My text this morning is from Psalm 31. Psalm 31. And I'll be reading at the beginning of the message verses 23 and 24, but the entire Psalm will be referred to as we look at this together. Psalm 31, but I begin by reading verses 23 and 24. The psalmist says, O love the Lord, all you his saints, for the Lord preserves the faithful and fully repair repays the proud person. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. All you who hope in the Lord. This is God's word that we've just read in North Africa. Just this past week, a young Muslim convert to Christianity died of intestinal cancer was on August 6th. Our friends in the North African partnership were raising money for chemo treatments, asking for prayer. But before the treatment could begin, he passed away. Yet the Lord is blessed in this North African country because our friends there have seen actually a reformed Baptist church constituted and planted small, but nonetheless real and genuine. And so in that way, we rejoice through our Lord Jesus Christ and what he's doing. Also, in a recent voice of the martyrs magazine, I read the story of you. At the age of eight, Ayub wanted to know Allah more deeply. So he learned Arabic so that he could read the Koran. He adopted an extreme Islam that promoted violence and became a respected teacher. But soon he became disillusioned with Islam and so became an atheist. And by the way, they say that happens many times. What happened to you happens to a number of young Muslims. But one day he found a New Testament. As I recall, he found it just laying on the street. So he picked it up and he began to read it. And he became a Christian from reading the New Testament. You suffered persecution because of this. He was beaten by other Muslims. And he had a very, very close friend by the name of, let me see if I can find his name here and pronounce it, Farooq, F-A-R-O-O-Q. And Farooq, although he didn't beat him, but he really opposed him, was very upset because he had learned Islam from Ayyub. Well, Ayyub expected persecution, and now Farooq expects persecution. Farouk says this. They could kick me out of the house or disown me. They could even beat me up. They might even kill me. There is danger. But there is no fear. The maximum that I can expect is martyrdom, so says Farouk. Also, this week I received an email from Open Doors, which is another another organization that helps those who are persecuted and an Open Doors. They mentioned, as we perhaps some of you heard, and that the prime minister of Bangladesh was deposed and she actually had to flee the country. Consequently, there is, because there's a lack of law and order, as we would say, it is an opportunity for radical Muslims to persecute Christians. And the email asks that we pray earnestly for those Christians in Bangladesh who are now exposed to great persecution. Well, I mention all that because this Psalm 31 is really a song about persecution, trials, difficulties and troubles that Christians face. I want to read now the entire song and follow along if you would, in your copy of the scriptures. As I read this in your hearing, the heading says it is to the chief musician. And it's interesting that the chief musician was to write music and this song was to be sung. So not only are praises to be sung, but even Well. Songs that may not lift the heart as we would like, but there is praise in the psalm. As you will see, it's a song of David and we read and we read this way. In you, oh Lord, I put my trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in your righteousness. Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For you are my rock and my fortress. Therefore, for your name's sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for you are my strength. Into your hand I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. I have hated those who regard useless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy, for you have considered my trouble. You have known my soul in adversities and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a wide place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble. My eye wastes away with grief. Yes, my soul and my body. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive to my acquaintances. Those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man out of mind. I am like a broken vessel. For I hear the slander of many. Fear is on every side while they take counsel together against me. They scheme to take away my life. But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord. I say you are my God. My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Make your face shine upon your servant. Save me for your mercy's sake. Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon you. Let the wicked be ashamed. Let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men. You shall hide them in the secret place of your presence from the plots of man. You shall hide them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for you show me his marvelous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before your eyes. Nevertheless, you heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to you. Oh, love the Lord, all you his saints, for the Lord preserves the faithful and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. All you who hope in the Lord. So the reading of God's holy, inspired, infallible, inerrant word, and we thank God for his word. I begin this message with this introduction because there are many people all around the world who suffer very severe persecution, especially it appears in Muslim countries. I thought of another man. that I know, and I've only met him on in a Zoom call a few years ago, who has a church in northern India. He works amongst amongst the people who are disdained and set aside by everyone. And he lives in a house that is about the size of your double car garage. And the upstairs is for their worship. And when they worship, the Muslims play loud music so as to interrupt him so they so they hope the people can't hear his preaching. But he persists, but he presses on and continues to work for the glory of God. Now, verses 23 and 24 are precious, so precious. I when I, as I often do, I pray through a psalm. And when I came to these two verses, they so encouraged my heart that I decided I'm going to memorize them. And I think I've got it done. I think I really have memorized. I think about them even in the middle of the night. These two verses, wonderful, wonderful verses. Now, later in the message, I'll be directing you to the entirety of this psalm that I've already read. But the psalm ends with these two commands, but they are gentle commands. They are encouraging commands. Oh, love the Lord, verse 23, then verse 24, be of good courage. I hope you see something of the gentleness in the commands that we see here. But what impressed me as well as I meditated upon this psalm is who is speaking in this psalm. Now, if you were to and I tried to do this and some of you will be alert enough to test me this afternoon as to whether or not I'm accurate. But in the first 22 verses of this song, I found the use of the personal pronoun I, me or my some 55 times. This is a very personal song, very, very personal. And then in verses 19 and 20, the psalmist switches. And in 1920, he uses the third person plural them or the relative pronoun those. And then the psalm ends with the second person plural. You all love the Lord. You all are the ones that need to be strengthened. So those personal pronouns are very, very interesting. And and then, of course, I want to know, who is the I? You say, well, that's simple. You read that it's a song of David. That's very, very true. And yet in verse five of this song, we see this verse that says into your hand, I commit my spirit. And you all know, because you're well taught and you're good Bible scholars, that this is exactly the words that our Lord Jesus Christ used on the cross. In Luke chapter 23, 40, 46, we read and when Jesus, he cried out with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. Having said this, he breathed his last. And that sixth saying, you'll recall, was it is finished. And then he gave up his spirit. Now, certainly David wrote this. Certainly it applies to David. But there is a greater than David that is in that verse. And I suggest to you that the entire soul, we see Jesus Christ time and time and time again. And that's what I want to point out to you as we move through this through this message this morning. Now, this song is, as was obvious when I read it, largely about sufferings and trials. So that's my theme this morning. That is that the Christian is one who is under trials. Christians suffer trials, difficulties, heartaches, and sometimes in some countries, persecution and even death. We don't have, thankfully, at least I'm thankful for it. The kind of persecution that exists in in North Africa and other countries that are dominated by Islam. We don't have that, at least not at this moment. And I'm thankful for that, although they are thankful in the midst of persecution. So what I want to make three observations from this song. The first observation is this. I want to show you about the certainty of trials for the Christian. Now, all the scriptures teach this. Trials are certain. Every single one here this morning who is a believer in Jesus Christ is either presently suffering trial, has suffered trial, or you will suffer trials and difficulties. This is the promise of all the scripture. For example, Psalm 44, verses 22 and 23. Yet, for your sake, we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. You remember the Apostle Paul quoted this in the Book of Romans. And then Jesus said in John chapter 16, verse 33, These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But be a good year. I've overcome the world, the Lord says. Acts chapter 14, when Paul and Barnabas went back to the churches that they had planted and established to strengthen the disciples, we read this strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying we must through many tribulations. enter the kingdom of God. And this is what Peter taught first Peter chapter one versus six and seven. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. That the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold, the parishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So trials are a lot. And one of the reasons for them is to test the genuineness of our faith, to get rid of the draws, to get rid of the sin and to make us more pure and valuable like gold. James taught the same thing. James chapter one verses two and three. My brethren counted all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And then he goes on as to what patient produces. You'll recall in that passage. But the point is, trials are certain for the Christian. There's nothing unusual about trials, difficulties, heartaches and sorrows and persecution for those who follow Jesus Christ. Now, I want us to just look briefly. At this song to see the kind of trials. That our Lord experienced. And that David experience. For example. Opposition opposition because of following the truth and following the Lord. Look with me at verse 4 if you would. We read this. Pull me out of the net. which they have secretly laid for me. For you are my strength. Now you think about our Lord Jesus Christ, you remember how they laid nets for him and traps for him. For example, we remember the time when the Sadducees, the Pharisees gathered together and they came to Jesus to test him. They wanted to trap him. They wanted to get him to say something that would he could that so they could present him to the Roman government and the Roman government would kill him. So they ask him a question that in their mind was absolutely impossible to answer. And the question was this. Is it legal to pay taxes to Caesar or is it not? They had him. If he said, pay your taxes, the Jewish nation would reject him. If he said, don't pay your taxes, then report him to the Roman authorities and be incarcerated or perhaps killed. But Jesus saw the trap, knew about the trap, and you remember what he did, don't you? He said, give me a coin. He said, whose superscription is on this? Whose image is on this? And they said, Caesar's. He said, well, then Peter rendered a Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that were God's. And we read that these people who tried to trap him were amazed. But nonetheless, this is one of the ways that Jesus was persecuted and one of the ways that the world will try to persecute us. And that is Trap us. Get us in an impossible situation. Ah, you see, but we read in this psalm that. There was mercy that was brought to him and to David. There's also the difficulties of the or the trials of a very difficult life. Look at verses 10 and 11. We read these words for my life is spent with grief. And my years was sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors and in repulsive to my acquaintances and those who see me. Outside flee from me and again we think of our Lord. We said we know this was true of him, don't we? He had a very difficult life. The Bible says he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And remember the time coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration. And they were arguing and the disciples couldn't cast out the demon. And remember, he sighed with a deep sigh, says, how long do I have to put up with you? He was a very difficult life that he led. At one point, his family came to him, his mother and his brothers, and they wanted to snatch him away. They said he was a crazy man because he wasn't taking time to rest. And Jesus responded, said, who is my mother, who is my father? Who are my brothers and sisters? It's those who do my will. He had a difficult life. And dear friends, when we experience difficulties in our life as Christians, it is one of the ways that trials come waiting for the Lord to deliver. And verse 13, another trial experience was slander. Verse 13, for I hear the slander of many fears on every side. while they counseled together against me." Remember what the leaders said when Jesus cast out demons? They said, oh, it's by the Prince of Demons, Beelzebub, that he casts out demons. And Jesus said, well, then who do your sons cast them out by? And David was slandered. He had to flee from Saul. And he was accused by Abigail's husband Of fleeing from his master. And but the Lord delivered him, but it's this kind, this kind of opposition that Christians experience. And then there's a feeling of isolation. Verse 22. We read, for I said in my haste, I am cut off from before your eyes. Nevertheless, you heard the voice of my supplication when I cried to you. Now, Jesus never said anything in haste. He would never accuse God of not caring for him, but he did say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He did say that on the cross, didn't he? And so he knew what it was to be isolated, to be all alone in a way that none of us can really ever experience in that way. But trials, what are they? We have to think in terms of our Western culture and what trials we hear in our Western culture may experience similar to this. Yes, but there are other trials that the Bible indicates. For example, not all suffering is exactly the same. There are other types of trials that we read about and illustrated, for instance, in the scriptures. Remember the there can be the death of a treasured servant that causes grief and sorrow and trouble of soul. Remember what happened when the first Christian martyr was laid to rest? It says there was continual, continual lament and sorrow and weeping over this man. Here they lost a leader who was respected that they needed and they lamented. It was a trial for the church to lose someone like that. And then think of the widows when Dorcas died. And they were so overcome with sorrow. What a trial it was for them to lose this dear friend. And they called for Peter and they laid out all the garments which she had made. And you remember, Peter was used by the Lord to raise her from the dead. But it was a trial for them to lose such a treasured servant. Perhaps, you know, something like that. There's. Their sickness. Sickness is a trial. Think with me, if you would, of the. Jesus going to Peter's home. And his mother in law was laid down, laid up with a fever, very, very sick. And we read that Jesus with compassion healed her. She was raised up and she started serving them again. What a wonderful provision, but the great sorrow, this woman who was going to fix some supper. And it's difficult to lose a precious servant that's serving the Lord Jesus Christ. There can be trials in the church. You remember the Apostle John in his third epistle talks about a man by the name of the atrophies. Many of you know this guy, don't you? He was a real rascal. I mean, he was he was intent on dividing the church using whatever means he could to make sure the church was his and not belong to the rest of the people. So what did he do? He led the forces to excommunicate the saints. And then he refused to receive those who came to preach because he wanted the preeminence. And John basically said, when I come, I'll take care of him. But nonetheless, you think of the sorrow, the trial and the difficulty that the people in the church there would have experienced and known as a result of this wicked man, the atrophies. Hmm. And then there is a trial of the chastening of the Lord. Every single Christian knows what it means to be chastened by the Lord. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens. No chastening then. If there's no chastening, the Bible says, then you're not really a Christian at all. And when this chastening comes, it's difficult. It's very difficult. And it is a trial. It's a form of a trial. that the Lord brings into our lives. But the Lord uses those things for His glory. And there's more. In fact, as you think about this, you can think of any number of trials that God's people go through. I think of the Apostle Paul and the trial that he expressed, which is a trial that all Christians express in Romans chapter 7, when he said, when I would do good, evil is right there present with me. He said, I don't do what I want to do. I do do what I want to do. I heard a question and answer time on a Christian radio. It just happened to be in the car at the time. And a fellow put in a question to John MacArthur. He said, I read Romans chapter 7. He says, I see that Paul had this problem with sin. He didn't do what he wanted to do. He he he was he was sinning. He says, so I conclude, therefore, that Paul must have not been a Christian. Am I right? MacArthur's first words were first word was wrong, wrong, wrong. Now, he didn't say it three times like I did. I'm just emphasizing it. But you see, Paul and there are those of you know, who would suggest that Paul wasn't a Christian. In Romans seven, he needed that was before his conversion, but it is the experience. Do you ever struggle with sin? Do you ever struggle with a sin that keeps coming back and you confess it and you do all you can. That's a trial. That's a trial. That the Lord brings into our lives, so. My first observation from this psalm is, is that of the certainty of trials. My second observation of the psalm is this. The response to the trials by the Christian, the certainty and now the response. Now, let's face it. Many times we have a very simple response to trials. And we're not different from the people that we read about in the Bible when that happens. For example, think of the godly man Job. He lost everything and he said the hand of God was in this. He's saying, with us, my times are in your hands. Whatever my God ordains is right. Holy His will abideth. And then, he got the boils. Satan was given permission to do that. And then, he had three friends. If you can call them friends. And they came to him. And Job said, Well, he said, you know what he said? He says, I curse the day I was born. I wish I'd never been born. I curse the day that word was brought to my mother that a man child is born. He was really, really opposed to his own life. Now, that's a wrong way to respond to trials, but it's the way that Job responded. And maybe that's happened to some of us at one time or another to say, I wish I'd never been born. If I knew all this was going to happen, I just wish I'd never been born. Or we may take a different route that isn't a good route. We may ask the question, why? Why is this happening to me? And we ask it with this intent. I don't deserve this. What did I do to deserve this? This shouldn't be happening to me. This should be happening to the guy down the street. He's so wicked. Not to me. Now, that's probably never happened to you, but for some of us, it's happened. And that's the way we respond to the trial that comes. Job had that response later on in the book. This is not righteous. I didn't do anything wrong. Why is God doing this to me? And then there's another response that's that's not good. It may be a response where we fail to examine ourselves. The Lord is chastening us as Hebrews chapter 12 speaks. And as he chastens us, we are, according to the scriptures, we are to examine ourselves. We are to lift up our feet to find a straight path. And rather than doing that, we respond to the previous two ways. Now, maybe in examining ourselves, we don't find any particular sin, but maybe we do find some areas that need to be cared for. But if we don't examine ourselves, then we are we're not responding as the Lord would have us to respond. Or another way not to respond is we might get discouraged and think that we can no longer be of any use to God, our family and church, and just curl up and pout. Do we have any powders here? Well, there's some people that never pout. God bless them. But there are some people that do pout. Well, you know, there were people in the Bible that pouted. Remember Elijah after that great victory at Mount Carmel? After Elijah fled from Jezebel? And he fled because she sent him a note. Sent him a note. That's all she did. She didn't send soldiers with a sword. She said, God's due so much more to me and you also, if you're not dead by this time tomorrow. She wanted to kill him. She could have sent soldiers immediately. Oh, he got a note. And he said, oh my, I've got to get out of here. I don't want to die. So you know how he fled. After that great victory. And he was. Well, I don't have time to tell you the whole account, you know, most of it. But after he slept and the angel awoke him and fed him and gave him water and fed him and gave him water again, he went to the mountain. There was an earthquake and all this, and then finally there was a still small voice and Elijah hit his face and the question came to him from the Lord. What are you doing here, Elijah? And Elijah said, well, I've been very zealous for the Lord, God of hosts, because of the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your alters and killed your prophets with a sword. I alone am left and they seek to take my life. Poor little me, I'm the only one left and all this is this isn't fair. You see, that's what he's saying to the Lord. What did the Lord do? He says, here's what I want you to do, Elijah, and he gave him three commands. And the first one was, go find somebody to walk with you and help you go find Elisha, which he did. And there were two others as well that he actually didn't accomplish. But Elisha did, and then one of the sons of the prophets did. Well, how should we respond to trials? Well, the example of David and the example of our Lord Jesus Christ is Psalm 31 is a good pattern for us to follow. Let's look at it. And again, we'll just sort of hop and skip through the song to see what the proper response should be. First of all, I want to skip to verse two. We'll come back to verse one in just a moment. The first response that I want us to see is that we need to pray. That's what the psalmist does. He said, bow down your ear to me, deliver me speedily, be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. The first the first thing we need to do when we face trials is to get on our knees and pray and seek the face of our God. So often we want to do something else, it's good to seek counsel from other people. Because in a multitude of counselors, there is wisdom and we need to seek counsel from other people. But the first thing we must do is to seek our God in prayer and say, Lord, here's the matter. Here's the situation. Please come and help. Bow down your ear to me. Listen to me. I'm in trouble. That's what the psalmist did. And that's what we need to do. A second, a second response we find in verses one, three and five. In verse one, O Lord, I put my trust. And then verse three, for you are my rock and my fortress and verse five into your hands, I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord of truth. You see, the psalmist has a strong faith. He believes and knows that God can come and hear him and answer him and deliver him. God is able to do that. My friends, he is able, even in the sorest and most difficult of trials. He's able to do that. And another response as I hop and skip through the song is in verses 9 through 13. And look at those verses with me. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble. My eye wastes away from with grief. Yes, my soul and my body. Notice that the soul and the body are affected by trials. If the soul is affected, the body also can be affected. It affects us physically. And spiritually and mentally and psychologically, he says, my soul and my body for my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing my strength fails because of my iniquity and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors and repulsive to my acquaintances. Those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man out of mine. I am like a broken vessel for I hear the slander of many and fear is on every side while they take counsel together against me. What's this almost doing? He is complaining. And it's OK to complain. If you complain to God. And that's what he's doing. He said, here's the situation. I don't like it. I'm going to complain. But, oh, he says in the midst of his complaint, have mercy on me. I'm a reproach. This is my situation. Oh, my friends, when trials come, do your complaining to God. He will have compassion and he will help. And another response I find in verses 14 through 18, I'm not going to read those verses, but just verse 14. But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord. I say you are my God. His response is I'm going to trust God no matter what I am in the hands of God. My times are in your hand. That's why I picked that him. My times are in your hand and I wish them to be there. I'm happy for my times to be with my God, he says. And then another response he has in verses 19 and 20. It is a response of declaring God's goodness in the midst of the trial. Oh, how great is your goodness, verse 19 says, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men. You shall hide them in the secret place of your pavilion. So you see, the psalmist trusts in the goodness of God. And that's very difficult for a lot of people because the trials are very severe. But even if our trials are very severe, it can be very, very difficult for us as well, can it not? And then another response in verses 21 and 22, he blesses the Lord for his excellent kindness. Think about it now. Think of what's been stated in this psalm as to the difficulties and the trials that he's undergoing. And he blesses the Lord. This one would be the orchestra would would sound up and give this strong strength of joy. as they played and as the singers sang this. Blessed be the Lord. He has shown me his marvelous kindness in a strong city. So he blesses the Lord for his kindness. In other words, he remembers what the Apostle Paul has taught us in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, 10 verse 13, when he says there's no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. And God will not permit you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation provide the way of escape. A way of escape. Ah, but you say, what about those who don't escape? They go to the stake or they die as martyrs. Oh, that there is a way of escape for them, too, because absent from the body, they're present with the Lord. Present with the Lord. Well. We've looked at the certainty of trials, the response that we should have to trials. Now, finally, I want us to talk about the reward for enduring trials, and that's where we come to the text that I read in the first place, the text that stuck out to my own mind, which led to thinking about this message this morning. Oh, love the Lord, all you his saints for the Lord preserves the faithful. I call this reward be of good courage. But as I said, there are two Two imperatives here, two commands. But these are encouraging, loving, gentle commands. Calvin says this about these two commands. John Calvin says, in my opinion, the psalmist does not exhort the saints to fear and reverence God, as many think. In fact, almost all the other commentators I read said that. But he says, as many think. but encourages them to confide in him or, in other words, to devote themselves wholly to him, to put all their hope in him and to rely entirely upon him without seeking any other. And I like that. I agree with Calvin. It is an encouraging and encouraging command that the psalmist gives here. I think perhaps directly from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ. Encouraging us, he says, now, listen, here's what I want you to do. I want you to love the Lord. I want you to think why it is that you should love the Lord and why it is, is because, as the text says, for the Lord preserves the faithful. This is true of our Lord Jesus Christ, he was preserved, wasn't he? Oh. Wherefore, God is highly exalted him and given him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of Father Job. Was he preserved? Oh, you've read the last chapter, haven't you? His wealth doubled. His children doubled. He was preserved, all right. He was preserved through the great trial. What about Elijah? The powder. Was he preserved? Oh, you know, the rest of the story. He ministered, went from town to town, started a school of the prophets, the first seminary, probably, and with a school of prophets. And then at the end, his coworker, Elisha, was with him and every one of the prophets knew that he was going to be taken to heaven. And Elisha said, quiet, I know it, too. And then as they were walking along and Elijah took his cloak and this waters parted, he walked across. And as they were talking, there was Elijah taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Was he preserved? Elijah never died. He's in heaven now with his body, the powder. Think of it. Oh, yes, he was preserved. What about David? Something we have no proof of this, that this song was written in response to Absalom trying to take the kingdom away from David. If that's so, was he preserved? Yes, he was brought back into the city and restored his kingdom. So love the Lord because he preserves the Saints love the Lord because it says here In our tax and fully repays the proud person, fully repays the proud person. We have many illustrations of this in the Bible, but you think of think of Judas. He sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and was, as one of the commentators said, he didn't even have time to spend the money. Not even time to spend the money. Fully repaid and then think of. One of Elijah's commissions was to anoint Jehu, which Elijah went to heaven before that could happen. But Elijah knew about it, and Elijah said one of the sons of the prophets, one of the guys from seminary. To anoint Jehu. And Jehu went riding into Jezreel and Jezebel. Knowing that he was coming, you could tell when he was coming because he drove like a madman. His chariot was sweeping all over the place. Sort of like guys up and down Perryville do over here in the middle of the night. And all over the place, his chariot was swerving. And Jezebel painted her face. The old witch. And then she looked out the window and said, what are you doing here, you murderer of Zimri? And Jehu said, is anybody on my side? Two or three eunuchs put their heads out the window. He says, throw her down. And so they threw her down. And the blood spattered against the wall. Jehu trampled her under the hooves of his horses. And then he went in and had lunch. He said, now bury her. But we went out to bury her. Only her skull was left. The palms of her hand. And he said, ah, this is exactly what Elijah would say. Was it was Elijah where the wicked repaid? Yes, they will always be repaid. So be encouraged. We must be encouraged. The Lord repays the wicked. And then. Be of good courage. As he will strengthen your heart. Does he strengthen our hearts? I go back to Elijah again. Remember, Elijah said I'm the only one. And the Lord says, no, there's 4000 that have about the need to pay. We're never alone. The Lord always has a remnant. The Lord always has a people. Who will be there to pray for us and to help us. And then finally, the psalm ends by saying all you hope in the Lord. You know, the whole creation, Paul says, groans, waiting for the redemption of God's children. But he says we're saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For why does one still hope for what is seen? My dear friend, hope in the Lord, because you know what's going to happen? Jesus is going to come. And when he comes, he's going to raise the dead. And if we're alive at the time, he's going to take us up. After he takes up the dead because they get precedent and then we're going to meet him in the air. He's going to come. He's going to rule the nations. He says, hope in the Lord. The victory belongs to God, belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. So we know what is the end. We know it. So by God's grace and by the help of the Holy Spirit, let us endure whatever trials the Lord has put us in at the moment. And then we can't wait till the last day when will be delivered. Now, I conclude with just a few questions. Do you have this hope? Do you know, do you love the Lord? Are you trusting only Jesus Christ for your soul's salvation? If not, why not? Why not? Do you not see what he's able to do for you? Do you not see what he's done for his people down through the ages? Oh, what a glorious Savior. He can save you. He can keep you. And he can give you grace to endure all your trials. Let's pray. Our father and our God, we thank you. That you are the God who delivers us and helps us. In the midst of trials. Knowing that you will strengthen us. That we have our hope in you and we bless your name for that. Help us, we pray to respond in a godly way through the trials you give us, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.