that I dwell on Christ, not on the wicked. Psalm 73. I'm going to read first verses 1 through 12. A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. There are no pains in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride serves as their necklace. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore, his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. They say, how does God know? and is their knowledge in the most high. Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease. They increase in riches. May the Lord add to his blessing of hearing his word, the preaching of his word as well. Our first consideration today, begin your complaint to the Lord with confirmation of God's goodness. So there is much for the godly to echo in this prayer of lament in this psalm before us concerning the prosperity of the wicked. We lament not only the ways of the wicked that are full of evil, but the seemingly prosperity of the wicked, or the lack of divine judgment or we might even go as far as indicated in this psalm of restraint upon the wicked. And we have here the beginning of Psalms of Asaph. Asaph, a man of God who is a prophet of God. Asaph is one of the psalm writers by inspiration of God, hence he is a prophet and then later we'll see Psalms from the sons of Asaph. And just to briefly say here that there was a school of psalmists that was under the headship of David, the chief psalmist, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And so they were men that were inspired by the Holy Spirit. And they wrote psalms. And they compiled the psalms in a particular order for the Psalter. that we have. And so it was passed down for a number of generations. The school of, I would say, school of psalmist, I would refer to them here. But here, even Asaph, by inspiration of the Lord, is bringing forth his kind of personal complaint before the Lord about the wicked. And so this is a wailing against the wicked. And yet, it is a plea to the Lord. But it begins with the right note. Truly, truly, God is good to Israel. And we can insert the church, not just Israel of old, but to the church today, to such as are pure in heart. And you know those are the believers. You know that those who have been redeemed by Christ, those who have been covered by the blood of Christ, those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, are the pure. They are the meek. They are the poor in spirit. They are the beloved children of God. Indeed, it is the Lord who makes any good come to pass, especially to his redemptive people. He gives us a new heart. He gives us a new life. Indeed, Christ is always our Savior. and his ways of righteousness is always our example. Charles Simeon, in his commentary, provides a proper understanding of the approach to this psalm. He observes, truly, God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. The aversion which men usually feel to a vindication of God's absolute sovereignty proceeds from an idea that the exercise of it would be repugnant to his other perfections of goodness and mercy. But there is no just foundation for this conceit, nor is there any reason why we should doubt the sovereignty of God any more than any of his attributes. that God does dispense his favors according to his own will is an undeniable truth. How else can we account for his taking one nation from the midst of another nation and forming them to his peculiar people and giving them his righteous laws and expelling seven nations from the land of Canaan in order to give it to his chosen people? for their inheritance. But however freely he exercises his own prerogative in this respect, he will take care that his final appointment of men states shall accord with perfect equity," or I'm going to say perfect justice. So that is a good approach to this psalm to understand it in its fullness. So we might look at, the beginning of the psalm after verse one, as, ooh, Asaph is being rash here. He's just speaking from frustration. He's not really thinking with faith. And I think that is true. But there is also a reflective, truly spiritual, godly reflection in this prayer as well. So look at verse two and three again, but as for me, My feet, so Asaph is speaking, my feet had almost stumbled. I almost went into sin here. My steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. So who are the boastful? Well, they'd be the opposite of the humble. The humble are the believers. The boastful are sinners. It seems like sometimes sinners can have a false veneer of humility. But in our day, more and more, they are just simply outright boastful of their iniquity and their defiance against God. So the problem is clearly stated. Asaph is saying, my envy of the wicked and my frustration in seeing them do so well in this world, They should be judged. They should be destroyed. They should be hurting and be frustrated at every turn. That nearly caused me to fall into sin. So brothers and sisters, I can ask the question, but I know the answer. Are you tempted in your frustration over the wicked? We don't like how the wicked do the things that they do. And we don't like their place in the world. We don't like their prominence. We don't like their position of power, their influence, or how they are celebrated. And in our bad perspective, our limited perspective, oh, they seem to have a good life. Everything goes smoothly for them, even though they are very rebellious against God. And so, We hear of their wickedness each and every day, especially the prominent centers of our society. They practice immense influence in society and whatever place you want to look, politics, education, business, culture, arts, education, the list goes on even sadly in the church. They plot, they scheme, and sometimes they publish their plotting ahead of time. They seek to hinder all manner of God's goodness all around us. They want to hinder people from coming to Christ and receiving salvation. The wicked are wealthy. They have power. And there seems to be no opposition against them. They are righteous in their own eyes. But we know there is one who is perfectly righteous. And he is, as we sang in Psalm 98, the judge of all the earth. Now you might feel like it's time. It's time for the Christians to replicate the deeds of the wicked, to use their methods against them, to be the counterculture. We will use libel, use treachery, whatever it takes to gain control of our society or of our Sphere of what we think it should be our influence but we follow the Lord the truth is we follow the Lord in his ways and Jesus came not as a conquering king, but as a lowly servant. He is a king He does conquer. He does rob Satan of his hostages left and right every day. Let's not be Confused about that, but he lived a life as a man with humility and full reliance upon the Father to do the Father's will. And let us confirm, Jesus was not hindered. The opposition was there to trip him up, to catch him in his words, to bring all false accusations against him, but he was not hindered in one step of his journey in this three and a half years of ministry nor of his life. So we cannot return evil with evil. That is the way of the devil. That is not the way of Christ. We do not seek to bring retribution against the wicked in a vengeful way. We can pray for justice at the hands of God's justice by proper authority. Those in place to bring proper authority, even those in the church like the officers, elders, But when we can't appeal to the authority of men any longer we always bring our case to the spiritual Supreme Court To the Lord who is our great intercessor? Who is our great King and who loves to make intercession for his people? Yes, the wicked seem to be the richest in the world. They seem to have a good health often and They flaunt their lifestyles, and there's an idolatry of the wicked and celebrities. You want to know everything about them. And I always see this in my news feeds. Do I need to hear about this guy's broken marriage again? Isn't it as broken today as it was yesterday? Maybe more broken. You know, hear about this function of the celebrity's children. hear about them getting perhaps frustrated in their money schemes. They seem to live the good life and they're all smiles and they look healthy. What is hindering them? Is there no consequences to sin? Where's retribution from the Lord? And you think about dictators, probably the last 120 years, Many of them died in somewhat old age. They didn't die because of a trial and execution as they should have. They died in luxury. They seem to get by easily. The wicked don't seem to be the down and out often in our thinking. They think themselves like God. They think themselves almost eternal in life. But we must remember, this is all false. This is a wrong perspective. In fact, we have one very wicked man, Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great. In Acts chapter 12, he's the one that was responsible for putting James, the brother of John, to death. He saw it pleased the Jews who did not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he imprisoned Peter and was about to execute him as well. But he gave a speech. And in Acts chapter 12, it's recorded, verses 21 through 24. On a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting. The voice of a God and not of a man. Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied." What a dramatic judgment of the Lord. We might wonder, why don't I see that every day? I want to see things like that. That just makes things so clear. I mean, he was eaten by worms. Worms were in him already. And he died a terrible death, humiliation. And we think, that would be bringing me such satisfaction. And so he goes on to speak about them, verse 8. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens. So this is blasphemy against God. And their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore, his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, how does God know? Is there knowledge of the Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease. They increase in riches. So does God take notice? Does he know? Does he really know? Because we know we know their ways. Where is God? He must take notice. The wicked scoff at God. They scoff at the scriptures. They scoff at the ordinances of God. The creation mandate. Even questioning. Do you really know you're a man? Male? Do you really know you're a female? A woman? They scoff at everything. They question. Authority for the sake of rebellion. And so the problem is clearly stated. Clearly stated. They scoff, they mock the righteous and the way they live. The wicked will not bow the knee to Christ. And they're thinking they will extend worship to themselves, like Herod. I'll take that. Yes, speaking like a god, that's me. They're corrupt in their offices. They do anything that is contrary to God just to be contrary to God. They regard not the Lord and their thoughts. They are full of contempt and profane profaneness as they disregard any mention in a reverent way of the name of Christ. They perform and they promote all forms of nickety. They cheer on others in society to engage in sin and seek to recruit children of the youngest age to partake in their rebellion against God. They want to recreate the world in the image of fallenness and of sin, of corruption, of man. They work hard to establish a world that is free of the knowledge of God and of the worship of Christ. They are demonic, truly, truly demonic. So our second point, in sin, you complain that you have been faithful for nothing. And so this is kind of the thing that really shocks us. Really? Well, this is what we have said many times. Have I been a Christian for nothing? Have I served the Lord for nothing? Have I sacrificed? for the Lord to no good effect, have I denied myself for no good reason? We have all asked that. So the psalmist in anguish, and this is your anguish too often, he espouses these words in verse 13, 16. Surely I have cleansed my heart and vein and washed my hands in innocence, for all day long I have been plagued and chastened every morning. If I had said I will speak thus, Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children when I thought how to understand this. It was too painful for me. And so the psalmist is coming to terms of himself. He's like, whoa, I'm out of control here. My thoughts are just going way over here in despair. Where is God? Does God notice? As if God doesn't know everything, as if God doesn't see everything, As if God is not active in everything that happens in the world. This is a serious problem. This is a serious complaint. We are to live with intentional faithfulness to the Lord with a intentional faith that the Lord our God. is faithful in all that he does. He is good in all that he does. We don't understand all that he does or why he's doing or why he's allowing this or that to unfold for such a long time among the wicked. But we can know by faith the Lord will use it to his glory and to the good of his people. We tend to think in a warped fashion. thinking good must be clearly seen, and a good cause and effect come from it. We don't see how something evil can unfold, but the Lord will twist it in his divine purpose to bring forth good to his people. We cannot think in that way. We cannot understand in that way, because we are not God. but we are to have faith in God. We are to be dwelling on that which is thinking on good things. We are to be devout. We are to follow Lord, not because we know he will bless us, but because we want to bless God. We want to praise God. Because you know, you may, you can, and you have, if you're in faith, suffered for righteousness. Was that worth it? Yes, because it was for righteousness sake. It was for the testimony of Christ. Would you do it again? Well, if you ask me, probably no, but yes, the Lord will put me in that position. And if I have strength, I will be faithful to the Lord. I will walk in righteousness, even if I have to suffer for it. For indeed, my great master, the Lord Jesus, suffered far greater for all righteousness. Praise be to the Lord. And so, We often ask, where is the Lord's wrath? Why hasn't it come? And it may be for this particular person or this wicked leader or whatever justification we want to say, Lord, please come. And your delay is too long. And we really can't be saying that to the Lord. So the psalmist writes by inspiration. I'm saying he writes by inspiration, but very personally too, and he recognizes the foolishness of his words. The folly and what it could produce, it almost caused him to stumble and sin. And understand, if you question, am I living in vain for the Lord? No, you are not. You never live in vain for the Lord, because the Lord needs the godly to be a witness to this world You must manifest yourself devoted to the Lord And that the world needs to see that you are a lover of the Lord or the lover of the world You're a follower of Christ not a follower of the sinful flesh You speak to God's truths in your life even though you don't think you are heard you're no one pays attention to you or you're just a mocked or ridiculed, whatever your setting is, school or family, but you manifest a witness to the world. You live for the Lord. And so it's important for your brothers and sisters to hear you to look at the world and to speak faith into the situation. Because if we're all despairing, if we're all being discouraged, If we are all thinking that the Lord is far distant, he has no idea what is going on, the Lord is not active in this world that he created, that's an insult to the Lord. And that's a discouragement to your brothers and sisters in the faith. Let us be careful how we speak about anything, because it does affect our brothers and sisters in faith. Now it affects your faith severely. And if you're always dwelling on the negative, And always dwelling on, well, the wicked are stronger than the righteous. Well, just look out the window. That is not building anyone's faith. That brings no glory to God. And so the psalmist realizes that. He's like, whoa, I need to repent. I need to honor God. And I need to be thinking of my brothers and sisters, and indeed of myself. And so you never live in, and vain. So your godly life, Christian, your devotion, believer, to the Lord serves as a great purpose. It brings glory to God and is pointing others to Christ. Yes, we suffer for the deeds at the hands, often, of the ungodly. We are vexed in our spirit because of the fallenness of this world. There are so many sinners, we're vexed by our own sins, let's confess that as well. But we have to find comfort in the Lord and comfort and direction and information and how we are to think by the guidance of the Holy Scriptures in this particular Psalm as well as here for that reason. So anyone sound in the faith, know for certain that in the end, all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10, for we must all. Now, I just want to pause there. Who's the letter written to? To the pagans? It's written to Christians in the church. So we, you all, must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done. whether they be good or bad. Well, I am forgiving Christ, the beloved Christ has washed me clean. Amen to that. But you will be at the day of judgment. The Lord doesn't send the believers on a holiday. They all, believer and unbeliever, stand before the throne of Christ. Your life is going to be opened up. Your thoughts all will be exposed. Yes, your sins will be revealed. And that may should help us restrain us to sin. Because we don't want a lot of people, most people or all people to know our sin. But all of our sins of all people who have ever lived will be exposed on that day of judgment. We all appear and all will receive the things done in his body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. So the comfort for the Christian is that you are going to say, yes, I am guilty of all these things. You can say that by faith. And that brings glory to God. Yes, I forgot about it. I did not confess these sins over here. But I'm guilty of these sins. And I know that Christ, my mediator, my savior, has paid for those sins in fullness. And I have faith in that. And I'm the least of your servants, Lord. And we are vindicated by Christ's works. We're vindicated by what he has done. He has paid the payment already. He has suffered for your sins. The full extent of suffering and justice has already been satisfied. And so we will receive blessing by faith in Christ for what Christ has done. But for the wicked who do not believe on Christ, who never repent, never come to faith, They just have their sins exposed. They have no intercessor. They have no advocate. They have spurned Him. They have mocked Him. And so it's just them and their sin, and a holy God. And we know what comes. Weeping, weeping in action. Crying out for all eternity in terror. And so it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. So God's justice is, Not fully realized in this life, even partial judgments meet it out. There's temporal judgments we speak of. And the wicked do experience these things, but not in all the ways that we would want or expect. The wicked don't have happy families. They really don't. I mean, if you want to read biographies of famous unbelievers, you can do that. And if they're truthful, it's a mess. It's a painful, terrible, ugly mess of dysfunction and sorrow and ruin. Even if they die with a smile on their face, they will not awaken with that smile. And so the psalm continues, verse 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, Then I understood their way. Surely you set them in slippery places. You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation as in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terrors as a dream when one awakes. Oh, Lord, when you awake, you shall despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant. I was like a beast before you. Sometimes when we go back to the Word of God, we just realize, boy, was I stupid. I knew that. I knew that. I really didn't forget it, but I just was focused on the wicked. Now, you and I know Lot's name from Sodom, because Scripture records his life in a limited way. We only know he is righteous because of what Peter says. He was a righteous man, but he was vexed by the ungodly things that he saw among the ungodly in that very, very wicked city. Our confession of sin brings forgiveness of sin, if we do so by faith, calling out upon Christ. By Christ, an indwelling of the Holy Spirit guides us to complete our sanctification We know that in the end, we will rule with Christ. First Corinthians six talks about we will judge the angels. The believers will judge the angels. So we will, I'm sure many of the secrets would be all erased from the dead of the bodies. The bodies are united to the souls. All those from hell, all those in heaven, all those on earth are gathered together. All sins are exposed. The righteous are vindicated by Christ. And then they, partake in the judgment of angels. So brothers and sisters you have a place. There's a lot been in news about judges lately and we keep hearing about our Supreme Court judges. You know they're impartial non-impartial whatnot. In the end we're going to judge angels. That's a place of honor. That's a place I'm going to do so to the glory of God. Of course, we're not going to judge the holy angels. We're going to judge the demonic angels. And so, we do have a place to deal with the wicked. And of course, we're a voice against wickedness. We're a voice against the deeds of darkness. We expose them. And we testify that Christ is the Savior of the most dreadful sinners. And so, another psalm that's very similar to this, Psalm 37, verse 27 through 29 of that psalm, depart from evil and do good. That's a simple gospel message. Depart from evil, do good. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And dwell forever, for the Lord loves justice. The Lord is the only just one on the earth. No one can do perfect justice like the Lord. And it goes on, and does not forsake his saints. Did you hear that? Let me read it again, verse 28. For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake his saints. That's speaking of you. If you believe, they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever. There's justice there. There's perfect justice and grace. Remember the believers are the ones who receive perfect justice because we have a substitute who takes that justice and we receive perfect grace thereby. and we are justified by the life of Christ. So we need to worship. So the psalmist comes back to the right frame of mind by going to the sanctuary. Isn't that what he's saying? He went to public worship. I've heard from many of you over the years, when you've had a bad week and then you've come to church, after experiencing the Lord's Day, you do so much better. because you're hearing God. You have kind of a full guide of God. Hearing God, you're singing his psalms, you're partaking of the Lord's Supper, you're fellowshipping with brothers and sisters you love. And brothers and sisters, I pray, and I feel that is the sense here, will speak truly to your situation. They won't just pat your hand and say, oh, I'm sure I'll be okay. We pray for you. We warn you. We are bewildered with you at times, and just pray. And so it is a blessing to come to the house of God. And we have brothers and sisters here who you have not met before and I have not met before before this morning and we are blessed. This happens so so often we are blessed because we have a common faith and a common Lord. We understand what it means to be saved by grace and we understand who our God is. He's a savior and he's a judge. He's the perfect and complete Savior. He is the most just and fearful judge of the heavens and of the earth. And so we can take comfort. The world are the ones that should have anxiety. The world who does not surrender to Christ should be the ones with fear. We are not to dwell on the wicked. We are to dwell on the righteous God that we worship. And but we can start to think, woe is me, because look at the strength of the wicked. It's like they're flexing their muscles. Like, oh, I just don't have the strength that they have. I don't have the resources they have. They seem to be everywhere. They can get me fired. They can get me evicted. They can put me in jail. How often we hear this? Oh, I could be put in jail. Yes, anytime, by anyone. I could be killed. Yes, at any time, by anyone, if the Lord wills. But we are not to walk in fear. We are not to be frozen in fear. We are to live and abound by the power of the Spirit of God and the freedom that is in Christ Jesus. Understand Jesus is your Savior and King. Let us dismiss this thought, this erroneous teaching that you can be saved because you chose Jesus. I know we speak in those terms, but really, you don't reach out and grab Him. And a lot of people say, I have accepted Him as my Savior, but I have not made Him my Lord. Well, show me a scripture where you or anyone else makes Him Lord. He has declared the Lord of Lords. and the king of kings. Man did not do that. God did it. And praise be to God. So our last point, going to scripture to regain your senses. Proverbs 3, verses 31 to 35. Do not envy the oppressor. That'd be the wicked. And choose none of his ways, for the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord. But his secret counsel is with the upright, The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the just. See the contrast there. Surely he scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. I feel like we are a nation of fools. I mean, it's just hard to see wisdom and people, not in society at all. Leaders, no. There's just foolishness that abounds, and foolishness is just another way of saying that I'm not gonna be taught, I'm not gonna be corrected by God, I'm just gonna follow my heart. And so let's understand that. So we look to Christ, we're comforted by Christ. Now there's promises for Christ applies to both, to all who believe on him. And it's interesting, really, as I was saying earlier, we have comfort in the promises and the graces of Christ if we're Christians. If we have surrendered to Christ, confessed our sin. And we also at the same time have comfort in God's judgment. And we are the only people that can do that. Only people on earth. You know, either you're going to embrace or scorn one, or you're going to embrace and fear the other. So I take you to Psalm 34, verses 19 through 22. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all. He guards all his bones, not one of them is broken. You notice here, it is a prophecy of Christ. Not one of his bones were broken on the cross. So what this applies to Christ applies to us as well. Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeemed the souls of His servants, did not Christ do that on the cross? And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Let me read that again, verse 22. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. What a glorious salvation that we have. Now, are you worthy of condemnation? Yes, you are. You don't have to tell me one sin you did. I say that because I know the word of God. We're all worthy of condemnation, of rejection, especially if we profess faith and then we have sin afterwards. We are the most wicked then. But God is gracious and merciful and longsuffering with us. And he who has begun a good work in you We'll complete it to the end. God is invested in you with the blood of Christ, the life of Christ. So don't think the Lord is not interested. Now the people of Sodom and Gomorrah manifested great sin and doing evil. But it was righteous Lot who stood in that city of thousands. And as the Lord overthrew that city, he had to fulfill his promise to Abraham that he would not destroy that nation if there was 10 righteous people. Well, it seems like there was not 10 righteous, so he had to destroy it. But God went beyond his promise to Abraham. Have you ever thought about that? He said, if there's actually 10 people who are righteous in that Sodom, that wicked Sodom, I will not destroy it. But he sent his angels to destroy it. Because, use logic here, there wasn't 10 righteous. But he was gracious to Lot. Tell your family, get out. So he talked to his son-in-laws. And of course, his daughters were married to those son-in-laws. We don't know. There are at least two, probably three. Think of it. Three son-in-laws, three daughters. That's six. Then he had two other daughters. And then he and his wife. That would make 10. But his son-in-laws mocked him. He's like, what? You're joking. You're ridiculous. Maybe they said he was ridiculous all the time. But they would not go. But those under his roof, the angels brought out, because God is so merciful. But the Lord did destroy the nation, the seven nations of Canaan, to give that land to Israel. Pharaoh's army was part of a great empire. And so were the armies of Avalon, and Medo-Persia, and Greece. And then we can talk about Rome. But the Lord did bring judgment eventually, after hundreds of years, upon those places. It is said in Hebrews 9, 27, 28, as is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. So that means the completion of your salvation. So we have this wonderful promise of grace and judgment in Revelation 21, verses six through eight. And he said to me, it is done. I am the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. So this is Christ speaking. I will give of the foundation of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." So the word of God cannot be broken. His word of grace and mercy and salvation cannot be broken, and His word of judgment and condemnation cannot be broken. Point four. that your deep thoughts, Christians, focus on Christ and his favor. So in the end of the day, you are blessed. At the end of the day, you are given great favor from God. And these are the things that we are to meditate upon. We do pray about the wicked. We pray for the salvation. We pray for the restraint. And there's imprecatory prayers that are appropriate at times. And we'll deal with that again next time we get to imprecatory prayer. But we are to dwell on the great blessing that is before us, that is reserved for us, that is upon us, that we have a sovereign God, a loving God, a caring God, a compassionate God, an interceding God who has given us His Son, Christ, as our Savior. We know the ways of the wicked. We are to know them. We are to call it out. We are to warn one another of the ways of the wicked and not to fall into their traps and their snares or their vain philosophies that flatter the flesh, that inflate the ego of people. But we are to meditate upon the righteous. We are to meditate on the law of God, which is to be sweet to us like honey and more precious than fine gold. And the covenant promises of the gospel, we are to be edified and encouraged and hopeful because of these things that God's word and God's oath cannot be broken. As scripture says, it is impossible for God to lie. And so we are to hold that dear to us. And so this should cause us to pray with confidence to the Lord and to pray with the purpose of praising the Lord. And you know that the most severe sentence for the wicked is to leave them alone, to leave them in their sin, to not awaken them, And really not to have them suffer too much in their path of wakeness. Think, oh, all is well. All is well. Look, I got my health. I got my big bank account. People listen to me. I have no need of God. That is the greatest judgment, this side of eternity. And so we pray for them to be awakened as the Lord has awakened us. And so let us dwell upon the goodness of God, and know that there's a severe sense. There's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a righteous God. We should always have a fear of God. It's a sanctifying fear for God's people. It's a paralysis for the wicked, if they are wise enough to even fear. But may it bring them to salvation, bring them to confession of sin. But understand, Christian, You have overcome faith for Christ has overcome the world. He overcame death itself. He had power over death. To raise from the grave, he has vanquished sin and put away your guilt. And so when you are tempted to be vexed and perplexed by the wicked and their ways, take heart and look to the matters of your faith. And so let's look at the last five verses here. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold me by my right hand. Oh, what a comfort. You will guide me with your counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For indeed, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who desert you for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord that I may declare all your works." Oh, what beautiful words for God's people to repeat to themselves and to the Lord. I have no one in heaven but you. Oh, and there's none upon earth that I desire besides you. This needs to be our manifesto. This must be our profession of faith, day in and day out. And so when you feel like you have no faith, when you feel like you're weak, and you're just weighed down by the world, go to the word of God. Go to God's worship, and go to his promises, and go to this particular song, and read it in the fullness. of the message and read it with eyes of faith and be encouraged. Now, let me end with a prayer from another psalm, Psalm 51, verses 1 through 6. I pray this will be your prayer as well. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. and cleanse me from my sin for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, I have sinned and done this evil in your sight that you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part you will make me. to know wisdom. Let us pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we desire to grow close to you and not to lose heart in this wicked world. May we not think the wicked have a place of favor, a place of immunity, but sudden destruction has come their way. They are on that slippery slope, Lord. And so may we be intercessors. May we speak the gospel in season and out. Maybe warn others of the way of sin but also give them the hope that is in Christ Jesus the risen reigning Lord who indeed humbled himself to be a sacrifice for sinners and made full payment for all the sins and has vindicated his people through his life and granted us his grace. And so Lord made this song be part of our meditation all the day long. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.