10 and some months ago we did commence a series in the book of Psalms and the beauty of the Psalms is that each psalm is like an individual unit, of course there are reoccurring themes at times in the Psalms but we can cover a psalm at a time and maybe have a little space and then come back again and so we entitled the series, Heaven's Hymnbook, Singing Through the Psalms and it's interesting to me, excuse me, that the largest book in the entire Bible, is a songbook, the book of Psalms, that should tell us that praise and genuine worship in song is something that's very important to God so don't take lightly the song service in the local church. We also see that God wants us to sing songs with substance and certainly they can be songs with simple themes but they need to be scriptural and as you go through the Psalms remember you're reading the Songbook of Israel and how many wonderful truths come through the Psalms. Well, tonight we're up to Psalm 10 and the theme, the plea against oppressors. And I do have a worksheet available for you to fill in as we go through the message tonight. If you don't have one and would like one, you can raise your hand and our ushers will bring you one. There's one over here, please. Anyone else need a sheet? And Sister Melody over here. And Kerry back there. Okay, and Corinne back there. So, if you don't want to fill it in, you don't have to, but if it helps you to stay focused and just to take down some notes, then we have been providing these for the psalm studies. Everyone got one? Good. All right, let's read the text first, shall we? Psalm 10 and reading from verse 1. Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined for the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire and blesseth the covetous whom the lord abhorreth the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after god god is not in all his thoughts His ways are always grievous, thy judgments are far above out of his sight, as for all his enemies he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud, under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages. In the secret places doth he murder the innocent. His eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den. He lieth in wait to catch the poor. He doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth and humbleth himself that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten it, he hideth his face, he will never see it. Arise, O Lord, O God, lift up thine hand, forget not the humble. Wherefore doth the wicked condemn God? He hath said in his heart, thou would not require it. Thou hast seen it, for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand. The poor committeth himself unto thee, thou art the helper of the fatherless. Break thou the arm of the wicked. and the evil man. Seek out his wickedness till thou find none. The Lord is king forever and ever. The heathen are perished out of his land. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble. Thou wilt prepare their heart. Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this passage of Scripture. We thank you that every word of God is perfect and we pray, Lord, tonight that we would receive the instruction and the help that we need from your word. We pray for your blessing upon these moments together and that you would also bless our time around your table to come. In Jesus' name, Amen. The plea against violent oppressors. Verse 18, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. And so in Psalm 10, that is the theme, we have this heart cry of the Psalmist to God concerning evil oppressors, wicked men who abuse and exploit the righteous. so that is the theme of this prayer. Presumably David is the writer, but whatever the case may be, it's included here in the Psalms for our benefit. And so, this psalm, says one writer here, is an interesting blend of lament over the oppression of the wicked, so there's a lamentation here, and also triumphant jubilation at the prospect of divine judgment. So we see that. We see that the psalmist begins by talking about this question upon his heart, this perplexity that he has about the apparent tranquility and success of the wicked, and he then goes on to describe at length the character of these wicked oppressors and then finally though moves back to a position of faith and trust in a righteous God. Now the message of this psalm is timeless and it's very helpful for us, it speaks to every generation because our hearts also yearn and cry out for deliverance from evil and evil men. we as God's people grapple with the same questions. Why do the heathen appear to prosper? Why is it that God's judgment seems delayed? And so on. So let me give you the outline, you can jot it down as we go through here, we don't have a huge amount of time tonight so let me just try and give you the outline and make some comments as appropriate as we go through. We're dividing the psalm into three sections for our study and I believe you'll notice as you go through that there is three distinct sections here. We have what I would call the profile of the wicked oppressor in verse 1 to 11 where the psalm opens with an expression of perplexity by the psalmist and then moves to a detailed description of the evil character and actions of the wicked. Then we will consider the prayer concerning the wicked oppressor. So in verse 12 to 15 the psalmist now prays about the situation turning his face heavenward. And then finally, the perspective in reference to the wicked oppressor, verse 16 to 18, the psalmist expresses confidence in God and views things from the position of faith. And so that's the structure of the psalm. So, the profile of the wicked oppressor. Here we have a detailed description of the evil character and actions of wicked men. notice under that, firstly, the question of the psalmist in verse 1. The question of the psalmist, and I would draw your attention to the very first word of verse 1. What is the word there? Do you ever ask that question as a Christian? Why? Why? And this is what I love about the Psalms, is that very often the Psalms deal with those why questions in our lives. Because these are the struggles of the believers down through the centuries. Why? And so it is not sinful to ask a why question in the Christian life. You're going to be confronted with those at times. Why are things this way? Why is it that the heathen seem to go on prospering without judgment? And the important thing is that if you're going to deal with one of these why questions, the important thing is that you ultimately arrive at a biblical point of view. Okay and that's what we're going to see, we see the psalmist is grappling with this why question in verse 1 but by the time we get to the end of the chapter, we find the language of faith, the language of victory and he has arrived at a clear biblical God-centered answer. So understand that in the Christian life you will be confronted with why questions you're going to have to grapple with and that's not wrong so long as you make sure that at the end of that process you have adopted a biblical mindset, a biblical understanding. Now what was it that the psalmist was grappling with here? Well he says, And certainly this is something that believers have grappled with down through the ages and probably you and I have already grappled with this question at some point in our life, if you haven't or if I haven't, no doubt we will. and it is the apparent silence of God and the apparent distance of God when we find ourselves in times of trouble. you ever struggle with that as a Christian? You're going through a time of trouble and in the context of the chapter here there's oppression from evil people, from wicked people and it seems like God is distant from you, it seems like God is almost uninterested in your situation. Now of course we know that's not the case and of course we know that God is not distant in reality but this is the wrestling of the heart of the psalmist here he feels that God is afar off and he feels that God is hiding himself in times of trouble. And this is from the human perspective. And so, this is something that believers continue to struggle with. Why does God seem silent? Why does God seem, at times, distant? Well, we need to remember, at times like these, that our perceptions are not reality. that God has a purpose in those silent periods but let us remember that God is always a very present help in trouble, that God is always there. I like the way Spurgeon puts it, he says, the refiner is never very far from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in the fire. He says, the refiner is never very far away from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in the fire. You say, I feel like I'm in the fire at the moment, in the fire of trial, affliction, and I feel like God has forgotten me, I feel like God is not there. No, if he's the refiner in your life, he's right there while you, his gold, are going through the fire. And so this was the question that the psalmist was dealing with. then he moves on now to a lengthy description of the wicked oppressors that he was facing in his life and that other godly people were facing in their lives and of course this is a further outworking of the question in verse 1. In light of the evil character and action of the wicked, how can God not intervene? again, as we mentioned, we're going to get to some sound reasoning at the end of this psalm where he comes back to the position of faith, looking to the character of God and that's where you must arrive in those heart struggles. So, look now at the description of the wicked, if you're taking notes there, the description of the wicked in verse 2 to 11 and It's quite detailed but I think we could divide the description here into several categories. The wicked are described as being, number one, what I would call prideful and irreverent and as we go through here you're going to see a description that really fits our country. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous. Thy judgments are far above out of his sight. As for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. And he hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity. So, not surprisingly, the description of the wicked begins with that word, pride. Pride. Pride is the fountainhead of wickedness and isn't it interesting today that the word pride is now a catch cry and people wear pride as a badge of honour but that is the description of someone who is a long way from God. So, pride is behind the actions of the wicked oppressors here. His pride leads him to do several things, you can note them down. Number one, persecute the poor, verse two. When the wicked oppressor sees someone who is poor and vulnerable, he sees an opportunity not for compassion but for exploitation. His pride and feeling of self-importance leads him to view the poor as being below him in status and therefore legitimate targets for his evil desires. You know there are people out there that are so wicked and so far from God that when they see someone who is vulnerable, someone who is exploitable, their first thought is to take advantage of that. His pride also leads him to, number two, flaunt his depraved desires, verse three. The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth. He praises what God hates and he hates what God loves. That's the wicked, isn't it? That's a description of the wicked. People who hate what God loves and love what God hates. he boasts of wicked desires, they're wicked desires of his own heart. He boasts of his heart's desire, he's not ashamed to engage in sinful behaviour but he's also not ashamed to flaunt those desires, to boast about those desires, to brag about those desires. Boy, that describes our nation today, that describes the wicked, doesn't it? have people today who are not just content to perhaps live an evil life behind the scenes but they want to go beyond that and brazenly boast in the face of God about their wicked lifestyle. So he boasts of wicked desires and he blesses what God hates, blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth. reminded the words of Isaiah 520, woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. That's what's happening today, people calling evil good and good evil. The world's very good at taking something that's a serious sin and trying to make it sound like it's okay. God calls it adultery, the world calls it an affair. The world calls it a lifestyle choice, God calls it an abomination. And we could just go on and on. So this is the character of these wicked oppressors, they persecute the poor, they flaunt their own depraved desires. Number three, he also, the profile here, he rejects his maker. Pride leads him to persecute the poor, flaunt his depraved desires and reject his maker, verse 4 to 5. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. So he refuses God and pride is again the root cause behind his unwillingness to seek God because to seek God would require humility. wouldn't it? It requires humility to acknowledge God and it requires humility to acknowledge that I need God, that I need salvation. Think about it, how many people sadly one day will be in hell for eternity all because their pride stood between them and the Saviour? They were too proud to consider the claims of Christ, too proud to come to God and to seek God. Could I encourage you tonight, don't let your pride get in the way of you coming to Jesus Christ. Don't let your pride stop you from coming to know Jesus Christ as Saviour, what a terrible price you will pay in eternity for not seeking after God. So he refuses God, won't seek after him, the pride of his countenance. It's a very graphic picture there, pride expressed through the face, haughtiness, a haughty look, arrogance. But it also involves this, he ignores God. The Bible says that God is not in all his thoughts. There is no room in this man's thoughts for God, he's entirely secular, His thoughts are so consumed with his sinful ideas and plans he has no room to give thought to the God to whom he owes his life, breath and everything. I can't think of anything more tragic, can you? Than to have a mind that is totally occupied with the depraved and has no room for the glorious divine truths of the Word of God. Isn't that one of the wonderful things about being a Christian? Your mind is lifted up out of the gutter to think wonderful thoughts about God, your Creator and all the glorious truths of the Word of God. But what a tragedy to be so darkened in your depravity as a wicked individual that you have just no room in your heart, no room in your mind for thoughts about God and about divine things. think that describes the average Aussie. God is not in all his thoughts. Met a guy on the door yesterday, I'm an atheist and some people are genuine that they are like, they're sort of believing atheists, they really believe it and others just throw that out there and I tried to engage him in conversation, what became clear is, he just doesn't want to think about it, he did not want to think about it. I said, well when did you become an atheist? How do you account for the, oh well, I just got no interest mate, just got no interest mate. I said, well, how do you account for the existence of the universe? I don't have to answer your questions. I said, no, you're right, that's okay, you don't have to answer my questions but some atheists are willing to talk, you're obviously not, have a good day. But the point is there, is he doesn't even want to pause and consider, don't make me think about this. David tracked to a tradesman that came the other day to our house, the one, are you ready to die? I said, have you thought about that? He said, I'll try not to. I try not to think about those things. You see, the wicked tend to push thoughts of God out of their minds and that is part of our role, by the way, because the unsaved don't tend to think about God, we as soul winners have a duty to go and remind them of God, to interrupt their thoughts that are so full of the world and full of other things and make them think. That's why I do like tracks with hard-hitting titles because if nothing else, if they shut the door, they at least get that question in their mind. you going to spend eternity? Are you ready to die?' Hopefully, we're trying to, not trying to be nasty to people, we're trying to make people think about where they're going to spend eternity, what's happening there and to snap out of the dream world that they're living in. So he refuses God, he ignores God then he lives without reference to God, verse 5, his ways are always grievous, no surprise there because he has no reverence for God, his ways, his lifestyle is a continuous cycle of wickedness, thy judgments are far above out of his sight, so again the picture there of no concept really of heavenly things and as for all his enemies he puffeth at them. what does that mean, to puff at one's enemies? Well, it means to blow and it simply means that he is a scornful person. You know, he feels like he can just blow them away with his breath or you know, he just huffs and blows in scorn at his enemies. Who are his enemies? Well, in this passage, the righteous. Do you ever get mocked as a Christian? That's the attitude of the wicked. know, who are you? You know, and of course, that's not the attitude of everyone out there but people who are entrenched in wickedness, like what is described here, can be that way. So, his pride leads him to persecute the poor, verse 2, flaunt his depraved desires, verse 3, reject his Maker, verse 4 and 5 and then number 4, indulge in smug self-confidence, verse 6. And you'll notice that the psalmist exposes the inner thoughts of the wicked here in this psalm. Verse 6, he hath said in his heart, this is the thought process of the wicked, the wicked man, he hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved for I shall never be in adversity. Some people feel that way, got me house, got me dog, Got me boat, got me barbie, got me wife, me missus. Don't need God, everything's fine. And things are just going to continue that way. That's self-deception. And that's a sad thing, isn't it? When someone is self-deceived and they're actually telling lies to themselves. They're telling lies to themselves. Did you know you can lie to yourself? careful about the lies you entertain in the heart. He says this in his heart, these are the internal thoughts going on here and he feels he will never experience hardship and his pride has led to self-deception, he's forgotten God will judge him for his sin and that the law of Sonia Riefing will one day disrupt his false peace and tranquility. So, could say he's prideful and irreverent because of all those things we've seen. Then number two, depraved and deceitful, verse 7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief and vanity. no surprise, the depravity of the heart, already described, finds expression through the lips, correct? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, Jesus said, Matthew 12 34, Luke 6 45. So this is a principle in the Word of God, what comes out of your mouth reveals what's in your heart. So we notice here, what's in his mouth and what's under his tongue. What's in his mouth? Well, the Bible says his mouth is full of a number of things. Cursing, that's blasphemy, profanity, deceit, His words can't be trusted, he will lie to achieve his perverted goals and ambitions, and then fraud. Fraud is also deception, but it's a specific kind of deception. The word deceit is broad and covers all kinds of dishonesty, whereas fraud deals with the situation where someone, through dishonest means, seeks to gain an advantage over others for personal gain. So what's in his mouth? Cursing, deceit, fraud. What's under his tongue? Well, the picture now alludes to serpents who have little bags of poison under their teeth and he describes here mischief and vanity being under the tongue, like poison in the mouth of a snake. Poisonous words can bring a lot of hurt and damage into someone's life, can't they? If you're on the receiving end of a oppressive person who's wicked and they tear into you with hurtful words, evil words, that can have a devastating effect. There are people out there whose lives have been destroyed by words. The words of a tailbearer are as wounds, the Bible says, they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Try and use your tongue as a Christian to edify, to build up, not to slash people down. what's under the tongue here? Mischief. So the picture of being under the... you've got some things that are very obvious, cursing, deceit, fraud but there's also something lurking under the tongue here, not so obvious but it's there ready to strike as poison from a serpent's mouth. The word mischief here means trouble, vexation, sorrow and so it has the idea of something which causes distress or injury. Okay, today we tend to use the word mischief in a light sense, oh what a mischievous little fellow, okay, but in Old English, the time of the translation of the King James, mischief had a stronger force to it and was to do more with intentional injury, harm or damage done by design, says Webster's Dictionary, 1828. Also there is vanity there and the word vanity means empty, worthless, having no substance, value or importance. That describes the world at large, doesn't it? How much of the world's conversation is just meaningless? Vain? Empty? And don't you struggle with this as a believer? Maybe you're trying to, you have a, you know, you go to a family event and what do you have in common, beyond the weather? And maybe, you know, who won the football on the weekend or whatever and you try and engage on that level. And it's not necessarily that all the conversation is sinful, But it's just vain, there's an emptiness there, there's no substance. What a wonderful thing to genuinely, as believers, be able to talk about the Lord and what He is to us and the truths of the Word of God. We have a depth of conversation and fellowship which the unbeliever does not know. But his words are vanity, the things of eternal value are absent. So, depraved and deceitful. Number three, murderous and predatory. It's a pretty ghastly picture here. he sitteth in the lurking places of the villages, that's why we titled the psalm a plea against violent oppressors because they're vicious, in the secret places doth he murder the innocent, his eyes are privileged set against the poor, he lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den. Now there's a lot of emphasis here, isn't there, on the exploitation of the poor? And maybe reading that in a place like Australia we are confused by that a little bit. Let me tell you, this still happens today in other countries. a massive scale. There's a lot of talk about historic slavery and I'm not saying that's entirely wrong, we do need to acknowledge the wrongs of the past, but I don't hear much talk in the mainstream media about modern slavery. Millions of people and you can study about the brick kiln workers in Pakistan, for example, who are basically permanently in debt to their masters and are practically slaves. Their children are born into slavery, terrible, worked like animals and the exploitation there and there are people like that. We live in a country where the influence of the Bible has affected a lot of these things to where we, as a general rule, extend compassion and aid to those who are poor. That didn't come out of atheism, that didn't come out of Hinduism either or even Islam, that came out of the Christian Bible and our Christian roots but in other places where the Word of God does not have that kind of influence, there are wicked oppressors that will think nothing of exploiting the poor in a terrible, terrible way and just taking advantage of them and not just in financial things but in all sorts of other terrible, terrible ways. So what would it mean for us? Well, we get a character description here of our enemy. devil and of wicked people who may not be able to exploit us in the sense that we're poor but they will try and damage our Christian lives and attack our Christian lives, certainly we can see that. We understand that the New Testament talks about those who are poor in spirit, those who are godly, those who are poor in spirit and certainly the wicked can come against us as God's people and try and damage us and try and devour us and destroy us. So the psalmist now uses this figure of a beast of prey who lurks ready to pounce on its unsuspecting victim. Because the lives of the wicked are under the control and influence of Satan, the roaring lion, 1 Peter 5.8, they reflect the malicious character of their master. Like the devil, they are murderous but at the same time very deceitful and cunning. And you need to see that, that this description here is of one who is murderous but also very deceitful. They mask their true desires here. He lieth in wait secretly. Okay? In the secret places he murders the innocent. His eyes are privily set against the poor. So this is someone with an evil intention but they are seeking to hide their character. You know, there are predators out there. Be careful. your children today, be careful ladies, there are evil people, I'm not trying to scare anybody, it's just a reality, there are evil people who are so darkened in their depravity they would think nothing of taking advantage of you. And by the way, we should pray that the Lord will keep predators out of this church. pray that often and I was actually encouraged by Jason Currie's example on this, he said he prays regularly the Lord will keep pedophiles out of his church and I forget what else he said but you know, people who maybe are there with evil intentions, churches are vulnerable places, welcoming atmosphere and I'm not saying we should have this, you know, when as soon as someone walks through the door we're like, you know, okay, no, but I'm just saying we often don't know people can mask their true character and But secretly, through those eyes, they're looking for opportunities to do evil things. And so, I pray that way sometimes as a pastor, Lord, if someone comes into our church and they have evil intentions, purge them out. And keep the fulbright hot to scare them out. And by the way, if you've got a dead church, you're a sitting duck for foul birds to roost in the branches. But I have observed that when by God's grace the Word of God has been declared in truth, people who don't have a genuine heart often get... the Word of God unsettles them and they say, I'm moving on. You say, do you really want people just to leave, Pastor? Well, no, but I do want them to go if they're predators or wicked people who are not going to be yielded to the Lord. So, Notice the descriptions of their character here, he sits in the lurking places of the villages, the lurking places there refer to places of ambush, so this is not an open confrontation but a secret attack. Now it's describing wicked individuals but can't you see a picture of the devil there? I mean the language is very much the language of beasts of prey, crouching, hiding, lurking, ready to pounce, that's the devil! what the devil wants to do in your life and surprise, surprise, he often uses wicked people to accomplish those things because they're working for him and we just have to be aware of that, that Satan doesn't tend to, sometimes Satan does openly confront us but more often than not he lurks in the shadows and he's watching for a point of vulnerability in your life so he can pounce on you and devour you. He murders the innocent in the secret places, meaning the concealed places, they carry out abominations in a hidden manner. Their eyes are privileged set against the poor, their eyes are looking for an evil opportunity. He lies wait secretly as a lion in his den. The picture's reinforced in verse 10 with the added detail that he also has strong ones who are allied with him in this evil work. Look at verse 10, he croucheth and humbleth himself, not humility in a good sense, but meaning he gets down low, ready to pounce, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. Oh, so this individual, whoever he is, is being described here, has strong ones that are also there to help him in his wicked work. Do you know, evil has a lot of allies. serious, evil has a lot of allies, the cause of wickedness has many friends, many strong ones that'll get behind a wicked leader, a wicked person who'll push an evil agenda. We've seen that today, I'll tell you what, out there on the whole, the media and the mainstream culture is all pushing in a very dark and evil direction. ensnares the poor like a hunter with his net, verse 9. So here the figure changes from that of a lion lurking for its prey to that of a hunter trapping its prey. So again we see the picture though is essentially the same, seeking to get a hold of the godly and destroy them. Look at verse 11, he also believes lies about the character of God. Verse 11, he hath said in his heart, notice the reference there again to the thoughts of this person's heart, hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, he hideth his face, he will never see it.' That's self-delusion, isn't it? He believes lies about the character of God. Now again, I was struck by the fact that the heart of the wicked is exposed in this passage. Notice the reference to the heart in these verses. Verse 3, heart's desire. Verse 6, he hath said in his heart. Verse 11, he hath said in his heart. Verse 13, he hath said in his heart. And he's believed lies about God, that God has forgotten and God hasn't seen. Again, let me just say, it's a sobering reminder that we can speak lies to ourselves and become self-deceived if not yielded to God's truth. We need to have truth in the inward parts, Psalm 51.6. So there we have a profile of the wicked oppressor. come secondly now to the prayer concerning the wicked oppressor, verse 12 to 15. arise O Lord, O God, lift up thine hand. You see how the psalm shifts here in focus, arise O Lord, he's been describing the wicked in great detail but now there's a prayer and a plea, arise O Lord, O God, lift up thine hand, forget not the humble, wherefore doth the wicked condemn God? He hath said in his heart thou would not require it, thou hast seen it, for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to require it with thy hand, the poor committed himself unto thee, thou art the helper of the fatherless, break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.' So you can see how the tone of the psalm shifts here, from looking at the darkness of the wicked, to looking in faith to God to deal with the situation. Someone put it this way, with verse 12 we have an abrupt break in the tone of the psalm, a change from lamentation to confident supplication. So let's notice four features of the psalmist's prayer here. Firstly, the appeal of his prayer. The appeal of his prayer, arise O Lord, that's a bold prayer. That's very bold. Rise up Lord. Now, when we pray, we don't issue commands to God but we do have boldness in the presence of God when we understand something of the character of God and His truth. And that's what the psalmist is doing here, he's respectful but he's calling on God to rise up and to move against the tide of wickedness in his land there. Rise, O Lord. lift up thine hand, forget not the humble.' So he's asking God to intervene in the situation and to relieve the humble from the wicked oppressors. We can pray that. Lord, we need you to work, we're asking you to work, rise up O Lord, move in our situation and turn the tide there against wickedness. Then we notice number two, the argument of his prayer and you'll notice here that the psalmist's appeal is focused on the honour of his God. Verse 13, wherefore doth the wicked condemn God, he asks, he hath said in his heart thou will not require it. So the psalmist is concerned that the character of God is being slandered, that God is being misrepresented because the wicked are going around and saying, God doesn't see, God doesn't care and I can just get away with all these evil things and the psalmist is concerned that the honour of God is at stake and therefore he prays that God would move to defend his honour. You know, that's powerful praying, when you get the honour of God in focus and you begin to align yourself with God's great purpose to magnify himself. God is concerned to magnify himself to a wicked world. And so that's the argument of the prayer, he's concerned about God's honour. Reminds us of the previous psalm, Psalm 9, 19 and 20, Arise O Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in thy sight, put them in fear O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. The assurance of his prayer number three. Can you see now there's words of assurance coming out? Back in verse 1 he says, why are you standing afar off God? Why are you hiding yourself in times of trouble? Now he's saying, God has seen it, thou hast seen it. So he's grappled with the question and now he's coming back to that confident assurance that God is faithful, that God is righteous and that God is good. And could I just encourage you again, you're going to grapple at times with some of these why questions in your life and you're going to struggle at some of the apparent silence of God and the distance of God, of course that's just something perceived but you're going to struggle with that, but make sure you come back to reaffirming in your own heart and mind the goodness of God, the perfection of God and that God indeed is on the throne. So the assurance of his prayer, God had seen, you see how he's exposing the lie of the wicked man in verse 11? Back in verse 11, the wicked man said in his heart, God hath forgotten it, he hideth his face, he will not see it. Verse 14, thou hast seen it. Do you think God doesn't see what's going on in this world? You don't think God as the perfect judge sees? Do you really think that the Almighty God forgets? That's foolish isn't it? But that's the attitude, if there is a God, and a lot of people out there are not necessarily atheists but they live as atheists, they live as if there is no God. Now we notice with this person, he's not a full-blown atheist because he says he acknowledges God but he just has the wrong idea about God, that God is disconnected, God doesn't care, God's not interested, I can just do as I please. So, we have assurance here, God had seen, God would help. God is described as the helper of the poor and the helper of the fatherless. The poor committed himself under thee, so the poor could confidently commit themselves to God and know that their cause with God would be taken care of and God is also described as the helper of the fatherless. Isn't it interesting, in the Bible, the special concern God has for the fatherless, the poor and the widows. want to learn something of God's character, you'll find that God is concerned about the fatherless, the poor and the widows. That tells me we have a God who is tender-hearted and compassionate towards the truly vulnerable. Fourthly, the asking in his prayer, verse 15, we notice a couple of extra, two more requests from the psalmist here, verse 15, break thou the arm of the wicked By the way, there's some pretty strong language in some of these Psalms, isn't there? Particularly when it comes to dealing with those who are entrenched in wickedness and stubbornness against God. Break down the arm of the wicked and the evil man. Imagine singing this in church. It's a song, seek out his wickedness till thou find none. That's a hardcore song right there. Wow. what is he talking about here? Well, he's praying that God would break the power of the wicked, the arm represents strength and so he's praying that God would break the power of wicked men so that they would not be able to carry out their evil plan. It's not probably so much a request to break the literal arm, though that could be involved, but more the picture here of God breaking the ability of the wicked and thwarting the ability of the wicked to carry out their evil designs. he prays for two things in this verse, he asks God to break the power of the wicked and then to bring a purging of wickedness. Verse 15, seek out his wickedness till thou find none. So it seems that he's praying there that God would search out evil, deal with it until no evil remains. Now Aren't you looking forward to the day when the Lord Jesus comes, the world is judged and ultimately wickedness will be removed by our King? But that's the yearning of our heart, isn't it? Lord, search out wickedness, deal with it, remove it. We want to see the purging out of wickedness, that was the desire of the psalmist and certainly it's part of our desire when we say, come quickly Lord, we want him to come because we want to see him, yes, but we also want wickedness to be put down and righteousness to be exalted. That brings us thirdly now to the perspective in reference to the wicked oppressor. language of faith continues here as the psalmist expresses unreserved confidence in God. The Lord is king forever, that sounds victorious doesn't it? And ever, the heathen are perished out of his land. Lord thou hast heard the desire of the humble. God does hear prayer. Thou will prepare their heart, thou will cause thine ear to hear, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, man of the earth may no more oppress.' So can you see how that the why question of verse 1 is being answered with the language of faith, with the eyes of faith. His faith gives him wisdom and perspective on the situation he's described in reference to the wicked and these truths bring comfort and peace to the heart troubled over the state of affairs in a wicked world. as you grapple with that, as you feel vexed about the wickedness around you, these truths of victory will encourage you. And there's two. Number one, God is on the throne. Verse 16, God is on the throne. That's a good thing to remember, isn't it? when we feel grieved and vexed over the depravity of the wicked, when it appears that wicked men and wicked women have control of power and just go on their merry way with their wicked plans, seemingly unchecked, seemingly unrestrained, and yet here we come back to the position of faith that God is on the throne, he is the king, and look at the kind of king he is, he is the eternal king. The Lord is King forever and ever. Will that comfort you tonight? Will that encourage you? Don't we need to come back to that? Whatever's going on around me, I feel at times that God is distant in my trouble, but I'm going to reaffirm the truth. I'm going to speak truth to my troubled heart at this time, and I'm going to be comforted and encouraged in this truth that God is the eternal King. kingdoms come and go, kings come and go but our God is the great everlasting unchangeable King. That's a great comfort because it appears sometimes that evil men are in control but in reality God reigns and his plan for this universe will come to pass in his perfect way and timing. doesn't matter what people do on this world, they cannot dethrone the King of Kings. You cannot unseat the King of Eternity, the King who exists outside of time and space, the Creator God. What an almighty God we serve. He is the Eternal King, He is the Sovereign King. I love how verse 16 describes the earth as His land. The heathen have perished out of Thy land. of fights and squabbles over land. Who does the land belong to here? It belongs to the indigenous people, it belongs to us, it belongs to the Lord. It's His land, every bit of land is His land and we just are custodians of that land and stewards I'm planning to do a sermon on that sometime, why you should vote no in the upcoming referendum, but we won't get onto that right now. Biblical perspective on that. God is on the throne. He's the Eternal King, He's the Sovereign King and we know that... we have a reference here to the heathen perishing out of the land and we know that this will only be fully realised when Christ rules and reigns. a future day. So the psalmist is seeing a future day here, free from the wicked with the eye of faith. The second comforting truth, not only is God on the throne, but number two, God hears and answers prayer. So that is incredibly basic. Yeah, but it's very comforting when you're struggling, to reassure your heart that whatever I might be feeling, God does hear and God does answer. Yes, He does. Do you see how we have to speak truth to ourselves? I'm not talking about some sort of psychological pump up here, but I'm talking about in a right sense, grappling with things at times, but then getting our feet back onto the foundation of the Word of God and saying, okay, this is the situation, the wicked are just running out of control. I'm struggling because I'm in a time of trouble, probably at the hands of these wicked people, and I don't understand why God seems disconnected from the situation. But now let's just get back to the truth of it, God is on the throne, God is eternal and God does hear my cry and God will act. So verse 17 and 18, Lord thou hast heard the desire of the humble. You're humble, God will hear your prayer. will prepare their heart. That's a precious little phrase, it means, the word prepare there means to fix, to establish or to make firm. What does he say back in verse 1? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? We're dealing here with a troubled saint, a troubled heart, now he's saying, Lord you're going to establish my heart, you're going to bring my heart into control here, that's faith isn't it? Lord I'm trusting you to settle my heart, Do you ever need your heart settled? I know I do. We need God's ministry in our hearts when we find ourselves in times of trouble. Verse 1, so God would hear and God would answer. Verse 18, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, the man of the earth may no more oppress. So God hears and God answers. Okay, very briefly in conclusion, it's good to ask ourselves as we go through the Psalms, what do we learn about our God? There's so much about God's character here, any thoughts that spring quickly to mind from the message tonight? Did you have your hand up? We're just waving... don't wave, I'll take your vote. Yes? Very insightful, that's true and that is part of the reason why God delays in judgment because He's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, good observation. Yes? God who remains sovereign even though it appears at times the wicked are in control. Any others? Yes, Seth? God cares for the vulnerable, absolutely, has tender mercy and compassion for the vulnerable and as Christians we should be against exploitation of people, absolutely. It's wrong to exploit the weak for your own advantage in an evil way, it's not right. Okay, any others? Pardon? God sees wickedness, he's not asleep to it, Cherise? God will judge the wicked in His time, absolutely. God is just, holy and righteous who will judge sinful men. Yes sir? God answers prayer, amen. That's simple, isn't it? But so profound and we need to be reminded of that because sometimes we feel like God doesn't answer prayer but He does, just remember He answers in His time and in His way and that's where we struggle sometimes, don't we? Any others? about practical lessons we learn about the Christian life? I've just got one written here, believers will sometimes deal with doubts in their walk of faith. There are why questions that will arise that need to be worked out in the presence of God. At such times we would do well to sing, when darkness seems to veil his face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil. Any other practical... yes? resort to prayer when faced with adversity, amen. Believers will face a world that is wicked and hostile to their faith, the devil and his agents will seek their destruction but God will preserve and keep them as they trust in Him. Any others? Practical takeaways? Yes? love what God loves and hate what He hates. Absolutely, very good. The wicked boasts of evil desires and blesses the covetous whom the Lord abhors. Right, we need to leave it there for sake of time, let's pray. Father, we thank You for the revelation of Your character and who You are through this psalm and we thank You for the richness of Your Word, Lord. The more we study it, the more we preach it, the more we delve into it, Lord, we just realise that there's such a infinite treasure house of truth for us to feed our hearts and minds upon. And so, Lord, while this message is not directly related to the Lord's Table, may we draw comfort from it as we remember you are on the throne and as we remember tonight that the Lord's Table is also something we do until you come, we can look forward with anticipation and look up. We thank you, Lord Jesus, when we look upon you we get a wonderful contrast to the wicked man described in Psalm 10, Lord you are the pure one, the holy one, the righteous one and sinless, the sinless one and so we pray you would settle our hearts now and that you would help any tonight who are struggling with fears, with those why questions, we pray that you would help them to arrive back on solid truth, to comfort and reaffirm their hearts in your character and in your word, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.