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welcome to everyone it's good to have a joint service with the Surry Reformed Baptist Church very nice that they drove out here and after our service this evening we're going to have a time of food and fellowship following so after Mike preaches he'll pray and then everybody can go upstairs where there'll be food and refreshment and that sort of thing well for our call to worship you can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Isaiah Isaiah 42 one of the servant songs the first servant song that we find in the prophet Isaiah of course the servant being the Lord Jesus Christ several snapshots in the prophet Isaiah concerning the person and work of our Lord Jesus and isaiah 42:1 2:9 is as I said the first behold my servant whom I uphold my elect one and whom my soul delights I have put my spirit upon him he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles he will not cry out nor raise his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the street a bruised Reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not quench he will bring forth justice for truth he will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands shall wait for his law thus says the Lord who created the heavens and stretched them out who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it I the LORD have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people as a light to the Gentiles to open blind eyes to bring out prisoners from the prison those who sit in darkness from the prison house I am the Lord that is my name and my glory I will not give to another nor my praise two carved images behold the former things have come to pass and new things I declare before they spring forth I tell you of them Amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnal to him number 50 it's him number 56 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] please be seated well this is quite an encouraging time many of us have prayed a long time for the opportunity to plant a church and in God's providence and kindness and goodness we were able to do that we are very encouraged about the work in Surrey we receive frequent updates it's good to have you all with us tonight it's good for us as a church to reflect on what the Lord has done in answering those prayers Christ tells us or told the disciples the harvest is plentiful pray the lord of the harvest to raise up laborers and we have done that God answered and we've established or seen established a viable work there in Surrey we continue to pray for you hopefully you guys are praying for us you have not forgotten from whence you've come and it is a great joy and a blessing to be able to host this occasion this evening to rekindle our fellowship in the gospel and just to rehearse God's goodness and kindness to us so let us pray and rejoice in our savior father we thank you and we bless you and we praise you so we consider your mercies as we consider your grace and your kindness we give all praise and glory unto you we know Lord God that you are the one who has promised to build the church the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it we know that you have established the pattern for calling men equip man and sending forth men and we rejoice that you have done this in Surrey we bless you for this opportunity on the Sabbath to share a service together we bless you for the ability that we have to worship in spirit and in truth and as well to fellowship around around the dinner table we give praise to you for these good gifts and for your loving-kindness displayed to us and our heart's desire and our earnest plea is that Father Son and Holy Spirit would be praised tonight that you would be glorified that you would be enthroned upon the praises of your Israel here that God you would indeed cause us to grow in the Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and may you be pleased to bless both churches here and the work in Vernon we genuinely desire to see the salvation of sin we know that you have planted churches for the edification of the saints for the building up of the people of God but as well we know them to be places where the gospel is preached and where sinners dead in their trespasses and sins can come and hear the truth and hopefully by the power of God the Spirit come out of darkness in the marvelous light we pray that the work in Surrey would have an impact on that community she would be pleased Lord God to bless the work cause sinners to come to hear the truth as it is in Jesus and may your Holy Spirit attend to the saving of a multitude there we pray for our community in Chilliwack she would be gracious and merciful to use this ministry for the salvation of sinners we also pray father for the workings and burnin we know God that they have no pastor we pray that you would be even now equipping and fitting a man for service in that part of your of your harvest field we ask that all churches all these churches would redound to the praise and to the glory of God Almighty we ask tonight that you would fit our hearts a right that you would fill us with that reverence that is due for such a holy God and that you would fill our hearts with great joy and with great Thanksgiving as we consider as we ponder not only what you've done in terms of these churches but what you have done ultimately in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for his life of perfect obedience to the father's law we thank you for his death on the cross as a substitute as a as a sacrifice for all the father had given him and we thank you that you raised him on the third day and for his current session at the right hand of the Father where he ever lives to make intercession for his people God we rejoice in the finished work of our Lord Jesus we rejoice in who he is one person two glorious natures the god man the one who came down for us men and for our salvation and we rejoice in the Holy Spirit and we pray now that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions we ask God that you would help us to take seriously the admonition to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel and Lord even now is we consider that statement we confess our iniquity and our transgression we don't always live as the lights you've called us to be we're not always bold with gospel truth as we ought to be we actually and and positively break that holy law that is given as a as a rule of life to us the Lord forgive us now caused us to know that precious fountain of the blood of Jesus Christ that that washes and cleanses us from all sin we ask God in heaven that you would renew our hearts and and infant Niek with us so that when we leave this place we would be further conformed unto the image of your son that we would enter into this new week with great joy and with a fresh resolve to bring glory to you in this world we ask for any and all who've come here tonight that are not saved we know God that you are a God of great mercy and a God of great kindness we know that you delight to save sinners we see that the prodigal son and the father running to find the son the father running and falling upon the son and the father restoring him to full privilege in the home God this truly is a great picture a great analogy of what the father does in the salvation of sinners even now so we pray that you would be merciful that you know 'pn hearts that they might receive the preaching of the gospel and that they might be convicted and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray for other churches in our community thanking you that we're not alone asking that you would bless and prosper your true churches cause them to be faithful with reference to the Scriptures and the sacraments and the discipline that is necessary for churches and may you be glorified in each of these places we ask thee would be merciful throughout this earth earth the psalmist said the psalmist prayed that the face of God would shine upon the nations of the earth and we pray likewise we ask that you would bless the missionary enterprise for those we pray for on a regular basis we just commit them to you into the word of your grace praying that your word would be proclaimed in these distant lands for the salvation of sinners we also pray for our brothers and sisters that are persecuted for the cause of God and truth we know that recently in China things are increasing in terms of government pressure upon the people of God when you protect those ones we love and those we hold dear and we would pray for all those who are preaching the truth and and worshiping the God of heaven and earth truly we ask that they would be protected by a sovereign God blessed and enabled to continue to worship you and we do pray for our brothers and sisters that live in those lands that are that are dominated by that wretched Aslam we would pray God for your people that are suffering for for Jesus Christ specifically not as a prophet but as the mediator of the New Covenant we pray for them that they would be given boldness that they would be given grace and perseverance and that they would not shrink back from declaring the truth as it is in Jesus Christ Lord bless those who are unable to be with us tonight be with our dear brothers and sisters that are struggling physically we ask that you would undertake on their behalf grant them grace Lord God to press on through these things and may they know the nearness of God as their good continue with us we pray and we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we may turn in your Trinity Psalter to Psalm 143 Psalm 143 will sing verses 7 to 12 so Psalm 143 verses 7 to 12 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] you could turn in your Bibles to the prophet habakkuk we're in Habakkuk chapter 2 remember that a bakit prophesied just before the destruction of Jerusalem he prophesied from 6:08 to 605 BC the destruction would come in 587 a 586 in that timeframe so he's calling the people to repentance he is calling the people to faith he is reiterating the Lord's vengeance upon them should they continue in the state they've adopted so beginning in chapter 2 at verse 1 I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart and watch to see what he will say to me and what I will answer when I am corrected then the Lord answered me and said write the vision and make it plain on tablets that he who that he may run who reads it for the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it will speak and it will not lie though it tarries wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry behold the proud his soul is not upright in him but the just shall live by his faith indeed because he transgresses by wine he is a proud man and he does not stay at home because he enlarges his desire as hell and he is like death and cannot be satisfied he gathers to himself all nations and heaps up for himself all peoples will not all these take up a proverb against him in a taunting riddle against him and say woe to him who increases what is not his how long and to him loads himself with many pledges will not your creditors rise up suddenly will they not awaken who oppress you and you will become their booty because you have plant plundered many nations all the remnant of the people shall plunder you because of men's blood and the violence of the land in the city and of all who dwell in it woe to him who covets evil gain for his house that he may set best on I that he may be delivered from the power of disaster you give shameful counsel to your house cutting off many people's and sin against your soul for the stone will cry out from the wall and the beam from the Timbers will answer it woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed who establishes a city by iniquity behold is it not of the Lord of Hosts that the people's labor to feed the fire and nations weary themselves in vain for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor pressing him to your bottle even to make him drunk that you may look on his nakedness you are filled with shame instead of glory you also drink and be exposed as uncircumcised the cup of the Lord's right hand will be turned against you and utter shame will be on your glory for the violence done to Lebanon will cover you and the plunder of beasts which made them afraid because of men's blood and the violence of the land in the city and of all who dwell in it what profit is the image that its maker should carve it the molded image a teacher of Lies that the maker of its mold should trust in it to make mute idols woe to him who says to would awake to silent stone arise and shall teach behold it is overlaid with gold and silver yet in it there is no breath at all but the Lord is in his holy temple let all the earth keep silence before him amen let us pray blessed God and holy father we thank you for this sobering reminder concerning your your presence in the Holy Temple we ask that you would cause creatures on this earth to be silent before you the prophets elsewhere asks ask who would not fear thee o king of the nations for indeed it is they do man should never rise in rebellion against such a holy and a great and a glorious God may what the Prophet speaks of in the first part of the chapter be preached throughout the earth the reality the jaw shall live by faith we pray that gospel message would go forth conquering and to conquer we pray that it would run swiftly and be glorified for certainly God as we look at our own generation certainly has many parallels to what we find in the prophets concerning Israel we know that God you are just and righteous and holy you are as well a God of grace and mercy and kindness a God who does delight to save sinners from their sins we pray tonight that you would encourage our hearts through the preaching of the gospel we pray for Pastor Mike that you'd bless him and fill him with the Holy Spirit and fill us as he rose with that spirit as well so that we may receive with thankful hearts the word of the Living God let it not be the case that we we marvel it the word preached and we we hang on those syllables and those things the way that the people listen to good musical instruments and yet not do what the Word of God says help us do not simply be hearers but to be doers of your word help us to be a wise man who looks in the mirror turns away and remembers what he looks like God grant us grace in this and to that end we pray for the ministry of the holy spirit to illumine our minds and our hearts and we ask this in the name of the lord jesus christ amen well for our final him before the preaching of the word we can turn to number 441 hymn number 441 again we'll stand as we sing together [Music] well good evening everyone it's good to see you all it's good to be here to worship with you tonight I would say greetings from C Reformed Baptist but half of us are here so but anyway it's good to be with you you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 143 as we look at Psalm 143 this evening Psalm 143 we'll begin reading at first one a psalm of David hear my prayer O Lord give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness answer me and in your righteousness do not enter into judgment with your servant for in your sight no one living is righteous for the enemy has persecuted my soul he has crushed my life to the ground he has made me dwell in darkness like those who have long been dead therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me my heart within me is distressed I remember the days of old I meditate on all your works I'm use on the work of your hands I spread out my hands to you my soul longs for you like a thirsty land say 'la answer me speedily O Lord my spirit fails do not hide your face from me lest I be like those who go down into the pit cause me to hear your loving-kindness in the morning for in you do I trust cause me to know the way in which I should walk for I lift my soul to you deliver me O Lord from my enemies and new I take shelter teach me to do your will for you are my god your spirit is good lead me in the land of uprightness revive me O Lord for your name's sake for your righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble in your mercy cut off my enemies and destroy all those who afflict my soul for I am your servant Amen well let us pray o Great God Almighty the maker of heaven and earth we're thankful that we can consider your ways o God how you spoke forth and it came to be we see your majesty we see your goodness and even the heavens declare the glory of your name o God but O God we know that we are sinful people a sinful creature we're thankful there is a righteousness not our own there is a righteousness that is not because of us or because of our goodness but your righteousness O God and that righteousness that is seen in the Lord Jesus Christ and we're a thankful that when we pray to you O God we can appeal to your goodness and not our own for you're the one that we lean upon you're the one that we need often you are the one that we need daily o God and O God we need you once again as we study or wear we do ask that you would send forth your spirit they would have illumination by your spirit of the things that we see here even when we have remaining corruption we know oh god we can't be before you we can't offer our sins to you confess them to you knowing that we are forgiven we are righteous in your sight because of the blood of Jesus Christ so god help us when we pray to appeal to you to appeal to your goodness to pre-op be preoccupied with who you are and what you have done Oh God and so God we ask this will be the case this evening we pray for any unbelievers here today that you would save them that you would work in them show them that they are sinful show them that they have great sin and show them the remedy the Lord Christ tonight and O God for any here that are Christ's were thankful for your salvation their lives that you chose them before the foundation of the world o God we know that there is still remaining corruption so God again we pick up heel to your righteousness for aid and strength we're thankful that we can do this again may our prayers be up preoccupied with who you are and what you've done and we pray in all things that you'd be glorified we pray in the name of Christ amen well as we considered the Psalms it's important to know the purpose and the message of the Psalms and thankfully the psalmist or the way it's structured it gives us that Psalm number one gives us the purpose of the entire Psalms namely the way of happiness namely the way of the righteous and the way of the righteous is only found in the message of the psalm of the Psalter namely in the kingdom of the Messiah the Lord Jesus or perhaps we could say David's greater son the one to whom the father said to the son you are my son today I have begotten you and that sets forth the structure the purpose the message of the entire Salter and even as we look at the Psalter there is a bit of a flow to it when you get to book three there's this crises of faith for the king his focus very much on the king and finally we come to book five where our Psalm is today we see the Kings celebration of salvation but perhaps as we were reading that Psalm you're kind of like he doesn't sound very celebratory in this Psalm he sounds like he's in distress he's got some concerns and he does have many but as we go through it as we'll unpack it we'll see that it is a great psalm of salvation it is a great Psalm that points not to this Kings righteousness but to God's righteousness for really we see the problem in this psalm namely that of the sinfulness of all mankind the wretchedness of all mankind there is no one living who is righteous and even perhaps if you're a Christian you wrestle with that you wrestle with the flesh and the spirit knowing that there is still remaining corruption and so where can we turn in our prayers in our sins where can we go and so really in this Psalm we see in this life-or-death situation David appeals to God's righteousness and not his own he appeals to God's goodness and not his own covenant-keeping and his own innocence perhaps we could even say Christians this is the cry for us when we still face sin perhaps we can ask that question even as we go through this text as we look at this when you pray who are your prayers preoccupied with and to whom do you appeal to when you pray who is the focus is it yourselves where is it God will seek to answer that question as we go through under two headings this evening first of all God's righteousness for a crushed soul verses 1 through 6 and then secondly God's guidance for a troubled servant verses 7 through 12 so God's righteousness for a crushed soul and God's guidance for a troubled servant let's first look at God's righteousness for a crushed soul in verses 1 through 6 and notice as we start we see the distress on David hear my prayer give ear to my supplications answer me oh my god we can hear that distress on his lips but even in that distress where does he go first to whom does he appeal to first he says hear my prayer O Lord this is Yahweh this is the covenant lord and this is the Covenant keeper he's appealing to God's promises even in that name and certainly God had given many promises to David Psalm 89 we see that blessed covenant with David that Davidic covenant where God says to him in Psalm 89 3 I have made my covenant with my chosen I have sworn to my servant David your seed I will establish forever and build your throne to all generations and then Psalm 89 verse 24 God's speaking but my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him and so he appeals to who God is the Covenant keeper hear my prayer give ear to what I have to say give ear to my supplications oh God but then further in verse 1 he appeals to who God is answer me in your faithfulness answer me in your righteousness you see as the prayer goes on it sets the stage for who the focus of this prayer is going to be about even in the midst of all the trials that David goes through who is his focus to whom does he appeal your faithfulness Oh God and your righteousness Oh God answer me and they are descriptive of who our God is he is trustworthy he is one that can be leaned upon we see that throughout the Scriptures but even so he's also a just judge a righteous judge and we see that with the language of righteousness and we see this out elsewhere in the psalms psalm 119 verse 137 righteous are you O Lord and up rights are your judgments your testimonies which you have commanded our righteous and very faithful so we see that God is the only one who truly is righteous and so what does David do as he deals with this plight he says in verse 2 do not enter into judgment with your servant for in your sight no one living is righteous you see David recognizes his own wickedness David recognizes his own lack of innocence David recognizes his own guilt and he recognized that God as a just judge could righteously judge him could righteously bring judgment upon him because day it is guilty but you see David is appealing to gospel promises here he's appealing to not his own righteousness but he's appealing to God Oh God in your righteousness answer me why because I am wicked I am unrighteous for do not enter the judgment with your servant in your sight no one living is righteous he's describing the general human condition guilt and corruption and even the language in verse 2 for in your sites no one living is righteous so he appeals to who God is he appeals to God's goodness he recognizes his own wickedness and even describes in that the entire plight of humanity but he goes on to describe his specific issue in verses 3 and 4 notice we see this persecuted soul and it says that in verse 1 for the enemy has persecuted my soul and even to the extent that he has crushed my life to the ground you see he's going to talk about life and spirit and soul and it's all about the fact that he's in this life-or-death situation my enemy has persecuted his enemies bringing about this upon him and he has crushed my life even to the ground and even to the extent and verse 3 noticed the imagery he has made me dwell in darkness like those who have long been dead the plights is great now perhaps if you're like me you haven't we all entirely put yourself in a coffin and shut the thing upon you that's kind of what it's like isn't it being caught in that coffin there's nowhere else to go it's only darkness and that's the plight that he is facing it's almost like this this this this idea of hyperventilating that he can't do he doesn't know where to go he has made me dwell in darkness like those who have long been dead and therefore verse 4 my spirit is overwhelmed within me and my heart within me is distressed my heart is showing horror my heart is in distress I don't know what else to do and so this is how he's feeling oh this is what's happening to him and if you notice even here in verses 3 & 4 it's very generic language isn't it because you see even though it's David speaking these things they were written for the the corporate gatherings there are many different people who went through many different trials maybe perhaps the same or perhaps different from David and David had many different trials that he went through didn't he and what's interesting in some of the cases and the some of the trials of David goes through they are brought about because of his own sin and that's connected with what city says in verse 2 he's recognizing his wickedness and perhaps maybe that the judgment he's facing or the the issues that he our fate is facing is based on his own doing nope rather than we know that we are saved by grace we are covered in Christ's righteousness but that doesn't mean there still aren't consequences for sin that doesn't mean sometimes in life that might be a sign of judgment we deal with those consequences sometimes those are hard to see and understand I know that but perhaps if you murder someone and then you come to saving knowledge you're probably still gonna have to finish that sentence even though that murder that you committed is forgiven before the high king of heaven and so perhaps David is facing some of his own distress his own persecutions and we see that in the life of David don't we with David and Bathsheba and Uriah God brings judgment upon him very much a temporal judgment thankfully David is still saved but it's still a distress upon him but it's generic language generic language of the plights the enemy is persecuted my soul is crushed like those have long been dead and so what does he do what's his comfort in the times of difficulty in distress and when the enemies are surrounding him he remembers God verses five and six I remember the days of old perhaps this is a personal remembrance in the life of David and David's done this before hasn't he when he goes up to fight Goliath what does he say he says God was with me when I fought those bears and God was with me when I fought those lions who is this he then that blasphemes the name of the Lord and so even in his struggles perhaps he doesn't sense that God is with him he remembers what God has done for him but not just personally he remembers even further what God has done in the history of Israel notice I meditate on all your works I mused on the work of your hands you see not even just Redemption but creation as well he perhaps it has some 19 in his mind the heavens declare your handiwork this or that skies proclaim your handiwork the heavens declare the glory of the Lord or perhaps Psalm 8 when he thinks about the musing of God actually creating with his fingers the whole creation who is man that you are mindful of him maybe he's bringing that to mind or perhaps even he's thinking about Redemption he perhaps want to hear the stories of Exodus Psalm 117 that or Psalm 114 when Israel went out of Egypt the house of Jacob from a people of a strange language Judah became his sanctuary in Israel his Dominion the sea saw it and fled and Jordan turned back the mountains skipped like rams the hid little Hills like lambs what ails you Oh see that you fled oh Jordan that you turned back whole mountains that you skip like Rams or little Hills like lambs tremble o earth that the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Jacob who turned the rock into a pool of water to Flint into a fountain of waters so he wants to hear about Redemption perhaps he's reciting psalm 32 who blessed is the man who does not count transgressions when whose sins are covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity so perhaps he has these things in his mind but he's recalling God's works and what God has done in the past for him and certainly for the people of Israel but notice even further he doesn't just want to remember God's works he wants God himself verse 6 I spread out my hands to you my soul longs for you like a thirsty land in kind of sense he see he's not aware of the presence of God with him he's like a dry land wanting to be quenched wanting his thirst to be quenched wanting to have that water and he lifts his hands up to God it's you O God that I wish to have it's you O God that I want near me it's you O God and who you are and your faithless and righteousness that I want you to be close during these difficulties you see he's parched but he wants his God with him you can sense the agony and what he wants from his God because you see even in this as we see David's prayer as we see him appeal to God your prayers should be preoccupied with God's works and who God is your prayers should touch and focus and be solely focused on the Lord Jesus and what he has done in Redemption you see even though David's going through a plight in verses 3 and 4 verses 3 & 4 really are the only discussion of that plights the rest of the psalm is all about God even with his struggles he turns the tension on high he turns the tension off himself off the flight and onto the God who can help him in that plate that's his focus that's what he looks to that's whom he calls a pond and you see this is an example of great faith isn't it you know sometimes brethren people lack assurance but that doesn't mean people don't have faith and sometimes perhaps those people that lack assurance of faith go to God more in prayer go to God on their knees all the more asking God for further assurance and brethren that is a great sign of faith isn't it because you faith is not some fuzzy feeling inside of me faith is not some sort of instance where I feel happy all the time faith is trusting in our God day in and day out sometimes regardless of how we are feeling and sometimes that doesn't mean those circumstances are gonna go away either it just means we have a God to trust in and look to and appeal to when we go through those trials and don't we need our God daily weekly hourly secondly all those instances I think dr. fresco defined prayer really well he says prayer is the admission of the necessity of redemption and isn't that the case we need our God day in and day out in our circumstances in our life in our struggles and our difficulties with our sins we go to him often and certainly in a life-or-death situation we need our God all the more so that's God's righteousness for a crushed soul let's then look secondly at God's guidance for a troubled servant verses 7 through 12 perhaps as he lifts his hands this is what he says and he gives several petitions his soul is stirred up as he's thought more about his God he says in verse 7 he gives this petition concerning God's nearness answer me speedily Oh Lord for my spirit fails Lord come close be near to me for I do not sense that you are close and perhaps if you think about the difficulty perhaps he could be going through as he wants God to be near as he's facing different enemies perhaps everyone else has abandoned him he is alone there's no one with him and he doesn't want God to let you out go away from him either he wants God to be close he wants God to be near he doesn't want it to seem as though God is frowning upon him and so answer me speedily quickly oh my lord specially in a life-or-death situation you want God to answer quickly for my spirit fails he wants God's nearness to be close to him and so he says do not hide your face from me your brethren our God is with us sometimes whether we feel like it or not but sometimes we want that sensible reminder that God is with us don't we we want that sensible reality to know that God is near us for that does change the fact that God is with us but doesn't mean we don't have to cry it for the fact that God we want you to be near us does do not hide your face from me and notice less I be like those who go down into the pit he's concerned with verse 3 he doesn't want to be in darkness and in that coffin he doesn't want to go into that place and to be dead he doesn't want to die this way now brethren if you're in Christ we don't have to fear death do we but perhaps sometimes we fear the way we die I think and perhaps being gutted by a Philistine wouldn't be the funnest way to go we all kind of want to die in our sleep that would be really nice sometimes we have irrational fears of how we're gonna die I'm terrified being eaten by an anaconda it's just it's just reality or a tiger or something like that I just have an irrational fear of that we don't have any Tigers fur or head of conda's here but that would be kind of sad but thankfully I'd be in heaven but you see we don't want to die but we know that when we die we have a God who protects us and that we can pass through death with our God that's we cries out I don't want to go this way I don't want to go down to the pit be near me Oh God do not hide your face from me and verse 8 caused me to hear your loving-kindness in the morning it's like you saying O God renew my morning new mercies I seek morning by morning sorrow may last for the night but joy comes in the morning O God be with me let me hear about your Hesed that loving kindness that covenant faithfulness let me hear about your goodness and be reminded of what you've done help me to know it all the more and maybe in this case as I struggle and go through this difficulty with these ones who seek to take my life you know it's probably my fault notice verse 8 caused me to hear your loving-kindness in the morning for in you do I trust even as he goes through that difficulty he doesn't feel like it he still trusts in his God and he says again in verse 8 caused me to know the way in which I should walk for I lift my soul to you that's just another way of saying he trusts in his God God I know the way in which I should go caused me to help me to go the way in which I should go and it could be literally there could be enemies all surround okay god help me see the way out of this ambush or perhaps even could be as it's connected with the theology of the saw of the Psalter namely the right way I should live what way should I walk Oh God blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked but who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the path of the sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night and so he trusts his God which way should I go which way Oh God not my way but your way so he gives once God to be near to guide him to help him and then verse 9 we see him want deliverance from his enemies deliver me O Lord from my enemies for you are my refuge in you I take shelter and in you I take shelter teach me to do your will for you are my god notice the intimacy and connection there throughout the psalm he says Lord the Covenant name of the Lord but here what does he say he says my God my God do not teach me to do your Will O Lord caused me to know what you wish me to know for you or my God and verse 10 your spirit is good you see David knew something of the Spirit upon him for he was anointed wasn't he in a special sense as the king but perhaps we can apply into the hearts and lives of believers for we have the Holy Spirit's in our hearts and lives don't we and the Holy Spirit is good and the Holy Spirit guides us the Holy Spirit helps us especially when we wrestle against what the flesh we wrestle against sin another way that this another place of this term good spirit is used is in Nehemiah chapter 9 when they the people confess their sin as they've returned back to Jerusalem as they were returned back to the nation of Israel and he recounts his reals wickedness Israel 9 verse 18 even when they had moulded a cap molded Kevin when they made a molded calf for themselves and said this is your God that you brought you up out of Egypt and worked your prop great provocations yet in your manifold mercies you did not forsake them in the wilderness the pillar of the cloud do not depart from them by day to lead them on the road nor the pillar of fire by night to show them light and the way they should go you also gave your good spirit to instruct them and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst 40 years you sustained them in the wilderness they lacked nothing their clothes did not swear out and their feet did not swell oh god I peeled to your goodness I peeled to the fact that your spirit is with me oh god help me and he says in verse 10 lead me in the land of up right yes a couple ways we could take that uprightness perhaps the idea of level lands as he's walking this earth he doesn't want to stumble to the right or the left teach me Lord to not prone I'm prone to wander prone to leave the god that I love so he says Lord lead me in the land of uprightness that I might walk in your ways but could also be to the fact that he wants to be led even to Emmanuel's land when we think about the connection with the Spirit the Spirit is that agent of new creation that one who has been granted to each and every one believer who will guide us home Lord lead me to that place that place we're gonna have to worry about sin or enemies that I might come to that place and so then in verse 11 he petitions for salvation verse 11 and 12 revive me O Lord for your name's sake again in the face of death to whom does he appeal to your name's sake not me you've promised these things O God now be me help me Oh God you are the Covenant Lord the Covenant keeper so revive me as I face this difficulty revive me and aid me perhaps quicken me in the face of this death caused me to know it caused me to - oh sorry us caused me to remember your name for your sake for your righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble he comes back to his righteousness it is you O God that I lean upon and you said you would do these things so help me to trust in you and then verse 12 in your mercy cut off my enemies and destroy all those who afflict my soul take away your enemies o God this is an imprecatory player bringing judgment upon God's enemies and he's praying for these ones who encroach upon him these ones who come against him he's saying bring judgment rightly upon them Oh God and even in this it's kind of weird for us to think verse 12 in your mercy cut off my enemies you see brethren there's always gonna be a wrestle a wrestling between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman isn't there that's going to happen until the end of this present evil age and so even here he says Lord bring forth your enemies or Psalm 110 make all your enemies a footstool and so he asks for this and notice he gives the reason verse 12 for I am your servant for I am the one who's called upon you I'm the one who's looked to you I'm the one who's needed to lean upon you I am your servant and one writer says even in our despair or as he goes on to say the relationship is still true even in even in adversity and despair his confidence lies not in himself but in the one who promised he is true faithful and righteous so even as he struggles he appeals to who God is and brethren when we pray we should appeal to God and His righteousness shouldn't we because we see God's righteous care after seen in his blessed works and we see God's righteousness bestowed upon his people or imputed to his people we have a justified status before God we had we still struggle with sin don't we and so what is David - when he sins he appeals to the fact that he's righteous before God doesn't he has Gil says he had promised - here answer and deliver such is called on him in a time of trouble and he is faithful that he has promised nor will he suffer his faithfulness to fail he cannot deny himself and on this the psalmist relied for an answer as well as desired and expected it not on account of his own righteousness but either on account of the goodness and grace of God sometimes designed by righteousness or because of the righteousness of Christ or for the sake of Christ the Lord our righteousness on whose account God is just and faithful to forgive the blessing the psalmist wanted he appeals to Christ and Christ's righteousness and what's interesting Luther calls this psalm one of the pauline songs you see there is a New Testament allusion to it in Galatians chapter 2 verse 16 when Paul is talking about righteousness whether it's by the law or by the work or by work or sorry by law or by faith he says in chapter 2 of Galatians verse 16 know that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified now it's not an exact quote but it's a pretty close verbal allusion to what he's saying you see when Paul is talking about justification by faith he appeals to Psalm 143 just as David didn't appeal to his own righteousness he appealed to God's righteousness he appeals to something else he appeals to another and that important because we are saved not by our own keeping we don't appeal to God not by our own keeping but we appeal to God because of Christ's keeping that's our assurance that's our hope justification doesn't it I mean yes we're fully justified but we can still remember it it still has application and focus for us as God's people because we can appeal to our righteous God when we struggle with sin oh god help me oh god be with me I know I'm righteous in your sight because of Christ but do not judge me according to my sin blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and perhaps this is very similar to strohman 320 it's similar language is probably also a verbal illusion same language back to Psalm 143 but in Romans chapter 3 it's talking about what it's driving to that point there is no one righteous no not one and even further he's talking about asking the question about God's judgment or he's dealing with the idea that God's judgment is defended God's judgment is just for there is no one righteous no not one you know as he deals with that question how can I be saved there is no one righteous no not one and then Romans 3:20 it's a bridge verse brethren and it alludes to Psalm 143 it's not just about what came before but it's about what comes after thankfully conjunctions in Scripture are so glorious aren't they there is no one righteous no not one by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in the sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law and the prophets even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe for there is no difference for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God being justified freely by grace to the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance God passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus brethren are righteous or our righteousness stems not from our own goodness it stems from God's promises towards us when we sin when we go through difficulties when we go through trial when we transgress the law which we still will do we have that High Priest that we can lean upon that high priest that we can go to the high priest that we can call upon for we know God's promises are sure he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness when we are in despair shall we not call upon our God when we are in difficulty shall we not lean upon the God of heaven and earth for there is forgiveness another Pauline Psalm is Psalm 51 and what does David say there have mercy upon me O God according to your loving-kindness according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin but like he does in Psalm 143 he appeals to God's goodness to forgive and not his own goodness and his own righteousness so brethren who should your prayers be preoccupied with even when we have desperate circumstances we face our prayers should be preoccupied with God as we Conder him perhaps we'll take our 10 off those things and be reminded of who that God is who is with us this is what David does this with other psalmist do we lean upon our God and look to him knowing that we have a righteous God who is our preoccupation with our prayer now if you're an unbeliever here today the psalmist is very clear in your sight no one living is righteous certain death awaits being put in that coffin forever awaits and darkness forever awaits encased in that awaits but there is the light you can look to the Lord Christ look to this one you need a righteousness that is not your own you need a righteousness that doesn't step doesn't stem from your own goodness for you are not good the one that stems from Christ who is righteous and perfect and just and if you look to him by faith his righteousness will be granted to you imputed to you and you will be justified and righteous in God's sight and you will have everlasting life and everlasting hope and one day enter into Emanuel's land as well for if you don't you will die in your trespasses and sins hear my prayer O Lord give your - my supplications in your faithfulness answer me and in your righteous yes let us pray o Great God Almighty we do appeal to your goodness and your righteousness and your faithfulness and your holiness we know that you're the God above all you're a holy other than what we are Oh God yet truly who is man that you are mindful of him that you care for him thank you a God for your salvation thank you God for redemption for we need you day in and day out and may we come and impress in more upon you in our prayers O God as we walk this life we know God we still struggle with sin and we need your spirit to help us in the battles that we face we know that you are good to send your spirit and so God we ask that we would bear fruits becoming of your spirit love joy peace kindness gentleness faithfulness all those other things God that we might resemble our Christ what Oh God we know that when we sin and we do sin often and it is no excuse for us to sin Oh God we're thankful for your goodness that you are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness Oh God and Oh Lord we do pray that you would be pleased to save sinners this night we pray they'd be pleased to save sinners Oh God throughout the land and throughout the world they would call forth your people that they might recognize their unrighteousness and come to saving knowledge and the Lord Jesus Christ again Oh God would give you praise for who you are and what you've done we give you praise O God for redemption how there is justification there is sanctification there's adoption there are so many other blessings that Christ has purchased for us or thankful God that Christ was perfect and Christ died as that perfect sacrifice and he's been raised and we're thankful that we can lean upon him Oh God may we always look to Jesus may we always love our Lord and we always love the Christ our great High Priest so God we pray again that you be with us we're thankful for your mercy towards us we pray that you'd be glorified now in the name of Christ amen you