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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
Luke's Gospel, Luke chapter 23. We've considered the Savior and 
His crucifixion, basically standing at the foot of the cross. I've 
mentioned how there are seven sayings of the Savior from the 
cross. We find the first in Luke chapter 
23 when He says, Father forgive them. Luke 23, for the second 
today will be with me in paradise. The third is in John's gospel. 
Woman, behold your son. The fourth in Matthew, my God, 
my God, why have you forsaken me? The fifth in John, I thirst. The sixth in John, it is finished. And the seventh, Father, into 
your hands I commit my spirit. So we're going to look at that 
one this morning. So I'm going to read just a couple of verses 
here in Luke's gospel. Then we'll turn to Psalm 31. 
So Luke chapter 23 beginning in verse 44. Now it was about 
the sixth hour and there was darkness over all the earth until 
the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened and 
the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried 
out with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commit 
my spirit. Having said this, he breathed 
his last. You can turn with me now to Psalm 
31. Psalm 31, I'll begin reading 
in verse 1. To the chief musician, a psalm 
of David. In you, O Lord, I put my trust. 
Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in your righteousness. 
Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be my rock 
of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For you are my rock 
and my fortress. Therefore, for your name's sake, 
lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which 
they have secretly laid for me, for you are my strength. Into 
your hand I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord 
God, of truth. I have hated those who regard 
useless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and 
rejoice in your mercy, for you have considered my trouble. You 
have known my soul in adversities and have not shut me up into 
the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a wide 
place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for 
I am in trouble. My eye wastes away with grief, 
yes, my soul and my body. For my life is spent with grief 
and my years with sighing. My strength fails because of 
my iniquity and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all 
my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive 
to my acquaintances. Those who see me outside flee 
from me. I am forgotten like a dead man 
out of mind. I am like a broken vessel, for 
I hear the slander of many. Fear is on every side. While 
they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away 
my life. But as for you, or as for me, 
I trust in you, O Lord. I say, you are my God. My times 
are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my 
enemies and from those who persecute me. Make your face shine upon 
your servant. Save me for your mercy's sake. 
Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon you. Let 
the wicked be ashamed. Let them be silent in the grave. 
Let the lying lips be put to silent. which speak insolent 
things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh, how 
great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who 
fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in 
the presence of the sons of men. You shall hide them in the secret 
place of your presence from the plots of man. You shall keep 
them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. "'Blessed 
be the Lord, for he has shown me "'his marvelous kindness in 
a strong city. "'For I said in my haste, "'I 
am cut off from before your eyes. "'Nevertheless, you heard the 
voice of my supplications "'when I cried out to you. "'Oh, love 
the Lord, all you his saints, "'for the Lord preserves the 
faithful "'and fully repays the proud person. "'Be of good courage, 
and he shall strengthen your heart. "'All you who hope in 
the Lord, amen.'" Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we 
thank you for your written word. We thank you that it's given 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction 
in righteousness. And as we marvel now about the 
person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, may you draw out 
from us love, adoration, and worship to this most blessed 
Savior. We ask for forgiveness now for 
all sin and unrighteousness. We pray for guidance and illumination 
by your Holy Spirit. And God, help us to see again 
the glories of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lived for us, who 
died for us, and who was raised again for us. And we pray in 
Jesus' name, amen. Well, we look at this particular 
psalm and we see it's to the chief musician, a psalm of David. 
So it's fit and appropriate for the singing of it in public worship. So even the laments and imprecations 
and the difficulties associated with the Christian life, the 
sorrows and hardships are to be sung in public worship. As 
well, it says it's a psalm of David. If we had to locate a 
time in David's life when he may have penned such a psalm 
as this, we might look at 1 Samuel 23-26. He's persecuted, he's 
chased by Saul. Or we might think of the agony 
that he went through with reference to his son Absalom in 2 Samuel 
13-18. But I want to submit that this 
psalm actually is about our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the prophetic 
background to what we'll see in the contextual observations 
at the foot of the cross. Now one of the difficulties in 
that assertion might be verse 10, For my life is spent with 
grief, and my years with sighing. My strength fails because of 
my iniquity, and my bones waste away. Remember that Jesus, as 
covenant mediator, is our representative. He is our high priest. It's not 
his personal sin, but it's the sin of his people. And this is 
legitimate when we consider 2 Corinthians 5.21, God made him who knew no 
sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness 
of God in him. Psalm 31 is a psalm of Christ. Psalm 31 again shows us something 
of the physical hardship, the torment and the torture that 
took place on the cross. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 
do not sort of expound upon or give detail concerning the physical 
suffering. The psalm is due, however, Psalm 
31 is one of those instances, Psalm 22, I think Psalm 88, Psalm 
69, what we get in the Psalter is the prophetic statement concerning 
the work of the Messiah. So I want to look first at the 
prophetic background, this psalm, and then secondly some contextual 
observations at the foot of the cross with reference to that 
seventh saying of the Savior on the cross. Now, Psalm 31, 
as I understand it, breaks down into five parts. I'll try to 
be slow with reference to the heads. because I think it's important 
for us to see the flow. First, the petition for his deliverance 
in verses 1 to 8. Secondly, the description of 
his suffering in verses 9 to 13. Third, the condemnation of 
his enemies in verses 14 to 18. Fourth, the admiration of his 
father in verses 19 to 22. And then finally, the exhortation 
of his people in verses 23 and 24. But let's look first at the 
petition for his deliverance. Note verse 1, In you, O Lord, 
I put my trust, or I have taken refuge. This is not an uncommon 
theme in the scripture wherein the psalmist takes refuge in 
the living and true God. So he says, In you, O Lord, I 
put my trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver 
me in your righteousness. And if you look at verse 1, this 
let me never be ashamed, and then you look at the exhortation 
in verse 24, be of good courage. I think what the Savior is telling 
us is that God's faithfulness is such that we mustn't ever 
be ashamed that He's not going to undertake on our behalf. that 
we are to be of good courage based on the proven faithfulness 
and the steadiness and the consistency of the living and true God. When 
the Bible calls us to good courage, it's not because we're strong, 
it's because God's strong. When the Bible calls us to courage 
in the face of hardship and affliction and opposition and persecution, 
it's not to tell us to pull up our bootstraps and to do it in 
our own strength, but it's rather live as those who have tried 
and proven their God. So the psalmist cries out at 
the outset, in you, oh Lord, I put my trust. Let me never 
be ashamed. Deliver me in your righteousness. 
Again, I want to express that I think this is a Psalm of the 
cross, every bit as much as Psalm 31 is. He rehearses the affliction. And remember that fourth saying 
of the Savior, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? There 
was a suspension of a brief time of the kindness and the sweetness 
and the mercy of the Father to the Son. It wasn't a dissolution 
of the hypostatic union, it wasn't a breach in the Trinity, but 
the Son of God standing in our stead on that cross bearing sin 
was indeed not receiving those consolations of God's favor. 
And so he cries out as a result of that in psalms such as these. Notice in verse 1b he says, deliver 
me in your righteousness, deliver me in your faithfulness. And though it's a psalm of Christ, 
it's a psalm that specifically applies for the people of Christ. Hence the exhortations of Christ 
to his church in verses 23 and 24. Love the Lord. Be of good 
courage. Well, we will, like the Master, 
suffer affliction. We will, like the Master, undergo 
hardship. The Apostle says in 2 Timothy 
3 that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer 
persecution. We know that's our lot. We know 
that's our challenge. We know that's our difficulty. 
So the Lord here prays, deliver me in your righteousness, or 
deliver me in your faithfulness. David Dixon says, as the Lord 
sends, in his wisdom, trouble after trouble on a believer, 
so he sends, in his justice and faithfulness, promise delivery 
after delivery from oppressions. Deliver me in thy righteousness. Christ knew that of the Father. He prays that specifically in 
terms of petition. Notice as well, verse 3, you 
are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your namesake lead 
me out and guide me. There's never doubt in the mind 
of the Savior. There ought never to be doubt 
in the mind of the Savior's people. We ought to realize and again 
be of good courage at the reality that the God who saved us is 
the God who keeps us. The God who secures us is the 
God that will bring us home to the very end. As the Apostle 
says in Romans 8, if God did not spare His own Son but delivered 
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give 
us all things? If God does the greater, the 
delivering up of His Son, He's going to do the lesser in securing 
and stabilizing His people and protecting them from all oppression 
and persecution and affliction. But notice, He doesn't protect 
them by delivering them completely from it. That's typically the 
way we pray. God, I don't want to be afflicted. 
I don't want to be oppressed. I don't want to be persecuted. 
No. That's a given. That's a reality. You're in a sin-cursed world. 
You're in a world marked by the first verses of Psalm 2. Why 
do the nations rage and the people plot of vain things against Yahweh 
and against His Christ? Well, how do you think they're 
going to treat you if you're for Yahweh and for His Christ? How 
do you think they're going to treat you if you're a follower 
of the Lamb? How do you think they're going to treat you if 
you acknowledge the Godhood and the Lordship of our blessed Savior? 
Well, they're going to hate you, and they're going to despise 
you. We need to appreciate and understand that God is our strong 
fortress, even in the midst of affliction. God is our refuge 
and strength, even in the midst of oppression and persecution. 
God is there with us in the midst of the trial, in the midst of 
the fire, in the midst of the hardship. He sees us through 
it. He says, you are my rock and 
my fortress. Therefore, for your namesake, 
lead me and guide me. pull me out of the net which 
they have secretly laid for me, for you are my strength." It's 
vivid language. Why do you use a net? You use 
a net to capture an animal. You use a net to capture an enemy. And the Savior is in the net 
of the enemy and he cries out to the Father to free me from 
that particular net. We ought to follow the Savior 
in a light manner and when we pray, when we find ourselves 
in a net, we pray for God's speedy deliverance or for God's grace 
so that we can suffer through non-speedy deliverance. And then 
of course our text in verse 5, into your hand I commit my spirit, 
you have redeemed me O Lord God of truth. You need to see the 
hand of God and the hand of the enemies in this particular psalm. 
You see the hand of God and you see the hand of Christ's enemies 
at the foot of the cross. Notice in verse 5, into your 
hand I commit my spirit. Verse 8, and if not shut me up 
into the hand of the enemy. Verse 15, my times are in your 
hand, deliver me from the hand of my enemies. He's caught betwixt 
the two. He's in the hand of his enemies 
and he cries for God's hand of safety and goodness. Note the 
entirety of his commitment. When he says, into your hand 
I commit my spirit. Spirits do not exist apart from 
bodies in this present age. True humanity with reference 
to our Lord. spirit and body is committed to the Blessed Father, 
as well the timing of his commitment. It's at his death, spoken in 
that seventh saying of the Savior on the cross, but I think it 
includes his life, and I think verse 15 indicates that it includes 
his life. My times are in your hand. In other words, everything falls 
out according to divine providence. The adversaries, the oppressors, 
the persecutors, the afflictors, they're not somehow outside the 
purview of my father's hands. They're not some sort of random 
events out there in the universe that have just fallen upon me. 
No, he's always conscious. He's always mindful. In the garden, 
he prays, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, 
not my will, but thine be done. The cup is the will of the father 
for the son to drink in order to save his people from their 
sins. Again, Jesus, according to his humanity in the Garden 
of Gethsemane, knew what that cup was brimming over with, namely 
God's wrath and fury and curse for sin and sinners. And as a 
man, he prays, if it is possible, let this pot pass from me. Nevertheless, 
not my will, but thine be done. So I think we learn from the 
Savior here in this statement concerning His commission or 
commending of His Spirit to the Father's hand in verse 5, and 
a recognition of the entirety of His life in verse 15, that 
whatever our God ordains is right. Romans 8.28 isn't just a motto 
text for believers or a bumper sticker or a fridge magnet to 
sort of buck us up once in a while. What does Paul say there? We 
know. How do we know this? Because the Bible tells us. How 
do we know this? Because the Spirit convinces 
us. How do we know this? Because 
experience has demonstrated it. We know that God causes all things 
to work for good. That means the good things, obviously. Finding bags of money always 
works for our good. Getting promotions at work always 
worked for our good. Happy wives and husbands and 
happy children always work for our good. I don't think that's 
Paul's point. That's a tautology. That means saying the same thing 
over again. Of course all good things work 
for our good. I think he means the hard things. I think he means the persecutions. 
I think that's why he ends the chapter by saying, what shall 
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus 
our Lord? shall persecution, shall tribulation, 
shall hardship. So we know that God causes all 
things to work for good. To every single human being out 
there, no, to those who love God and to those who are the 
called according to his purpose. See, the Savior exemplifies that 
in his life. The Savior shows us that throughout, 
from cradle to grave, that dependence and trust in the Father, who 
is his strong tower, who is his rock of refuge for times of woe 
and affliction. He commits his spirit to the 
Father because that's the way he always lived, with reference 
to the Father. And then notice, he goes on in 
verses six to eight, to show the futility of idols and the 
faithfulness of God. Notice in verse 6, I have hated 
those who regard useless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I think 
it's safe to say that if he hated those who trusted in useless 
idols, that obviously means that he himself didn't trust in useless 
idols, right? Pretty clear implication. He 
condemns those who trust in useless idols but he expresses his trust 
in the living and true God. And I wanna just look at that 
for a moment. I have hated those who regard useless idols, but 
I trust in the Lord. When the sermon ends today, I'm 
gonna try to make this practical for each of us and the difficulties 
that we face. And the very first thing we need 
to understand, because the psalmist here rehearses many good things 
about God. The many good things. He's faithful. He protects. He is our refuge 
in times of trouble. We just sang that in Psalm 46. 
But the first and primary emphasis is on the very being of God. Just his existence. Just that 
he's there. Isn't that Hebrews 11.6? By faith 
it is impossible to please him. Those who come must believe that 
he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek 
him. There's something about God in 
himself that is commendatory. There's something about the fact 
that he is that produces comfort and strength and stability. The 
fact that he does reemphasizes all of who he is, and that's 
what the psalmist is gonna rehearse for us, but I hate those who 
regard useless idols, but I trust in the Lord. And if you take 
that to the foot of the cross, there's specific application. 
What are those unbelieving Jews doing when they're crucifying 
Jesus? They've constructed an idol. 
They have a concept of Yahweh that's not biblical. They have 
a concept of Yahweh that makes him devoid of being a trinity. They have become the idolaters 
by crucifying the very Lord of glory that Yahweh sent to save 
his people from their sins. So after highlighting the being 
of God, notice he goes on in verses seven and eight. I will 
be glad and rejoice in your mercy, for you have considered my trouble, 
you have known my soul and adversities, and have not shut me up into 
the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a wide 
place. In other words, I have tried 
and proven that you are faithful. I have tried and proven that 
you are God. I have tried and proven that 
you are there for your people in the midst of adversity. You 
know me in my adversities. So we can never pray that, God, 
you just don't know what I'm going through. Well, God is absolutely 
conscious of it, because he's omnipotent and omnipresent and 
omniscient, so he knows everything that we're going through, but 
God the Son assumed our humanity. God the Son was persecuted, he 
was afflicted, he was tried, he was tempted, he was hurt, 
he was broken, he was battered, he was bruised, all that. So 
a believer can never say, God, you don't know what I'm going 
through. Hebrews 2 and Hebrews 4 shows us that Christ knows 
exactly. He's able to sympathize with 
us. Why? Because He was in all points 
tempted like we are, yet without sin. The blessed Savior for sinners 
is our friend, and He knows us in our adversities. Now notice 
then the description of his suffering in verses 9 to 13. He declares 
his trouble in verses 9 to 10 and then he identifies his troublers 
in verses 11 to 13. Notice in verse 9, Have mercy 
on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble. My eye wastes away with grief, 
yes, my soul and my body. True humanity of the Savior, 
soul and body. What's He pray in John 12, or 
what's He say? Now my soul is troubled. When He goes into Gethsemane, 
my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. We see the trouble 
of His body. We've been standing at the foot 
of the cross, listening to the sayings of the Savior from the 
cross, and seeing the abuse and the scorn and the shame inflicted 
upon Him, and the pain. Thorns in His head, nails in 
His hands. spit and scourging prior to that. All the things that are true 
of the Savior. Look at him. My eye wastes away 
with grief. Yes, my soul and my body. For 
my life is spent with grief. This is consistent with the prophet 
Isaiah. He's a man of sorrows and what? 
Had a little bit of an idea of grief? No, he's acquainted with 
grief. What's Isaiah say? He had no 
former comeliness. nothing about Him that would 
attract our attention. He didn't walk around with 21-inch 
guns. They're bigger now. He didn't 
walk around with a halo. He didn't walk around in just, 
you know, white flowing throughout the hills of Israel and everybody 
wanted, no. It's just the opposite. There's 
nothing about him that was alluring. He was a man of sorrows, and 
he was acquainted with grief. He says the same in Psalm 3110, 
for my life is spent with grief, my years with sighing. My strength 
fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. Now 
note, as he identifies his troublers in verses 11 to 13, he's reproached 
to his enemies. That's not anything that should 
cause us too much alarm, is it? We're reproached to our enemies. 
Notice in verse 11, I'm a reproach among all my enemies. It's the 
next bit that I think is a bit more harder to get our minds 
wrapped around, at least in our own trouble, right? If the guy at work who's hated 
you since the first day of work hates you, yeah, that's the way 
it goes. When a guy in church who's supposed 
to love you hates you, that's a bit of a difficult one. Look 
at what he says, verse 11, I am a reproach among all my enemies, 
but especially among my neighbors, and I'm repulsive to my acquaintances. Those who see me outside flee 
from me. Neighbors like Peter who denied 
him. A neighbor like Judas who betrayed 
him. A neighbor like the disciples 
who fled from him. This is Jesus, brethren, expressing 
through Psalms the grief on the cross. Athanasius had this very 
good counsel to us, actually not to us personally. He wrote 
a letter, I think it was Marcellinus, and he says this. When you see 
yourself hated and persecuted by family and those you love 
because of the truth, you should not despair for yourself or them. 
And when you see those who are well known to you turning against 
you, don't be alarmed, but instead separate yourself from them and 
looking to the future, here's his counsel, sing Psalm 31. Praise God, Athanasius, that's 
the best encouragement you can give to a suffering perplexed 
soul that's meeting opposition in those closest to him. Sing 
Psalm 31. Notice that he moves on to the 
condemnation. Well, I'll just read the section. 
Verse 12, I am forgotten like a dead man. That's a pretty common 
sort of image. We forget most dead people, don't 
we? I know we like to think we've got a legacy. I know we like 
to think that in 60 years, the minstrels will be composing songs 
about us. Nah, it's probably not gonna 
happen. We're here for a time, and then 
we're gone. And that's okay. I don't get 
this desire to make last, I mean, make an impact in your area, 
be a good husband, be a good father, be a good mother, be 
a good wife, all that. Be a good kid. Be faithful in 
what you do. But this inordinate desire that 
generations to come will sing my praises. That seems to be 
the core of just godless humanists. I mean, ex-presidents have to 
build libraries to celebrate them for subsequent generations. 
Most people are forgotten. That's what the Savior's saying. 
My worth in the first century to my contemporaries, my own 
to whom I came and they've received me not, it's like I'm a dead 
man. Here today, gone tomorrow, forgotten just as quick. Verse 
13. For I hear the slander of many, 
fear is on every side. While they take counsel together 
against me, they scheme to take away my life." Again, a connection 
to Psalm 2. Why do the nations rage and the 
people plot of vain things? Why do the rulers of the earth 
take counsel together against Yahweh and against His Christ? 
Who counseled together? Well, you had Judas the betrayer, 
you had the Sanhedrin, you had the Sanhedrin go to Pontius Pilate, 
you had Pilate send him over to Herod, you had Herod send 
him back to Pilate, you had the Sanhedrin gin up the multitude 
so that they cried, away with him, away with him, crucify him. 
Brethren, we don't like to hear people say anything negative 
or bad about us ever, do we? That guy's mean. And we hear 
it and we're sad or we're mad. Imagine being the Savior, the 
only one that was ever wholly harmless and undefiled and he 
hears the slander of many, fears on every side while they take 
counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life. He'd done no sin, he'd committed 
no wrong, he had perpetrated no crime whatsoever. That brings 
us forth to our third, the condemnation of his enemies in verses 14 to 
18. Note his refuge in God, verse 14. But as for me, I trust in 
you, O Lord. I say you are my God. My times 
are in your hand. That idea of times, it's used 
in 1 Chronicles 29-30, just means the events of my life, the circumstances 
of my life, those things which define me. So notice, with reference 
to God's sovereignty, God's providence, the psalmist is not questioning 
him in a way of, why are all these bad things happening to 
me? Why are the adversaries rising up against me? He's lamenting 
it, he's expressing it in prayer, he's agonizing over it, but he's 
not calling into question God, because if you really were faithful, 
you'd make sure that none of these guys ever did anything 
like this. I think that's the way we pray sometimes. If not 
you, I don't want to blame you for my sin. Well, why is this 
happening? Can't you stop this? There seems 
to be this formulaic approach to the Christian life wherein 
we think that immediately when we pray, everything should just 
be steady and perfect. I don't know where we get that 
in the Bible. I don't know where we get in the Bible that Christ 
in the boat with us means the absence of storms. I see Christ 
get in the boat with his disciples and then the storm comes. What 
about David when he's anointed King of Israel in 1 Samuel 16? 
What happens on the heels of that? Persecution, distress, 
hardship, sorrow, woe. The Spirit comes and so does 
adversity. Consider the Savior. He's baptized, 
he hears the father in his approbation, this is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. What's the next scene post-baptism 
of Jesus? The spirit drives him out to 
the wilderness to be what? Tempted by the devil. The presence 
of God in our lives does never result in the absence of sorrow. The health, wealth, prosperity 
gospel is a lie from the pit. Come to Jesus and everything 
will always be great and wonderful. Very often it's come to Jesus 
and man, you're gonna have some real issues and challenges and 
troubles and trials and difficulties. Come to Jesus in a Muslim nation. 
Come to Jesus in a unconverted context. Come to Jesus, and more 
often than not, you're gonna find the Spirit driving you into 
the wilderness to be tempted or tested in ways you'd never 
imagine. Before David went, or was anointed, 
I mean, bears and lions don't sound like a walk in the park, 
but for the most part, as a young shepherd, it was probably a pretty 
cakewalk job. He gets anointed King of Israel, 
and all bets are off. So he recognizes divine providence. He recognizes divine sovereignty, 
and he commends his life and his death to this blessed one. 
But then notice in verse 16, and again, I think we connect 
the fourth and the seventh sayings of the Savior. Make your face 
shine upon your servant. Save me for your mercy's sake. 
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Again, no breach 
in the Trinity, no dissolution of the hypostatic union, but 
in terms of being the God-man, in terms of being the surety 
of a better covenant, in terms of bearing the wrath and fury 
and judgment of God that you and I deserve, there was for 
a moment that lack of the sweet consolations of the Father's 
favor. But notice what he says in the midst of it, make your 
face shine upon your servants, save me for your Mercy's sake. Dixon, David Dixon, wonderful 
little commentary on the book of Psalms. When the cloud of 
trouble hideth the Lord's favor, faith knoweth it may shine again, 
and therefore prayeth through the cloud for dissolving of it. Make thy face shine upon me. He doesn't stop there. Notice, 
he turns his attention to the enemies. Verses 17 and 18. His 
expectation of the Father. His expectation of the Father. 
See, at the foot of the cross, there was this arrogance in the 
opposers. There was the mocking and the 
taunting. There was a, oh, he saved others, 
let him save himself. Let's just see if God comes to 
his aid and rescue. Mocking, taunting, wretched opposition. What steadies the Savior's mind 
in the midst of that? Yeah, the salvation of his people, 
but the condemnation of his enemies. Again, a trait, characteristic 
thing that the church lacks today. God's punishment of his enemies 
is something that believers have traditionally rejoiced in. We don't think it really speaks 
concerning God's love. Well, how do you explain Paul? 
God is gonna repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 2 Thessalonians 
1. How do you explain the saints 
in heaven after the destruction of the false prophet and the 
whore sing a fourfold hallelujah to God most high? Or what about 
those souls martyred for Christ under the altar according to 
Revelation chapter six? You know what they don't say? 
How long, Lord, till all the world knows your love? That's 
not necessarily a bad petition, but you know what they say? How 
long till you avenge? What's Paul say in Romans chapter 
12? Beloved, do not avenge yourselves. We're not supposed to be vigilantes. 
Bandoleros and shotguns raging, walking down to five corners 
ready to, you know, liquidate our enemies. Do you know what 
Paul does say? Give place to wrath. He doesn't say, wrath bad, condemn 
it, Christians. No, give place to it. How do 
we give place to it? By singing Psalm 31 in public 
worship. How do we give place to it? By 
singing Psalm 58 in public worship. How do we give vent to it? By 
singing Psalm 109 in public worship. by acknowledging the justice 
of God and the righteousness of God and the reality that God 
is gonna take those who crucified the Lord of glory, not the ones 
who acted in ignorance. Father, forgive them for they 
know not what they do. There were elect among them that 
were acting ignorantly, but there were non-elect there that were 
acting wretchedly. Notice in verse 17, do not let 
me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon you. Let the wicked 
be ashamed. Let them be silent in the grave. 
Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent 
things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. expressing 
that righteous desire, that righteous expectation that those tormentors, 
those afflictors and oppressors, those persecutors and murderers 
are going to be cut off by Yahweh Most High and sent into everlasting 
destruction. If the church has problems with 
praying the Psalms, we need to remember they're the very prayers 
of Christ. How would we not pray the prayers 
of Christ? Again, check yourselves. The 
guy who cut you off on the street isn't your enemy, isn't God's 
enemy. But with reference to those standing 
at the foot of the cross, mocking and taunting the Savior, having 
crucified Him, having delivered Him up to Pontius Pilate, Pilate 
having delivered Him up to these four soldiers that were in charge 
of the execution, that's wretched. Reprobate behavior is going to 
be punished by God in the lake of fire forever and ever. That 
brings us then, fourthly, to the admiration of his father. 
There's this kind of back and forth, isn't there? Spurgeon 
says it's an almost impossible psalm to outline. I don't think 
so. I think it reflects. I don't disagree with Spurgeon 
lightly, by the way. He does go on to outline it. 
But I think there's consistent movement. Petition to God, deliver 
me. Reason, adversity. As well, contemplation 
of God's goodness and faithfulness to him and the punishment of 
the wicked doers. And here, specifically, admiration. This belongs in prayer. We admire 
God for who God is. We delight in God for who God 
is. We just stand in awe of God because 
of God. Two things specifically, his 
protection, verses 19 to 21, and then secondly, his faithfulness 
in verse 22. Notice in verse 19, oh, how great 
is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, 
which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence 
of the sons of men. You shall hide them in the secret 
place of your presence from the plots of man. You shall keep 
them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. God's 
goodness, God's graciousness, God's protection. Notice in verse 
21, Remember when we looked at Ephesians chapter 1, I mentioned 
that that was a literary convention, a practice 
of prayer, when Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ. He's drawing from a history, 
he's drawing from a tradition. Bless the Lord, and then express 
the reasons why we bless the Lord. Psalm 103, bless the Lord, 
O my soul, and all that is within me, forget not his holy name. It is incumbent upon the people 
of God, even in the midst of adversity, to be praisers of 
God, to be admirers of God, to rejoice in God, for that is what 
the Savior is doing as He experiences these things. So it's not only 
His protection, but His faithfulness. Notice in verse 22, For I said 
in my haste, I am cut off from before your eyes. My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me? Nevertheless, you heard the voice 
of my supplications when I cried out to you. When I cried out 
to you. And then the psalm ends with 
an exhortation to his people. Again, love God, be courageous 
before God. Notice in verse 23, O love the 
Lord, all you his saints. Now, I would suggest that Jesus 
is in a very unique place to be able to give these exhortations, 
right? God's a strong tower and refuge 
and strength. The adversaries have been many. 
It's been adversarial to the point where soul and body have 
been in perpetual grief. He'd come out the other side. 
The shining countenance of his Father has returned. Verses 23 
and 24 is, church, come here. Let me gather you around, because 
I want to tell you what I've learned. I've trodden the earth 
and Israel, I've assumed your humanity. I've battled with the 
devil. I have encountered the wickedness 
of man. I have been slapped. I have been spat on. I have been 
pierced in my head with thorns. I have been mocked. I have been 
shattered. I have been treated in absolute 
contempt. So church, I want you to listen 
to what I say. That's how you should understand 
verses 23 and 24. Love him, why? For his faithful 
protection over you, even in the midst of adversity, even 
in the midst of trial, even when there's oppressors and oppression, 
even when there's persecution, even when there is assault upon 
your person, the Lord preserves the faithful and fully repays 
the proud person. There's that pesky emphasis once 
again on God's judgment as a motivator to the righteous to keep on keeping 
on. This world isn't all there is. 
Wicked men get away with a lot of things in this world, don't 
they? I mean, it's vexing. I don't 
know if you saw the video that's circulating on social media where 
the girl was just stabbed to death for no reason at all. Not listed on any sort of media, 
you know, no news agency has picked it, why? Why hide that? Well, because 
they're gonna jump in with damage control and tell us why what 
happened didn't really happen. But you see this, right? You 
see people get away with things. I mean, we'd be here for hours. I wanna keep it within the time 
limits. I want everybody to be hopefully 
encouraged. We could be here for hours, multiplying 
instances where they got away with it. Yeah, temporally. Yeah, in this life. There is 
a righteous God. There is a righteous judge. Isn't 
this what set Asaph's spirit into calm repose? Asaph writes 
in Psalm 73, you know, my, I almost slipped. I almost stumbled. Why? Because I saw the righteous 
suffer. I saw my brethren hurting. And 
then I saw the unrighteous thrive, flourish. There's no pangs, no 
pains, no hardship. They drive their great big cars 
to their summer homes. It just hurt. What sat Asaph's 
mind straight? Until I went into your sanctuary. Once he went into the sanctuary 
and he got God's perspective on things vis-a-vis, thou dost 
set them in slippery places. In other words, the judgment 
of God upon the enemies of God furnish an encouragement to the 
people of God. Again, don't be vindictive at 
Walmart. Somebody grabs the last, you 
know, broccoli head. Don't, Father, I beseech you 
in your justice to smite them. No, no, no, we're not jerks. But the complete and utter absence 
of the part of the church to sing the Psalms of David that 
are imprecatory in nature or to heed the command of the Apostle 
Paul to give place to wrath, that's a bankruptcy. There's 
a problem there. If Jesus is comforted in the 
reality that his enemies are gonna be cut off and punished, 
I don't think it's wrong for Jesus' people to have the same 
mindset. And then he ends contrasted with 
where he, well, consistent with where he began. Verse one, let 
me never be ashamed. Verse 24, be of good courage, 
and he shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the 
Lord. Be of good courage. command to Joshua, remember, 
be strong and of good courage. The command from Joshua to Israel, 
be strong and of good courage. 1 Corinthians 16, 13, the new 
King James renders it, be brave. It's literally act like men. 
The old King James gives it as quit ye like men. What's Paul 
saying? Well, be brave is a good gloss, 
good translation in the new King James, but it's literally act 
like men. Not just to the men, but to the 
women, too. That doesn't mean, you know, go for gender reassignment. That's not what he means. Ladies, 
act like men, change your pronouns, and buy trousers. That's not 
what he's saying. Be brave. Be strong. Don't be, you know, beat down 
by every jot and tittle that this world has to throw at you. You need to be of good courage. 
Why? Because God preserves his people. Listen again to Dixon. He says, albeit opposition be 
made unto a believer, yet he must resist everything which 
might put him back from trusting in God. For it becometh a believer 
to be stout, be of good courage. So he gives the command and he 
furnishes a reason. Love the Lord. Why? The Lord 
preserves the faithful. Again, it's not you're a superior 
being and you've come to that place where you've just got this 
machismo. No, no, no. You trust in God. You see Him in His being and 
in His attributes, His perfections, His faithfulness in your life 
consistently. You have every reason to believe 
that the God who acted for you last week is going to be there 
for you next week. He's a rock. He's a refuge. He's 
a fortress. He's stable. We are in flux. We are in turmoil. We are cast 
about. Not God. So in terms of the foot 
of the cross, there are three lessons quickly that I want to 
draw out from Luke's gospel. Luke 23. Well, and the other gospel narratives. I would say the first thing we 
observe with reference to the Savior is the control exercised 
by the son. the control exercised by the 
Son. In John's Gospel, Jesus goes 
forward to his arresters in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus tells 
Peter to put his sword in the sheath because Jesus says, I 
must drink the cup that my father is giving. Jesus is not pictured 
in the gospel records as being an unwilling participant. We 
speak of active and passive obedience of Christ. Passive obedience 
refers to his death on the cross, but it should not be inferred 
that he is a passive participant in it. In John 10, 17, and 18, 
he says, Therefore my Father loves me, because I lay down 
my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but 
I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down, 
and I have power to take it again. This command I have received 
from my Father. So Jesus is in control. And in 
fact, in Luke 23, notice specifically in verse 46, and when Jesus had 
cried out with a loud voice, a loud voice, man, you know what 
it is to get a cold. And you know what it is to lie 
on the couch. And you know what it is to beg of your beloved, 
ginger ale and crackers. Do you say it with a loud voice? 
No, I'm so sick. I'm so lonely. I'm hurting. That the Savior musters a loud 
voice for this shows us victorious true humanity. Shows us a Savior 
that's in control. He said, Father, into your hands, 
Pilate commits my spirit, the Sanhedrin commits my spirit, 
the multitude now I commit my spirit. Christ laid down his 
life for us, for us men and for our salvation. I would suggest 
secondly, we see it in the psalm, I just want to make note of it 
here, the contrast between God and men, unbelieving men that 
is. In the Psalm, it's a contrast 
to hands. Into your hand I commit my spirit. 
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies. My times are in your 
hand. Deliver me from the hand of my 
enemies. That's exactly played out at the foot of the cross. 
You've got man, in opposition to Christ, murdering him. You've got God, the Father, receiving 
his spirit. And then as well, thirdly, the 
communion of the Son with the Father, the cry of dereliction, 
the cry of, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Now it's 
Father into your hands, I commit my spirit. So he went to be with 
the Father and would be joined with the thief from the cross. 
So the second saying of the Savior is played out as well. So just 
some contextual observations. I just want to end here. First, 
the trials for God's people. They're real. If they're real 
for the people's savior, they're gonna be real for us. Jesus learned 
obedience through suffering, Hebrews 5.8. Jesus' people most 
likely are gonna learn obedience in the same way. Wouldn't it 
be nice if we just got a, you know, well, we do have a book, 
but a specific book that says, okay, this is what you need to 
do to learn how to obey. That's not usually the plan and 
the purpose. Some of us are a bit thicker 
in our heads than others. It's the school of hard knocks 
that oftentimes teaches us, doesn't it? We learn by experience very 
often. There will be trials. There will 
be effects on the soul and even the body. And there is this recognition 
of the first cause in divine providence. My times are in your 
hands, from first to last, and everything in between. In terms 
of comfort for God's people, the being of the living and true 
God, verse 6, Psalm 31. The providence of the living 
and true God, verse 15, and the faithfulness of that living and 
true God, the entirety of Psalm 31. Andrew Bonar in his commentary 
on the Psalms. Safety in the hands of the living 
God and only there is the theme of this plaintive psalm. Safety 
in life as well as in death. Safety from the enemy's snares 
and from all adversity, from grief and reproach, from calumny 
and contempt. from personal despondency as 
well as from the pressure of outward adversity. David needed 
his theme. The true David needed it yet 
more, and his followers will not cease to need it till verse 
19 be realized in all its vastness. Verse 19 reads, Oh, how great 
is your goodness which you have laid up for those who fear you, 
which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence 
of the sons of men. Brethren, this psalm, the saying 
of the Savior, worked its way out in the life of Christ's church. Remember Stephen's dying words 
in Acts 7, 59? He asks that they be forgiven 
in imitation of the second saying of the Savior from the cross, 
or rather the first saying of the Savior from the cross, but 
he also says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. In a context where 
the Apostle Peter is exhorting the church on how to deal with 
tribulation, he tells them to expect it. He tells them to evaluate 
its cause. Why are you being vexed? Why 
are you being oppressed? If it's because you're a murderer, 
then you deserve that. But if it's for righteousness 
sake, yeah, you got to deal with that. He tells us to exalt in 
it. But he also tells us to entrust 
our souls to a faithful creator. Listen to his language. He says, 
therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God. My times are in your hand. Let 
those who suffer according to the will of God commit their 
souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful Creator. That's 
the message that the Savior King exhorts with reference to his 
church. Love the Lord and be of good 
courage. And if you're not a believer 
here this morning, I want to just call upon you to think about 
what Jesus went through for sinners. Because sometimes people say, 
well, you know, I'm such a sinner. I don't think God will have me. 
Yeah, we all said that. We all said that at one time. 
Yeah, I'm too wretched. I don't think he'd save one like 
me. We have the Apostle Paul saying, this is a faithful saying, 
it's worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Let me just ask you, 
a Savior who would go through what he went through in the gospel 
records, but in Psalm 31, in Psalm 22, in Psalm 88. Remember when Dr. Jim Renahan 
preached Psalm 88? He used that imagery of that 
dungeon within a dungeon. I forget the name of it, it was 
a French word, that's probably why I forget it, but it's the 
obelet or something like that. It's the lowest part of a dungeon. I mean, it's probably bad to 
be in the dungeon, chained to a wall as it is, but you're particularly 
notorious. So there's a hole in the dungeon 
with no room to stretch out. They're gonna sink you into even 
lower. Sign me up. That's Psalm 88. As far as I know, the other 149 
psalms end on a positive note. I mean, lots of misery and negativity 
in the midst of the psalm, but it typically ends on a hope in 
the Lord. Bless the Lord. Not Psalm 88. It's a downer from 
first to last. It's the suffering of the Savior. 
He's the one that goes into the dungeon of dungeons. Why? Because 
he doesn't want to save people? No. Because he's come to save 
a lot of people. So if you're part of the lot 
of people that isn't saved, may I encourage you to come to Him 
in faith, to look to Him and believe, and to know the joy 
of everlasting life. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for this seventh saying 
of the Savior on the cross, and for the psalm from whence it 
comes. Help us to be faithful in the midst of adversity and 
trial, but even more so, help us to trust in your faithfulness 
in the midst of adversity and trial. And may we love you, and 
may we have courage before you, and may you grant us the grace 
to live in a manner that is consistent with our calling in the gospel 
of our Lord Jesus. And we pray in his most blessed 
name, amen.