Our God and our Father, we thank you so very much for this day, the many blessings that you have bestowed upon us. Lord, we ask that you would accept these gifts back, use them to the furtherance of your kingdom. Bless those who administer them, give them wisdom in their job. These things we pray in Christ's name, amen. Send thanks for him whose guilt has all forgiven him, When his transgressions pardoned are, And brother is his sin. Oh, bless the wrath and sin of the Lord, Thou snow iniquity. And in whose spirit there is love, we seek for treasury. I am silent, I rotate, my groaning fill each day. Your hand, love, has me day and night, my moisture dried away. When I to you admitted sin, in my guiltiness. I said I will keep for the Lord, and precious thou confess. Then you did all my sin for him, and take my guilt away. ♪ For this when you are near heaven ♪ ♪ Let all the godly pray ♪ ♪ The rising floods will harm him not ♪ ♪ You are my hiding place ♪ ♪ And you will shelter me ♪ Let's look to God in prayer then. Our God and our Father, again we come before you and thank you and praise you for whom you are. Lord, we do confess to you Our nation has turned away from you so much. We've called good evil and evil good. Lord, we do pray that you would send a revival upon our nation, that we would again turn to you and acknowledge you as whom you are, God of the universe, the head and king of all. Lord, we pray for our president and our vice president that they would turn their hearts to you. Return to in call you. Their head and repent of their their sins. Just as as we. Need to repent of ours every single day. Lord, we do thank you for that gift of life that is only available to you through through your son. Lord, we do pray especially for the people there in Hawaii who have had this terrible disaster, the fire come upon them. Lord, we do pray for those who have lost family members and are still seeking them, those that are missing. Lord, we do I pray that your hand would be upon them, they would feel your comfort, and yet at the same time, Lord, even though through this disaster and heartache that you would be lifted up for your glory, even now, Lord, it seems like even in loss we wonder why. It is, you have ordained it even from the beginning and known about it. Though we don't understand, we know that it is within your view, her view and will. Lord, we think of those of our number who are looking at surgery now. We pray that you guide the hands of those, we think especially of Steve and of Stan here, who are going to be having surgery here shortly. We pray that you would guide the hands of the surgeon, give them skill and wisdom, that they would be able to have that accomplished, which they're seeking. We think also of Lydia and her visit to the doctor. We thank you that so far that everything is looking good. And we thank you and praise you for that. And we pray that you would continue to watch over her and keep her free from the cancer. Lord, we do. Think also of Dustin and Nikki and their situation, how they need to, the guidance they need in finding a church and with the schooling and all with their new situation. Pray that you would be with them and guide them and help them in their ministry. be able to work within the community that you have placed in. Lord, we do thank you for the little ones here in church. We pray for those who will be joining us here even yet this year. We thank you for them. their parents. Lord, we pray that you would be with us some of, maybe even just a little older. We pray that you would help us as we help the younger ones, even now, with their kids. And we pray for those little kids as they grow older, that they would grow to know you as their Lord and Savior. Lord, we pray that you would be with Stan here as he brings your word to us. Give him the words to speak and open our hearts and minds to hear what you would have us to hear. We can share it with those as we meet throughout the coming week. These things we pray in Christ's name, amen. Just a quick digression. I like farmers because I like to eat. Can I get an amen? Okay, no, we don't do that. Steeple would fall off. Let me encourage you this afternoon as a part of your Sabbath days activities, go back to Psalm 104 and mark it up like a farmer. Look for the farmers in here. What are the words that are speaking to us as a farm community? And I'm not a farmer, but you know, close, whatever. See how God condescends to us and he has a special place in his heart for people that work the ground. After all, what did he tell Adam? Till the ground, right? Take care of it. That's a part of our Christianity. So for your own encouragement, look at Psalm 104, make note of all the farm things there. Cattle, grass, not the grass that they smoke, okay? The other stuff. God's goodness to us. Well, having chased that a little bit, would you turn, please, in your Bibles perhaps, or in your Psalters if you read it, In your Psalter, well, I read it out of the Bible. And remember, did I misspeak a moment ago? Psalm 140, not 104, I may have misspoken, I'm sorry. Psalm 104, 140, got a problem. And I'm ricocheting off something I saw again just recently, and I've heard a couple of things. Some preachers saying the Psalms are bad. They're bad. We shouldn't be singing that stuff. It's pre-Christian. It's anti-Christian. It's hateful. And so you should sing what I've written. By the way, I got a copyright on that, and I get rake-offs from every time you buy my music, right? The Psalter is God's inspired infallible inerrant word, Psalm 140 written by David. But I hope as we read through this, you keep seeing Jesus. If you don't keep bumping into Jesus, when you're reading the book of Psalms, when you're reading this Psalm in particular, if you don't keep bumping into Jesus, you need to go back and start over. looking for him. Jesus is the speaker here. In fact, there's a reference back to this in the New Testament calling this the words of Christ. Okay, Psalm 148. In the midst of a fallen, wicked, evil world in which Nazism was triumphant, communism has been triumphant, all the horrible things, how does a Christian function? How did Jesus function? Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men. Some pacifists would say that we shouldn't even pray against bad people, pray against bad things. Just love everybody. Love, love, love. Deliver me, O Lord, not from people who offend me, who say something I didn't like. Evil people. They're in rebellion against you. They reject your word. They reject your son. They do horrible things contrary to your word. evil. We have to acknowledge that we live in a not just a sin-tainted world, a world dominated by sin. Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men. And some have said, well, you shouldn't pray that way. Well, what's the option? I'll grab a sword and start whacking off heads. Would you think that was more Christian? I don't see anybody agreeing with that. Take it to the Lord in prayer. He's in charge. He sees all. He knows all. He has the power. And at the right time, the Third Reich will fall. At the right time, Hiroshima will go up in a big ball. At the right time, the communist revolution fails. I was in Germany in 1989 when the wall came down and we cried. My unit's mission was when the bad guys came across a folder gap, we went to the folder gap expecting a hundred percent casualties to stop the evil from coming. We cried when the Lord intervened and we could be pacifists. It was marvelous. Deliver me from evil men, preserve me from violent men who plan evil things. It isn't just some whim. It's an intentional plot and anybody who can look, I don't want to preach politics, but look at some of the stupid stuff that's being proposed. They plan evil things in their heart. Those aren't your kids. I'm the government, they're my kids. And I get to tell you what you can do with them. And you have to send them to my school so I can teach them all this immorality. They plan evil in their hearts. They gather together for war. In the same way, in the Situation Room, you're sitting in there with the G3 and the maps and all this stuff, and you're looking at the big war and then the smaller war, and then down to where we are, what's our operation today. They are planning war. And so when we give up a little bit of ground, they just move forward and make more demands. Isn't that what you see happening? Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think so. You give an inch, they take a yard. You give them a yard, they take a mile. They're not satisfied. It isn't okay for me. Say, I don't want to say this. It isn't okay for me that I don't call you some negative term. They want us to embrace homosexuality and all the perversion and say evil is good and good is evil. They demand that of us and that's what's happening in our politics today. They gather for war against Christ, war against God, war against the Bible, war against the church, war against Christians, war against men who will stand up and be men, war against women who will stand up and say, that's my kid. No, you can't. War. Let's acknowledge we're at war. When we think we're playing games and they're at war, folks, we're losing. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent. We won't go into that very much, but picture that. Make it worse. The poison of asps is under their lips. Their words may sound sweet. Oh, just love, love, love. It sounds nice. It's a lie. And it isn't sweet. It's trying to get you to sell out. And so, David writing this, Jesus, of course, this obviously is speaking about him. Who were Jesus' enemies? Chief priests, Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Roman collaborators, they were making war Did you ever notice this about page two of any of the four gospels? And it says that they took counsel how they might kill him. That's how the gospels start. It's just immediately they're going to kill this guy. Now, what's Jesus guilty of? Well, healing people. Raising the dead. I mean, what did he do? He's helping people. His whole ministry. And they hate people so much that they hate him for helping common people, the little people, the woman whose husband has died, and so on. They are at war, and we need to be aware we are. And so, David prayed. Let's face it, I mean, if there was any guy qualified to grab his sword and start whacking off heads, wouldn't it have been King David? What was he famous for? Not only for the Psalms, but a warrior king. Jesus and David pray, keep me, oh Lord, from the hands of the wicked. It's a personal thing. Keep me. I can't do it. I'm inadequate. We together are inadequate. We cannot change America. We can't change Kansas. Keep me, oh Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Don't let them win, not because it was a loss for me, but because it's a loss for you. They get away with blasphemy and all of this horrible stuff. Preserve me from violent men. Who were the violent men that Jesus was speaking about? Sadducees and Pharisees. Yeah, they were going to get the Romans to do the deed, but who was behind it? Sadducees and the Pharisees and all those guys, the chief priests. They have purpose to make my steps stumble. This is verse four. And so they get Jesus in public and then they ask him questions. And so you got some Romans here and they come and they ask Jesus, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? See, if they can get Jesus to say, well, no, you shouldn't pay taxes to Caesar. The Romans are going to solve the Jewish problem, aren't they? They're going to take Jesus back and it's over. These are ones who are cagey enough not to do the dirty work themselves, but to get the Romans to do it. They are perpetuating, perpetrating violence. to make him stumble, fall down, not be able to carry out his mission. The proud have hidden a snare for me and cords, and I just spoke to that. Multiple times you read in the gospel, they're setting Jesus up to make him look bad. So people will say, well, no, maybe not. were sneaky. They have spread a net by the wayside. They have set traps for me. Some of you may be familiar with the old punji pit, a hole deeper than a man's head and covered over nicely. It looks like just trail litter. And somebody step in it, they fall about six feet. At the bottom are sharp sticks pointed up. Penetrate your feet and then they have smeared that with water buffalo manure and all sorts of other happy things like that So no, it doesn't kill you, but it would give you diseases From which there is no recovery That's what he's talking about here. They've hidden this snare for me. They set traps for me verbal traps Jesus is the speaker here I said to the Lord, you are my God. Well, what are the gods in America? Well, number one, me, I'm the center of the universe. I'm the most important person, right? You're not agreeing with me. Well, money, that must be it. How about wealth and power and control? These are gods that are worshiped by much of our nation. David said, Jesus said, and we as Christians talking to God, our heavenly father, you, the God of the Bible, the creator God, the sustainer God, the God of grace and mercy, you are my God. It doesn't matter what somebody else. I want a relationship with you. You want a relationship with me. You initiated that. You called me. You let me call you daddy, daddy. You are my God. Then hear the voice of my supplications, oh Lord. When I'm crying out to you, and sometimes it may be a pretty short prayer. Sometimes it's an all night prayer. We pour out our hearts before God, not because we're emotional pansies, but because He loves us. He cares. He has the power. He has the authority. He invites us to talk to Him. Let our wants and wishes be made known before His throne of grace. So we're always doing the right thing when we're praying. Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord. You are the strength of my salvation. I'm not tough enough to figure this out. I'm not smart enough to figure it out. I couldn't carry out the plan if I could devise the plan. Save me in this current situation. I want to back up just a smidge. A foundational verse Three times at least in the book of Revelation Just like I'm stuck struggling here Yeah There was war in heaven remember that Satan is cast down comes to earth and immediately. What does he do? He goes and he attacks the person the weakest person he can get Adam's wife Now let's face it, Adam failed as a father, as a husband. He didn't teach his wife. So when Satan asks her a question, she gives the wrong answer. Don't blame her. Blame the guy who failed as a husband to teach his wife. Simple. What did God say? That ain't hard. He didn't do it. Sin enters. And since then, There is this cosmic war going on. I don't know if you can see this. I'm wounded. I dropped a wagon tongue on my finger. Let me suggest you don't do that. If you can avoid dropping a wagon tongue on your finger, please do. Why did that happen? Is God not able to protect my pinky? Oh yeah, he certainly is. Satan on the attack. That was Satan at the moment. The things that start to irritate you, where does that come from? Satan. There is spiritual war going on today in your life and mine. Every time that I'm tempted to sin, Satan is behind that. He seeks to take away our loyalty to God, our loyalty to Christ, and make us subject to him. And so, burst out in profanity, have an anger attack, whatever. That is the evidence that Satan is winning in that war. There was war in heaven, spills over into earth and spills into your life and mine. He is a good God. I don't understand how this works. But he has allowed Satan limited dominion. Just acknowledge when things are going wrong, going badly. It is probably the attack of Satan. Sometimes God uses those and they become learning experiences for us. Yes. But you're involved in spiritual warfare day by day, week by week. I said to the Lord, You are my God. Hear the voice of my supplications. I'm crying out, Daddy, Daddy, I can't do it. I'm not able. I'm overwhelmed. I'm failing. I'm a sinner. Forgive my sins. All of those. Hear my supplications. You are the strength of my salvation. I'm not tough enough to be the kind of Christian that I ought to be. You have covered my head. in the day of battle. This is verse seven. By the way, when Jesus went to the cross, tell me about the covering on his head. Speaking about Christ. Do not grant Lord the desires of the wicked. They have, they want to fight you. They can't get you, but they can fight me. I'm in your army. And they can take me out. Don't let his wicked schemes succeed. Verse 9, as for the head of those who surround me, let the evil of their lips cover them. Retributive justice. They want to set you up for this particular failure. Let them experience that. They want to cause this bad thing to happen to you? Let them experience that. Retributive justice. That's what he's talking about here. Let the evil of their lips cover them. What are they wanting? What are they asking? Okay, verse 10. Where are we looking? Let burning coals fall upon them. Let them be cast into the fire, into deep pits that they rise up not again. What is that? That's hell. Cast them to where they belong. They've given themselves willingly to Satan to serve him. Lord, cast them to that place burning coals, hell, fire. Cast into the fire deep pits where they cannot rise. There's no resurrection out of hell and a second chance to go to heaven. You've had the opportunities to believe and to receive. And so the prayer of David and Christ and of Christians is God, you judge, you do right, the Lord of all will do right. Deal with them for the sake of your name, for the sake of your people. Verse 11, let not a slanderer be established in the earth. Slander, what's that? If I say you stole something and you stole it, that's not slander. That's fact. But if I accuse you of stealing something that you didn't steal, that is at best slander. Demeaning your name. Diminishing your name. Diminishing your reputation. Slander. This Jesus is a fake. Who is that guy? Grew up in a little tiny country town. Nobody even knows where it is. He doesn't have a PhD. What does he know? Putting him down, putting themselves up. Don't let them, don't let slanderers be established. Take away their kingdoms. I don't want to talk of politics. Let's just kind of let it go at that. Let evil hunt a violent man to overthrow him. You'll sell guns, arms, ammunition to people of very bad character who are going to use them for very bad purposes. What are you? You are complicit in murder. Not to mention anything in current politics in America today. Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him. If I am supporting this violence, unnecessary violence, I'm guilty. We need to be separate from sin as much as we can in that, and I'll try not to go into that. Jesus, verse 12, I know the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor. So Jesus is murdered, and is that the end of the story? Thankfully, no, right? Sabbath morning is coming. Easter morning is coming. He's in the grave. He's dead and now he's alive. Justice is done. This is looking again at Jesus in verse 12. The wages of sin is death. Justice was done. Jesus paid the death penalty for his people. For all who will call upon him, all who will receive him, justice, divine justice, perfectly satisfied by the perfect life of Jesus Christ and extended to us as an offer. For then those, verse 13, the righteous shall give thanks to your name and dwell in your presence. Yes, in this world, Satan has much power and he's brought all sorts of horrible things. And everybody in this room has your accounts of horrible things that Satan has gotten away with in your life. And I'm sorry, but that's we're in the midst of a fallen world. However, it doesn't say the blessing is on the goody two shoes. It's on the righteous, those who claim the righteousness of Christ. He did it perfectly. He kept the law for us. He obeyed. He bled and died for the sins of all who trust him. The righteous will give thanks to your name, not just here this morning or any other morning. Give thanks to your name and dwell in your presence. There's a promise of eternal heaven. This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. You've heard that expression. My home is on the other side, the other side of the Jordan, the other side of death. Yes, I will go through physical death, but not spiritual death, not eternal death because of the work of Christ. And so we're talking, if you happen to read the bulletin, which I think probably, I don't know about anybody here, most places people don't read the bulletin. Christ-like praying of imprecatory psalms. I'm saying we don't grab a sword and start whacking off heads, but we do go to the throne of grace repeatedly, over and over, prayer time and time and time again, on a daily basis, hourly basis, sometimes moment by moment. And he hears. And our confidence is that he will take us home to be with him forever and ever in eternity. We can pray as Christ prayed here. This is not anti-Christian. It is not pre-Christian. This is the very words of Christ as he lived in a fallen world. Would you turn please to Psalm 140, And I think I goofed this up, didn't I? Yes, I did. Psalm 140, the B selection, there are five stanzas. I don't intentionally trip up the presenters, but I do occasionally, sorry. Can we do 140B, stanza one, four and five, first and the last two. I want us to get to singing the victory song here at the last phrase. Psalm 140, the B selection stands as one, four and five. And then we'll turn to Psalm 150, sing the doxology and have the benediction. Standing then, I think, for the balance of the service. If you would please. 140B, 1, 4, and 5. And then the doxology. Save me, O Lord, from those that evil mind. Oh, keep me from the will of my own will. For in their heart they work out evil plans, And stir up wars around them ceaselessly. They make their tongue as sharp as thy grip. Their lips contain the poison of a snake. And let the page of those who love me be covered with the troubles they have caused. Those who love me ♪ I'm cast into fire ♪ ♪ Born into my weakness no more to rise ♪ ♪ When my fears slandered me, I'll rise again ♪ be established here, and that it will reign in the high old name. By this I know the Lord will yet maintain The lawful claims and duties to our old flesh. and bring about true justice for the poor. The righteous will give thanks to you indeed. And we conclude with the Doxology Psalm 150, the A selection. Praise the Lord. and will be dismissed then with a benediction in a moment. Praise the Lord, praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty excellence. Praise Him for His mighty deeds. Praise Him. according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with the trumpet sound. Praise Him with the harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing. Praise Him with feasting and supper. Praise Him with dancing. Now may grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit be and abide upon each one of us, both now and forever, evermore. Amen. Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Good to see you again, kids. A joy of hope. A joy of hope, especially you, your family and friends. I think I've rejected a hundred and one. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I I don't know.