I'd invite you to turn in your Bible, first of all, to Psalm 27. Life is not always easy. We have problems of health, perhaps financial worries. We have problems from people, our neighbors, our work colleagues, people being awkward, perhaps. But God doesn't promise us a life of ease when we come to Christ. He does, however, promise to be with us as we go through these difficulties. And here is a psalm where David had more than his share of difficulties. He is being hounded as an outlaw, hiding in caves in the wilderness, There is so much we can see in this psalm to encourage us as we face our difficulties. The psalm divides into four paragraphs. And first of all, we see David's confidence in the Lord. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." So David's life is in danger here as he speaks. But we see his confidence, and we see the reason for his confidence. He remembers how God helped him in the past. As we read these verses, we can hear the thunder of Goliath's footsteps as he marches towards this little teenager. And we can hear his voice thundering out in defiance of the God of Israel. And David's answer was one of humility. You come to me with your armor and your weapons. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the one that you have defied. And so God gave him the victory. And because of God's help to him in the past, David has confidence now in the present. And as we go through life and face temptations every day, we too can have confidence because of what God has done in the past. He not only sent His Son to die on the cross, He raised Him from the grave. And we have a Savior who is victorious. We have an enemy who is real, but an enemy who is defeated. We continue, verse 4. "'One thing I asked of the Lord, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble, He will keep me safe in His dwelling. He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me. At his tabernacle, I will sacrifice with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to the Lord." So, in this paragraph, we see David's desire for God. As he hides in the wilderness, We might understand if his burning desire was to have the comforts of home again, to be able to have a shower and clean clothes to put on, to have a comfortable bed to sleep in. But no, his desire here, above all else, is to know God better. He's thinking of the tabernacle, the place of worship. That's where the Ark of the Covenant was kept with the Ten Commandments, God's instructions for how His people were to live. This is where the animal sacrifices were offered, a picture of what the Savior would do when He came. And so, David's desire is to be in the house of God, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, to learn more about God, to know Him more deeply. And surely that is what ought to be our desire, too, the reason for our gathering today, the reason we sit down and read our Bible at home, the reason we meet through the week to pray together. It's to know God more deeply, to know Him better. And it's to meditate, to listen to God's voice and to meditate upon what He says. As we continue, verse 7. Hear my voice when I call, O Lord. Be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says to you, seek his face. Your face, Lord, I will seek. "'Do not hide your face from me. "'Do not turn your servant away in anger, "'for you have been my helper. "'Do not reject me or forsake me, O God, my Saviour. "'Though my father and mother forsake me, "'the Lord will receive me.'" So, there's a different tone here as David turns to God in prayer and his cry to God in his distress These enemies around him are real. They'll stop at nothing. As we see in a moment, they tell lies about him. And Saul, of course, was seeking his death. But again, his concern above all is that God does not turn him away. And he's aware that he is a sinner, and God would have the right to judge him and condemn him. And at the same time, He has confidence that as he comes to God, believing God's promise, repenting of his sin, and trusting in the Savior, who for David was still to come, he had the confidence that God would receive him. He speaks of his father and mother rejecting him, that I take to be hypothetical. Even if that were to happen, God would receive me. God speaks through Isaiah, Isaiah 49, 15. Can a woman forget her child? I will not forget you. So, why should God accept us? Because of Christ, because of His atonement, David. only knew so much about the Savior. He had a promise of someone to come in the future. He had a picture in the animal sacrifices of what the Savior would do. But we have so much more. We have the Scriptures. We have the full record of what Jesus has done and had accomplished. And so we can turn to God also in prayer. So there's David's confidence because of what God has done in the past. There's David's desire to behold the beauty of the Lord with his cry to God in his distress. And then we see the courage that comes from the Lord for those who wait on him. Verse 11. "'Teach me your way, O Lord. "'Lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. "'Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes, "'for false witnesses rise up against me, "'breathing out violence. "'I am still confident of this. "'I will see the goodness of the Lord "'in the land of the living. "'Wait for the Lord. "'Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.'" So, we have the courage that comes to those who wait for God. David regards himself not only as someone who is learning, wanting God to teach him, but he is also a pilgrim. He's on a journey, and he asks God to lead him on level paths. Verse 13. I am still confident of this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. The goodness of the Lord is not only something that we can look forward to in the future in heaven. It's something we experience here on earth in the land of the living. And so David concludes this song composed at a time of real danger in his life. The purpose of the song is not to draw attention to himself and either to feel sorry for him or to be proud about what he has done. The purpose of the song is to encourage us that we, too, would wait on God. And there is hope. It's not an empty hope without foundation. It's the hope that comes, the confidence that comes from those who know God and are close to Him. It comes from the one who is the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm, the Lord Jesus Christ. You notice how the psalm begins, the Lord is my light. And Lord there is in small capitals. That's God's name, Yahweh, Jehovah. And when Jesus said, I am the light of the world, I believe there's a connection with this. Jesus is claiming divinity. He's claiming to be equal to the Father. So He is the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm. I'd invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Galatians. We'll begin to read at the end of chapter 3, verse 26. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, When we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, and the spirit who calls out, "'Abba, Father.'" So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Our son, David, married an American girl called Amy. and they, with their family, are living in Pennsylvania. They are in the process of adopting a little girl called Faith. When Amy was a student, she worked in Guatemala for a summer in an orphanage. And together, David and Amy decided that when they got married, before they'd try to have children themselves, they would like to adopt a child. And so they've been caring for Faith since she was a few months old in a program that is called Fostering with a View to Adoption. Normally, the whole matter is sorted out within two or three years. Faith has just turned six, and it is still not settled. After many disappointments and postponements, they have at last received the good news that things are moving forward, what is called TPR, termination of parental rights. It's the next important step before the final adoption. And so we are rejoicing that this is finally, hopefully, coming to a conclusion. We as Christians have been adopted into God's family. What is adoption? Well, the shorter catechism, as so often very well sums up, the blessings of being a Christian can be summed up in three words, justification, adoption, and sanctification. Justification takes us into the courtroom, and the judge declares us not guilty. Well, we are guilty. We've all broken God's law. And the fine that has been imposed, we cannot pay. But along comes another who pays it on our behalf. And so the judge says, the law has been satisfied. You are free to go. Christ came as our substitute to pay the penalty of our lawbreaking. That's justification. But it is one thing for the judge to say to this stranger in the court, you are free to go. He might even say, I don't want to see you again. Certainly not in my court. It would be quite a different thing for that judge to say to this criminal who's now been forgiven, I want you to come home with me. I want you to be a part of my family. I want you to be my heir. And that's what God does to us in adoption. He makes us part of his family. Adoption is an act of God's free grace whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God." And so, this morning, I want to concentrate on verses 4 to 6 of Galatians chapter 4. The title is, The Wonder of Adoption. And we consider it under three headings. God's perfect plan, Christ's redeeming purpose and our amazing privileges. So, first of all, God's perfect plan. A child does not choose who his parents are going to be. If he could, he'd probably choose somebody different. My parents are so old-fashioned, I can't put up with them. An orphan doesn't choose who his adopted parents are going to be either. Oh, I like this one. This one, his house isn't big enough, or he doesn't drive a nice enough car. Of course not. And we become members of God's family, and we are adopted into his family because God acts in grace. God takes the initiative. We, by nature, are wayward. We're like the prodigal son. We can't stand our father and all that he stands for and represents. We want to go our own way. We want our pleasure. And we end up in poverty and misery. Adoption is an act of God's free grace. God brings us into his family, not on the basis of merit, because we deserve it, but in spite of what we deserve. All of this is the outworking of God's perfect plan. It was a plan drawn up in eternity past, what we call the covenant of redemption, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit agreed to redeem a people for the glory of their name. And the Son agreed to come as the Messiah, And that promise was given throughout the Old Testament and repeated. Someone will come to put things right. The Old Testament believers had to wait. When would this happen? Who would it be? Well, we know it is Jesus. And so here, Paul says, verse 4, but when the time had fully come." Do you ever wonder why it was that in the book of Acts, the Church grew at such speed that Paul would arrive in a town, and in a few weeks, people were converted, and the Church was formed? Whenever we were going to France, Someone suggested to us that we shouldn't be thinking of settling in a particular town. We should be like Paul, spend three weeks here and preach, see people converted, live at the beginning of a church, go to another town, do the same. But, of course, the situation, the circumstances for Paul were unique, and it was in the fullness of time just at the right time, because God had been ordering the affairs of the world in such a way that the gospel would spread quickly. It was like if you have an open fire in your home, and you take out the ashes, and you put in the fire lighter and the paper and the sticks, and it's ready to go, and all it needs is a match. Well, God had organized the affairs of the world like that. that with Alexander the Great sweeping through at remarkable speed, he left behind the Greek language, which was an international language. And then there was the Roman Empire building their roads and installing the Roman peace so that people could travel in relative safety. And then there was the Hebrew dispersion, that all around the Mediterranean world, the Hebrews had moved to live, to conduct their business, and wherever they went, they built a synagogue. So every week, in these towns around the Mediterranean, the Word of God was read. And that attracted not only the Jews from that city, but also a number of Gentiles. people who were called God-fearers. They hadn't gone the whole way of becoming Jews, but they were searching for something better than the paganism around them. And this was the fire that was set ready for a match. And so, when Paul comes preaching the gospel, that's the match, and the fire bursts into flame. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son. This was God's perfect plan. And all of this so that you and I could become His children. The wonder of adoption. Secondly, after God's perfect plan, we think about Christ's redeeming purpose. Christ's redeeming purpose. Adoption is a legal matter. The courts have to be satisfied that this is in the best interest of the child. Papers have to be signed to make it legal. When I was a student, I worked one summer in a church in America. And there was a family there that had been caring for a little girl for several years. But they hadn't gone through the formal matter of adoption. And the natural parents then demanded to have her back. And it was with great sadness. that they had to hand her back because she hadn't been legally, officially adopted. What a joy it was for us just three weeks ago to receive news of our granddaughter's adoption, or at least the next step towards it. What a joy it was to see the actual papers where the judge And black and white said, this is going forward. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. God the Son came to earth And as we read in Philippians chapter 2, He took those steps down. He was willing to come to earth. He was willing to be a man, born as a baby, willing to be a servant, willing to die, even the death of the cross. And here's His humiliation, willing to endure all of this for our salvation. He was born under the law. Jesus said, I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And he observed the restrictions of the Old Testament ceremonial law. There were certain foods that were not to be eaten, certain things not to be done. And Jesus went through with all of this. He kept the law perfectly. and the only one who did not sin and who didn't deserve to be punished for his sin, then went to the cross and took the place of sinners, took the punishment that we deserve. The law condemns. The law points out our law-breaking. The law calls for our condemnation. But Jesus comes to be our substitute to pay the penalty that we could not pay. He died on the cross to satisfy divine justice. And so the judge can declare that we are not guilty. The fine has been paid. The law has been satisfied. And now the judge can sign those adoption papers. Here is Christ's redeeming purpose. So how do we benefit personally? Well, look back at chapter 3, verse 26. Paul is writing to believers, all who are trusting in Christ. People speak about the universal fatherhood of God. It doesn't exist. They speak about the universal brotherhood of man. But the only thing that unites us is our sinfulness and our lostness and our misery. We are orphans under the condemnation of the law. But writing to believers, he says, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Have you laid hold of Christ by faith? Have you made Him your own? I am a sinner. I need a Savior. Jesus is my Savior. Christ's redeeming purpose. And then thirdly, we see our amazing privileges. Our amazing privileges. I, as a father, am very much aware of my shortcomings and failings. And perhaps for you, as for some people in the world, the idea of a father is not a happy one. Their own father mistreated them, was cruel. But God is not like that. God is the perfect father. And so, we think about the privileges that are ours. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons, that we might receive adoption as sons, as many of the other versions say. So the privileges that we are considering are not ours by nature. They're not ours because we deserve it. They're ours by grace. Adoption is an act of God's free grace by which we become His sons with all the rights and privileges of being His. So let's think about these amazing privileges. Our relationship with every one of the Trinity has been altered. that the Lord Jesus Christ is not only our Savior, He is also our elder brother. The Holy Spirit is not only the one who grants us saving faith and brings us to Christ, He indwells us. As the next verse says, He enables us to say, Abba, Father. And God, the Father, is not only our Creator, but He is our Father in heaven. And as such, we know the Father's love. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on you, that you should be called the children of God. 1 John 3, verse 1. Children need to know that they are loved. And moms and dads need to tell them and repeat it and repeat it again. God says, I love you, and I paid a great price so that you could be mine. We know the Father's love. We have access to the Father's presence. If you were to write to the Queen and say you'd like to have a chat with her, I don't know what kind of answer you might receive or how long you'd have to wait. Maybe some of you have an inside track. But most of us would have to wait a long time, and we might get 5 or 10 minutes at most. But God is never too busy. We can come. Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we might receive help in time of need. And we can bring our burdens to our Father. He knows all about us. He knows our needs before we tell Him, and He cares. That's why Jesus repeatedly said, do not be anxious about your life. Your heavenly Father knows what you need. And with the Father's presence with us as we go through life, wherever we go and whatever we do, the Father is by our side. Just as for David, in all his danger and hiding in the wilderness, God was with him to protect him. So we have access to the Father's presence. Another privilege, we receive the Father's discipline. Now, maybe you don't think of that as a privilege, but it is. A parent who is lazy, who takes the easy way out, who lets his child away with whatever he wants, not only raises a spoiled child, but is also storing up many a misery for himself later. It is a privilege to have parents who love us enough to discipline us. And the writer to the Hebrews in chapter 12 compares the earthly father and what God does in our lives. We accept the earthly Father's instruction and discipline, even if it isn't pleasant for the moment. How much more we ought to receive gladly the Father's discipline? How does He do that? He disciplines us through the Word. He speaks to our conscience as we read it, as we hear it preached. God disciplines us through the advice of other Christians, elders in the church, for example, who might approach you and say, we are concerned about something we see in your life. God may discipline us through circumstances that were laid low We're laid on our back for two weeks because we've got the flu, and we have to stop and think about our priorities and how much time we're spending on this and that and the other. And maybe God is speaking into our lives. So we receive the Father's discipline. And then, when we are adopted, we receive a new family. a new family, because adoption is not simply that I, as an individual, have a new relationship with God in heaven. In our adoption, we have new brothers and sisters. This church is your home. That's why we love it. We want to be there. I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. And our brothers and sisters in Christ, we love them. We can't bear to be away from them. And it's one of the cruel side effects of COVID and lockdown. It has had a detrimental impact not only on our physical well-being, but also on our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. And perhaps we give too much emphasis to the physical and not enough to the spiritual. We must not neglect our spiritual well-being. But what a wonderful privilege it is to have brothers and sisters who care for us, And as people come through the door, they see the love of God among the people of God. So, friends, do you appreciate the wonder of adoption? That God has not left us as orphans, but that He's brought us into His family God's perfect plan. God was organizing the events of world history so that you could be His child. Christ's redeeming purpose. Jesus died on the cross so that you could be adopted. And our amazing privilege is that we know the Father's love, We enjoy the Father's presence. We receive the Father's discipline. And we have a new spiritual family. So let us make it our resolve, then, that every time God's family meets, that if it's at all possible, that we will be there amongst them. the wonder of adoption. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Amen.