So as you guys are opening up to Psalm chapter 6, I'll share with you that my family and I had the privilege of doing an outing to the movie theaters. As of recently, we go to about maybe one or two movies a year, actually, in the theaters, although we do watch plenty of movies at home. And if you haven't, I can actually recommend this movie to you this morning as a good family film. We saw Inside Out 2. I was pleasantly surprised with the content of this movie. It by no means is a Christian movie. However, it does break what seems to be the long streak of not so great Disney movies, particularly for families. And so while I will try not to give away any spoilers, I'll tell you a little bit why I enjoyed this movie and how it may even share in some of the themes that we have in our text this morning. If you're familiar with the premise, this is kind of a fictionalized way of depicting a growing young girl dealing with her emotions, right? That each character in the movie signifies one of her emotions. And so Inside Out 1 in particular follows a girl dealing with her emotions, but as this girl grows up in Inside Out 2, she not only has to deal with complex emotions, but a sense of identity and her core beliefs. that in many ways hold deeper roots to who she is than just the emotions that she has to deal with on a day-to-day basis. And so this is done particularly well and creatively and at times comically throughout the movie. I will advise that if you are prone to cry in movies, bring some tissues. It can get a bit emotional as well. But really, some of the core beliefs that we see this young girl forming are this idea that I am a good person, while also struggling with the idea that I am not good enough. And what this movie does particularly good is it does a good job speaking of the unique human condition, that there is often a diverse and oftentimes competing core beliefs of who we are as our identity. And in some ways, while I won't come to the same conclusions that this movie does, this is what scripture teaches us as well. That as we've been redeemed in Christ, we are declared righteous and we are growing in righteousness. But at the same time, we never stop being sinners here in this world. And so our identity is marked by those two true facts. That we are, at the same time, both righteous and sinners. in our lived experience here in this world. And as Christians, we embrace both those realities as being true according to the scriptures. We embrace that contradiction. And this is in many ways in direct opposition to what the world would tell you. The world wants you to have happy thoughts about yourself all the time. But as we'll see in this Psalm, it is right for us to humble ourselves before the Lord and declare our desperate need for him because we are sinners. And our righteousness is not based on ourselves, but on his good favor upon us. And so Psalm 6 is the first psalm that we encounter in this Psalter in our series of Summer Through the Psalms where we study 10 psalms every summer until we finish the entirety of the book. Psalm 6 is the first psalm that we've come across that is a personal lament, a reflection, an honest depiction of who we are in our own sinful state, in our desperate need for God as our Savior, Redeemer, and Lord. And so as we look at this psalm together, we'll be looking at it in essentially three points or three chunks. We'll see in the first part of the psalm that there is an honest confession of sin from David as the writer of the psalm. We see in the middle of the psalm, verses six and seven, just a weariness in the reality of battling sin. And then lastly, the psalm does indeed end on a high note, verses eight through 10, of a promised deliverance from the problem of sin as well. And so with that, if you are ready, I would invite you to stand for the reading of God's word. If you are willing and able, we'll read the entirety of the psalm, and if we as a church together can do the call and response at the end as well, that'll be on the screen. So Psalm chapter six, to the choir master with stringed instruments according to the Shemaneath, a Psalm of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled, but you, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, deliver my life. Save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in death there is no remembrance of you. In Sheol, who will give you praise? I am weary with my moaning. Every night I flood my bed with tears. I drench my couch with weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief. It grows weak because of all my foes. Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled. They shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. This is the word of the Lord this morning. And if we can say together, may God apply its truth to our lives. Thank you. You may be seated. And so as you can see, I've divided this psalm up as we'll study it in its verses in three sections. This first section that I would like us to focus on is verses one through five, where we see David as the psalmist coming before the Lord in confession, much like we did earlier in our service. This is one of the reasons why we do this in our service. Scripture models this for us. But David comes in a desperate confession before the Lord, pleading for his mercy and grace to be upon him in the midst of the consequences of his sin. Now, you'll notice that sometimes the psalm, through these introductory remarks, sometimes give us a context for why this psalm was written, or what is some of the background information for what has happened to inspire David to write such a psalm or a prayer as this. Many commentators have understood that much of the context for these first few Psalms, including Psalm 6, still has in mind David fleeing from his son Absalom, being on the run as his son tries to overthrow him and his kingdom, and all the suffering that takes place in there. We don't know this for certain, but there may be some reasons why we can expect that since there are shared themes amongst these first few psalms that we've been studying this morning. But I also think that there's maybe some intentional purpose that the Lord had in not giving us a clear context behind every single psalm. Because these psalms are written to help us pray, that we can look to these psalms and we can pray them back to God for our own lives and what is going on as well. And so while I am going to get into what may be some of the contexts that would inspire David to write such as this, I don't want us to tie too much importance to the context because I believe that this scripture is meant for us as well, that in many ways it's a paradigm for us, for how we ought to pray before the Lord as well. But one thing that is clear in this Psalm is it appears that David is confessing his sin as he suffers from the discipline of the Lord for his sin. Look with me in particular at verse one. He says, O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. I think at the heart, and many of the commentators that I read would agree with me, I think at the heart of David's suffering in this psalm is a result of his own sin and God's loving discipline on him in his life at this moment. And so why would the Lord need to discipline someone such as David? This is where some context in David's life is important. You may be familiar with David. He was king of Israel, one of their greatest kings, in many ways served as a great example for how you and I ought to live faithfully before the Lord. But David did battle serious sin in his life. His most famous and egregious sin very likely is still that sin of adultery with Bathsheba, the murder of her husband, and the conspiracy to cover it all up. And David did just that. He committed adultery, he murdered a man, and he had a conspiracy to cover up that sin and keep it hidden, not just from the people, but he thought he could hide it from the Lord. He was later rebuked by God through the prophet Nathan and was given an outline of the punishment or discipline that he would have to suffer as a result of this sin. His punishment would be that his house would always be at war and would even be divided amongst itself, that there would be rebellious people from within his own house. We know that to be true as we study David's life. And as we look at the rebellion of his son Absalom against him, seeking his father's life, stealing his father's kingdom, and leading many of David's friends against him as well in war. And so God's punishment was these things. And so David is guilty in much of his life of not dealing fully with these issues, right? That David didn't deal or didn't want to deal with the consequences of his sin of adultery and murder and conspiracy. In the same way as sins were committed in his own family, we saw the struggle between his two sons, Absalom and Abnon, one killing the other, and David never confronting or making amends with any of them. In some ways, David is like we are, an avoider of his problems and not willing to discipline even his own household, which led to even greater division and greater rebellion, particularly in his son, Absalom. And so as we read this prayer, what we're reading is a man living out the consequences of his sin. Consequences which in many ways could be understood as discipline from the Lord himself for those sins. And he pleads to God in the midst of these consequences for endurance and deliverance. And so why is David in such a mood of lament before God? Well, it is because this discipline is difficult. He feels as though he is perishing under it. Listen to the words of verse two. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. It's likely that in many ways David's discipline and consequence of his sin did indeed have physical consequences in his life. His life was being sought after. His son was trying to kill him. Others were trying to kill him. He was having to run without any of the comforts of his palace, living in caves, right? I'm sure there was physical discomfort, but at the core of it, David's soul is troubled. He feels his suffering, not just physically, but in a deep spiritual and emotional way. I don't know if you've ever been sorrowful for what you've done to the point that you feel that you are languishing. That the only words that would do it justice would be to say it feels like the bones within my body are breaking, even though they are perfectly healthy and fine. This is the deep trouble that David feels within his own heart as he suffers the consequence and the guilt of his own sin. He is deeply sorrowful. I'm sure many of us have at least one moment in our life, maybe more, in which we felt this kind of deep sorrow, where we've wronged somebody whom we truly love. Maybe it was a friend, maybe a spouse or a child. to the point that much of your suffering isn't the actual lived-out consequences, but it's the regret and hurt in your heart for offending and hurting somebody whom you deeply love. I'm sad to say that this is indeed a shared experience that I've had, and I'm sure I am not alone in that. This is why David cries out in verse 3, "'My soul is greatly troubled, but you, O Lord, how long And so we have to recognize that both of these truths, that there are real lived out life consequences because of the sins that we willingly commit before the Lord. But sometimes that greater discipline, that greater consequence is just the sense of deep sorrow and hurting the one whom we love. David's sufferings is not just external, but it's internal. It's in his soul. And he longs for the relief that only God can bring. You see what David is teetering on here is the honest emotional feeling of being tempted to think that God loves him less, that God is going to reject him because he's under such harsh discipline for his actions. David is approaching this thinking, but he does not succumb to it. Look at verse four. Turn, O Lord. Deliver my life. Save me for the sake of your steadfast love. If you were here last week, you heard that we spent a decent amount of time describing what is meant by that term steadfast love. This is a word in Hebrew called chesed. And it's a difficult word to translate because it has such a deep meaning to it. That this is a unique kind of love that in many ways is reserved for God. That this is God's love towards his people. This is a covenant faithfulness love. A love not based on the person receiving it, but based on the person giving it. And David knows that God is a God of steadfast covenant faithfulness love. He loves not because we deserve it, but he loves because he is a good and faithful loving God ever true to his word and his covenant with David. And so David may have been tempted to feel like his discipline was too great, that God would destroy him or reject him, but he reminds himself wisely of God's covenant faithfulness, his steadfast love, that this discipline is not a rejection of David, but in many ways is a loving kindness to David. And this is what I want us to think about this morning. Do you feel loved when you are disciplined? If it's harsh discipline, you may be tempted yourself to feel unloved by it. If you find yourself under the discipline of the Lord, you may question whether he loves you or if he's rejecting you, if your sin is too great that it could ever be forgiven or overlooked because of what Christ has done. Well, let me give you this picture and understanding that is from the scripture in many ways. But as a parent, I know that I love my children even when I discipline them. In fact, my discipline of my children is an act of my love for them. Some of you have had the privilege of disciplining children that you love, and you know that there are ways in which you would rather love them, right? That there are more pleasant ways to show your love and affection for your children, but oftentimes, discipline is the necessary and right way to show that love. As a father, it often breaks my heart to see my children have to suffer under harsh discipline because of their wrong actions. I don't like to see them sad. I don't like to see them experience pain or even question or doubt my love because discipline is required. Yet I know it is necessary and I know it is most loving. You see, when I don't discipline as a father, when discipline is required, what my actions are actually saying is that I love myself more than I love my children. Because it's too hard. Discipline is slow. It is frustrating. Kids under discipline often become more rebellious, at least initially. And that's difficult to see. But more than that, I want my kids to like me. And very rarely do they like me when I'm disciplining them. So when I choose not to discipline when I should, I'm not being loving towards my kids, but I'm being selfish towards myself. This is true for us as earthly parents that in many ways it is more true for the Lord. that God, because he is love, because he loves us with that chesed type of love, that covenant faithfulness, that perfect love, he disciplines his children as a good and loving father should. It is for their benefit, even though it comes at some relational cost to himself. We read about the goodness of discipline in Hebrews 12, a verse that I've, verses that I've read to you many times over the course of my preaching. Hebrews 12, seven through eight, talking about the discipline of the Lord. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons or daughters. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Even though discipline is unpleasant as we receive it, we can see the unpleasantness in David's prayer here. His soul is languishing, his bones are trembling. But yet, he's able to understand that God's love is still upon him because a good and loving father disciplines his children when they fall into sin. And so knowing these things does not make it any easier to go through it at times. And it can, even according to David's own words here, feel like the process of discipline will kill us. Look at verse five. For in death there is no remembrance of you, in Sheol who will give you praise? David admits here that in some ways this discipline that he is going through at the hands of the Lord feels like death and he longs to be restored. Restored not just so that he can feel good, but restored in his relationship with the Lord so that he could go on praising him and worshiping him as he was created to do. He says that to die means no more praise, and I want to live so that I could praise you, Lord. God's discipline is not forever, and it does indeed lead to restoration. We'll see this as we come to the close of the psalm, but David, I think, knew this even as all these events in his life were unfolding to begin with. If I can take you back to when David's sin was found out as he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, as the prophet Nathan laid out the consequences of his sin, that he was going to be at war for the rest of his life, that his house would be divided, that he would be brought, in many ways, to the same open shame that he had inflicted upon others. David, in response to this, in 2 Samuel 12, verse 13, said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. But yet God through Nathan speaks to David, and Nathan said to David, the Lord has put away your sin, you shall not die. To be disciplined by the Lord is not to be rejected by him. He will preserve, he will restore, he will save, and he will use his discipline to refine you and make you more as he intended you to be, to be like Christ. So what are some of the takeaways from this first point as we see David prayerfully lay out his confession through prayer to the Lord? Well, first and foremost, God loves you enough to discipline you. And that is saying something. God loves you enough to discipline you. And even as you come under the discipline of the Lord, you can and are encouraged to cry out to God and still trust in his covenant love, his steadfast love, his kindness and graciousness to you. God loves you and he is with you in this. It is his loving hand that disciplines you. But at the same time, we should look at the example of David, both in his life and in this prayer, and be warned that as Christians, we may face harsh discipline for our sins. It's not a loss of our salvation, but God loves us too much to let us to continue in sin. that he will bring real life consequences to that. Sometimes consequences that will change the shape of our life for the rest of our life, but they do not change our ultimate fate before the Lord with regards to our salvation. So be warned, even as Christians, you may face harsh discipline for your sins. This could come through the consequences in your own life, including changing of relationships, changing of lifestyle, and even changing of leadership opportunities because of sins that you have committed in your life. It is also for these reasons that I think God has instructed us as a church to discipline our members as appropriate so that they may turn and repent and be led to walk back in righteousness. And so the call for Christians is to walk cautiously, sober-mindedly, with regards to our actions here in this world. These are the encouragements from Paul in the epistles. He writes in Philippians chapter two, verse 12. He says, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Not that we have to be afraid of losing it, but the idea is respect the Lord. He is God Almighty. Do not take transgression lightly, because the Lord, as a loving Father, will bring appropriate discipline in your life to correct your path. Paul also writes in Colossians 2.10, So, he says, so also walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. This ought to be our heart's desire having been redeemed by Christ, but let it also be an appropriate and somber warning as well as we seek to navigate our resistance of sin in our life with the help of God's spirit. God loves you too much to let you continue in sin in this life. And so that was our first point, in many ways our lengthiest point this morning. Now we come to the middle of this psalm, and we see David's weariness of his sin. David is exhausted. We see this in particular in verses six through seven. I am weary with my moanings. Every night I flood my bed with tears. I drench my couch with weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief. It grows weak because of all my foes. David is mourning his sin to the point of tears. And I don't think David is fully speaking symbolically or metaphorically here. I do think David genuinely has wept over his sin. That he is indeed in great mourning for the offense that he has brought against the Lord. It's unfortunate we have a tendency to think that strong men don't cry. That this is not a masculine thing to do. I want you to consider how strong of a man David is, even by our own worldly standards. This is a man that even as a young boy fought off lions and bears as he was a shepherd guarding his sheep, using likely what was only a sling and a shepherd's staff. This is someone who literally killed a giant as a young teenager, faced the most intimidating foe that the Philistine army had, Goliath. This is a man who led armies into battle and won many victories. And yet, this is also a man who was moved to weep profusely over his sin before the Lord. I say this in some ways comically, but David cried more over his sin than Taylor Swift does over a breakup. And we ought to admire him for it and do likewise. He says he is weary. I don't know if you've experienced such sorrow that you are actually physically exhausted from crying. It taxes the whole body. David says, and I think this is where he uses metaphors here, but he floods his room, his bed, his furniture with his tears. You could almost think that there is no water left in his eyes in which to cry out. And he says that his eyes are wasting away, meaning they are completely dry. I think this mourning over his sin is not primarily because of the severity of the consequences he is suffering, but the displeasure and regret that he has in sinning against his God, against his Lord. It shows his true love is God, that he would mourn over his sin in this way. Because we'll look as we get there in a number of years, but Psalm 51, David acknowledges that all sin is actually sin against the Lord, not the person here on this earth. I mean, yes, we sin against one another, but all sin chiefly is sin or rebellion against God. He is the offended party. This is what he writes in another Psalm of Lament, Psalm 51, probably the most famous one, 51.4. He says, against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sights, in your sight. So David, first and foremost, he's not just mourning the physical displeasure of being disciplined by the Lord, but the great sorrow he has for hurting the Lord in which he loves. David's heart was genuine. It was full of faith. And these verses in particular show that David was troubled by his sin, not necessarily his consequences. Are we troubled in this way? Have we mourned sin such as David does here in this Psalm? Have you cried to the point of exhaustion seeking deliverance and repentance? You know, some may be tempted to misunderstand what it is to truly mourn for sin. That even our sinful flesh can find a way to distort these things. One could read this section and think that David is just simply trying to gain pity from the Lord. This is something that we see children do in order to avoid consequences for their sin if they just act really sorry, right? Kids will cry to the point of pouch faces or, you know, tears in order to make whoever is bringing the discipline feel sorry enough for them that they will stop in sort of a manipulative sort of way whether kids realize they're doing it or not. But the reality is most parents or teachers or adults, they can see right through this. They know what genuine repentance and sorrow looks like. Even more so with the Lord. And as a parent, when you see that genuine sorrow, that genuine mourning of what they've done, that they know that it is wrong, you recognize as the one in authority, As the parent, as the teacher, or whatever authority, you recognize that discipline has served its purpose. That there is now the ability to relent, and to embrace, and to forgive, that discipline has served its purpose. It has led to repentance and restoration. And so when someone is genuinely troubled, when they mourn their sin, It is often that that is when discipline is taken away. In the same way, I believe God often works that way as well, that he moves in such of our lives that, yes, bring difficult and uncomfortable consequences. And they're not making penance for our sin, but they're to lead us to an understanding of our sin, how wicked and terrible and wrong it is. And God, through his spirit, leads us to a deep sorrow for our offense against our loving Lord. comes through the process of discipline, but it leads to new life. Again, I'll remind us that the psalm speaks in direct opposition to all the things that the world would tell you to have a good self-identity. The world tells you, you deserve to be happy. Have positive thoughts, don't dwell on the negative. Sometimes as Christians, we need to dwell on the negative things, the ways in which we've transgressed against the Lord so that we can humble ourselves, so that we can mourn our sin, so that we can know the goodness of his forgiveness and not take it for granted. These are the prayers in which God often invites us and instructs us to pray, or we desperately cry out to him for restoration, for deliverance, for newness of life, God would rather hear the prayer of one who would confess that they are a sinner than the one who revels in their self-righteousness. If you don't believe my words, look at the instruction of Jesus in the New Testament as he speaks of a parable of this exact situation. Luke 18, nine through 14, let me read these verses for you this morning. Jesus is telling a parable, speaking not just of prayer, but of the heart that we ought to have as we approach God. Jesus says, he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. Two men went up in the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector standing far off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. This is why we as Christians, even today in the new covenant, still pray prayers of confession. It's not for added forgiveness, but for greater humility before the Lord. It's a sign of God's redemption having been worked in our hearts already. This tax collector prayed like David. Let us join them in their prayers more often. And so, as we work towards the end of the Psalm, we see a deliverance from sin, a deliverance from this desperate situation in verses eight through 10. David says, depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled. They shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. of particular importance, let me read once again, verse nine. The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. David was not rejected in his discipline. The Lord heard him, accepted him, and delivers him. And there is deliverance from our battles with sin, and it is through the help of God. Oftentimes through prayer and his spirit working within us. You'll notice there's some language of deliverance from not just sin, but from enemies. In David's life, there were those who sought to exploit his situation, right? To steal his throne and his kingdom, right? He had his son and others trying to take his life and take his kingdom. He was battling against enemies to his kingdom, but that is not the battle that you and I face. We don't have kingdoms to defend. But the battle that we continue to wage is against even greater foes. We battle against sin, against the course of this world and the prince of this world, Satan himself. And yet we can have perfect confidence in our deliverance. See David knowing God's character, looking at the covenant promise that he had made to him and the acts of God in his life already was able to have faith in his restoration. Well, you and I should be able to do the same. that we have a new and better covenant through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the promised son of David who is coming to make all things new, who is ruling and reigning as he's ascended to heaven already. And we have seen even greater acts of deliverance than David saw in his lifetime because we have seen Jesus come and give his life as a ransom for sin, that he has defeated not just sin and death, he has risen again. And we can look to an even greater restoration. David was just looking to sit upon his throne in Jerusalem once again in the land of Israel. We look to a greater restoration of a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem. But the hardest thing in all this is that we have to wait. As you wait, you should have a growing desire for this deliverance. We should long for the day for Christ to come again and make all things new, make good on all his promises that we know he will. But too many of us get comfortable. Waiting is hard and complacency is tempting and easy, but it is deadly. Too many Christians have become comfortable in this world or with their sin, and they're no longer longing for Christ to deliver them in the way that he has promised. And this ought not to be so. You know, complacency is dangerous in any relationship. I think in particular of a dating relationship, right? That as a couple, a man and a woman are involved romantically, that there ought to be expectations about the future, a excitement, and in some ways, appropriate longing for things to progress further, particularly as expectations of marriage come. But many relationships are destroyed and do not end well when one person becomes complacent and the other is still expectant. When one person is waiting for that ring, for that engagement, and yes, that wedding day, and the other one is fine with the status quo where things are, that this is good enough. That we have good things and it'd be too hard to pursue those greater things. So they no longer have a desire to move forward in such a relationship. Well, ultimately, this mixed matched expectations in a relationship such as this, one expectant, one complacent, often leads to a break in that relationship. The idea is that both should be longing for that day, for that union to be husband and wife. In the same way, all Christians should be longing for the return of Christ. He is our bridegroom. We, the church, are his bride. We should be expectant, exciting, waiting, hoping, longing to be with him. And unfortunately, there's many who call themselves Christians who have become comfortable, who do not long for Christ, are comfortable with their sin, and are just getting along in the moment. And so my question for you is, are you this person? Are you complacent? Do you continue to battle sin, resist the devil, and live contrary to the world or not? Are you comfortable with your Christianity being limited to Sunday? Maybe not even every Sunday at that. I hope not. I hope you have a greater longing for righteousness in your own life, for deliverance from God, and for the return of Christ to make all things new. There ought to be an eagerness for deliverance. I hope you pray for the day of deliverance more than you pray for any other thing in this world. That you would pray that God would come and make all things new. This is, after all, how our holy scriptures end. Let me read Revelation 24, verses 20 through 21, some of the very last verses that God had written for us to receive as his church. The Apostle John writes, inspired by God's Holy Spirit, he who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all. Amen. This is how the Bible ends. And we should not end our prayers without praying that prayer ourselves. It will be a deliverance from our suffering, an end to all of our discipline, to the chaos of this world. Sin, Satan, the world will be dealt with in a final sense. We have the scriptures in Revelation asking, how long? And even David, going back to verse three, asking the Lord, how long? Yes, he's asking for deliverance from this specific situation, but because of David's faith, I do believe that he even had a greater forward look. How long until you fulfill all your promises, Lord? Do it soon, do it quickly. Verse three, my soul is greatly troubled, but you, oh Lord, how long? So, let us model our lives after this psalm. Let us model our prayers after this psalm. Let us confess our sin as appropriate as needed in our lives. Let us battle sin to the point of, yes, even weariness and exhaustion. Let us feel the sorrow of it is to sin against our great God and deliver. And let us look forward to that great deliverance that God has promised through his scriptures to make an end to all these things as he makes all things new. Would you join me in closing prayer? Heavenly Father, I pray that you would help us keep in tension this reality, this truth from scripture, that we are righteous and yet sinners. We are righteous because of Christ, But in our flesh, we are sinners. Lord, we long for the day in which sin will be done away with. Lord, you will remove every ounce of it, every taint of it from our lives as we go to be with you or as you come to make all things new. That what will truly mark us will be only and exclusively the righteousness of Christ. Lord, I confess, I cry out often, how long, oh Lord, that there is a eagerness and impatience to seeing these promises fulfilled. But God, I trust as well as many of the people here in this room trust that you will keep your promise, that you will come again. And we long to see that day. We thank you for being such a good and kind and gracious God, a God who loves us enough to discipline us, but also delivers us, who knows when to soften his hand and to comfort our souls. Thank you for being our good and gracious Savior, Lord Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen.