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. And God does not have changing and fickle emotions like we do, but he does have A thorough and complete hatred for the unrepentant sinner. And look how those seven phrases escalate and intensify as you go through this psalm. First it just says, you are not a God who delights in wickedness. At the end it says, the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. You see, David is using the strongest language he can in repetition so that you'll understand this point. It builds up in this psalm so you understand that God hates the wicked with this burning, seething passion. Psalm 11 says, the Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. And everyone has sinned and everyone has turned aside from the way of God. You know, Christianity does not teach, God loves you, do better. That is not the message of Christianity. But that is the message of many churches. We do people no favors by just telling everyone indiscriminately that there's no need for repentance. John MacArthur said the sinner needs to be terrified about his condition. He doesn't need to feel comfortable about the fact that he's turned out so well. And you too, don't think, don't think I'll do my best and God will accept me. Because if you're a sinner and God doesn't accept you in that way, without the right sacrifice, and there is condemnation and there is judgment for the wicked. Look at verse 10 again. You know, Jonathan Edwards talks about how In this judgment, God will have no regard for how small you are and how little you can bear his wrath, but will pour out his hatred on you for all eternity. You know, this psalm focuses especially on violent and deceitful sinners. But that's the heart of all men, that's how that's manifest. Turn with me, if you would, to 1 Timothy, chapter one. Verse nine, understand this, that the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually amoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. You'll see that reflected there as well, Those two categories, violent and deceitful sinners. You see the violent men with the men who practice homosexuality and the enslavers. You see the deceitful with the liars and the perjurers. So this is consistent throughout history, Old and New Testament, that God hates the violent and deceitful sinner. God hates the man who's harsh with his wife. God hates the woman who kills her own child. And every violent and deceitful man, God absolutely hates. But you know what's so amazing is in this psalm, right there at the beginning it says, to the choir master, for the flutes, a psalm of David. That's David. That's King David that wrote this psalm. And if you know the story of David, you know that David in the matter of Uriah the Hittite is the violent and deceitful man. There's no better example of the violent and deceitful man in the story of David and Uriah. Uriah was a close companion of David. He was one of the 30 mighty men. That's probably why his home was close to the royal palace. And David wanted Uriah's wife. And David put Uriah to death. David sent Uriah's death letter by his own hand. Uriah was too loyal to read it. And he told Joab, take the men against the enemy city and put Uriah where the fighting is the hardest and then draw back and betray him and leave a man behind so that he dies. So David killed his friend to steal his wife. David was the violent and deceitful man. And yet the Lord forgave David and never abandoned him. David might have had Uriah abandoned and betrayed him, but the Lord never abandoned David. That's what God's grace is like. But if you don't understand how much God hates sin, you won't understand grace. And so in summary, we do deserve God's hatred and wrath. which is why we need a sacrifice to cover our sins. And that brings us to the next point, the right sacrifice. So look again at verse three. He says, in the morning, I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. David prepares the sacrifice because he knows that he needs to, whether this was written before or after Uriah died. David knows he sinned and he knows that God is holy and he knows he needs a sacrifice to approach God. And if your sacrifice is not acceptable, God will demand your own blood. The Bible says only the shedding of blood can atone for sin. Hebrews 9.27 says just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment. And so we all in this room know that we have sinned and we have this opportunity to prepare a sacrifice and watch. And we need to make sure that that sacrifice will not be found wanting. You know, God in his steadfast love provides the sacrifice. Look at verse seven. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. He knows he needs to rely on God's grace. Not on his own works, but on God's steadfast love. And you know, steadfast love, when you read that in the Psalms, it roughly matches the New Testament concept of grace. Okay, so this is a love that's rooted in God's character and in who God is. It's not a love that depends on what David has done. Grace is not God grading on a curve. We talked about how much God hates sin. Grace is not that God looks at your life and your best efforts and says, you know, your sin actually was never that big of a deal to me, so you're gonna be all right. That's not how grace works. Remember the story of Abraham and Isaac. And God told Abraham to kill your son, your only son. And right when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son on the altar, God provided a substitute, a ram. That's how grace works. Grace is not God lowering his standards. Grace is a substitute. Grace is not God accepting your best effort. Grace is that God accepts you because of Jesus' work instead of your best effort. Maybe my favorite verse, 2 Corinthians 5, 21. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Grace is a swap, it's not a boost. It's only through the Lord's steadfast love that David can enter his house. And it's the death of Jesus is the only sacrifice that can take away sin. If you understand how much God hates sin and the sinner, you know it couldn't remotely be possible that we're saved by our own faithfulness. or that God looks at us and sees that the good outweighs the bad, or that God remembers our faithfulness in obeying him as best we can. We can only be saved through a perfect sacrifice. And this is the problem with the new perspective on Paul and the federal vision. If you think that It's a life and a lifestyle and a lifetime of faithfulness that ultimately makes you acceptable before God. And you don't understand that God's standards are perfect and completely holy and just, so much so that none of us could ever meet God's standard. You know, if you read Exodus, Leviticus, there are such exact regulations for worship and especially for the ritual purity of the sacrifice. And that points forward and shows to the perfect sacrifice that is needed instead of the people, instead of the lives of the people. And so the only possible way that God could accept us is if he looks at us and sees no sin because it's all washed away by the perfect sacrifice of the new covenant in the blood of Jesus. That's the only sacrifice that can take away your sin. And think about this, even those ritual sacrifices that God commanded under the law of Moses under the old covenant could never take away sins. So how much less would our best efforts or our vain moralism take away our sins? You know, when those animals were sacrificed, that pointed forward to something. When the priest took the animal and the knife slid across the animal's throat and the blood splashed out, then the people would understand exactly how God felt about their sin. The people would understand exactly how much God planned to tolerate their sin. But when you look to the cross, you understand that God could no longer hate you if he would give up his only son to die for you. And so in summary, God has graciously provided that sacrifice in Christ, and you need to ask yourself what sacrifice that you are trusting in, because there's only one sacrifice that God will consider adequate. And the blood of this sacrifice does not cover everyone, It only covers those who take refuge in Him. So that brings us to our third point, the refuge that we can have in Christ. Look at verse 11. It talks about taking refuge, it talks about loving God's name. You know, there's a refuge and a protection for those who love God's name. The Bible says, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are saved. The image here is that if you are in this tower, if you're in this castle, it doesn't matter how many armies surround you or what weaponry that they have, because the walls of this tower are impregnable. And so there's a sure and steadfast refuge in Christ. It's only by God's steadfast love that we can enter his house. It's only by his steadfast love that we can take refuge in his name, and that's also the only license that we would have to approach God. It's the only cause that would make someone bow down in a reverent fear and in a love for God's name. Go back to verse eight again. He says, lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. See, David knows without God's righteousness, his enemies will overcome him. He needs God to make his ways straight for David. And so the course of David's life is set out by God. And I think of all the times growing up overseas, in East Africa and trying to do border crossings from one country to another. You never knew exactly what was needed to cross that border and get into the other country. You never know how much trouble you were gonna have and it wasn't guaranteed that you would get through on the same day or sometimes even at all. And I think the imagery of this of this section, David is going to enter God's house, he's going to be led by God, and this is like coming up to the gates of the kingdom of God, and the edge of God's house, and you're there at that border, and you're asked to show your paperwork, and the only way you'll be let through is you have this passport that's stamped in blood. It's only in the blood of Christ that you can enter into God's house. and be saved. And then if you do have that, if you do have that passport stamped in blood, you certainly will be saved. On the other hand, look at verse 11 again. He says, So there's a threefold repetition of the same idea there, right? He says, rejoice, sing for joy, and exult. And that threefold repetition shows how sure this refuge is for those who trust in Christ, that they will definitely be saved and reach their eternal joy. If you love the name of Jesus, then that promise is for you. Because the Bible says that God blesses the righteous. Look at verse 12. Well, you know that Jesus is the righteous man. He's the one who has God's blessing and has earned God's blessing. And yet Jesus was persecuted to death by his enemies. Jesus felt the perfect and unbearable wrath of God. Jesus died under the crushing weight of God's hatred for sinners. Jesus was pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquity. You know, Jesus was mocked by profane men. Jesus was stripped and they cast lots for his clothing. Jesus was betrayed by his disciple. Jesus was abandoned by his friends. Jesus had no shield to cover him. Jesus was pierced by a Roman spear. Nothing protected him from that suffering or from the wrath of God. And Jesus was the only ever innocent victim. You know, our country and our culture is obsessed with this idea of victimhood. And somehow everyone is in an oppressed minority and is the innocent victim of everyone else's sin. And I only know of one innocent victim and his name was Jesus. And when Jesus died on the cross, he had every right to say, make them bear their guilt, oh God, about you and about me. When Jesus died on the cross, he had every right to say, cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. And is that what Jesus said, kids? What did Jesus say on the cross? He said, Father, forgive them. See, God's love for his people is first and foremost his love for Jesus Christ and his righteousness. The Bible says, you bless the righteous, O Lord, you cover him with favor as with a shield. God's love for his people is an answer to the prayer of Jesus Christ. Father, forgive them. And if you are in Christ, then you're covered by that shield, by the righteous man. You come out of God's wrath and into God's favor and love. If you're in Christ, you must be blessed because of the way that God loves Jesus Christ. This is necessary to God's character. Notice this, if you go back and read this psalm again. The psalmist here just assumes that it's necessary for God's character that God hates evildoers. And the psalmist also assumes that it's necessary for God's character that you bless the righteous and you cover him with favors with the shield. So if you're in Christ, if you belong to Christ, that blessing is gonna cover you as surely as God stays the same, as surely as God's character is steadfast and his love is steadfast. You know, many theologians have pointed this out, but if you belong to Christ, it would actually be unjust for God to punish you for your sins, because your sins have all been punished at the cross. Now, God disciplines us like a loving father, and that discipline can be very painful. But if you're in Christ, your sin has been punished at the cross. Your sin has been fully washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ, and that's your refuge. That's Jesus and the wonder of the gospel. You know, the wonder of the gospel It's a two-fold story. It's like in this psalm kind of has two sides. This psalm shows you two sides of God's character, that God hates the wicked, that God loves and blesses the righteous. Well, the gospel is a two-part story. The gospel tells us about how all of our sins are counted to Christ at the cross. And it also tells us about how all of his righteousness is counted to us by faith. In this psalm, here you see this idea, taking refuge in God. You'll see that in many, many psalms. And I think that phrase is very similar to the New Testament concept of faith. When you have faith, you place all your trust in God, you take refuge in His name, in who He is and what He's done, not in what I've done. So we have this problem in this psalm, the problem is in this psalm, is that we have sinned and deserve God's just hatred and wrath. And we have a solution in this psalm. There's a sacrifice that's been prepared. And just as it's the triune God's wrath, it's the man Jesus who died as a sacrifice to take away sins. And you can take refuge in God by having faith in that sacrifice. And so in conclusion, Tonight, I hope you've seen that in this psalm. That's the overarching message of this psalm. God in his steadfast love has provided the appropriate sacrifice to bring you into his presence with his full favor and the experience of his love. And there's two kinds of people in the world. The Bible says, you know, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But there are two kinds of people in the world. There are the wicked who remain in their sin who God hates and will pour out his wrath on for all eternity because of their sin. And then there are the sinners who have been forgiven, who've been forgiven of their sin, who God loves, whose every sin is washed away by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and who enjoy God's favor forever. The Bible says of these that they are clothed in Christ's righteousness, The Bible says here in Psalm 5 that they are covered with favor as with an impregnable shield. The Bible says as far as the east is from the west, so far will I remove their transgressions from them. And the Lord says I will forgive their sins and I will remember their iniquities no more. And the only difference between those two groups of people, the only difference between those two groups is the saving work of Jesus. And if you put your confidence in that sacrifice, God will cover you with favor as with the shield. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would give us, that you would give all of us the faith to take refuge in your Son. Amen.