Well, I hope I've given you enough time to find Psalm 44 in your Bible. Please stand for the public reading of God's Word. Hear now the Word of God. To the choir master, a maskeel for the sons of Korah, O God, we have heard with our ears. Our fathers have told us what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old. You, with your own hand, drove out the nations, but them you planted. You afflicted the peoples, but them you set free. For not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them. But your right hand and your arm and the light of your face For you delighted in them. You are my King, O God. Command salvation for Jacob. Through you we push down our foes. Through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah. But you, you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies. You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil. You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and you have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. All day long, my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face at the sound of the taunter and the reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way. Yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For He knows the secret of the heart. Yet, for your sake, we are killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our belly clings to the ground. Rise, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. This is the reading of God's word. Let's pray. Father, we are so grateful for the full counsel of your word, that you give us the highs and the lows, not only in the book of Psalms, but all throughout redemptive history. Thank you, Lord, that you inspired David, or perhaps the sons of Korah, to write this for us, thousands of years removed and yet still living in a fallen world. still living in a cursed world, still living in the midst of enemies and those who would seek to mock and scoff at your name, living in the midst of those who would persecute your saints. Father, I pray that you would pour out your Holy Spirit into our hearts this morning. Lord, we need his ministry to remind us of your love for us in Christ, and that having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, even though our enemies still clamor and still scoff and still oppose and still oppress. Would you remind us, O Holy Spirit, that we have a God in heaven a Father who loves us in Christ and who is working all things together for good for those who love him and are the called ones according to his purpose. Would you remind us in our afflictions, oh Father, that you are using them to conform us into the image of Christ that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And if God is for us, who is against us? Would you remind us, O Lord, that though the world may laugh at us, that the world may seek to mock us, And though the devil is flinging his flaming arrows at us, oh, that we can take up the shield of faith to extinguish each and every one of them, being reminded that our loins are girt with the belt of truth, that we are wearing the breastplate of Christ's righteousness, that we have the helmet of his salvation, that we have shod our feet with the glorious gospel that brings peace and spreads it. O Father, would we take up with the shield of faith the Word of God, which is the armament of the Spirit. And Father, we would pray for one another that you would give us a peace that passes understanding. And especially, Lord, for those who would be crying out with David as the covenant head of his people, how long? When will you bring your kingdom? How long till you put the serpent under our feet? How long until the kingdom of Isaiah 65? How long until we have a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness and justice dwell? Help us, O Lord. I'm so thankful for the book of Hebrews that is such a balm, such a comfort, such a source of sweetness to your hurting children. And would you, Lord Jesus, be the one who is able to strengthen our weak knees and our weak hands with the word of comfort and season? O Jesus Christ, would your word be precious to us and sweet this morning. And for those who feel far off and forgotten and forsaken, would you remind them that you will never leave nor forsake those whom you died for, those whom you rose for, and those whom you're coming back for. Help us as we work through Psalm 42 and 43 last week to be a covenant community who is able to help the downcast, who can weep with them, who is able to come alongside and pray for and encourage. O now, O Holy Spirit, we would ask that Teach us from Psalm 44. Paul saw Christ in Psalm 44. Would you now show us Christ from Psalm 44? And would you save your elect? Would you draw them irresistibly? This isn't John 3, 16, but oh, we know that you have inspired it. And every word of the Lord proves true. Show yourself strong, O mighty King. Show yourself strong, King Jesus. Enter in. To our hearts, we pray. In your sovereign grace, we ask. Father, hear our prayers, we ask, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Please be seated. Well, it's important to not forget the titles when we're reading through the Psalter. And this one, has a title like Psalm 42. It also is addressed to the choir master, and it also is a maskial for the sons of Korah. And as I mentioned last week, I truly believe that David is the primary organizer and author of the Psalter, and that the Psalter, first and foremost, is a messianic book. that God inspired it, and that it traces through not only the redemptive history or life of Israel, but especially the redemptive history and life of King David, that this is a messianic book that makes us long for King Jesus. And we're going to see that by the time we get towards the end of this, that Paul is quoting this in perhaps the richest chapter of all the Bible in Romans 8. Now, pronouns are important, not just for liberals who like to force and foist upon us all of their made-up pronouns, but I would say that as you're studying Psalm 44, you're going to notice that David is switching between I and we. Those are important notes that we are to notice in the text. And the reason I say that is not to show off or to be overly persnickety with grammar, but David is acting now as the covenant head of his people. He, as it were, is praying for and teaching his people, kind of like another covenant head does for us in, say, John 17, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw from last week, that Psalm 42 and 43, David himself is being persecuted and unfairly treated, that he is living righteously. And yet, as God's anointed one, as God's Messiah, he nevertheless is called to live a life of exile. for his people, that he is willing, as it were, for the sin of his people to be exiled from the presence of God in Jerusalem. He is longing to return to the presence of God. And what we see in Psalm 42 and 43 now is now shared with the covenant people, or in the language of Isaiah 65, the elect remnant. And as you've heard me say many times before, there's a little saying we have in the case household as we read the Bible, as goes the king, so goes his people. And the reason I'm saying that is because we should not be surprised in the language of 1 Peter 4 when we fall into and face various trials as though something strange were happening to us. When we worked through 1 Peter a couple of years ago, we were reminded that Christ suffered for us, not only redemptively, but he was to serve for us an example. And the reason I say that is because I remember in my preparation for last week, a study that I came across wherein it was elicited that Charismatics and Pentecostals were three times more prone to suffer with depression than other people. Why? Because they were given, perhaps, things from the Bible that were not true. They were told things like this, that if you come to Jesus, your life will get happy and sloppy. It will be fun and blissful. That you will be wealthy and prosperous and healthy and happy. That all things will work together for your happiness. And I'm not saying that to pick on the Charismatics. I also say that because in this day and age, there's also another popular theology or eschatology that I want to warn us about, and this just comes to mind, where they say that with Christ's coming and his soon return, that everything is gonna be happy. and the government is going to become Christian, and we're gonna take all things back for Christ, and oh, how I long for that. But we need to be very careful of trying to cash checks that the Lord himself has not written, lest we find ourselves thinking that maybe we're not saved, or maybe we don't have enough faith, or maybe we're not praying or fasting enough for God to take over Canada. As goes the King, so goes the people. And were you to read 1 Peter 1, the prophets were searching and inquiring carefully, searching diligently into what time or person the Spirit of Christ in them was talking about when He foretold of the sufferings of the Messiah and His subsequent glories. As goes the King, so goes the people. the cross before the crown. And so I don't say this with relish, but O Church of Christ, if you want to know the power of Christ's resurrection, do understand that it is inseparably linked to our participation in his suffering, says Paul in Philippians chapter three. As goes the king, so goes the people. And I don't relish this. I don't like suffering any more than the next guy. But we have a theology and an eschatology of suffering in this present evil age until Christ returns to rescue his bride. Then he will vindicate her. Then, and only then, will he wipe away our tears. But until then, these seemingly unfair trials, these seemingly unfair persecutions are meant for our good to drive us to Christ. Oh, how precious must be Psalm 44 to those who are Christians in North Korea, who are Christians in Iraq. We prayed for them last Wednesday. For Christians in Northern India, for Christians in China, who are saying we are following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are following in the footsteps of King David, who was but a type and a foreshadowing of the greater King. And so as David the King is praying for and teaching his people, ultimately, King Jesus is praying for. and teaching his people in Psalm 44. Now, this is an old sermon outline that you've heard a thousand times, and the reason I say that is, is because we go back to the ancient paths. We don't always need something new and novel. You don't need another alliterated sermon with a different letter. But this, unsurprisingly, is another chiasm. And the reason I say that is because we want to start with how God gives us his word. We saw the wonderful chiasm of Psalm 42 and 43. And for those of you perhaps who weren't here in Psalm 42 or 43 or in Micah or in Genesis, a chiasm is a way of writing to help the people of the Old Testament remember God's word better, that they were literary devices. For us, we love to alliterate, right? Every point needs to start with the same letter, or we like to rhyme. Well, the Hebrews like to use chiasms, and a chiasm is something like A, B, C, B, A, and then you have the A's matching and the B's matching, and the C is the center, or the meat of the sandwich. And so what we're going to see here in the meat of the sandwich, it's maybe a bitter middle. It's not the bacon that we want, but it's probably sour herbs. But the middle of this psalm, Psalm 44, is a lament. where David and subsequently the people of God throughout the years are saying, why such a bitter middle? It starts good. It has a nice outer bun and a nice bottom bun. Why is the middle so bitter? And what I want us to understand is that David is wrestling. We saw that the Christian life is one of tension. And it doesn't always make sense. And that God gives us inspired words. It's not wrong to say, oh Lord, how long? It doesn't seem like you're working. It doesn't seem like you're on your throne. It doesn't seem, it doesn't feel like it, which is why we're driven back to a sovereign God and the theology of the Reformation. It might not seem this way, but what is true? So how David starts is God's faithfulness in the past, and how God, or sorry, how David ends is God's faithfulness in the future. We always have to remember that. And that's what the Lord's table does for us. We look back and we see God's faithfulness and what he has accomplished for us in Christ, who died in our place and then rose for our justification. But we also participate in the table because we proclaim his coming. We remind the answers. Jesus is coming back. And one day we will no longer be eating tears for breakfast, lunch, and supper. But we will feast on those glorious fruits of the trees in Revelation. We will feast in the house of Zion on the true and the living manna. So let's start with a recollection of the past. And this is not wrong. Please never hear me say, it is wrong to dwell in the past. Now, if you're dwelling in the past of your sin, that is wrong. But if you're dwelling in the past of God's mighty feats, what he has done for his people throughout the ages, it is wise and it is right to dwell on that past, to remember the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and to remember the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to remember what he did on Pentecost, to remember what he did in the Book of Acts. It is right and wise to do that, and it is right and wise to train your children up to the choir master. That word, maskeel, I said it was something to muse upon. It is didactic, instructional, catechetical. wants to teach the worship leaders. David oversaw not only what the temple would be like, if you read 1 Chronicles, he also oversaw what the worship would be like, and it was important that there be a choir master, and there were these sons of Korah who would lead the people of Israel in worship, and so he is teaching them. What you need more than anything else on the Lord's Day when we gather together is not to be entertained, but to be taught, to remember the ancient past, to remember the old, old story. I have nothing novel or new for you this morning. I didn't have a revelation this morning. So we go back to the past. Oh God, we have heard with our ears. This is intimate hearing. The Hebrews were like that. Well, what else are you going to hear with? Your mouth? And if you read the commentators, they would say that there was an earnestness. They listen. Sometimes you're talking to your kids and you have to say, listen with your ears. They see your mouth moving, but they need to stop and listen. And David is saying and teaching, we have heard. It's not like, yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, we know about the Passover. We know about what God did for the people of Israel when they did the conquest into the Promised Land. Yeah, yeah, we know that. No, we have heard with our ears. And I love this next line. It almost seems parenthetical. Our fathers have told us. It's a wonderful Hebrew word, sefer, which is used of Ezra. He was a scribe. And this Hebrew word means to sort of write things out, and it's to be very particular. And so it's not just a loose story, but it's something a scribe would do. And I want to encourage you again, fathers, train up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Most likely, David is probably looking back upon something like Deuteronomy 4, 5, and 6, right? Where in Deuteronomy 6, 4, they would recite the Shema together as a family with the husband leading. Shema is just the Hebrew word for hear. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. But as you continue to work through Deuteronomy 6, you see that the father was to be teaching the family everywhere, in the house primarily, yes, leading them in family worship, but looking for opportunities everywhere to show his children that God is faithful and he is present, that he's not just someone you meet with on the Sabbath, but he is actually over all of life and to be worshiped in all of life. And so here is David instructing these worship leaders, and he's saying, we have heard with our ears our fathers have told us. And I just want to encourage you. It's not the main point of the sermon, but it is an application. Fathers, take that initiative. God has given you headship over your family to be the primary instructor. I don't know much theology. Then learn it. Find someone who knows more theology than you in this church, learn from them, and instruct your children. What did they hear? What were they told from their fathers? The wonderful deeds in their days, in the days of old. See, we always think we need something new, as if there's always a new Passover, or a new Exodus, or Pentecost is every Sunday. It's not. There's a theologian named Gerhardus Vos, and he says that there are certain times in redemptive history where God poured out the miraculous. And what the people who were not in those times of pouring out the miraculous were to do was to remember those times, that God might not seem faithful, but he has been, and he is, even if there isn't a revival next week. We remember God has sent revivals, and he is unchanging. Yahweh, right? He is the unchanging, self-existent one. He doesn't have flips and flutters. He is stable. And so we're remembering the deeds you performed of old. And most likely, if you have a study Bible, or at least a reference Bible, the deeds he's going to talk about are those that the lady studied in the book of Joshua. And the reason why they're bringing up Joshua, because it was a time of conquest, where God, having sent his people out of the land, and then promising them a time through Abraham that he'd bring them back into the land, he is now faithful to those promises, and he is cleansing the land. And to cleanse the land, The people of Israel conquered their foes. It's important. You're going to see as we work through this that you conquered the foes through our fathers because they were faithful to you and your covenant. Then why are they conquering us, even though we're faithful to you and your covenant? That's the tension. And there's no rote, charismatic answer. The answer simply is this. That our God is in the heavens and He does what He pleases. That God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. And often, like Job, we need to learn to put a hand over our mouth and submit to God in His ways. Oh, I have a catchy little thing for you. I actually wrote it down. For those of you who want a little more of a practical application, let me weave this in throughout the sermon. Even when we cannot trace God's hand in the storm, we must trust his heart in the sun. That's a literary device to help you remember it. Even when you cannot trace God's hand in the storm, you must trust His heart in the sun. You must go back and remember the mighty deeds of old, and the mightiest deed of old was Jesus, as it were, bringing conquest to His foes in His resurrection, putting them to open in public shame. Colossians 2.14. You may not feel or be able to trace His hand. Where is He? He's forsaken me. Oh, it's there. So you must trust his heart in the Son. He who spared not his own son, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Oh, you mean like a new Mercedes? Like a new job, new house, new bill of health? No, the ability to suffer like a sheep led to the slaughter. So they're remembering God's power and faithfulness in the days of old. Please read your Bibles. Please behold the wondrous works of God. Because you would say, I don't see him doing it. Canada seems to be getting worse. Just remember, like the psalm we sang from Psalm 90, a day for the Lord is like 1,000 years. But God remains the same. You with your own hand. They've got a good theology. They're Reformed. It wasn't with our hand. It was your hand. You did use us. You used our swords. But at the end of the day, it wasn't because of our might or our power. It was you. You promised it. You brought it to pass. They have good theology. Those of you who have good theology can still wrestle with this fact. I believe all the right things. I'm seeking to honor the Lord. Why are waves upon waves and breakers hammering on me? Why does it feel like I'm in the depths? Why does it seem like God is not smiling upon me, but frowning upon me? Why? I know he's good. Why does it feel this way? God has given you a wonderful gift of Psalm 44. David's gonna wrestle with you through this. You with your own hand, you drove out the nations. Contrast, but them, but them you planted. You afflicted the peoples, but them you set free. If you're using the King James, it's a little bit different. The ESV, I think, is correct in this, in sort of contrasting, right? This is what you did to the nations, but you showed grace and mercy. You drove them out, you planted them. You afflict the peoples, you set your people free. Why? For not by their own sword. did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them. But your right hand and your arm, again, those are personal things for the Hebrew. Not just your hand, but your right hand, your right hand of power, the right hand of your blessing, and the arm of your might. And here's that word coming, the light of your face. Light for the Hebrew was a sign of God's presence and favor and blessing. You sent forth your truth and your light, you might say, to our fathers of old. but your right hand and your right arm, which won the war for them, it was because you delighted in them. So this is where we need to pause and apply it. Sometimes this is how we think. Things are going good, God must delight in me. Things are not going good, God must not delight in me. If that's how we think, then we sound like Job's three counseling friends who said, Job, if you were doing good, this would not have happened to you. And since something bad happened to you, you must have done something bad. You must have done some secret sin. You must be living in hypocrisy. And Job wrestles through this. And David wrestles through this. Jeremiah wrestles through this. Jesus wrestled through this as the incarnate Son of God. All he ever did was good, perfectly. And what was his reward? He was given evil for good. And so you're not alone as you're seeking to honor Christ, as you're seeking to obey Him, as you're seeking to learn about Him and worship Him and serve Him. And then all of a sudden, a close one becomes ill or sick or you get cancer or you lose your job. Now, it might be God disciplining you. It could be. God disciplines those whom He loves. He scourges His children. He does do that, but be very careful of always assuming that there has to be some secret sin. There could be, but not necessarily. That in God's mysterious way and according to His sovereign will, He might have ordained for you a life of suffering, not because He's angry at you, but actually because He loves you. So that's God's power and His presence, you might say, in the past. Look at David's creed, his confession, you. You are my king, O God. And it's easy to say that when things are going well. And we should, we should give God the todah, the thanksgiving. Psalm 42, 43. O soul, why are you so cast down? Why are you disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I will yet thank him. And it is right to give God his thank offerings. And so that's what they're doing. You are my king. This is what kings do is they conquer foes, they conquer enemies. They use their right hand and bring salvation for those entrusted to them. Ordain or literally command deliverances, command salvations for Jacob. And I could be wrong, but when I'm interpreting this, I think what David's doing here is he's sort of saying, this is what we were basically saying as we went into battle. For those of us who used to go out on the streets, we'd often go out and we'd be saying, Lord, you're king, you're God, you have your people, you died, you will raise your people, you will call them. You are king. Ordain salvation for Jacob." And we'd go out, and we'd be praying this and thanking God for the works he's done in the past. And we'd say, through you, we are going to push down our foes. Those are in the imperfect in Hebrew, which means they could be future tenses. Through you, we will push down our foes. Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us. Yes, yes, yes. Again, look at his theology. We're not trusting in ourself. It's not because we're so awesome, it's because you're faithful. You were faithful to them, you delivered them. You're faithful to us, certainly you will deliver us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you, you have saved us from our foes, and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name. And this is how it worked in the past. You can read this in Deuteronomy, especially 28 and following. God says that there are covenant demands and stipulations, and with obedience to the covenant, there are subsequent covenant blessings. But now we move from the joys of God's past faithfulness into the present of his seemingly absence. Remember last week we saw the three F's, he seemed far, he seemed to have forgotten, he seemed to have forsaken his king. Well now, even the king's people can feel this. The king did, but as goes the king, so goes the people. Blessed are who? The poor in spirit. God's will is not to make us happy, it is to bless us. Psalm 73, very last verse of the psalm, very similar, and he says, but as for me, the nearness of God is my good. So think about it, that God is going to do in his perfect, immutable wisdom, whatever is necessary to bless us. But please don't watch the Grammys or listen to American theologians tell you what blessing is. It's not the American dream. It's more of Christ, and sometimes for his select few, that involves suffering. You might say, how come I get more suffering? Well, if you're thinking sort of with a, and I'm married to an American, so please don't hear me attacking the Americans. But often, their soteriology and eschatology is more American than it is biblical. Please don't take that as shots. But they think that everything's always gonna be happy and fun and prosperous, and in my two-car garage. There's nothing wrong with having a two-car garage, by the way. But here's the tension. And so bury your nose into your Bible. Be very careful about what politicians tell you blessing for a nation looks like. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are you when others persecute you. For my name's sake, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. I really want to get nerdy, but I'll stop. No, I'm going to go. So at the beginning in Matthew 5.3 and Matthew 5.10, there's future tenses. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There's a poorness of spirit for Christ's people until he returns. And then he has all the futures. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice. What's happening here? They're hungering and thirsting for justice. You will be satisfied because God will give you what you hunger, but not until Christ returns. So it begins with, this is what it's like in the kingdom, poorness of spirit, the very end, when you suffer for my name's sake, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. This is what blessing is until Jesus returns, and this is what God is working in David, and the sons of Korah, and the people of Israel, and for us today in the church. It might seem like he's rejected us, but we know what the Bible says. Pastor Nathan reminded us that God has made a pledge. He has owed the covenant. He has sworn by his name. So here is their theology of the past. And we always have to be careful of letting our pain in the present overrule that. And so remember, I say this a thousand times, don't look at God through the lenses of your circumstances. Look at your circumstances through the lens of who God is, most notably in Christ and his faithfulness in dying for you and rising for you. Remember that, because otherwise you're going to question God. But you either need to question your trial and say, what is God doing? The nearness of God is my good, not the absence of uncomfortableness or the absence of pain. If pain brings you near, then it is good. Kiss the wave, Spurgeon allegedly said this, kiss the wave, which thrusts you upon the rock of your salvation. Bless the hands that shake the tree that you might fly for refuge to where you really belong. Your nest is not in this world. You're sojourner with Abraham and the patriarchs. You're sojourner with the people of Hebrews 11. And trials remind us of that. Trials are good. We hate them, but we need them. Sometimes God loves to send trials to test our hearts, like Deuteronomy 8 says, because we really get comfortable easy. You have rejected us and disgraced us. Has he? God will never reject or disgrace his elect. It just sometimes feels like it. Now, don't just throw your feelings in the, what do you call it, the rubbish bin? Don't throw them in the trash can, but reason through them. Don't just say, oh, emotions are bad. Reform people don't. We don't have emotions. No, we do. But think through them. Wrestle theologically with your emotions. Don't let them rule you. You have not gone out with us against our enemies. You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoiled. Again, he's a good, sovereign God guy. The breakers and billows of Psalm 42, they came from God. Where has their defeat come from? They said, from God. And in some mysterious purpose that is unknown to David at the time and is often unknown to us, God is nevertheless working his sovereign will. Verse 11, you have made us like sheep for slaughter and scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for not a profit, I think the Hebrew says, demanding no high price for them. You have made us the taunt of our neighbors. That sounds again like Deuteronomy 28, where if the people are unfaithful, they will become the jest and taunts of the nations. What in the world is happening? It keeps getting worse. Verse 14, you have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. All day long, my disgrace is before me, and my shame has covered my face. This is really happening. And he doesn't just say, okay, well, it's unimportant. Come to God and bosom your heart to him. Let him know. Is David sinning? No, he's wrestling. He's not accusing God. When he's asking God, it's a question mark. Why? It's not an explanation, it's not a, what's the other one? Exclamation. I was gonna say an explanation point. It's not an exclamation point. He's not demanding God give an account. He's not putting God before his bar, you know, in court. He's like a little child saying, I don't know what is happening. This hurts. I know you love me. What is going on, Dad? The sound of the taunter and reviler at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. I'm not going to get into that, but that's the center of this. And this is something that we must deal with in this present evil age, because many of you are dealing with it right now. And so many churches, they don't want sad songs. We just want to wave flags on Sunday. And waving flags isn't bad, but let's be honest. Life in a fallen world, even as a saint of Christ, can be very, very difficult. Which is why we should sing the Psalter a lot more often. So the middle of this is a lament. And then he begins to say, but we've remained faithful to you. And so I want to just say this to you. No matter what is happening, trust the Lord. He is trustworthy. He can be relied upon. He was faithful to our fathers of old. He's been faithful to the church of old. He's been faithful through the ups and downs of history. Will he cease being faithful to us? All this has come upon us as David, though we have not forgotten you. I think he's sincere. I don't think he's parading his righteousness. I think he's saying, God, you commanded these things, and out of obedience, of faith, we did as you asked. Why? I thought of Jim Elliot. Some of you may or may not know of him. He went to Wheaton College. He read his Greek New Testament and did his devotions in Greek. The guy's brilliant. They said, you should be teaching Hebrew. Why are you going down into South America? Why would you do that? Because they've never heard the gospel. And so he goes with his friends like Nate, Saint, et cetera. And they go and they spend all this time and energy and planning. And of course revival's gonna go because God always blesses obedience, right? Yes. But he defines blessing so differently than we expect. And if you know, you can watch the movie or read the book End of the Spear. He goes there. And you know what happens to Jim Elliot, this prodigy of an evangelist, this gifted, obedient child of God? You know what happens to him when he goes out in the name of King Jesus? He has a spear ripped through his chest and he dies. Where's God's faithfulness in that? This isn't just David, this is us. What about the missionaries? I would encourage you, okay, I don't agree with all the theology of Voice of the Martyrs, but I get a weekly email from them, and I read every week about a pastor who is killed for being faithful, and his wife is now widowed. I'm not playing with your heartstrings, but this happens in the world, not as much in North America, which is why I say, make sure you're reading your Bible and getting your theology from the Bible, not from North America, always triumphalism. We are in such a unique bubble. You might go out witnessing, and all you have is spit on your beard. You might not get the revival. I often think wrongly. Spurgeon, he said to a young man, he says, you know why you don't have revival breaking out? Because you don't believe it. That haunts me. But you know some of the most faithful pastors in the world are unknown. They don't have mega churches like Spurgeon. Spurgeon was wrong. I know that's almost blasphemous from this Paul, but he was wrong to think that way. God in his sovereign grace poured out his mercy and brought revival through C.H. Spurgeon. I can't even say, I'm so excited for him. But you might be faithful all the days of your life, and you might not have a revival like that. But God will say, well done, good and faithful servant. All this has come upon us. We've not forgotten you. This is not a cynical atheist. This is a believing saint. I would encourage you to be all the more resolved in your trials when it seems like God is frowning upon you to seek him all the more. We've not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back. I'm in verse 18. Nor have our steps departed from your way. Verse 19, here's this what you call cognitive dissonance. Yet you, you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. Never forget that David was a prophet. And never forget that David ultimately was inspired by the Holy Spirit to point us beyond him and Israel to the Lord Jesus Christ. Before this book is about David or the sons of Korah or you or me, it's a prophetic book talking about God's ways and how he is gonna bring true blessing to the world through a suffering servant who was obedient to the point of death, even death upon a cross. When was he exalted? When was he vindicated? When he was raised. As goes the king, so goes the people. So remain faithful, he will vindicate you. We saw that last week at Psalm 43.1. Vindicate me, God will. He's not man that he should lie. He will vindicate you. But you may have to wait for that vindication. And you must live by faith. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign God, would not God discover this? Of course, he's got good theology. God is the one who searches hearts and minds. Right? Hell and Abaddon are before the eyes of the Lord. How much more the children of men? God knows the secret of your heart this morning. Now, some of you are perhaps going through chastising, scourging discipline because you have been worshiping maybe false gods or spreading out your hands to Mammon or to the God of comfort or to the God of the American dream. Sometimes God in his love draws us near by disciplining us. But even for those who are seeking God in his immutable counsel of his will, he brings us closer by making life harder, even when we're faithful. Because you'll be tempted to say with Aesop in Psalm 73, all in vain. But then he remembers the temple and he says, when I thought like that, I was like an animal, a brutish beast. And the saint of God needs to remember that though I cannot trace his hand in the storm, I must trust his heart in the sun. That behind a frowning providence, he hides what? A smiling face. The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower. God plants his footsteps on the sea. He walks upon the storm. If I walk in the mud, you can see my footsteps. Oh, I can trace. There's Ryan. Or if I put my hands in the concrete, you can trace. There's his hand. But God walks on the storm. Have you ever seen a footprint in the sea? Cooper's brilliant, you can't trace his footsteps, but he's there, he's leading you, he's guiding you. And you know that because of the spirit who resides in you. Interesting, verse 22, and I do wanna, is it really 1230? Was that a yes and a good or a bad? I don't know about that. Verse 22, this is for the Old Testament people. I remember I was talking with a brother, and he is being persuaded with this overly realized eschatology, and suffering is for those who lose. And I asked him, what do you do with 1 Peter? Like, not just a verse, what do you do with the entire book? What do you do with Hebrews or Revelation or what do you do with Romans 8? We love Romans 8. Romans 8 is all about suffering and the ministry of the Holy Spirit to remind us of God's love for us in Christ. I'm like, what do you do with those? What do you do with Thessalonians where it says God ordained that we suffer? What do you do with that? And he said, oh, that was before 80, 70. I'm like, well, what part of the Bible do you read? And this is not a dig at post-millennialism. I agree with a lot of it. But I'm a pastor, and I'm really concerned that a lot of people are going to be like, what is going on? Doug Wilson might not be right. We might not take over the world the way the Americans think, but Christ will build His church, and He'll save His elect, and He'll pour out His Spirit, and He will vindicate His people. Maybe not in this day, but He will vindicate His people when His Son returns to be marveled at and glorified amongst His people. That's what the Bible teaches. So Paul quotes Romans 8, and you can say, well, that was for the early church. I'm saying Romans 8 is for you today. Right? Do you see it in verse 20? Yet for your sake. He doesn't say because of my sin. Here is the king speaking as covenant head for his people. God, we're killed for your sake. And as one commentator said, he said, this is the price of loyalty to God in a world that hates him. You might die, not because of your sin, but because God is holy and you love him. The world is at enmity with God. The nations hate his son, Psalm 2. but he is going to make the nations his heritage as his son and as his people go out and preach the gospel. So go and read Romans 8, which Paul quotes from Psalm 44, 22. What is God doing in Romans 8? Through Paul, he's comforting his people that you might be faithful and you might be slaughtered. And God is working in you to conform you into the image, not of the American dream, not of the American gospel. He is conforming you into the image of his son, the suffering servant. So here's David's response. He knows God is faithful, and he knows God has made promises. And so he prays in light of them, through the tears, through the breakers, through the doubts, he preaches to himself. And so he calls on God to awake. Sometimes, I was at Stevenson's house yesterday, and he was preaching eloquently, and I was closing my eyes, and I actually was praying, but he may have thought I was sleeping. He was talking, and he said, isn't that right, pastor? And I opened my eyes quick, and I'm like, oh, I hope he doesn't think I'm sleeping while he's talking. I'm used to that. I'm not looking at anyone in particular. But that's how we might feel. But we know that God is near. We know he is not sleeping. And so we say, awake, awake. I read it in Isaiah 51 this morning. Awake. Why are you sleeping? Now, God isn't sleeping, but it seems like it. Rouse yourself. Stir yourself up. And this is what I loved in verse 23. Listen to the declaration of faith. It's that last word. Do not reject us. What does it say? Forever. Sorrow may last for a night. What comes in the morning? Joy comes in the morning. The darkness of exile, the bringing low in Micah, and then what? Then the rising up. This is how God works. These are his ways. They often seem like a way of a whirlwind, but this is God's way, and I'm trying to teach you the way David, with his mascula, is trying to teach the sons of Korah. This is how God is, and for his children. So don't count it a strange thing when you fall into these kinds of fiery trials. This is how God works. And you should say, oh Lord, come quickly. Why do you hide your face? God does not hide his face. It just seems like it. Why do you forget our affliction and our oppression? The only thing the Lord has forgotten is your sin if you're in Christ. He will pay back doubly all that you have suffered for him. Our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our belly clings to the ground. It almost seems the reverse of Genesis 3. And I want to close this way in verse 26. If you had my little book of Psalms, verse 26 would be highlighted in blue because it's that wonderful Hebrew word kum, which means rise. Rise and be a helper to us. When is that fulfilled? when the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. You're reading the resurrection in. Okay, I guess I am. Fine. The Lord has risen up. He has been our helper. He has redeemed us. For the sake of what? His chesed. So we've seen that word in the last three sermons, and we're just working expositionally through books, so this is like no kind of plan of mine. Let this word be glorious to you, God's unfailing covenant, loyal, unremitting, faithful love, his loving kindness, his mercy, his goodness. God will keep his promises. He has redeemed us, and some of you are saying, how long, oh Lord? Return. That's how the New Testament ends, come, come quickly, he will. And so we continue to pray with John the Apostle, come to our help. He has been raised, but he is coming now to vindicate his people. What is the application? When you cannot trace his hand in the storm, trust his heart in the Son. Some of you feel that God is angry with you. If you are in Christ, that is a lie. Some of you feel that God is against you. If you are in Christ, that is a lie. Some of you feel that God is going to punish you for some sin of the past. I do. That is a lie. All of your sins, if you are in Christ, were heaped and hurled upon Him. He was the one who was forsaken. He was the one who had the Father turn His face away when He became sin for us. So remember the Gospel. Remember the Gospel. And make Psalm 44 your own. Memorize it, or at least note or run there. Paul did to suffering Romans. What does he quote? Not the American Gospel. He quotes Psalm 44 and he says, wrestle with what is happening and remember your faithful God in the past and remember your faithful God and his promises for you in the future. All of his promises will, must find their yes and their amen in Christ. And so Paul says, I preach nothing to you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. and returning to judge the living and the dead. And he will come back for his bride. He will come back for his bride. He sees her tears. He hears her cries. He knows her toil. He knows her affliction. He loves his bride. He's coming for her in his time. He's coming. Father, we thank you. Would you please give us faith this morning? I'm so guilty of trusting my feelings, and I'm all over the place. Like David, I'd say, upon myself, I've cast myself. Well, no wonder I'm in turmoil. No wonder I'm cast down. And so, O Lord, send forth your truth and your light. Let them lead us to Christ. Let your truth lead us to the Word of God. Lord, help us to remember. And would you help us to gather around your suffering saints? King Jesus, we are thankful. that you as the true David, as covenant head for your people, are praying for us. Oh, Lord, give us grace to persevere to the end. Preserve us till that day. Help us. Some of us are questioning you. Help us. Jesus, how long the saints, the beheaded saints, cry Help us to trust that it's just a little longer. And help us to remain faithful. Help us to not throw in the towel. And help us, Lord, not to run away from trouble, but to run into it, if that means faithfulness. As we have quoted from Psalm 26, Lord, I pray for myself and for everyone here. that we would set your steadfast love before our eyes, and we would walk in your faithfulness. Lord, we can't pump this up. This is a gift you must give us. Increase our faith. Show us your steadfast love. Remind us of your faithfulness, and help us to live rightly and holy lives until Jesus returns, even if that means unfair, unjust, Unincomprehendable suffering as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Oh Jesus Be sweet to us be precious to us in Your light may we see light through the darkness we ask Oh Father strengthen us now for the table and through the table we ask in Jesus name