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Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 5. It's been a few weeks since we've been in the Psalms, but our operating assumption is that Christ is the composer of the Psalter. He is the subject, He is the object, and He is the prayer. So this morning we're going to consider the morning prayer of the Messiah in Psalm 5.

I'll begin reading in verse 1. To the chief musician with flutes, a psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God. For to you I will pray. My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning I will direct it to you, and I will look up. For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy. In fear of you, I will worship toward your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue. Pronounce them guilty, O God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you. But let all those who rejoice put their trust in you. Let them ever shout for joy because you defend them. Let those also who love your name be joyful in you. For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous. With favor you will surround him as with a shield. Amen.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this psalm that describes the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, that shows us his prayer life. Pray that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things, that you would build us up in our most holy faith. And as well, Lord God, for those here dead in their trespasses and sins, those spoken of here in this particular psalm, we pray that they would respond to that offer of peace that you make in the Christian gospel. We pray that the Holy Spirit would effectually call sinners out of darkness into marvelous light to confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And guide us now by your Holy Spirit, forgive us and cleanse us from all sin and transgression, and be glorified in this glad hour. And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Well as I said this is the morning prayer of the Messiah. The prayer is David's ultimately as he's writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit but it is foreshadowing the prayer life of our Lord Jesus Christ according to his humanity and thus we in him can appropriate the psalm for our own use in terms of our daily lives.

One of the reasons we know, or at least one of the few reasons we know that Psalm 5 does refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 12, for you, O Lord, will bless the righteous, that singular, the righteous Lord Jesus, that one that was introduced to us in Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. That psalmist, or rather that subject of Psalm 1, is the righteous man. He is the only begotten son of the Father, according to Psalm 2, who exercises kingly prerogatives from the right hand of his father. But as well, the apostle Paul in Romans Romans highlights or cites Psalm 59 as he's arguing for the universal condemnation of all men under sin. 

In fact in Romans chapter 1 at verse 18 he says, and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness." And then he highlights the guilt of the Gentile in the remainder of Romans chapter 1. He moves to the Jew in Romans chapter 2, and then he brings it to a summary conclusion in Romans chapter 3. And there, reaching back into the Old Testament, shows the total depravity and total inability of all men And in Romans 3.13, he takes Psalm 5.9 as part of that katina or litany of verses to demonstrate our guilt before a holy God. 

So it's not our righteousness that enables us to pray Psalm 5, but it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone that makes Psalm 5 the property, the possession, and the great treasure of the people of God in this new covenant setting. As Christopher Ashe says, we read this psalm then much as we read Psalms 3 and 4, watching David foreshadow the prayers of Jesus Christ and joining in those prayers as those who are made righteous through faith in Christ. I think he's absolutely, positively correct. 

And as we look at this psalm, I want to break it down into four sections. First, the psalmist's appeal to the hearing God in verses 1 to 3. Secondly, the psalmist's comfort in the perfections of God in verses 4 to 7. Thirdly, the psalmist's petitions to the answering God in verses 8 to 10. And then finally, the psalmist's confidence in the protecting God in verses 11 and 12. 

So, note first the psalmist's appeal to the hearing God. Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God, and we see that in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So, according to his humanity, he evidences and expresses what true religious humanity looks like in his times of prayer. 

Notice in Psalm 4 at verse 8, he ends the day on that note of confidence and peace in prayer. I will both lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. And then in Psalm 5, give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation, give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I will pray. My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning I will direct it to you and I will look up." 

So he petitions God to hear. He calls upon the Father to listen. He calls upon the Father to give attention to what it is he has to say. And I don't think that's wrong for us when it comes to praying. In Hebrews chapter 4, we're told that we have boldness and confidence when we come to the throne of grace. That boldness and confidence, again, is not based on our intrinsic or inherent righteousness, but on the imputed righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

James speaks about the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much in James 5.16. Again, not because we're morally pure, but because Christ was and that righteousness is imputed to us and received by faith alone. According to his humanity, he speaks of the Father as my King and my God and says, for to you I will pray. And if you look at the gospel narratives and you review the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus, you'll see how many times He stole away to secret and solitary places so that He could pray. You'll see how many times He began the day with prayer, how prayerfulness characterized and identified His life in this present evil age.

But not only does he pray, not only does he make this appeal in verses 1 and 2, but he has confidence in the hearing God. Notice in verse 3, my voice you shall hear. There's no question. There's no doubt. There's no supposition. There's no, and I don't say this wrongly, hope. He has confidence that his father will hear him.

If you leave your pencil there, or perhaps your finger if you don't find yourself equipped with a pencil, you can turn to Matthew's gospel in Matthew chapter 6. I think this principle is obvious, displayed by Jesus in his earthly ministry to his disciples. Notice in Matthew chapter 6, While you're turning there, remember the principle of Hebrews 11. Not only are we supposed to believe that God is, but we're also to believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We're not to call that into question, we're not to try to argue it and debate it, we're rather to believe it and proceed in light of that blessed reality.

So in Matthew chapter six, Jesus is addressing religious practices or acts of piety. He deals with fasting, he deals with almsgiving, and he deals with prayer. And in Matthew chapter 6 at verse 5, But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Notice that Jesus doesn't say you gotta do some incantations, you gotta light a few candles, you gotta put on the right music. Before you go into that prayer closet to lay hold of God, you gotta make everything just so, and then perhaps that God will come and hear you. No, it's a given. It's axiomatic. It is foundational. It is consistent with the nature of the living and true God. He hears the prayers of the upright. And Jesus assumes that by way of teaching when He cautions us against being like the hypocrite. or being like the heathen who think that they're heard for their many words. The multiplication of words doesn't somehow prevail upon God. No, pray thus, and then he gives us that model prayer, which by the way, two of the petitions that Jesus sets forth in Matthew 6, find themselves deeply entrenched in Psalm 5. You can go back to Psalm 5.

So the Lord Jesus Christ, according to his humanity, was in fact a man of prayer. And the occasion of his prayer when he makes this appeal to God is specified in verse three, my voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning I will direct it to you and I will look up.

Now, when we move on and we're gonna come to the psalmist comfort and the perfections of God, I don't wanna ask you this, I don't want a show of hands, you don't need to email me, you don't need to text me, you don't need to tell me at the exit door. First of all, do we pray in the morning? That might just, you know, level us to begin with. But if we do pray, what's the nature of our prayer? Again, I don't really want to know. I would bet it's not like Jesus' prayer in Psalm 3, or I'm sorry, Psalm 5. In fact, as I've reflected on Psalm 5, there's a newfound appreciation that I have for the humanity of Christ, the true humanity. I don't, in the morning, have to pray, God protect me from bloodthirsty and deceitful men. I maybe should add that to my program as times grow on or go on and it's increasingly more oppressive and persecutive-ish or persecution-ish.

Listen to how the Son of Man prayed. He understood that the life that he had embraced was, in fact, truly what was prophesied in the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Again, brethren, you know, praying in the morning, God, make sure my Zoom link doesn't crash when I'm in that particularly difficult meeting. I don't wanna disregard that. I don't wanna say that's insignificant and don't pray thus. But when you read Psalm 5 and the machinations directed against our blessed Savior, hopefully there's a newfound appreciation in your heart for the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief.

So notice the psalmist's comfort in the perfections of God in verses 4 to 7. First he speaks of God's holiness in verses 4 and 5. God takes no pleasure in sin. That is contrary to us, isn't it? We take pleasure in sin. We read of Moses in Hebrews chapter 11 that he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.

Now, good for Moses to be sure, but as well, listen to the admission of the author under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit there, sin brings pleasure. We pursue those things, not because we absolutely despise it and abate it and abhor it. No, we do it because at some level, we like to do it. At some level, and I know there's a, well, you just don't know my, look, you like it. You like to sin. I think that's the first place where healing begins is the recognition and admission that I'm a wretch before a holy God. God be merciful to me, the sinner. It's probably the best place to start instead of saying, well, you just don't know my circumstances. I deserve this pleasure. I have a tough life. I have a stressful situation. I deserve that. No, you love it. You like it. God, however, does not.

The prophet Habakkuk says you are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness. Verse 4, it's a positive affirmation of the holiness of God. And then the reflex of that, the absolute, spotless, blemishless, Holy purity of God Almighty, the reflex is opposition to that which is sin. Opposition to that which is evil. Opposition to that which is contrary to his revealed will and word. So that's verse five. The boastful shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity.

Perhaps you've heard the oft-repeated mantra, God loves, or God hates the sin, but he loves the sinner. Not according to the psalmist. God hates the workers of iniquity. And just for the sake of confirmation, when Paul cites Psalm 5 9 in Romans 5 13, are we to suppose that Paul wouldn't have accepted the rest of Psalm 5? Do we think that he cherry-picked and picked out a few things here or there? No, when New Testament authors, Jesus included, in his speaking ministry, cite a verse out of a psalm, they affirm or confirm the entirety of that particular psalm.

But as well, the text itself tells us he hates the workers of iniquity. Yes, he hates iniquity, but he hates the workers of iniquity. And then again in verse six at the end, the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. That mantra, again, I don't know what it's attempting to garner. God loves the sinner, but he hates the sin. Why would we do that? The sinner needs to know, as Paul as well says, Romans 1, I've already cited that, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. That doesn't sound like God loves the sinner. Then 519 in the book of Romans, we are enemies.

Now, if you're sitting here this morning and you're not a believer, understand that God has made a peace treaty. God has brought the olive branch. God has made peace through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of us this morning that are singing with true hearts Praise unto God. Every one of us who hear the word of the Lord God Most High in the Holy Scriptures, all of us who have been born again, who believe the gospel, were at one time enemies of God, were at one time hated by God, at one time treated with that disdain, and yet by the grace of God, we have been moved out of darkness into marvelous light to confess the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But we don't want to minimize what the text is saying. And again, I think by way of contrast, the psalm moves back and forth. The righteous God, the unrighteous man. The righteous God, the unrighteous man. So the hatred of God is a reality. Sin doesn't exist in the abstract. When Solomon says, these six things Yahweh hates, yea, seven are an abomination to him, a proud look. There's no proud look just sort of wandering out there in the ether. Proud looks are on the faces of proud sinners. Haughty eyes. You ever drive down Wellington and see a pair of haughty eyes coming at your windshield? No, you see sinners who have haughty eyes. Hands that shed innocent blood. Again, do you see hands just kind of moving their way through the streets of Chilliwack in search of victims so they can shed? No, they're hands attached to sinners. We don't do God any favor by minimizing God's holiness. Perhaps a trembling before the majesty and holiness of God is exactly and precisely what sinners need. Exactly and precisely what may be that which the Spirit uses to break their hardened hearts to bring them to that place where they confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

So he praises God or finds comfort in the holiness of God. But then notice as well, verse 6, the justice of God. Cam already preached a part of this sermon, and I think that it comes from this text and a couple others down below.

You shall destroy those who speak falsehood. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. Again, if that's how you start your day, good on you. You're following the path of the Savior.

I don't typically have to think about the bloodthirsty man and deceitful man that's trying to get me. But Jesus did. He was a man of sorrows and He was acquainted with grief. We typically attach that only to the Passion Week. But it happens at the outset of his public ministry.

Sabbath wars with the Pharisees. How do they respond? Oh, his arguments are good. We need to go polish up, study more, and then we can rebut him or refute him. No. They plotted how they might kill him. all throughout John's gospel. We saw that as we moved through John's gospel. They wanted to kill him.

John 5, why do they want to kill him? Because he, a man, makes himself equal with God. John chapter 8, why do they want to kill him? Because he ascribed or predicated of himself that he was the I Am of Exodus 3.14. John chapter 10, same sort of thing. Why are all these people wanting to murder a holy, harmless, and undefiled man?

Because they're wretched, they're workers of iniquity, they traffic in bloodshed, they're bloodthirsty, and they're deceitful liars. And it's all under the guise of their connection ultimately to their father, the devil. John 8, 44, Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews, you are of your father, the devil. What was the devil from the beginning? He's a liar and a murderer. a liar and a murderer.

So what Jesus is bemoaning here in his earthly ministry is being surrounded by these persons that have this kind of an ethical connection to the devil himself and it's being evidenced in the way that they hold him in contempt. in the way that they want to crucify Him, in the way that they want to dispatch Him and get rid of Him. 

You shall destroy those who speak falsehood. He says that very specifically in verse 6. The Lord God is the Lord of truth, but you shall destroy those who speak falsehood. Again, the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

Now, another observation with reference to the morning prayers of our Lord Jesus Christ How does he comfort himself when he leaves the front door and he enters the arena of the bloodthirsty and the deceitful? He comforts himself in their eventual destruction. He comforts himself in their eventual demise. He comforts himself in the reality that these bloodthirsty, godless, deceitful wretches will be punished by my Father. 

Not a bad thing to contemplate on a Thursday morning as you head out your door and hope that Zoom doesn't break down so you can carry on with your meeting. I'm not suggesting that you ask God to cut off those Zoom handlers so that they can enter into eternal fire and perdition because it messed up your meeting. But you get the point. Jesus is going into the arena of the bloodthirsty and deceitful. What is it that comforts him? God's absolute holiness. What is it that comforts him? God's absolute righteousness demonstrated in his justice in the damnation of the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

You heard the church say we need to be more like Jesus. Why don't they ever say we need to be more like the Jesus of Psalm 5? Why don't we need to be more like the Jesus of Psalm 58? Why don't we ever need to be like the Jesus of all the other Psalms where the demarcation between the righteous and the unrighteous is very clearly drawn? 

The Lord Christ, most high, as He goes out into the arena of the bloodthirsty and deceitful man, comforts Himself with the reality that they will be cut off. He hates the sin and the sinner according to verses 5 and 6. 

In terms of what Cam mentioned in that parable of the vineyard, which by the way wasn't new in Israel's history. It's Isaiah 5 in a similar context before the judgment of God via Babylon on the southern tribes of Judah. Same parable. God's the owner of the vineyard. God calls for fruitfulness in His vineyard. The vine dressers are fruitless. The vine dressers are vile. The vine dressers are bloodthirsty and deceitful men. Jesus is rehearsing the history of Israel in that parable. 

As our brother mentioned, connected very firmly to Deuteronomy chapter 28, the curses associated with covenant breaking. What does God do in Old Covenant Israel? He sends the prophets to do what? To upbraid the people and call them to repentance and faith. Do they receive that? Oh yeah, Isaiah, you're right. No, they sawed Isaiah in two. Oh yeah, Jeremiah, you're right. No, they threw him in prison. A heathen had to give him bread in order for him to live. What do they do? They rejected the prophets sent by Yahweh. So what does God say? Well, I'll send my son. Of course they'll receive my son. Of course they will affirm him. They absolutely positively didn't. They treated him more severely than they did the prophets. Away with him, away with him, crucify him. 

So what does the Lord promise? He promises them destruction. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by enemies, no. that its time is short. Behold, these are the days of vengeance, when all things written in the law will come upon this people." It's not about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 1 Thessalonians 2, 14-16, the apostle Paul points this out. Wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Why? Because those in Judah forbid us, the apostles, from speaking the gospel of peace to Gentiles. 

Instead of them receiving it, instead of them approving it, instead of them seeing its connection to Noah originally, seeing its connection to Abraham and the blessing of all the nations, and seeing it celebrated in the prophets and the Psalter, oh no, no Gentiles, come on. 

Remember when Paul is giving a defense of himself in Acts chapter 22. He gives his conversion experience, you know, I was raised according to the law, strict experience, all that. And I met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he saved me, all that. There's not really a peep out of the people until Paul rehearses that Jesus told me to go and make disciples of the Gentiles. Oh, that's it, he's out, he's done, he's over. One wonders if Paul had never mentioned Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of the God of Israel, would he have had the problems that he had with unbelieving Israel and the civil state? 

But the Lord Jesus Christ sees what's facing him, and where does he get his comfort? In God. God's holiness, God's justice, but as well, God's mercy. 

I'm convinced that the psalmist liked going to church a whole lot more than we do. I'm convinced of that. Psalm 122, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Look at verse seven. Note the contrast between the bloodthirsty and the deceitful and the one who wants to be in the house of God. 

Brethren, I get it. Fakes and hypocrites go to church. I understand that. Is he that naive? No, he's not. I am, but not on that point. I get it. People get a bit of religion and they think, hey, I better go to church. Don't know much about it. Not going to read the Bible, but I just think by reason of position and location, probably good for me to be in a church. I get it. Fakes and hypocrites populate churches. But so do the blood-bought children of God, who have received the multitude of mercy from God, who have now been ushered into the very presence of God by the Spirit through the Son to the Father. 

This is what sustained our Lord in His earthly ministry. This is what empowered our Lord in His earthly ministry. The contrast is sharp. The contrast could have been, but you know, for me, I'm not a man of bloodshed. For me, I'm not a man of deceit. For me, I'm not a man of lies. And that would have all been true. But where's the emphasis in verse 7? But as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy. In fear of you, I will worship toward your holy temple. That's what moved him. That's what blessed him. That's what encouraged him. That's what, dare I say, motivated him. These men, these unrighteous men, these workers of iniquity that the Lord hates, these bloodthirsty, deceitful men that the Lord abhors, That's them, but as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy. In fear of you, I will worship toward your holy temple. 

The boastful doesn't stand in God's sight, 5a, right? The righteous in Jesus stands in God's sight. Where does he stand in God's sight? Well, in the New Covenant era, in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive that blessed salvation from God the Father through the mediation of the Son, in and by the Spirit, according to Ephesians 1, 3 to 14. And then, according to Ephesians 2, 18 and 22 specifically, by the Spirit, through the Son, we come to the Father. 

What does the Apostle say in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19 to 25? We get to go behind the veil. We get to go into the Holy of Holies. Why? Because the veil of Christ's flesh was torn for us. What does the writer in Hebrews 12 say? But you have come to Mount Zion. Where do we find Jesus in Revelation chapter 1? He's in the midst of the lampstand, the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Can you find Christ in your closet? Yes. Can you find Christ mowing your lawn? Yes. Can you find Christ on top of Mount Shem? Sure. But where does Christ promise to be with His new covenant people consistently and perpetually? Let me just let you in on it. His church. 

The psalmist found comfort. The psalmist found power. The psalmist found stability. The psalmist found everything he needed in his holy, just God who pours out mercy, in the multitude of mercy. Isn't that beautiful? If you're not a believer here in Jesus Christ this morning, don't think that the mercy of God has been used up. Oh, I knew this guy in high school. He's sitting in this church, and he's apparently forgiven of his sin. That must've tapped the resources. That must've, you know, ended the supply, because he was really bad. 

How does the Bible very often speak of God's mercy? Here it's multitude. Note the contrast with verse 10, the multitude of transgression. The deceitful and the bloodthirsty, they multiply transgression. The God of holiness and justice multiplies mercy. Well, the prophets speak of the abundant pardon of God. Paul in Ephesians 1.7, in Him, Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to what? According to the riches of His grace. 

So you see, if you're here this morning saying, well, I'm too sinful to be saved. I've just done things that I can't even speak about in civilized society. I'd say, first of all, welcome to the club. You're probably no worse than any of the rest of us. But secondly, there's riches of grace. There's a multitude of mercy. Abundant pardon for abundant sinners. Don't get the thought in your head that I'm too sinful to ever be saved. 

The Apostle Paul debunks that theory in 1 Timothy 1. This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of whom I am about the 480,000th, no, of whom I am chief.

The chief of sinners was conquered on that road to Damascus by the glorified Christ. The chief of sinners became the chief apostle to the Gentiles to proclaim the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ to every sinner. Every tribe, tongue, people, and nation need to hear this one. And they need, by God's grace, to believe on this one that they may have everlasting life.

The blessed reality or contrast between the wicked and the righteous, according to verse 7, but as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy. In fear of you, I will worship toward your holy temple. The fear of the Lord is ultimately because of the grace of the Lord.

Jeremiah 32, 40, I will put my fear in their hearts. more popularly sung in the hymn by John Newton called Amazing Grace. What does Newton say concerning grace? "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear." And that's my argument.

This God has infinite This God has abundant mercy. This God demonstrates that by sending His own Son into this world to save sinners. Paul says it this way, God commends His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Why? Because of this blessed man of Psalm 5, because of what he did according to Psalms 1, 1-3 and the New Testament entirely. The blessing of God in the manifestation of the mercy of God is most excellent And that's how the psalmist comforts his heart in the midst of his sorrows. He sees God's holiness, he sees God's justice, and he sees God's mercy.

Thirdly, notice the psalmist's petitions to the answering God. He first prays for provision for the godly in verses eight and nine, and then the condemnation of the godless in verse 10. Again, back and forth contrast, righteous, unrighteous, godly, ungodly. Notice the petition in verse 8. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. This is the instruction of Christ to his praying church in Matthew 6.13. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And this is a theme celebrated in the Psalter itself in terms of ways, the two ways, the way of the righteous and the way of the unrighteous. You see it in Psalm 1, you see it in Psalm 2, you see it as well in Matthew Chapter 7. You see it elsewhere in the Psalms in terms of divine guidance because of enemies. Psalm 25, 4 and 5, Psalm 27, 11 and Psalm 31, 3. What is that evidence concerning our Lord in the days of His earthly ministry? He depended upon His Father. True humanity depends upon God. And true humanity is true of Jesus. And so we ought to expect things like, lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies and make your way straight before my face. So that's his petition with reference to the godly. And then he gives the reason for it in verse nine. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.

Again, if we understood the spiritual nature of the battles that we face, we might pray likewise or thus. I mean, as described by Jesus in verse 9 and certainly appropriated by Jesus in the days of His earthly ministry, it was rough. How do you navigate rough times? Not by retreat, not by accepting defeat. Not by pulling the covers over your head and saying, you know what, there's an arena of bloodthirsty and deceitful men out there. I'm gonna just, you know, sleep in, have my coffee a bit later, and hopefully they'll all vanish. Praise God Jesus didn't do that. He set his face like a flint. He set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, knowing good and well the bloodthirsty and deceitful men that were waiting for him on the other side. Praise God for the active obedience of our blessed Savior in that when he's faced with an arena of bloodthirsty and deceitful men, we got Judas, we got the Sanhedrin, we got the civil state, we've got the multitudes, remember? The unbelieving religious leaders in Matthew's gospel, what do they do? They incite the crowd. The crowd that at the beginning of the week were singing, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They end the week with, away with him, away with him, crucify him. How did they get there? Godless men, bloodthirsty men, flattering men, deceitful men stirred up and incited that crowd.

You see the same thing happened to Stephen, Holy Stephen in Acts chapter 6. It's easy to get a mob on your side. It's a lot more difficult to get people out of bed to face the mob. It's a lot more difficult to get people out of bed to go to church. It's a lot more difficult to pursue the paths of righteousness because that's a narrow way than the broad way which ultimately leads to destruction.

But as far as Jesus, as far as the psalmist foreshadowing the very Christ himself, he says to his father, lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. I want to be resolute. I want to be on path. I want to be, with what you've given me to do, resolute. All you've got to do is read the gospel narratives. So he prays, provide for the godly, but then he speaks concerning the condemnation of the godless in verse 10. Pronounce them guilty, O God. Again, notice, he takes an active role in this. You know, Lord, I hope they all sort it out. I hope they find religion. I hope they read, you know, chicken soup for the unreligious leader's soul and it heals them. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. What does he say?

Again, why is it we'll pray the Psalms of Jesus that we like or that accord with what resonates in my soul? Well, what about what resonated in the soul of the Holy Messiah? Again, subject of the Psalms, object of the Psalms, composer of the Psalms, prayer of the Psalms. Paul tells us in Hebrews 2, the very words of the Psalms are the words of Jesus. Hebrews 10, he says the same thing. Recorded in this altar are conversations between the Father and the Son. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.

Well, it's just those bits and pieces. No, the Psalter. Jesus is the subject, Jesus is the object, Jesus is the composer, Jesus is the singer, and Jesus is the prayer. That's how we ought to interpret the Psalter. And when we hear Jesus in verse 10, after bemoaning the condition of his own generation, these bloodthirsty and deceitful men, he says in verse 10, pronounce them guilty, O God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.

Now the verdict, again, I think this comes up in the Lord's Prayer when Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in Matthew 6, your kingdom come. We forgot something in the 21st and probably arguably in the 20th century that the rest and entirety in a comprehensive sense of the history of the world has always understood. Sometimes, in the maintenance of a political order, enemies are gonna get hurt. We think that that's just, we can't even imagine such a thing. I'm not saying we ought to go out and conquer the nations as the civil state of Canada. In fact, I'm saying the exact opposite. Let's not do that. I don't think it would go very well.

What's David's final words to Solomon in the transition of the kingdom according to 1 Kings 2? Solomon, here's a list of names of men that did me harm. Don't let their hair go down with peace to the grave.

What's the rest of 1 Kings 2 demonstrate? that the stability, the safety, the protection, the integrity, the maintenance, if you will, of a kingdom depends in large part on the elimination of the enemies of that kingdom. Again, a tough pill for modern wokeism to accept. But that's what you find historically that has been operative in nations all over.

Right? Listen to Messiah's prayer. Declare them guilty. Oh, you can't do that. How can he not do that? They demonstrated it every step of the way, plotting to kill him. testing him in order to trip him up so they could kill him, inciting the crowd to kill him, delivering him up to Pontius Pilate, because they couldn't legally kill him, but Pilate could, and with the right twisting of the facts, a right massaging of the situation, they could deliver him up to Pontius Pilate, and Pontius Pilate could give the kill order, and that is precisely what happened.

So Jesus in verse 10 says, Pronounce them guilty, O God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions. Why? They've rebelled against you. Bloodthirst is a violation and transgression of the sixth commandment. You're not supposed to murder people. You're just not. Pilate was wrong. But the Jews who delivered him up to Pilate, according to Jesus, had greater guilt as well deceit, lies, flattery, which is a twisting of things to get a desired end. It's a violation of the Ninth Commandment.

What makes the heart of the Savior beat with reference to God's rule in His moral universe? These transgressors, these rebels, these lackers of conformity unto you, in their delivering me up to be crucified, God Pronounce them guilty. Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions.

Several applications there. Leviticus 18, I think we reviewed this on Wednesday night. What happened when God said to the children of Israel, go into the land and whatever sexual sin and perversion they're committing, don't do it. I think the church today needs a fresh dose of Leviticus 18. God doesn't say, whatever sexual perversion they're engaged in, say, it's okay now. It's all right. Because after all, God loves the sinner, but he hates the sin. We're getting to the point where he doesn't even really hate the sin. As long as it's monogamous sodomy, it's okay. As long as you really love them, it's okay. As long as your heart is, no, that's not okay.

So in Leviticus 18, God says through Moses, go into the land. If you commit the sexual perversion that they're committing in the land, the land's gonna vomit you out the way it did with the Canaanites before that. That's a casting out, isn't it? or in the destruction of the northern tribes in 722 B.C., or in the destruction of the southern tribes in 586 B.C., or in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Again, all consistent with what was promised and prophesied in Deuteronomy 28. They could scratch their melons and say, why are we being exiled here? Why are we living as strangers in a strange land? Why have we been dispossessed? Because God said you would. You break covenant, you get vomited out by the land. But as well, we can extrapolate from this church discipline, Matthew 18, 17, if he refuses to hear the church, then treat him as a tax collector and as a heathen. We see it in Revelation 21, 8, the exclusion of all the godless from the New Jerusalem. It tells us who's in the lake of fire there.

Now, you look at this and you see juxtaposed judgment, justice, justice, mercy, punishment, blessing. Brethren, I would argue that the punishment of the wicked is a mercy to the righteous. The exclusion of the godless from the new Jerusalem is probably gonna be, you know, third, fourth, fifth down the line, one of the bestest things about being there, right?

And again, I'm not saying this as somebody who got to the point of righteousness and purity and holiness on my own. No, it's imputed, received by faith alone. My sins have been forgiven. That's what we get in the gospel. That's why it's gospel, which simply means good news. That's why we tell sinners, come to Jesus. Right now God's wrath is targeting you. Flee to the Lord Jesus Christ and the peace made through the blood of His cross and you will find safe haven. You will find refuge. You will find protection. You will find access to the new Jerusalem through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus prays to the Father to cut them off. Why? Because they've rebelled against you. And then he ends on this blessed note, the psalmist's confidence in the protecting God. Verses 11 and 12, but let all those rejoice who put their trust in you. Let them ever shout for joy because you defend them. Let those also who love your name be joyful in you.

We saw a version of this last Sunday night in Philippians chapter four. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Why? Because everything's going peachy king? Because everything is just right? There's no bloodthirsty and deceitful men? No, it's because we've been saved by grace through faith in Jesus. It's because we've been forgiven of our sins. It's because we, with the empty hand He gave us, received that righteousness of Christ. It's all about the Lord God.

Let all those rejoice who put their trust in you. Let them never shout for joy because you defend them. Brethren, if ever there's a text that should inspire good psalm and hymn singing, I don't care that you can't carry a tune. I just honestly don't. I don't fancy myself to be some carrier of tunes. But the redeemed of God shout for joy because the Lord has saved them. and because the Lord defends them, and because the Lord protects them, and because the Lord has purpose to vindicate them. This is the heart of our blessed Savior.

Let all those rejoice who put their trust in you. Let them ever shout for joy because you defend them. Let those who love your name be what? Miserable in you? Sad and discontented in your sight, grimacing like you just sucked on lemons? No, let them be joyful in you. Guilt, grace, what? Gratitude, thankfulness. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

And then he ends on the favor of God, verse 12. For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous. Again, singular. Jesus, the man of Psalm 1, Psalm 2, Psalm 3, Psalm 4, Psalm 6 to Psalm 150. Because of that righteous one, we are blessed in him by virtue of God's sovereign grace. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world. He predestinated us in love to the adoption as sons. As Westminster Larger asks, with whom was the covenant of grace made? The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and in him all the elect is his seed. We benefit, we are blessed, we are favored by God because of this righteous one that the Lord has blessed. And then he ends again on that note of protection, with favor you will surround him, as with a shield. We started worship with Psalm 125, too, as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. Settle it, brethren. Axiomatic, fundamental, foundational to our religion. is the holiness of God, the justice of God, the mercy of God, described in the saving of His people, the forgiveness of their sins, the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, the righteous man of Psalm 5, and as well, defense. protection, navigation, leadership, watching over us in the midst of our enemies. Notice, it's not the removal of the enemies. I mean, it does come to that in the cutting of them off, O Lord.

But initially, that three years of public ministry, Jesus was surrounded by bloodthirsty and deceitful men. I would suggest in conclusion, hopefully, I was going to say newfound. We should have an always found appreciation for the earthly ministry of our Lord. Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That's not made or said by Isaiah in 53, just for literary effect. No. He learned obedience through what? Hebrews 5.8. He read a good book. It was a reprint. Beaky put out the Puritan masterpiece on learning obedience. He learned obedience through what? Suffering. See, Isaiah's not just given us literary flourish in 53. He's a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was, in fact, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was surrounded by bloodthirsty and deceitful men. He's delivered up to a Roman cross to be executed, to be tortured, to be punished, twice beaten before he even went there, twice scourged He wakes up in the morning, instead of rubbing his eyes and saying, where's my coffee? And may that Zoom connection work today. No, no, he's going out into the arena of opposition. He's going out into the arena of persecution, and he's gonna do it prayerfully, he's gonna do it dependently, and he's going to do it confidently, that the Lord Most High will lead him, the Lord Most High will guide him, and the Lord Most High will ultimately punish all those who opposed Him. That's what marked the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For us, again, David writes it, foreshadowing the very prayer of Messiah Himself, and we appropriate it in the church. So I would suggest when we look at verse 11, let all those rejoice who put their trust in you. That's the Psalm 212 man, the Psalm 1 man. the Lord Jesus Christ. Let all those rejoice who put their trust in you." The doctrine of justification by faith alone. We're justified freely by His grace through faith in Jesus, such that having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. Such as Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Justification by faith is taught throughout Scripture, and it's a great cause for joy in the hearts of God's people.

As well, guidance for those who trust in the Lord. Verse 8, lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. Verse 11, but let all those rejoice who put their trust in you. Let them never shout for joy because you defend them. Our God is real. That defense and that leading does not mean steak and lobster and people praising us.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. He doesn't say, in Christ, there's no valley of the shadow of death. He doesn't say that. But he does say, though I walk through it. I'm not going to be stuck in it. I'm going to walk through it. Why? Because I'm eight foot tall and bulletproof? No. For you are with me. Your rod, your staff, they comfort me.

Christ is saying the same thing here in Psalm 5. The church of the Lord God Most High has guidance, has protection, has defense from the sovereign, just, merciful High King of Heaven. I would suggest as well, joy. Verse 11, ought to get into our veins. Let all those rejoice who put their trust in you. Let them ever shout for joy because you defend them. Let those also who love your name be joyful in you. And I would suggest as well a zeal for the house of the Lord as expressed and evidenced by the Lord himself.

The contrast between the wicked, verses four and five or five and six, and the righteous man of verse seven. But as for me, I will come into your house and the multitude of your mercy. In fear of you, I will worship towards your holy temple. David knew something of this in his own life and experience. He's the king, and yet he's in distress. And one of the threats posed to him is expulsion from the land. You'd think, well, David, that's not bad advice. Go to the Philistines for a while. Hopefully it'll all blow over.

In fact, let's turn there. We'll end here, because I always have to lecture and scold everybody on coming to church. It's kind of in the DNA. Just kidding. I'm not going to find it. It's around 26. Oh yeah, yeah. So 1 Samuel 26, we're going to just parachute our way right into a context. Verse 18, and he said, 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. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord.

What's he saying? I don't want to go to Philistia. I don't want to go to where Yahweh isn't. I don't want to be removed from access to the very house of God Most High. How does he pray in Psalm 63 in the wilderness? He longs to be in the sanctuary. He longs to be in the house of God. David foreshadows his savior in this dependence upon the God of heaven and earth, this trust in this God that he will protect, that he will guide, that he will defend, and that there is joy to be had in his presence.

So the psalm is the prayer of Christ. Hopefully it becomes the prayer of our hearts as we go to God with these things in our minds. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this psalm and for the morning prayer of the Messiah. We just pray that you would help us to internalize these things. May it affect us in our prayer lives, how we wake in the morning, how we conduct ourselves during the day, and how we end the night. And may it always be steeped in confidence on our great God. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.