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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening to everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church any visitors that are out there with us this evening just one announcement before we begin worship tonight um there are a number of salads left over from the luncheon in the refrigerator uh in the fellowship luncheon Hall there so if you could grab them if one of those salads is yours uh please take it so we don't get fridge rot uh that would be great well moving on to Sacred things then let's turn in our Bibles for our call to worship to Psalm 125 Psalm 125 this is the word of God a song of a sense those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever as the mount mountains surround Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forever for the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity do good O Lord to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts as for such as turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity peace be upon Israel amen amen well let's stand and sing together our first hymn is going to be 212 let's stand and sing [Music] 212 mighty king help us our to sing help us to praise father all glorious for all Victorious and US anent of days my mighty swatter th Mighty our def our souls by Holy confor by [Music] thy now rule in heart and of to the Great all Praises be and ever his s mesty May in glor and to Eternity love and adore [Music] well let's go to our God In Prayer let's pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in this time now that we have for the worship of our great god father Son and Holy Spirit we thank you that we can come into this place from out of the world to gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we do pray that you would help us now to hallow your most high name and we pray that we would rejoice in our God as we engage in these elements of worship the singing of hymns the the uh the the act of prayer the reading of the scriptures and the preaching of the word we do pray that we would be uh aligned unto a proper worship that we would be worshiping in spirit and in truth with joyful Christian hearts hearts that get to approach their God in worship and uh and reflecting upon the fact that we have the Lord Jesus Christ walking amongst this lampstand and we rejoice in this and we would pray that the Holy Spirit uh would be present uh strengthening the preacher empowering the preacher to Pro claim boldly the things of your revealed word and also that the spirit would be act active in uh lifting up the Saints hearts in this place for the reception of the word for illumination that we might grow by the spirit and word in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ Our Savior we pray as well that the Holy Spirit would be active in regeneration that by the preaching of the word attended by that spirit that Sinners would be saved in this place tonight and because it is possible only with you that each and every tongue that leaves these doors would sing the Praises of so great a redeemer we pray that you'd forgive us aresh of our sins we thank you that we have forgiveness by virtue of the shed blood of Jesus Christ Our perfect savior we thank you that by faith we receive his righteousness that his perfect righteousness is imputed to us received by faith alone we rejoice in so great a Salvation the fact that you did send forth your son in the fullness of the times to redeem Sinners uh we rejoice in that blessed truth knowing that we are the the blessed and undeserved recipients of amazing and Victorious Grace and that we've been brought from deadness to life we pray that you would be with those unable to join us whether traveling or sick we pray that you attend to them and keep them safe restore th those who are physically unwell back to strength we pray for those uh struggling spiritually that you would lift them up that you would strengthen them in the Inner Man and cause them to rejoice in Christ we pray Lord God for those who rule over us we would pray for those who govern as we're called in in the scripture by the Apostle Paul to pray for those who are uh Kings those who are in positions of authority that we might lead Peaceable lives and that we might have the freedom to richly proclaim the glories of Jesus Christ we pray that uh such would be in power who uphold righteousness that those who do not do so but rather uphold wickedness would be cast down we pray that your name would be victorious not only in this country in this land but throughout the world that righteousness would Reign and that the Lord Jesus Christ would bring a multitudes of Sinners by the spirit to faith in him we pray Lord God for the persecuted church as we prayed as we uh prayed this morning and as we pray every Wednesday we do pray that you would be near and dear to our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who endure such hostility uh such uh oppression and persecution at the hands of uh tyrannical governments and even their own uh their own country folk we do pray Lord God that in the midst of such opposition you would strengthen them that you would lift them up that you would give them courage that they might by the spirit be able to to lay hold of the faith uh uh that was once for all delivered to the saints that they would not stumble but that they would uh that they would grip that truth and that they would be able to look with eyes of Faith away from persecutors and persecution and uh look upon the Risen Christ wein their comfort lives and their courage we do pray that you'd continue with us now in worship as we sing another hymn as we read the scriptures uh as we pray and as we hear the preaching of the word we pray that we would be tuned to that in spirit and in truth that you would be glorified Father Son and Holy Spirit uh in the midst of this gathered assembly we do pray in the name of Jesus Christ Our Savior amen uh well let's stand and sing together our second hymn is going to be psalm 20b as in bravo Psalm 20b let's stand and sing [Music] together protect you and from his holy stand up and streng you [Music] from your saice and all your all your heart filling all that you Des may we in your Sal Jo our lord your and you all you of I know the Lord will sing is anointed one sing might of his holy Heaven their we the of God the [Music] Lord we ar and stand and hel by your lord the king and he answer when [Music] you can turn in your Bibles with me to the Book of Joshua as we read consecutively through the Old Testament we're now at Joshua chapter 2 and we'll read all of the chapter this is the word of God Joshua 2 beginning at vers verse one now Joshua the son of nun sent out two men from ACAA Grove to spy secretly saying go view the land especially Jericho so they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there and it was told the king of Jericho saying behold men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country so the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying bring out the men who have come to you who have entered your house for the they have come to search out all the country then the woman took the two men and hid them so she said yes uh yes the men came to me but I did not know where they were from and it happened as the gate was being shut when it was dark that the men went out where the men went I do not know pursue them quickly for you may overtake them but she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them uh with the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the Roof then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan to the Fords and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out they shut the gate now before they lay down she came up to them on the roof and said to the men I know that the Lord has given you the land that the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted because of you for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan sihon and OG whom you utterly destroyed and as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above and on Earth beneath now therefore I beg you swear to me by the Lord since I have shown you kind uh kindness that you also will show kindness to my father's house and give me a true token and spare my father my mother my brothers my sisters and all that they have and deliver our lives from Death so the man answered her our lives for yours if none of you tell this business of ours and and it shall be when the Lord has given us the land that we will deal kindly and truly with you then she let them down by a rope through the window for her house was on the city wall she dwelt on the wall uh and she said to them get to the mountain lest the pursuers meet you hide there 3 days until the pursuers have returned afterward you may go your way so the men said to her we will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear unless when we come into the land you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down and unless you bring your father your mother your brothers and all your father's household to your own home so it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street his blood shall be on his own head and we will be Guiltless and whoever is with you in the house his blood shall be on your head if a hand is laid on him and if you tell this business of ours then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear then she said according to your words so be it and she sent them away and they departed and she bound the scarlet cord in the window they departed and went to the mountain and stayed there 3 days until the pursuers returned the P pursuers sought them all along the way but did not find them so the two men returned descended from the mountain and crossed over and they came to Joshua the son of nun and told him all that had befallen them and they said to Joshua truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are faint-hearted because of us amen well this this account of Rahab or the person of Rahab is spoken of very highly in the New Testament as a hero of the faith in fact in in Paul's rehearsal of the Hall of faith in Hebrews chap 11 he brings forth Rahab in the midst of Abraham Moses uh and others to speak of her faith that by her faith uh she did not perish with those who were unbelievers but rather hid the spies when they came to her also in James uh she's spoken of along with Abraham again as one whose Works testified to the veracity of her faith her believing when she hid the spies additionally a third reference is to her in the actual genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ that salmon by uh by Rahab begot Boaz and so she takes up a very rich uh New Testament presence the the Bible not shying away from her story but presenting this one as one who believed in the god of Israel let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your word we rejoice in your truth we thank you for this account of the faith uh exercised by Rahab and we thank you for uh we thank you for the strength that you had amongst the people of Israel as they conquered the land uh we thank you for your faithfulness in the face of much covenantal unfaithfulness on their part we thank you above all for that truly Covenant faithful one even our Lord Jesus Christ the champion of the Covenant in whom we have perfect salvation we rejoice in him we rejoice in the gospel of Amazing Grace do continue to be with us as we worship Father Son and Holy Spirit and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ Our Savior amen amen our final hymn then before the uh preaching if you'll stand with me is 460 uh 460 460 let's stand and sing as a church [Music] me all toone for Lord shall I myr shameful tree the L chice and glor [Music] to for for [Music] Earth to who can for S our no more shall my Christ and cover me right who for [Music] shall well you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of 2 Samuel 2 Samuel chapter 22 2 Samuel CH 22 our Focus will be verses 21 to 25 but I'll read beginning in verse 1 to verse 25 so 2 Samuel 22 then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul and he said the Lord is my rock and my Fortress and my deliverer the god of my strength in whom I will trust my shield and the Horn of my salvation my stronghold and my refuge My Savior you save me from violence I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from my enemies when the waves of death surrounded me the floods of ungodliness made me afraid the Sorrows of sheld surrounded me the snares of death confronted me in my distress I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God he heard my voice from his Temple and My Cry entered his ears then the Earth Shook and trembled the foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken because he was angry smoke went up from his nostrils and devouring fire from his mouth coals were kindled by it he bowed the heavens also and came down with Darkness under his feet he rode upon a cherub and flew and he was seen upon the wings of the wind he made Darkness canopies around him dark Waters and thick clouds of the Skies from the brightness before him coals of fire were kindled the Lord thundered From Heaven and the most high utter his voice he sent out arrows and Scattered them lightning bolts and he vanquished them then the channels of the sea were seen the foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord at the blast of the breath of his nostrils he sent from above he took me he drew me out of many Waters he delivered me from my strong enemy from those who hated me for they were too strong for me they confronted me in the day of my Calamity but the Lord was my support he also brought me out and to a broad place he delivered me because he delighted in me the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me for I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God for all his judgments were before me and for his stat and as for his statutes I did not depart from them I was also blameless before him and I kept myself from my iniquity therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness according to my cleanness in his eyes amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for this beautiful day we thank you that the heavens declare your righteousness your glory and your majesty we thank you that in Providence we see that you govern all your creatures and all their actions we thank you for that empty tomb and and Redemption the the the manif manifestation of your grace and your love and your mercy we thank you for justification by faith alone we thank you for the Forgiveness of sins that we have and for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and reive by faith alone God forgive us now for all of our sins and unrighteousness and guide us by the Holy Spirit the one whom the Lord Jesus sends so that he can teach us and and and guide us into all truth we rejoice in that we Rejoice that we're not orphans in this present evil age but the Lord Christ comes to us by the spirit we ask now that you would be glorified honored and praised and we ask in Jesus name amen well I wanted to focus on the righteousness of David specifically in verses 21-25 if you remember the Lord refers to David as a man after my own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14 at the announcement that he's going to take the kingdom away from Saul and give it to a man after his own heart David here says twice the Lord rewarded him according to his righteousness notice in 21A and then again in verse 25 therefore the Lord has uh recompensed me according to my righteousness according to my cleanness in his eyes now this could obviously present a bit of a challenge which I hope to deal with in just a couple of minutes because as we know David was not a perfect man David was not without sin David in fact actually committed some pretty Grievous sins in his life as a a a man of God as a king in Israel now in terms of the location of this particular prayer or this particular Psalm because it's essentially Psalm 18 as well there's a few differences in wording the psalm was likely sung by David during his life and here we see it was sung at the end of his life it was prepared for the chief musician delivered over to him and of course now is in the Suter for us to sing and for us to rehearse the mercies of God but in terms of 2 Samuel CH 22 it's in a larger context basically what you have in the book of 2 Samuel is the commencement of David's reign in uh uh Reign at Hebron in chapters 1 to4 you have the consolidation of David's Reign Over All Israel in chapters 5 to10 you then have the consequence of David's sin in chapters 11 to 20 and then finally the close of David's reign in chapters 21 to 24 so that's just the lay of the land with reference to the book as a whole so let's look now at the right ious of King David under three considerations first the the excuse me the Deliverance of David and I just want to glance at verses 1 to2 secondly the righteousness of David in verse 21 and then we'll investigate thirdly the Theology of David in verses 22 to 25 but with reference to the Deliverance notice that's how the psalm begins chapter 22: 1 to 20 describes the Deliverance of David wrought by God so we see the object of his praise in verses 1 to4 that's God the desperation of his condition in verses 5 to7 the manner of his Deliverance in verses 8 to20 the faithfulness of his life in verses 21-31 and then finally the invincibility of God's Kingdom in verses 32- 51 so he comes at the end of his Reign at the end of his life and he sings praise to God and he remembers the great distress and the hardship that he had and he doesn't ascribe his victory he doesn't ascribe his Triumph to his own ability he doesn't say God's given me a great mind for wisdom he's given me military Savvy he's given me ability to command and Lead men he's given me executive power so that I can call armies to being and that I can go out and decimate the Philistines no all glory is given to God the Deliverance is ascribed specifically to God David always understood that it was God in his life that brought Deliverance that brought victory that brought Triumph now secondly note the righteousness of David he says in verse 21 the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me so I want to look at this statement in light of his sin now I would suggest that we often times reflect upon the two Benchmark sins that David committed we know that he committed adultery with B Sheba in 2 Samuel 11 at veres 1:5 you remember the story he goes into her and then she becomes pregnant by him and of course he wants to cover that up he wants to to to make it seem that she was impregnated by her husband Uriah so he issues orders to joab to bring Uriah home he then has or tells Uriah to go lay with his wife but Uriah the hittite has more Integrity in second Samuel 11 than the reigning king of of Israel almost said England she had more Integrity of than him too so so so Uriah the hittite did not lay with his wife so David invites him back to the Palace pies him with alcohol gets him drunk and then encourages him to go and lay with his wife of course Uriah rebuts that or refutes that he's not going to do it so then David gives word to joab to take Uriah put him in the hottest part of the battle and make sure that he died and then he gives that letter to Uriah the hittite to deliver hand deliver to joab himself it's a very sad and pathetic situation in the life of Israel's King so he commits adultery and then instead of coming clean he uh covers that adultery with the act of murder well as I said from then on after receiving forgiveness from God we see that nevertheless the sword would not depart from his house we have that instance in the book of second Samuel specifically at chapter 133 where you have amnon basically rape his sister Tamar and when that comes to fruition Absalom is incensed he's outraged and he wants to exact Vengeance David knows of it as well but David doesn't respond if you look back to 2 Samuel chapter 13 again probably a lesser known sin of David but certainly a grievous one the failure to act in his family notice in 2 Samuel 13 specifically at verse 19 then Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe of Many Colors that was on her and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly and Absalon her brother said to her has amnon your BR uh am and your brother been with you but now hold your peace my sister he is your brother do not take this thing to heart so Tamar remained desolate in her brother absalon's house but when King David heard of all these things he was very very angry that's just not a legitimate response now certainly anger is a legitimate response righteous anger is not condemned by the Lord and if ever there was an instance where one would have a righteous anger it would be when something like this obtained in his own household but his anger didn't move him to activity his anger didn't motivate him to engage in his primary rule which was as a magistrate in fact Dale Ralph Davis makes the observation he says of course Legions of expositors say that David found himself a prisoner of his own Folly after all how could he call amnon to account when he himself had violated baath Sheba and eliminated her husband in chapters 11 and 12 hardly a solid basis for exercising moral Authority he goes on to say and yet such an argument does not negate David's responsibility he holds never the less the office of a magistrate one might say both in his kingdom and in his family as both father and King he is charged with maintaining Justice whether he is personally compromised or not words David you're supposed to do what you're supposed to do not withstanding your particular background in this area now of course moral Authority is always excellent of course a man with Integrity is always to be preferred but a man who doesn't act or fails to act when there's this kind of conduct going on in his house is a man who's showing himself sinful before God Davis goes on to say one may understand David's failure to act one may not however excuse it so amnon remains an unpunished felon Tamar languishes as damaged goods and Absalon becomes a seething vigilante so when we look at just these brief sections of 2 Samuel we'll notice that David was not a perfect man he was not a sinless man so that when he says the Lord re rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me can understand the challenge somebody reflects on chapters 11 12 13 and then following and then they come to a passage like this and they scratch their head and say wait a minute is uh murder and adultery and failure to act in terms of executing Justice in your own family is that not sin does that not Char uh uh engage a a breach of righteousness so there's an attempt made to reconcile this statement with his sinfulness some suggest David didn't compose the psalm others suggest that the song was composed prior to the events in 2 Samuel 11 others posit that the song was lit added by a later editor now we are Bible believing Christians we confess the inspiration the infallibility and the inherency of God's holy word we confess in chapter one of our confession that God in Providence ensured that what the prophets and the apostles wrote have come down to us through God's graciousness and mercy so those suggestions or those particular alternatives are simply unacceptable so then let's move on to the Theology of David in verses 22 to 25 how do we explain this how do we understand this how do we make uh heads or tals out of what appears to be a conundra well you can turn to the Book of Romans in Romans chapter 4 so I want to First give you the example of David and then the Theology of David and then the experience of David under this head the Theology of David we must first look at the example of David cim just mentioned that James invokes both Abraham and Rahab as a demonstration of his doctrine that we are saved by faith alone but that Faith excuse me is not alone but is always and ever accompanied by all other saving Graces so that James essentially says whether you're a patriarch or a prostitute itude God's ways are always the same you're saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then that leads inevitably to sanctification in Abraham's case it's seen when he takes Isaac up to mount Mariah to sacrifice him in rahab's case it it it is demonstrated by her hiding of the spies she had faith in the Living God well Paul invokes two examples when he's arguing for the doctrine of justification by faith alone and those men are Abraham and David So note the example of Abraham specifically in verses 1 to 4 the Abraham's background was as an idolator you see that in Joshua CH 24 specifically at verses 2 and 3 before God called Abram out of er of the calans we see that he was engaged just like his fathers and grandfathers in the act of idolatry so God didn't set his affection or love upon Abraham because he was a good little Reformed Baptist rather God set his love and affection on him before the foundation of the world and in turn or in time rather he's effectually called by God representative by that coming out of her of the caldan by that justification by faith alone so then notice the patriarch's righteousness there's first a negative statement he says for If Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but not before God that's a problem with justification by works boasting arrogance pride and judgmentalism remember the parable that Jesus taught in Luke 18 those who thought they were righteous in themselves what did they do they despised others how does Jesus illustrate that by telling about two men who went to the temple to pray one was a Pharisee the hero of the story the other was a Publican the the the the The Wretched one in the story we see that the Pharisee prays thus with himself thank you God that I'm such a great guy thank you that I'm so religious thank you that I'm so Pious thank you that I'm just so upstanding and outright holy and then the Publican couldn't even look up into heaven he beats his breast and he says God be merciful to me The Sinner who went to their house Justified it wasn't the hero of the story it was the nasty rotten public so when it comes to justification by works you can always back by way of a byproduct uh self or a congratulatory Spirit uh pride and arrogance and then a judgmentalism of others because after all if you think your righteousness is good enough to merit with God then everybody else around you is just a pathetic slob and they need to get their act together so the Apostle tells us in a negative way for If Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but he then reject acts that Abraham was justified by works when he says but not before God in other words on that day of judgment Abraham doesn't get congratulations Abraham doesn't get to Pat himself upon the back God most high doesn't share his glory with Abraham but not before God and then notice the positive statement so there's a negative in verse two and then a positive in verse three for what does the scripture say Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness now of him who works the wages are not counted as Grace but as debt so here we have a reference to Genesis 15 Genesis 15 is a very simple statement that that that gets the ball rolling in terms of justification by faith alone and he believed in the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness again think about James how does James illustrate that Abraham had a true and saving faith he goes to Mariah he goes to the presentation of Isaac in obedience to Yahweh and James concludes that demonstrates the faith that he had in Genesis CH 15 the Roman Catholic reading of James 2 or the Federal Vision or the New Perspective on Paul is absolutely incorrect 112 in our confession gets it precisely right we're justified by faith alone but that faith is not alone but it's always accompanied by other all other saving Graces justification inevitably leads to sanctification so Genesis 15 is the foundation for Genesis CH 22 Mo uh Abraham does what he does because he's been Justified freely by God's grace and then of course the implication there is verse four that a him of works the wages are not counted as Grace but as debt so he makes this known that no one ever ever has been saved by their Works no one ever has been saved by a mingling of their faith and works but it's by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone he then invokes the example of David notice in verse five Paul talks about imputation for those of you who perhaps listen to Cam's prayer or my prayer I'm sorry that sounded pretty negative and awful it's late uh it's pretty humid today too uh but I think we both worked in justification I didn't do it you know other than to praise God for the doctrine what is justification justification is an act of God's free Grace wherein he pardons all our transgressions and accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and Reed by faith alone so you've got this forgiveness of sins we need that we need to be clean foul I to the Fountain fly Wash Me savior or I die but we also need a righteousness that avails with God and that's the glory of the Gospel it's the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in him we have every spiritual blessing forgiveness of sins and a righteous garment we're clothed in his blood or are cleansed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness so Paul deals with that here specifically in the case of David but to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly notice that just Jus ifies the ungodly Paul knows that David wasn't a man without sin David knows that David wasn't a man without sin we should all know that David wasn't a man without sin but notice that last bit there or the the second part justifies the ungodly he doesn't justify The Godly because The Godly are already Godly he justifies Sinners guilty vile helpless we spotless L of God was he full atonement can it be hallelujah what a savior so God when he comes to deal with our sinful race does the justifying of those who are ungodly now notice he goes on his faith is accounted for righteousness just like Abraham so if we ask the question how did the Old Testament Saints enter into heaven they were cleansed in the blood of Jesus and they were clothed in his precious righteousness it was the same way for old Covenant Saints they looked forward to we look backwards in history to the same Christ who was lifted on that cross died was raised again and now ascended on high so his faith is accounted for righteousness and then he appeals to David's writing notice in verse six just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from the from work which again incidentally in the new perspective on Paul if you don't know what that means that's okay probably better that you don't know what that means the old perspective on Paul is much to be preferred but in their theology especially in T he mocks the concept of the imputed righteousness of Jesus he said what are we supposed to assume that there's some courtroom and there's this gas that's the righteousness and and then it's imputed to us this doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness is all over scripture and this is one of those particular places look at what he's talking about just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works if we don't have an imputed righteousness if we don't have the Forgiveness of sins there's no heaven for us there's no everlasting life for us there is hell there is damnation and there is condemnation in the age to come and so as he rehearses David he now appeals to Psalm 32 where David writes blessed are those whose Lawless Deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin John Murray says what David spoke of in terms of the non-imputation and forgiveness of sin Paul interprets more positively as the imputation of righteousness he's not changing David's Psalm but he is rather relating David's Psalm to the argument at hand in other words Sinners look back at chapter 3 specifically in the Book of Romans where he summarizes what he starts in Romans 1 at Verse 18 in 3:9 he says what then are we better than they not at all for we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin and then he G this CA of Old Testament passages that underscore the reality of the universality of condemnation for all men everywhere because of their transgression against God and in verse 19 he says now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God and now he's going to bring the crowning nail to bang into this particular argument therefore by the Deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin so he shifts Direction now so in Romans 1:18 he says but the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men he makes that point in 119 to 320 and then you see this contrast in verse 21 but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed you've got wrath revealed Romans 1:18 you've got the problem explained Romans 1:18 to 320 and then you've got the remedy given by our blessed God but now the righteousness of God is revealed from uh uh rather the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed so when he comes now to deal with the doctrine of justification he deals with the Forgiveness of sins but he deals with the imputation of righteousness now secondly the spefic specific Theology of David if you go back to our Psalm in 2 Samuel 22 I would suggest first David recognized his own sin in the very section where he is highlighting his righteousness he emphasizes that he's a sinner he doesn't say I am perfect he doesn't say I've never commited sin he doesn't say what's predicated of Our Lord that he's wholly harmless and undefiled notice in verse 24 I was also blameless before him and I kept myself from my iniquity Jesus didn't have iniquity but David does and David knows that David understands that and especially when you turn to Psalm 51 and you see David's Psalm of repentance after having been found out for his sin with bath Sheba and Uriah when Nathan the prophet comes to an and abrs him what does David do David owns it David confesses it David finds atonement with God and then David writes a Psalm to celebrate the grace of God not to celebrate his own goodness or his own Perfection or his own ability so David understood his own sin I would suggest secondly that David understood blood atonement look at 2 Samuel 12 2 Samuel 12 after Nathan rebukes him after Nathan delivers the Thou Art The Man David says very simply in verse 13 so David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord as I've said before people often think that you know he got off pretty easy there that's all you got to do notice what he doesn't do well it was B sheba's fault she shouldn't have been bathing in that that that that place at night she should have been clothed he doesn't blame God the woman that you put next door to me David owns his sin Brethren David feels the weight of his sin he makes a very simple but Mo most profound confession I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said to David the Lord also has put away your sin you shall not die notice in chapter 21 of 2 Samuel Again David understands atonement 2 Samuel chapter 21 we have an account of an atonement blood atonement for satisfaction of Justice notice in chapter 21 verse one now there was a famine in the days of David for three years year after year and David inquired of the Lord whenever you read in the Old Testament that there was a famine don't think crop failure drought I mean those are the effects think God is angry with his Covenant people because in the curses of the Covenant this is specifically one of them your Heavens will be bronze your your dirt will be parched why because you're transgressing the very law of God Almighty so there was a famine in the days of David for three years year after year and David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered it is because of Saul in his bloodthirsty house because he killed the gibit so the king called the gibit remember the gibeonites Joshua made Covenant with them and that was to be binding it wasn't to be reneged by Saul so the king called the gibeonites and spoke to them now the gibeonites were not of the children of Israel but of the Remnant remnant of the amorites the children of Israel had sworn protection to them but Saul had sought to kill them in his Zeal for the children of Israel and Judah therefore David said to the gibeonites what shall I do for you and with what shall I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord David seems to have a pretty pronounced understanding of sin in his own heart of sin in the hearts of other people and the way to pursue peace namely blood atonement so the gibeonites said to him we will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us so he said whatever you say I will do for you then they answered the king as for the man who consumed us and plotted against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in the any of the territories of Israel let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us and we will hang them before the Lord and giia of Saul whom the Lord chose and that's precisely what happens that's a atonement for sins committed look at chapter 24 in 2 Samuel again the Theology of David and his understanding of the necessity of atonement we don't just wander into the presence of God without the satisfaction of his Divine Justice that's the core meaning of atonement the satisfaction of divine Justice notice in 2 Samuel David is judged for his sin and God basically gives him options as to what thing will befall him remember I said in the introdu ction consequences for David's sin that didn't keep him from sinning more typically doesn't but in this particular instance David had numbered the people so note down in verse 14 David said to Gad I in great distress please let us fall into the hand of the Lord for his mercies are great but do not let me fall into the hand of man so the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time from Dan to beerseba 70,000 men of the people died and when the angel stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it the Lord relented from the destruction and said to the angel who was destroying the people it is enough now restrain your hand and the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Arana the jebusite then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people and said surely I have sinned and have done wickedly but these sheep what have what have they done let your hand I pray be against me and against my father's house what does he do he goes to the threshing floor of Arana and there he sacrifices how do we satisfy Divine Justice how do we appease the wrath of a holy God through atonement through sacrifice so David understood this in Psalm 653 he says iniquities Prevail against me as for our transgressions you will provide atonement for them so David understood sin he understood the necessity of atonement and David understood the blessing of imputed righteousness again Psalm 32 and his rehearsal there as Paul invokes in chapter 4 of Romans and that brings us finally to consider the experience of David the experience of David how can he say what he says In this passage well first he was a benefactor of Christ's atonement he himself is included in Ephesians 1:3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us David included with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ God chose him in Christ Christ's Precious Blood gave him forgiveness and a righteousness the spirit sealed and guaranteed his final inheritance uh Hebrews 9:15 tells us of the superiority of the New Covenant over against the old Covenant again the argument in the book of Hebrews isn't old Covenant bad it's New Covenant better you need to get that the New Covenant is better it is superior it does what the old Covenant did not do as essential features and in Hebrews 9:15 the Apostle says and for this reason he is the mediator of the New Covenant by means of death for the Redemption of the transgressions under the first Covenant you got the New Covenant and what it's doing uh and it helps those who were under the first Covenant that those who are called may receive the promise of the Eternal inheritance T so again nobody's entered into heaven from Abel to Zechariah in the Old Testament Hebrew Canon aart from the blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ secondly I think that we need to get at David's statement in chapter 22 verse 21 by way of the imputed righteousness of Jesus so in Psalm 1820 which is parallel exactly precisely he says the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me so I'll go to our saintly John Gil for comment there he says though it is best of all to apply it to Christ and understand it of his righteousness which he is mediator has wrought out for his people this is perfect sure and spotless and entirely agreeable to the law of God what will bear the sight of God is satisfying to his Justice is well pleasing to him and is what he accepts of and imputes to them that believe in Christ and by which they are Justified from all things so we get at David's righteousness through the cross the life of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ he understood what side of the bread was buttered he knew that his acceptance with God was not due to his Sterling character he knew that his sins against God demanded both wrath and curse in this life and that which is to come he is rehearsing he is celebrating he is delighting in the gospel of his salvation thirdly he understood the Forgiveness of sins as a result of Christ's death we've already seen that I won't turn us back to it I'd say fourthly there was in fact the testimony of others think again of James what happens in James is that true saving faith is demonstrable true saving faith is something that you can see by way of the evidences the fruits and Lively evidences that one has been justified by grace alone through faith in Christ alone that's James's Point look at Abraham what he does in 22 of Genesis at Mount Mariah is a result or an effect or a consequence of what happened in Genesis 15 when he believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness what Rahab does and as we see her confession about the Majesty of the god of Israel we see how these things work she believed in God she trusted in Yahweh and the reflex for that was she's going to hide the spies she's going to give them safe quarter she's going to make sure that they get to decimate the city state of or the city of Jericho God is going to be Victorious and and Rahab and her Lively faith is going to be a means to achieve that end so what we have is that there were others who testified concerning David's righteousness again others that no doubt knew his spotty background others who no doubt knew that he wasn't a man that was absolutely perfect and righteous notice in uh 1st Samuel chapter 19 1st Samuel chapter 19 specifically at verse 4 thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him let not the king sin against his servant against David because he has not sinned against you and because his Works have been very good toward you look at 1st Samuel 25 1st Samuel 25 specifically at verse 28 just looking at the testimony of others as they saw the life the sanctification the fruit of justification by faith alone fleshed out manifested in David's conduct notice in 25 528 please forgive the trespass of your maid servant for the Lord will certainly make for my Lord an enduring house because my Lord fights the battles of the Lord and evil is not found in you throughout your days do you think a like testimony could have been given to the king of the jebusites to the king of the hivites to the king of the Hittites I think it was probably the case that they were notoriously Wicked abject wretchedness on the part of the he then when they went about their kingly activities and then even more important is God's testimony of David turn to First Kings First Kings chapter 3 First Kings chapter 3 specifically at verse 14 so if you walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my Commandments as your father David walked then I will lengthen your days first king Kings 9:4 First Kings 9:4 now if you walk before me as your father David walked in Integrity of heart and in uprightness to do according to all that I have commanded you and if you keep my statutes and my judgments as your father David walked there were two Benchmark kings in the southern Kingdom one was jeroboam the son of nebat and he was the standard of ungodliness I'm sorry j was in the north jeroboam was a benchmark in the north for being just a Godless wret in the South David was The Benchmark for righteousness David was The Benchmark of of fidelity look at second Samuel I'm sorry fir uh First Kings chapter 11 specifically at verses 33 and 34 First Kings 1133 and 34 because they have forsaken me and worshiped as ashth the goddess of the sidonians Kos the god of the moabites and milcom the god of the people of Ammon and have not walked in my ways to do what what is right in my eyes and keep my statutes and my judgments as did his father David however I will not take the whole Kingdom out of his hand because I have made him Ruler all the days of his life for the sake of my servant David whom I chose because he kept my Commandments and my statutes it was because of David actually because of David's greater son the Lord Jesus Christ that the Judah the kingdom of Judah always remained intact he closed down the northern kingdom with Saul it ended or not with Saul but it ended when it came to the Assyrians in 722 BC but he always preserved Judah why well in this context David but again in a new testament mindset because of the greater son of David even our Lord Jesus Christ so the faithfulness of David a uh uh as testified by other s and then I would suggest the faithfulness of David as contrasted with Saul look at 23 23 verse 23 in chapter 22 for all his judgments were before me and as for his statutes I did not depart from them again I don't think David's maintaining that he's perfectly Innocent but in terms of a contrast with Saul he absolutely did well one man says the distinction between Saul and David between a rejected King and an accept accepted one is not that one is a sinner and the other is not for both are sinners rather the distinction lies in the very different attitudes to Faith and repentance displayed by the two and at a deeper level still in The Sovereign election of the one the man of God's own choosing over the other so there is this contrast made between David and Saul and then I would suggest finally we see that evidenced in David's pursuit of holy things he's a bad guy guy when he goes into bath Sheba he's a bad guy when he sends Jah out to die he's a bad guy when he doesn't operate faithfully and in in in executing Justice in his own house but the overarching the overarching sort of trajectory of his life was one of faithfulness to God and you know what David never did you know what he never did he never engaged in idolatry he never put up high places he remained Fai faithful to God I want to illustrate this in 1 Samuel CH 26 1 Samuel CH 26 we'll close soon 1st Samuel chapter 26 basically David spares Saul a second time and then David as it were expresses I don't want to say frustration because that sounds too much like me but uh exasperation concern he's at odds with Saul he's got issues he's been hunted by Philistines he's been hunted by Saul I imagine that that converges upon a man to the point where he is exas exasperated where he does cry out now notice what he says specifically we'll just pick up in verse uh 18 and he said why why does my Lord thus pursue his servant he's asking why is Saul coming after me what's the problem what have I done Jonathan testified to Saul that David was a great guy so David says why does my Lord thus pursue his servant for what have I done or what evil is in my hand now therefore please let my Lord the king hear the words of his servant if the Lord has stirred you up against me let him accept an offering in other words if this is God's judgment if this is God's chasing if this is immediate if if the Lord most high has an axe to grind with me then then let me present an offering let me let me satisfy Divine Justice let me repair the breach that's obviously here but then notice what he goes on to say he says but if it is the children of men may they be cursed before the Lord and other words if it's God immediately chastening David then there's a mechanism in place I can go before the god with a bloody knife and a smoking altar I can go before the most high who is Holy who brings forgiveness and who imputes righteous I I have that option but if this is the children of men if they are after me without any just cause then shame on them that's what David is saying but then note how he formulates it specifically there in verse 19 he says but if it is the children of of men may they be cursed before the Lord for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord this land was promised by God to Abraham Isaac and Jacob our forefathers went into this land and conquered it they dispossessed the land of the Canaanites this is the land where Yahweh is worshiped this is the land where Yahweh occupies this this is the land where the people of God can come before the Living God and know joy and communion in his presence for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord he doesn't say they've driven me out this day from the the the familiarity of family from the shepherding gig that I had as a Young Man they've driven me out in a sense where I I don't have access to all the good food that I like they've driven me out from the very face of God Brethren how would we respond I fear for me it would be well I can't get tacos out here I can't do this out here for David it was being disenfranchised from the apparatus that brought him in to the very presence of God most high for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord saying go serve other gods not that David would do that but that that's the message communicated Yahweh is in Israel you get out of Israel and go serve these other gods David will not have it David is vexed when it comes to being cut off from the very presence of God Almighty verse 20 so now do not let it let my blood fall to the Earth before the face of the Lord for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea as when one hunts a part rrid in the mountains Gil says for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord meaning not from his own house and family nor from the Palace of Saul but from the land of Canaan the Lord had given to His People Israel for an inheritance and from the worship of God in it which made it dear and precious to him and then I've got a Davis quote I know you've heard it before you may have heard this sermon before I keep track of sermons that I preach I ran the search this one didn't come up for several years I'm thinking I might have done it on a Wednesday night so if this is reviewed bless God we all need a review but listen to Davis see again what vexes David I want God don't send me out of the land don't tell me to go serve other gods don't tell me to go away from that which I prize above all other things what's David say in the wilderness in Psalm 63 because thy loving kindness kindness is better than life better than every good thing that we face or that we enjoy or that we have in this present world because thy loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee David had a practical experiential Christianity he understood The Nearness of God as his good and then as Davis says he says did didn't David know whatever in enlightened Christian knows that you can pray and commune with God anywhere he says apparently the writer of Psalm 63 139 and 142 was well aware of that but David was more enlightened than many enlightened Christians he knew to be that uh he knew that to be cut off from yahweh's inheritance verse 19 was to be cut off from yahweh's face verse 20 and one when one had left Israel there was no possibility of public worship I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord David loved public worship we need to be like David we need to be in the house of God we need to be where the Lord is you're struggling spiritually you know the best remedy for you is we meet at 11:00 a.m. and we meet at 5:00 p.m. you're struggling with with sin you know what happens when we're struggling spiritually just practical observation or we're struggling with sin our conscience accuses us we're guilty before God well I can't engage in that because it's hypocritical I can't engage in that because I don't really feel it how about you let obedience Trump your feelings once in a while how about you actually just do what God says it's an interesting thing I think it was Ronald Reagan who said I I've noticed something in my life the harder I've worked the luckier I've been the more I use the means of Grace that God has ordained for the growth of his people the more we usually grow again there can be a wrench in the machine again there can be a you know a bur in the saddle but for the most part the people that engage in obedience to what God has called them to not for their salvation but because they are saved are typically the ones who Thrive and flourish you say that sounds pretty bad pastor Butler okay no worse than saying the people that typically run around you know the block a thousand times and you know only eat protein and fat are usually thinner and healthier well that's not right what what do you mean it's not right it's right there there's some things bre I don't mean to be cheeky but some things really are that simple we have a knack in the church for over complicating just about everything we got to deal with a particular issue I need to learn how to pray I gotta I got to pray better so I'm going to go read books on prayer I got an idea why don't you pray I need to learn how to evangelize why don't you go talk to the sinner that lives next door to you help him with his lawn tell him about Jesus well I have to have a course don't I I would suggest there's not anything necessarily wrong with that you better know your stuff when you start talking to Sinners about the the gospel when they bring up the genocide of the Canaanites and that was commanded at the beest of Yahweh you better know how to answer that because Sinners come up with some pretty intriguing questions and attacks against our God so back to Davis when one had left Israel there was no possibility of public worship Davis goes on to say this is not the place to sketch a Biblical Theology of worship suffice it to say that David would have made a poor Space Age Evangelical he would have never been content with his Study Bible prayer list in a quiet cave yahweh's face or presence was especially seen in the sanctuary Psalm 632 yet David was being driven away and cut off from Tabernacle and Sacrifice from priest and Festival he was being being shut out of the land and Sanctuary where where Yahweh met with his people to be cut off from the ordinances a public worship is David's most severe grief would that cause me anguish Christians have surpassed David in privileges but few have approached him in appetite may God help us to emide the ethos of this man who rejoiced in blood atonement who rejoiced in the Forgiveness of sins who rejoiced in imputed righteousness and who rejoiced in being with the people of God before the living and true God to worship him to praise him to honor him and to glorify him may God help us and may God encourage us and may God indeed instill in us that kind of a mindset with reference to our own Theology and our own experience well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the various examples that we have in our Bibles concerning Godly men we know they're not perfect men there's only one perfect man in scripture there's only one hero in scripture and that's the the Lord Jesus Christ David's greater son we thank you for what he accomplished in his life death and Resurrection we thank you for that forgiveness that you give us or you cleanse Us in that blood of the Lord we thank you as well for that righteousness and God help us to live in light of those things privately as families in society and may we value much the things of the church may we be about corporate worship may we like David rise on a Sunday morning glad to be able to go to the house of the Lord go with us now bless and keep us and watch over us in this coming week be glorified in our lives and we pray through Jesus Christ the Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation e e e e