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Scripture Reading

Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 9. Psalm 9, as we continue to look at the Psalms of David. And I should tell you, Psalms 9 and 10 appear to form an incomplete acrostic in the Hebrew Bible. In fact, in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures, what we have is one Psalm. So there's a numbering difference from thence on. I think it sort of has another impact in the songs of Hallel later in about the 113-114 area. But some have seen this, Psalm 9 and 10, as combined as one psalm, most likely because it appears to be an acrostic as well. There's a lack of a superscription in Psalm 10, and thematically, it's very closely connected. In fact, some printed editions of the King James Bible, the old King James, have the indicators of the acrostic, the Hebrew alphabet, in the margin, but we'll treat Psalms 9 and 10 separately, and so I'll read Psalm 9.

Beginning in verse 1, to the chief musician, to the tune of Death of the Son, a Psalm of David. I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at your presence.

For you have maintained my right and my cause. You sat on the throne judging in righteousness. You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. Oh, enemy, destructions are finished forever, and you have destroyed cities. Even their memory has perished. But the Lord shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment.

He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion.

Declare his deeds among the people. When he avenges blood, he remembers them. He does not forget the cry of the humble. Have mercy on me, O Lord. Consider my trouble from those who hate me. You who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may tell of all your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in your salvation.

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught. The Lord is known by the judgment he executes. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation, say law. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten, the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Amen. Or Selah and Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that the Holy Spirit has given it to us and we pray that You would cause us to receive it with thanksgiving, cause us to reflect upon the great subject, the object of this particular psalm, our Lord Jesus and His earthly ministry. We ask that you would guide us now by the Spirit, forgive us of all sin and transgression and everything that darkens our mind and understanding, and God, open the dead hearts and the ears of sinners, that they might receive the truth as it is in Jesus, and that they might, by grace, believe on Him. Here and in all the churches in Chilliwack and throughout this country and to the uttermost parts of the earth, we pray that your word would go forth and that it would not return unto you void, but it would accomplish the purpose for which you send it. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as we have been looking at the Psalms, we have seen that primarily the Psalms is about the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have biblical warrant for that. One among many New Testament passages is Luke 24:44. These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. So Jesus is the composer of the Psalms, Jesus is the singer of the Psalms, Jesus is the prayer of the Psalms, the subject and the object.

David functions typically. The life of David is prototypical of what we will see in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Psalm does speak of David's historic situation as the king over Israel. But it also functions typically to point forward to that Lord Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry.

And thus far in our studies, Psalms 1 and 2 introduce our Lord Jesus. He's the holy, harmless, and undefiled man of Psalm 1. He is the omnipotent sovereign king of Psalm 2. And then in Psalms 3 to 7, we kind of get into the mind of Christ with reference to his earthly ministry. Again, through the lens of David. David suffered. David was tried. David had affliction and sorrow in his earthly ministry. But again, typically he's pointing forward to what his greater son would experience.

So in Psalms three to seven, we see that very thing. Psalm eight gives us a bit of a snapshot concerning the incarnation of our Lord. And that's not us just applying it to sort of fit this idea that Jesus is the subject of the Psalter, but in Matthew's gospel and in the book of Hebrews, we see direct application of Psalm eight to the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ's Earthly Ministry in Psalm 9

Now in Psalm 9 we get back to that earthly ministry. We get back to the sufferings and the sorrows of the Son of Man when He lived for us with reference to achieving the righteousness that is necessary for us. In fact, Ash, a good commentator on this altar, says Christ is both the supplicant king foreshadowed by David, crying for vindication for himself And, precisely by virtue of his atoning death and resurrection, the man whom God has appointed to judge the world in righteousness." If you look specifically at that verse in verse 8, he shall judge the world in righteousness. This is precisely what Paul says in Acts 17 when he's at the Areopagus, and he says that he will do it by the man whom he raised from the dead, even our Lord Jesus Christ.

Back to Ash, he says, puts us into Psalm 9, hopefully in a Christocentric mindset, and I want to look first at the psalmist's confidence in God in verses 1 to 12, and then secondly, the psalmist's prayer to God in verses 13 to 20. Now, I have a lot of commentaries on the book of Psalms, and none of them outline Psalms in the same way. There's as many outlines as there are commentators, so I'm going to strive to keep it very simple. As I understand the structure of the psalm, as I said, it's his confidence in God, verses 1 to 12, and then it's his prayer or petition specifically to God in verses 13 to 20.

The Psalmist's Confidence in God: Declaration of Praise

So let's look first at the psalmist's confidence in God, and here we have two things. First, the declaration of praise to God in verses 1 and 2, and then the affirmation of the works of God in verses 3 to 12. I think a bit of a road map, as we consider a longish psalm, is very helpful and hopefully appropriate.

But notice this declaration of praise to God in verses 1 and 2. We sang it at the outset of worship. We sang 9B. I will praise you. The superscription is notoriously difficult. What does that mean to the chief musician? We know that it's sanctioned for corporate worship. We know that it's supposed to be sung in public worship to the tune of Death of the Son, Psalm of David. The Death of the Son is difficult, obviously, as New Covenant Christians who live in light of the Death of the Son, we see something there that is glorious. But if you look in the margin, it's a Hebrew word, and again, the difficulties are somewhat insurmountable. So we're not skipping the superscription, but we're getting right into the declaration.

I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. This heart of praise is the specific response to that central confession of Israel's faith in Deuteronomy 6. Brethren, only Jesus loves the Lord his God with all his heart.

Again, David was a godly man. David was a righteous king. David was a man, though, that had remaining corruption. For the one to say, I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart, This is the Lord Jesus Christ, that one described in Psalm 1. That holy, harmless, undefiled man who doesn't walk in the way of sinners. He doesn't stand or sit in the seat of the scornful.

But rather, his delight is in the law of the Lord. This is what characterized our Savior in His earthly ministry. But as well, notice He speaks concerning the works of God. I will tell of all your marvelous works. And He's going to do that in verses 3 to 12. But here he says it generally, I will tell of all your marvelous works.

Corporate Worship and God's Deliverance

I think there's a lot to be learned about corporate worship in this particular psalm. It is about David. It certainly foreshadows typically our Lord Jesus Christ, but it's also for the church. And notice what he says here in verse one. He says, I will give praise, or I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works. Notice in verse 11, sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the people. Notice in verses 13 and 14, have mercy on me, O Lord. Consider my trouble from those who hate me.

You who lift me up, note, from the gates of death. I'm lifted up from the gates of death. That means He's conferred upon me life. That leads to verse 14, that I may tell of all your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in your salvation. God delivers us from the gates of hell and He brings us into the gates of Zion.

And we're not to be deaf and mute. We're to sing His praises. We're to rejoice in His salvation. We are to commend His marvelous works. And that is precisely the mindset that we see here with both the Savior and David beforehand. David says in Psalm 122, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Brethren, church worship shouldn't be drudgery. It shouldn't be painful. It shouldn't be a lamentation time. It should be a celebration time as we express our gratitude and our praise and our worship to the God who has delivered us from the gates of death.

And the psalmist here says, I will tell of all your marvelous works. Why? Because they are worthy to be told. They are worthy to be heard. They are worthy to be celebrated. They are worthy to be rejoiced in. Dixon says, when the heart is enlarged with the sense of God's goodness, the work of praising God will be more heartily undertaken, and a large heart will make a loose tongue and an open mouth to set forth His glory. The psalmist sets forth the pattern of corporate worship. And as he does so, hopefully the church follows his particular pattern. But then notice he speaks concerning the name of God.

The Name of God in Worship

Verse 2, I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Psalm 8, verse 1. Psalm 8, verse 9 begins, and ends with the extolling of the name of God. So it shouldn't surprise us that in Psalm 9, as the psalmist is rehearsing the praise given to God and speaks concerning his marvelous works, he says, I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High, the name of God. is His being, His perfections, and His works.

Again, things appropriate and things fitting for our own hearts' worship to God, for our family altars' worship to God, and for the corporate church of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the things that concern us as we gather together on the Lord's Day. That's why preaching must be the Bible. Preaching must be Christian doctrine. Preaching must be the subject and object and the very sum and substance and focus of it is the great redemptive work of God through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Affirmation of God's Works: Judgment of the Wicked

So he makes this declaration of praise to God and then he gives an affirmation of the works of God in verses three to 12. So again, notice at the end of verse one, I will tell of all your marvelous works. Verses three to 12, he rehearses at least two of those marvelous works. And again, I think this is the portion where the psalmist is showing his confidence in this God. He's not praying that this will happen, though what he prays what will happen in verses 13 and 20 are groundly situated in what God has already done, verses 3 to 12.

But notice, the affirmation of the works of God, and there's two specific things that he mentions here. First, the judgment of the wicked, verses 3 to 8, And then the refuge for the afflicted in verses 9 to 12. Aren't those good things to consider with reference to God? Aren't those kind of everything to consider with reference to God? The judgment of the wicked. And again, in the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, he was a man of sorrows. He was acquainted with grief.

We hid, as it were, our faces from him. He had no form. He had no comeliness. There was nothing in him that we should desire him. In the prologue of John's gospel, he came to his own and his own what? They received him not. So he understood that opposition. He understood that settled or steady aggressive attitude toward him. You go through the Gospel of John, as we did not too long ago, and what is Jesus doing page after page in John's Gospel? He's fighting, not physically exchanging blows with the religious leaders of his time, but he's fighting with them.

Why is that? He was a man who went about doing good. Why is that? He's the son of God incarnate. Why is that? He is full of grace and truth. Again, the prologue in John's gospel. Why? Because sinners sin and they reject the Most High. Sinners sin and they despise God. John 3 says they won't come to the light because they're evil and they don't want their evil deeds exposed. This is why they despised him and disdained him and wanted to get rid of him.

But notice the affirmation of the words of God first, the judgment of the wicked, verses three to eight. And I think you'll agree by the time we're finished with this psalm, the judgment of the wicked and the blessing upon the righteous are inextricably connected. They go hand in hand, right?

You don't get one without the other. You know, when Joshua takes over the promised land, we have this sort of summary statement at the end, and it says, none of the enemies were able to stand against him, which makes perfect sense, right? You don't take the promised land without dealing with the enemies. You don't take the promised land without Breaking a few heads along the way, to put it in Joshua language, you don't take the promised land if you're not faithful to the demand or policy of holy war specified in Deuteronomy 7, 1 to 5.

Go in and utterly destroy them. Go in and make no political alliances with them, make no social alliances with them, and by all means, don't make any religious alliances with them. In fact, at the end of Deuteronomy 7, burn their public altars. And not only burn their public altars, but guard your own heart so that you don't covet the gold and the silver that was used in the construction of those public altars. And even beyond that, don't you dare bring that stuff into your home. Do not even think for a moment that you're going to bring in a cursed thing into your home, into your living room, and think everything's going to go well. How do you deal, or how do you receive the blessing of God?

Well, the enemies of God are right there. And that's the emphasis in the psalm here. Notice first, he speaks of the futility of his enemies in verse three. When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at your presence. Psalm 27:2 comments, when the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. They can't stand in the presence of God. They can't stop the move of God in terms of his kingdom and purposes and power.

God's Protection and Comprehensive Judgment

Notice as well, he speaks concerning God's protection in verses four and five. For you have maintained my right and my cause. You sat on the throne judging in righteousness. You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

You see, the psalm has confidence. for David and for Jesus, according to his humanity, was in God most high, was in the power of the most high. And there's a comprehensiveness about this particular psalm that oftentimes speaks of the nations. I think this psalm has a special application to a people living in tumultuous times. Brethren, we're not in the tumultuousness of a China or a Cuba, but there was a time when they weren't as far down the road as they presently are. It was a time when it was sort of ramping up. We might be in that ramping up phase, and I think that this psalm, including God's judgment concerning the nations, ought to be a helpful elixir for us to steady us in the midst of the tumult, in the midst of the mayhem, in the midst of the chaos. When the government starts to suggest or starts to command that you can't preach certain parts of the Bible, I'd suggest that that is not foreshadowing great things to come in the body politic.

So this psalm is comprehensive in nature. And what the psalmist is praying, or rehearsing rather, is God's protection of his people. He defends the psalmist. You have maintained my right and my cause. You sat on the throne judging in righteousness, and he destroys the wicked. You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. This is why we sang Psalm 46, Psalm 46:10. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Brethren, ultimately that ought to be our foreign policy.

That ought to be our operating assumption with reference to whoever sits on the throne, or whoever sits in Ottawa, or whoever sits in D.C. I'm not suggesting we can't pray to God. I'm not suggesting we shouldn't write to congressmen. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't vote. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't participate in the body politic. Brethren, I'm not an Anabaptist.

But I am suggesting that we interpret everything under the righteous reality that the Most High reigns, and that He governs all His creatures and all their actions, and that He has purposed the beginning and the end, and the means to get there. And sometimes those means can be a bit difficult, and a bit rocky, and a bit tumultuous, and a bit chaotic. Just study the history of Old Covenant Israel. When you've got a Manasseh on the throne for 55 years, we should talk about term limits at some point.

When you've got some of these wretches that are basically driving the body politic right into the sewage pit, what do the faithful do? They find their hope and comfort and confidence in the Most High. When Jesus is opposed in his earthly ministry, when Jesus is constantly upbraided or attempted to be upbraided by the religious authorities in his time, what does he do? He finds solace or comfort or refuge in the stronghold that is God most high. I think this is a great example for us.

God's Eternal Purpose and Kingdom

Notice, under this judgment of the wicked motif, he speaks specifically of God's purpose in verses six to eight.

Oh, enemy, destructions are finished forever, and you have destroyed cities. Even their memory has perished. Probably contemporaneously with David, Philistines, incursions upon the old covenant people of Israel, any sort of historic plague against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom of the Antichrist, the kingdom of those who rise up against the Most High and against His anointed. Notice, you've done that. You're guilty of that.

But notice in verse 7, but the Lord shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. Notice that comparison. The enemies of God perish at His name, verse 3. The enemies of God have their name blotted out forever, according to verse 5. But the God who opposes the enemies, according to verse seven, the Lord shall endure forever. He has prepared his throne for judgment.

The adversities experienced by David and Jesus did not diminish their confidence in the eternality of God's kingdom, rule and reign.

Because brethren, at times it can look like we're on the losing team. I'm sure David thought that when he was running and hiding. I'm sure he didn't feel like the victorious winter king when he's hiding in the cave of Adullam. Again, Jesus, man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Onlookers in that situation would say, is that what it means to be the Son of God?

In fact, the psalmist acknowledges this. Verse 18, for the needy shall not always be forgotten. Why does he say that? Because the psalmist is real. The psalmist is true. Notice that the Psalms do not present us with this idyllic fairy tale of a world. Oh, you're gonna wake up in the morning and churn your butter and walk out to the meadow and throw your hook into the pond and pull out breakfast and gather your flock of children around you. The Psalms present life as it is.

It's a mess in this present evil age. Men rise up against King David. Men rise up against King Jesus. Men rise up against the church. And at times, in the providence of God, when He governs all His creatures and all their actions, it appears to be the case that they're on the losing team.

In fact, that's what verse 18 tells us. The needy shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Though it may seem that way, though it may feel that way, though it may seem as if the unrighteous... And again, the Psalms is filled with this, that the unrighteous are winning. In fact, the Psalm of Asaph in Psalm 73, it's an existential crisis for the psalmist there. He says as much. He says, I saw the wicked flourish. I saw the wicked prosper. I saw the wicked, everything they put their hand to and made money. I'm giving you the Jim Butler paraphrase here.

Everything, that their cars never broke down, their boats always floated, their staff always served them dutifully in their homes, but the righteous suffer pain, trial, turmoil, difficulty. What is it that sorted out the saw mist? until I went into the sanctuary of the Lord, until I got a God-word perspective on the mess we call earth. And then I understood, thou dost set them in slippery places. And there is a judgment coming for the unrighteous.

The righteous are blessed. The righteous have the refuge of Christ. And again, brethren, the New Testament shows us that like the master, so the servant. Jesus learned obedience, Hebrews 5, through what?

Through suffering. Do you think that's in the purpose and plan of God? Our sufferings, our trials, our hardships, our challenges? Yeah, I think those are in the plan and purpose of God. Absolutely, positively. It's those things that typically cast us into the lap of sovereign grace and mercy. Usually when things are going pretty hunky-dory, we don't always see our need for God. Right? Let's be honest.

Go back to that scene. You've churned your butter. You have caught your fish. Everything's great. You've got a perfect job. You've got no boss that ever harasses you. I'm doing pretty good. This is the book of Proverbs rationale for neither poverty nor riches. Give me neither poverty nor riches.

Why? If I'm poor, I'll go out and steal and dishonor the name of Yahweh. But if I'm rich, what will I do? I will forget the name of my God. I'd love to say it's different, maybe it is for you, but me and the Proverbs writer have some struggles with these things. Kidding, I know it's a struggle for all of us.

God as Refuge for the Afflicted

The Psalms are real. That's why we should sing them in public worship. Hymn writers don't get at it. Even the best hymn writers that we have in our book of hymns, modern music, the Jesus is my boyfriend genre, they don't get anywhere near this. They would never say the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. Brethren, there ought to be no hesitation in us to sing the Psalms of David, because they're the Psalms of Jesus. And Jesus quotes them, Jesus prays them, Jesus sings them, and Jesus is the sum and substance of them. But back to the psalm.

Notice, God's purpose in verses 6 to 8 in terms of judgment. Then, movement or pivot from the judgment of the wicked in verses 3 to 8, what's the reflex or what's the sort of converse but absolutely connected? He's the refuge for the afflicted, verses 9 to 12. Curse upon enemies is the blessing of God upon his people. So notice in verses 9 to 12, the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

And those who know your name will put their trust in you. For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the people. When he avenges blood, he remembers them. He does not forget the cry of the humble.

So God is a refuge for his people in verses 9 and 10. He's a refuge for his people in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, in times of affliction, in times of peril. That's what the text says. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Brethren, practically, when you have trouble, when you are being oppressed, what is your first response? Is it to complain? Is it to whine? Is it to fix whatever the circumstances may be that are affecting you negatively? Or is it to seek refuge in God? Because for David and Jesus, it was to seek refuge in God. I fear for some of us, at least one of us, that's not always the immediate reflex. It's to complain. It's to whine. It's to reverse engineer the situation so that I can fix it. There's nothing wrong with fixing things in God's providence.

But God's our refuge and our strength, present help in time of distress. And this is what the psalmist has his confidence in. The judgment of the godless in verses three to eight, but a refuge for the afflicted. The one who knows God's name. Notice again in verse 10, those who know your name will put their trust in you. Those who know your being, your perfections, your works, they will do what? They will put their trust in Him. That's what Paul tells us, right?

We walk by faith and not by sight. We look beyond the momentary light afflictions to the eternal weight of glory. We look beyond whatever trials or afflictions we are presently undergoing. Why? Because we know that God's got this. We know that He is our refuge. We know that He is a present help in times of distress.

We know that He does govern all His creatures and all their actions, and we know that for His blood-bought children, He who did not spare His only Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? In other words, if he's gonna do the greater in the death of his son, he's gonna do the lesser in helping you on Thursday. And by helping you, I'm not suggesting, hey, I need to remove my fridge and God's gonna zap your fridge and move it from one apartment to another. I'm not suggesting that.

God's Faithfulness to His People

But God is the refuge for the oppressed. He is the refuge for the afflicted. But notice in verse 10, I want to just look at the last bit, because I think this is the motivation. So notice again, verse 10, those who know your name will put their trust in you. Those who know God's being, perfections, and works will do what? They'll put their trust in Him. Why do we put our trust in Him? Because of the end of verse 10.

For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. In other words, you don't hold them for a bit and then cast them off. You don't save them on a Sunday and lose them by a Thursday. You don't see them through 20, 30, 40, 50 years and then drop the ball in the fourth quarter. No, God is faithful to preserve his people to the very end.

What can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? How does Paul begin Philippians? I'm confident that he who began this good work in you will keep it or complete it unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is a blessed reality that the church of God possesses. The reality that you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Plummer defines or describes seeking this way. To seek God is put for the whole of religion, which consists in seeking to know him, to be like him, to possess His favor and His protection, to serve and obey Him, to have communion with Him, and finally to be with Him in glory. Men must seek Him intelligently, not superstitiously, diligently, not carelessly, humbly, not proudly, with all the heart, not hypocritically, in the name of Christ, and not relying on any merits but those of the Redeemer. Plummer's right. Plummer's right. Now this is a God-wrought faith. It's a gift of God. That faith that seeks is granted by the one sought. Nevertheless, that's as good a definition as you're gonna get in terms of seeking.

Justification and God's Silencing of the Enemy

And may I just say for the people of God here, we saw in Psalm 8 too, that God silences the enemy. God silences the avenger. I argued there that God does that for the new covenant church by the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Remember? I know it was a long time ago, but Zechariah 3, Joshua the high priest standing as a public person, a representative of all the nation of Israel, and he's there filthy before the Most High, and the devil who is an accuser of the brethren is right there to lay his charge against Joshua, against Israel.

God doesn't let him open his big dumb mouth. God says, the Lord rebuke you. God knows that Joshua's standing there in filth. God knows without the testimony of the adversary there to tell him how bad Israel, God knows. What does God do? God orders that the filthy clothes be taken off of him. And God orders that a new glorious set of clothes be put on him.

Justification by faith alone. What is justification? Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein He pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. If you've never thought of Zechariah 3 as the living image or emblem of that catechism question and answer, you should.

He forgives the removal of the dirty rags. He imputes righteousness, the putting on of the glorious garments. We've got it in Romans 8, I've just alluded to it. He who 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?

What is Paul's further argument there? Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It's God who justifies. In other words, He silences the enemy. And then in Revelation chapter 12, the devil is the accuser of the brethren. How do they overcome him? Because they gave a lot of money last year. Because they did a lot of good works, they ameliorated the downtrodden and the poor. No, it's because of what Jesus did. Because they're washed in the blood of the Lamb. This is blessed religion.

We're going to stop. We're not going to get to the petitions or the prayer. So if you're wondering, how's he going to cram all this in? He's not. We'll pick up the latter part of the psalm next week. So we've seen the confidence of the psalmist in verses one to 12. We'll look at the prayer or the petitions of the psalmist in verses 13 to 20. But I think this is a good place for us to kind of stop here in terms of exposition and just a few observations.

Application: God's Faithfulness to Believers

With reference to verse 10, those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Believer, never forget these truths, never forget these blessed realities, that God is for us, that God silences the enemy and the avenger. God has dealt decisively with our sin problem, with our Satan problem, with all of our problems at the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you are not a believer, I want to encourage you to believe. to understand the nature of verse 10. For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

The promise of Scripture, the promise of Jesus in John 6:37, is all that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. In Matthew 11, he says, Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. In other words, you won't come to Jesus truly seeking after Jesus to find him to rebuff you, to resist you, or to reject you.

He's fantastic that way. He takes even us. He takes horrible people. He takes monstrous people. He took the Apostle Paul, this is a faithful saying, it's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to do what? To save sinners, of whom I am chief. He saved these two fellows that were possessed with legions of demons.

You know where they lived? They lived amongst the tombs. They were naked. They cut themselves night and day. They were restless. They were sleepless. They were wretched. They were out of their minds. Anybody that would come that way, they would terrorize them. The few attempts that there were to bind these men, they'd just snap the shackles. I mean, they were a real sight to be seen. What happens when Jesus has dealings with them? They're clothed and seated at His feet and in their right mind.

There is nobody in the history of the world that has come to the Lord Jesus Christ that will ever argue against the truth of verse 10. Every single one who has tasted has seen that the Lord is good. For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Initially in justification, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. but constantly in the life of sanctification. Again, who shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Paul says, nor any other created thing, even your will, even your issues, even your problems, even you, cannot separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's glorious. So there's nobody that has ever come to the Lord Jesus that will say, you know what?

He has forsaken me. I know there's people out there, you know, I tried Jesus. Jesus isn't a coat. I tried that coat, it just didn't satisfy for the weather. There's this try Jesus idea out there, you know, I tried to pray, I tried to go to church, but I'm still making lousy money and my wife's a wretch. Okay, Jesus isn't a charm to get what you want out of life. Usually people say, well, I tried Jesus, are trying Jesus as a charm to get things out of life. God's not a lucky charm. We don't trot him out on the field of battle just so we can win.

Israel's Mistake: God as Lucky Charm

Israel made this mistake in 1 Samuel 4, they're being bested by the Philistines. You know what they conclude? Let's bring the Ark of the Covenant out to the battlefield and we'll win. On the surface, that might seem pretty obvious. Well, that's the representation of God as the symbolic presence of God. No, they were using it like a holy horseshoe. They were using it like a four-leaf clover. I realize the younger generation probably does not get this.

When we were younger, you had little rabbit's feet that they put on keychains, and they said those were lucky. Rabbit's feet, for some reason, are lucky. So are four-leaf clovers, if the old wisdom is to be trusted, and horseshoes. You can't put a horseshoe upside down, because all the luck runs out. You've got to keep it up if you're mounting it on the mantle of the wall.

Whatever the object to invoke today for luck is, that's what Israel did. We'll bring the ark out and we'll win. You know what the Philistines thought? Oh no, they've brought the ark out, they're gonna win. I expect that from the Philistines. I expect a holy horseshoe mentality from Philistines. Because they worship Dagon. They worship the gods of chance and luck.

So it's pretty sad when your theological conclusion is matched by the enemy's theological conclusion. You get what I'm getting at? Israel was wrong. How does God show them they're wrong? They lose the battle and the ark is captured. What's God doing? He's telling them He's not a holy horseshoe. He's telling them He's not a lucky charm. He's telling them you don't trot the ark out thinking that somehow you're going to win based on that alone. That is not biblical religion. So those who've tried Jesus and have been disappointed It's usually because they want to invoke him to get a better life here and now. But the people of God who have sought the Lord can testify in the affirmative consistently and without hesitation, for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Public Worship and the Works of God

And then just to summarize this section, notice in verse 11. I love this.

You know, we're always presented with the importance of singing and praising the great works of God. It's not like, you know, if you had a microscope at home and you're, you know, inclined to doing experiments and you throw things under the lens area and you just sort of examine it and you say, that's interesting. You write down your findings. When you look at the great works of God, you're supposed to worship. You're supposed to praise. You're supposed to honor and glorify. Notice in verse 11, sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion.

Declare his deeds among the people. And then the specific deeds again with reference to judgment and with reference to refuge. When he avenges blood, he remembers them. He does not forget the cry of the humble. It's a blessed sort of a situation where you've got both things at play. His judgment of the wicked is His mercy to the righteous. His mercy to the righteous is His judgment of the wicked.

The souls under the altar in Revelation 6, they get something of this. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. You see, the saints of Christ, far from saying, oh, these thoughts of God's vengeance upon the wretched, those are horrifying, we shouldn't sing those or celebrate those. You have no truck with David, none. As I've said, you know, we're nine in. and what has been a predominating theme thus far. Almost like Psalm 9 says, I'm going to give it to you in both barrels. God judges the wicked. God deals with His enemies. God protects His people and God is a refuge for the afflicted. Blessed.

And so that he votes from the psalmist sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the people. Plummer again says public mercies call for public praise and great mercies for great thanksgivings. If those who experience gracious interposition shall keep silence, how can God be honored any more by the righteous than by the wicked? In other words, this is inevitable for those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

Good, he has mercy for the afflicted. He is a refuge for the oppressed, and he is an avenger of all those that seek to harm his precious bride.

Divine Justice in the New Testament

This is not relegated to the Psalms of David. We see it in the New Testament scriptures. We see it in the mouth of Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:22. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. We see it in Paul personally in 2 Timothy 4, Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him, he says. Not bless him, but repay him. And then in 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul says it's right with God to pay back with tribulation those who trouble you.

Brethren, I'm not suggesting that ought to be the only aspect of the church's prayer and song life, call down the judgment of God, but we certainly ought not to shrink back when we see so many emphases all throughout the Psalter and carried through into the New Covenant. to say with some that the Psalms of David are not appropriate for corporate worship in the New Testament church today. Again, I get that from the Jesus is my boyfriend song genre, but from reformed people? From people that know their Bibles? From people that know Scripture? Judgment, justice, righteousness. These are perfections of God most high.

If we love God, we will love justice. If we love God, we will love righteousness. If we love God, we will rejoice when the psalmist says rejoice in this God because he avenges the blood of his upright. May God indeed help us in our singing, in our praying, and in the church's testimony.

Mercy doesn't look that good when it's disattached from judgment and justice. The justice and the judgment doesn't look as bad when disattached from the mercy. But as the psalmist reflects on who God is in terms of being a refuge for the afflicted and what God does to those who target those afflicted, the psalmist basically says, as a result of this, my praise is with him. My worship and my adoration is toward him. So may the Lord help us in our singing, in our praying, in our testifying, and in our preaching.

Call to Salvation

And for sinners here, when I say that, I'm not picking on you. Oh, now he's talking to me specifically.

No, we're all sinners. Every single one has sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We, like sheep, have gone astray. There's none righteous. There's not one. Some are redeemed sinners, and basically what that means is sinners that learned and understood that they're sinners, and then they look to Jesus, who is the Savior. So redeemed sinners. I want to encourage you to come to the place of redeemed sinners. How? First hand. Verse 10, trust in the Lord.

Psalm 2:12, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who do what? Put their trust in him, Psalm 2:12. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior for sinners, chief sinners, former demoniac sinners, upright polished sinners, sinners of all stripes, all shapes, all sizes, all ages, all ethnicities.

The Lord Jesus says, come and I will give you rest. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, that incarnate word that saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto you through him. I pray for your blessing upon the gospel as it's preached today throughout the world. We pray that it would run swiftly and be glorified. Dear God, I pray that you would convict sinners and show them the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who receives to himself needy, helpless, vile sinners.

And for the saints of Christ, may we never forget you silenced the enemy. You have stopped the mouth of the avenger. And we have that blessed privilege of being sons and daughters of the Most High. We ask that you would bless our hearts, our minds, and give us a blessed day today. And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.