He Ascends and Takes Captives

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:03.240 And won't you stand with me once more as I read from Psalm Sixty Eight, 2 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:17.109 our passage, our text for this morning? Psalm Sixty Eight, God 3 00:00:17.269 --> 00:00:23.739 shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered and those who hate him shall flee 4 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:28.420 before him. As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away, 5 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:32.780 as wax melts before fire. So the wicked shall perish before God, 6 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:38.369 but the righteous shall be glad, they shall exult before God. They shall 7 00:00:38.409 --> 00:00:44.130 be jubilant with joy, sing to God, sing praises to his name, 8 00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:49.329 lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts. His name is 9 00:00:49.570 --> 00:00:55.880 the Lord. exult before him, father of the fatherless, protector of widows, 10 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:00.280 is God in His holy habitation. God settles the Solitary in a home. 11 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:07.349 He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a 12 00:01:07.430 --> 00:01:11.590 parched land. Oh God, when you went out before your people, when 13 00:01:11.590 --> 00:01:18.430 you marched through the Wilderness, the earthquaked, the heavens poured down rain before 14 00:01:18.549 --> 00:01:21.420 God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel, 15 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:26.340 reign in abundance. Oh God, you shed abroad, you restored your inheritance 16 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:32.060 as it languished your flock found a dwelling in it. In your goodness, 17 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:37.489 Oh God, you provided for the needy. The Lord gives the word. 18 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:42.090 The women who announce the news are a great host the kings of the armies. 19 00:01:42.129 --> 00:01:46.530 They flee. They flee. The women at home divide the spoil, 20 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:52.239 though you men lie among the sheepfolds, wings of a dove covered with silver, 21 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:57.319 it's pinions with shimmering gold. When the Almighty scatters kings, there lets 22 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:04.230 snow fall on Zealman, oh mountain of God, mountain of Bashan, Oh 23 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:07.510 many peaked mountain, mountain of Bashawan, why do you look with hatred, 24 00:02:07.590 --> 00:02:12.150 Oh many peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode? 25 00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:16.900 Yes, where the Lord will dwell forever? The chariots of God or twice 26 00:02:16.979 --> 00:02:22.460 Tenzo, thousands upon thousands. The Lord is among them. Sinai is now 27 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:29.020 in the sanctuary. You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in 28 00:02:29.139 --> 00:02:34.250 your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the 29 00:02:34.409 --> 00:02:40.009 Lord God may dwell there. Blessed be the Lord who daily bears us up. 30 00:02:40.770 --> 00:02:44.919 God is our salvation. Our God is a god of salvation, and 31 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:49.560 to God, the Lord belonged deliverances from death, but God will strike the 32 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.400 heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty 33 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:58.590 ways. The Lord said, I will bring them back from Bashawn, I 34 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:01.310 will bring them back from the depths of the sea, that you may strike 35 00:03:01.349 --> 00:03:05.270 your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their 36 00:03:05.349 --> 00:03:10.270 portion from the foe. Your procession is seen, O God, the procession 37 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:15.099 of my God, my king, into the sanctuary, the singers in front, 38 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:21.219 the musicians last, between them, virgins playing tambourines. Bless God in 39 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:24.539 the great congregation. The Lord, Oh you who are of Israel's fountain, 40 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:30.370 there is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes 41 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:34.409 of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulen, the princes of Naftali. 42 00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:37.969 Summon Your Power, O God, the power, O God, by 43 00:03:38.009 --> 00:03:44.000 which you have worked for us. Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings 44 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:47.639 shall bear gifts to you. Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, 45 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:53.360 the herd of Bulls with the calves of the peoples trample underfoot, those who 46 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:59.710 lust after tribute scatter the peoples who delight in war nobles shall come from Egypt. 47 00:04:00.990 --> 00:04:05.590 CUSH shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. O Kingdoms of 48 00:04:05.669 --> 00:04:10.500 the Earth Sing to God, sing praises to the Lord, to Him who 49 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:14.580 rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens. Behold, he sends out his 50 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:19.620 voice, his mighty voice, ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over 51 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:26.290 Israel and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God from his sanctuary, 52 00:04:26.889 --> 00:04:30.370 the god of Israel. He is the one who gives power and strength 53 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:38.600 to his people. Blessed be God. Amen, may the Lord bless the 54 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:48.959 reading of this word. You may be seated. I know this is a 55 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:54.870 lengthy psalm. I notice there's two pages for sermon notes. Is that for 56 00:04:54.990 --> 00:04:59.709 one for the morning and one for the evening? Okay, I want it's 57 00:04:59.790 --> 00:05:02.110 a lengthy psalm right. So therefore know that we're not going to be able 58 00:05:02.110 --> 00:05:06.379 to cover all of it in this morning, but this is sort of part 59 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:13.180 one and if you return in the evening you'll you'll hear part two in that 60 00:05:13.779 --> 00:05:18.220 our passage this evening, Ephesians chapter four, has Paul quoting from Psalm Sixty 61 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:24.449 eight. So it's really not a first half and a second half. They're 62 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:28.610 they're they're complete, and then their own passages. But there's this connection between 63 00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:30.689 them and that Paul will quote from Psalm Sixty Eight. So that would be 64 00:05:30.689 --> 00:05:38.240 helpful this morning if we understood a bit more of Psalm Sixty eight. And 65 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:43.560 there's a lot of imagery in psalm sixty eight as we read through this song. 66 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:49.829 What kind of images came into your mind if you were to put yourself 67 00:05:49.910 --> 00:05:55.430 in this scene of Psalm Sixty eight? What would it look like? What 68 00:05:55.509 --> 00:06:00.310 would it feel like? It's not really easy to do, is it? 69 00:06:01.389 --> 00:06:08.819 We're not given many direct references to two places or two people. We're not 70 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:18.009 really told when or where or how exactly these events are taking place. And 71 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:23.329 yet, as we'll see, this is a historical psalm. In this Psalm, 72 00:06:23.449 --> 00:06:27.970 David is looking back at the history of Israel, at the history of 73 00:06:28.050 --> 00:06:34.800 the Lord. He's looking back at this incredible journey from Egypt. It takes 74 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:41.439 us from the Lord's descents down my Mount Sinai to the Heights of Mount Zion 75 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:46.389 in Jerusalem. For the first verse, Verse One, of this Psalm is 76 00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:51.870 actually taken from the lips of Moses himself in numbers, chapter ten, verse 77 00:06:51.990 --> 00:06:58.829 Thirty Five. Whenever the ARCS set out, Moses would say arise, Oh 78 00:06:58.949 --> 00:07:03.259 Lord, let your enemies be scattered, let those who hate you flee before 79 00:07:03.300 --> 00:07:09.500 you. And so here, calling the Lord to arise, calling the Lord 80 00:07:09.579 --> 00:07:14.019 to scatter his enemies, is a reference to the time when God did this 81 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:18.569 for Israel, as he led Israel out of Egypt, as he led Israel 82 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:25.689 across the Wilderness and into the promised land. The Lord is described here then, 83 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:31.040 as a warrior, and his journey is there for a terrible thing for 84 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:38.319 those who would stand in his way. His enemies shall be scattered, as 85 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:42.079 smoke is driven away. So you shall drive them away, as wax melts 86 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:48.269 before fire. So the wicked shall perish before God. Smoke and fire here 87 00:07:48.389 --> 00:07:56.269 likely refer to the Lord's delivering Israel through the Wilderness. How did he lead 88 00:07:56.350 --> 00:08:01.939 them in the Wilderness? It's a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar 89 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:07.379 of fire by night. And as he let his people nothing stood in his 90 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:11.779 way. No nation stood a challenge to the Lord, none could deliver from 91 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:18.009 his hand. And throughout this Psalmn and all this warlike imagery is being used. 92 00:08:20.970 --> 00:08:26.889 And yet what battles are we reading about? It's warlike imagery. And 93 00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:31.840 what battles are really being fought? The Lord is traveling before his people as 94 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:37.799 if on a traveling throne or a royal chariot, as verse four says, 95 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:43.750 he rides through the deserts. This is a warrior's transportation. And yet where's 96 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:50.309 the battle? There's no battles even being described. It's as simple as the 97 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:56.980 Lord going forth and the enemies flee. His word goes forth and the very 98 00:08:56.100 --> 00:09:03.500 kings of armies they flee. They flee. This is a severe image of 99 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:11.730 the Lord Facing Zero Opposition, a frightening image of the Lord's Swift Conquest through 100 00:09:11.730 --> 00:09:18.409 the wilderness and into the promised land. And yet when we look back into 101 00:09:18.409 --> 00:09:22.250 our bibles, when we look back into the history of this event described in 102 00:09:22.330 --> 00:09:30.080 exodus and in numbers and in Joshua, things don't look that swift. The 103 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:35.200 Lord would certainly fight for his people, he would defend his people. There 104 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:41.789 were also forty years where the people were sent wandering in the Wilderness, waiting 105 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:46.750 for that unfaithful generation to die before their descendants could then enter into the promised 106 00:09:46.750 --> 00:09:54.179 land. And hear the Psalm depicts not only a not simply a swift and 107 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:58.620 and severe king, but also a righteous king, a King Worthy of worship, 108 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:05.139 for while the enemies are scattered, the righteous are glad. They shall 109 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:11.210 exult before God. Verse Three. They shall be jubilant with joy. It's 110 00:10:11.210 --> 00:10:15.769 from the righteous that the call goes up. Sing to God, sing praises 111 00:10:15.889 --> 00:10:18.250 to his name, lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts. 112 00:10:18.809 --> 00:10:26.679 His name is the Lord. exult before him. Verse Four, we 113 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:31.840 see that he's a severe king, he's a righteous king, and he's also 114 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.110 a benevolent and carrying king. Verses Five and six, father of the fatherless, 115 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:39.389 protector of widows, as God in His holy habitation, he leads the 116 00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:46.110 prisoners to prosperity. The layers here are wonderful. Right to the enemy, 117 00:10:48.789 --> 00:10:56.980 God is swift in battle, but to the broken God is patient. To 118 00:10:56.019 --> 00:11:00.620 the enemy, God is a conqueror who takes away their possessions, but to 119 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:05.649 his people God is a giver, a father to the fatherless, protector of 120 00:11:05.730 --> 00:11:09.730 the widow, giving homes to the solitary, are homeless, giving prosperity to 121 00:11:09.850 --> 00:11:15.490 prisoners. And you see these two things taking place in verses seven through ten. 122 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:20.600 Oh God, when you went out before your people, when you march 123 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.799 through the Wilderness. The Earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain before God, 124 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.320 the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel, rain 125 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:35.110 in abundance. O God, you shed abroad. You restored your inheritance as 126 00:11:35.149 --> 00:11:39.149 it languished, your flock found a dwelling in it. In your goodness, 127 00:11:39.149 --> 00:11:43.669 O God, You provided for the needy. So the Lord went forth shaking 128 00:11:43.750 --> 00:11:48.539 the very creation, and the same thunder storms and showers that scattered enemies, 129 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:54.139 the same water that drowned pharaohs are me in the Red Sea. The same 130 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:58.820 water is called a blessing to his people because the Lord provided water from the 131 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:03.889 very rocks in the wilderness. The Lord brought reign to the promised inheritance, 132 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:11.649 making it a fruitful and and lovely inheritance. Lord is described then, in 133 00:12:11.730 --> 00:12:16.279 his goodness, giving a home to his sheep, providing for his needy people. 134 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:22.480 And I love how complete the victory is. There's no battle because by 135 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:26.759 the time David's writing this, with the things David is describing, it's already 136 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:33.230 over. The victory is already complete. Davis describing a battle that's finished. 137 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:37.350 The Lord gives the word in verse. Eleven the women who announced the news 138 00:12:37.389 --> 00:12:41.470 are a great host the kings of the armies. They flee. They flee. 139 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:46.779 The women at home divide the spoil, though you men lie among the 140 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:52.820 sheepfolds, the wings of a dove covered with silver, it's pinions with shimmering 141 00:12:52.299 --> 00:13:01.929 gold. The women of Israel would not go into battle. The women here 142 00:13:01.970 --> 00:13:05.250 at home are those at home waiting for news of the battle, waiting for 143 00:13:05.409 --> 00:13:13.080 news from the war. And what is the news? They're announcing that the 144 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:16.919 enemies of God flee. Therefore, the women at home are already dividing the 145 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:22.360 spoil, the women who had no part in this vict tree. And yet 146 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:28.830 what are they receiving? Spoils, the benefits of this victory? And what 147 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:31.549 about the men? Does that mean they were the ones in the battlefield? 148 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:37.029 No, this is an interesting couple of verses. The women are at home 149 00:13:37.070 --> 00:13:41.139 dividing the spoiled, though you men lie among the sheepfolds. Husbands were not 150 00:13:41.299 --> 00:13:46.100 battling either, they were lying down in green pastures. And yet the enemies 151 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:52.059 of God flee, and neither man nor woman had to raise a finger to 152 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:58.850 help. The women are at home dividing the spoil. And what is that 153 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:05.690 spoil? What is that blessing of this victory? The wings of a dove 154 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:13.679 covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold. Does that mean? I 155 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.399 mean surely silver and gold? These are these are spoils of war, right, 156 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:22.799 this is what kings bring back from battle, silver and gold by the 157 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:28.830 CARTLOAD. It's a measure of one's success on the battlefield, how much riches 158 00:14:28.909 --> 00:14:33.830 you take from the enemy. And yet the silver is called doves wings, 159 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:41.860 the gold refers to a DUB's pinions or feet. Well, what's going on 160 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:48.779 here? What is in the first time? The Lord has used this kind 161 00:14:48.820 --> 00:14:54.009 of imagery? In deuteroni thirty two, at the end of Moses's life, 162 00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:58.850 at the beginning of Israel's life, in the Promised Land, Moses sings a 163 00:14:58.970 --> 00:15:07.009 song, and in Deuteroni thirty two Moses says in verse nine. But the 164 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:13.960 Lord's portion is his people, Jacob, his allotted heritage. He found him 165 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.080 in a desert land and in a howling waste of the wilderness. He encircled 166 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.159 him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his 167 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:24.750 eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its 168 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:28.990 young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions. 169 00:15:30.950 --> 00:15:37.419 The Lord alone guided him. No Foreign God was with him there. 170 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:43.059 Moses refers to the Lord's provision for his people in the Wilderness, comparing it 171 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:46.980 to this eagle who spreads his wings, who catches his young and his feet. 172 00:15:50.090 --> 00:15:52.970 And here David is talking about the exact same event the Wilderness, God's 173 00:15:54.009 --> 00:15:58.649 protection, God's provision in the Wilderness. He's using that same imagery, but 174 00:15:58.730 --> 00:16:04.159 now it's being described as a spoil of the of war. This is what 175 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:10.799 the women at home are dividing and sharing among themselves. Not Actual silver, 176 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:19.070 not actual gold, but the protection, the provision of the Lord, and 177 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:25.750 this is a treasured possession. It's called silver and gold. And we see 178 00:16:25.789 --> 00:16:30.710 here at the heart of this psalm, then, is what is Israel's greatest 179 00:16:30.750 --> 00:16:37.139 possession, what is her greatest treasure? What is the Lord's greatest provision and 180 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:47.409 gift for his people? It's himself. God himself won the war without requiring 181 00:16:47.490 --> 00:16:52.490 the aid of a single helper, and God himself is the spoil that shared 182 00:16:52.529 --> 00:16:57.649 among the people for throughout Israel's history, from Egypt to the promised land to 183 00:16:57.730 --> 00:17:02.559 the very throne of David, which is where the Psalm is written. Throughout 184 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:07.000 this long history, this has been the point of God's covenant with Israel, 185 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:14.079 to dwell in her midst, to say I will be your God and you 186 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:18.470 will be my people. And finally, after how many years, the Ark 187 00:17:19.109 --> 00:17:25.390 has reached its goal. Finally that journeys has reached its conclusion. The Ark 188 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:29.630 of the Lord has been brought to Zion, the city of David, and 189 00:17:29.789 --> 00:17:36.420 so that trip from Sinai to Zion is complete. This is the reason God 190 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:45.329 chose Israel to dwell with them. Finally, as the Ark Ascends Mount Zion, 191 00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:49.450 the Ark has found its home under King David. The people possess the 192 00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:56.650 promised land. Finally, in this Psalm, the Kingdom of God has come. 193 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:03.079 David has provided a dwelling place for the Lord to be with his people. 194 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.240 Israel has a king, the people have their land promised to their father 195 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.470 Abraham. This is a song of fullness, this is a psalm of fulfillment. 196 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:19.029 David describes. Then the joyful celebrations. Your procession is seen O God, 197 00:18:19.109 --> 00:18:25.990 the procession of my God, my king, into the sanctuary. Remember, 198 00:18:25.990 --> 00:18:27.859 when the ARC was brought into the city of David, David himself was 199 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:34.019 dancing before the Lord and singing for joy. David sees that the Lord has 200 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:41.380 kept his promises. Here is where the Lord will dwell forever, Verse Sixteen 201 00:18:41.450 --> 00:18:47.569 says. The language, then, of eternity is used to describe the greatness 202 00:18:48.369 --> 00:18:55.009 of this victory. And yet you hear how this psalm also hints at a 203 00:18:55.089 --> 00:19:00.359 problem for Israel. As great as it is to have the Lord fight your 204 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:10.000 battles, to bless to provide for you, there's also something very dangerous about 205 00:19:10.029 --> 00:19:18.150 dwelling with the Living God, as Israel herself experienced in the wilderness. As 206 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:25.740 verse six reminds us, He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the 207 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:33.059 rebellious dwell in a parched land. Lest we just think this psalm is describing 208 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:40.329 the Lord's enemies outside of Israel, here reminded that the Lord's enemies are within 209 00:19:40.490 --> 00:19:48.609 Israel as well. Does the victorious tune of this Psalm simply gloss over the 210 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:53.880 the tragedy that happened in the Wilderness? For even though the Lord provided for 211 00:19:55.039 --> 00:20:02.720 Israel, rescued her from slavery in Egypt, the people still grumbled and when 212 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:04.640 they were shown the promised land for the first time, when they were shown 213 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:11.190 what the Lord would deliver into their hands. The people outright rebelled. They 214 00:20:11.230 --> 00:20:14.950 made up their minds to return to Egypt. When Moses attempted to dissuade them, 215 00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:19.869 they picked up stones to stone him. And in this grievous rebellion, 216 00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:26.339 Israel was sentenced to to forty years of wandering. That generation would not enter 217 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:33.700 the promised land. It was the rebellious Israelites who dwelled in a parched land. 218 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:41.009 And while the mountain of God stands opposed to the mountain of Bashan, 219 00:20:41.170 --> 00:20:47.569 while Zion stands opposed to the false mountains of her enemies, for sixteen tells 220 00:20:47.569 --> 00:20:49.839 us. Why do you look with hatred, Oh many peaked mountain, at 221 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:53.160 the mount that God desired for his abode? Yes, where the Lord will 222 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:57.759 dwell forever? The chariots of God or twice, Tenzero, thousands upon thousands. 223 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:06.549 The Lord is among them. Sinai is now in the sanctuary. What 224 00:21:06.670 --> 00:21:10.470 an astonishing warning to any would who would at any who would attempt to overthrow 225 00:21:10.670 --> 00:21:17.230 God's mountain. He's warning them right that thousands upon thousands of chariots defend his 226 00:21:17.269 --> 00:21:21.779 dwelling place. The Lord is on the throne of Israel. Forever. And 227 00:21:21.859 --> 00:21:27.980 yet there's a warning. But still remains for the people of God. Who 228 00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:36.130 is it who is invited to praise God? It's the righteous who praise his 229 00:21:36.289 --> 00:21:38.930 name, as we've seen, the rebellious dwell in a parched land. And 230 00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:48.359 he tells us for now Sinai, Sinai is now in the sanctuary. Well, 231 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:53.000 what does that mean? Sinai is in the sanctuary. Sign is a 232 00:21:53.079 --> 00:22:00.680 mountain. How can a mountain be in the sanctuary? The Tabernacle wasn't that 233 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:07.230 big. What does this imagery then pointing us to see? Well, think 234 00:22:07.230 --> 00:22:11.349 back to that scene and exodus. There before Mount Sinai, you have the 235 00:22:11.390 --> 00:22:15.980 people gathered at the foot of the mountain, you had the presence of the 236 00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:21.019 Lord. And yet where is the Lord's presence, manifested at the top? 237 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:23.339 It's at the peak of Sinai. And so it was Moses who had to 238 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:26.099 ascend. It was Moses who had to arise, he had to go up. 239 00:22:27.180 --> 00:22:30.569 And what did he go up to receive? He received the law, 240 00:22:30.130 --> 00:22:34.730 he received the instructions for man to dwell with God, the law, but 241 00:22:34.809 --> 00:22:40.849 he also received instructions for God to dwell with man, instructions for the Tabernacle 242 00:22:41.970 --> 00:22:48.680 and so both the law and the Tabernacle declare that God is holy, and 243 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:57.480 they both declare that to dwell with God you must be holy. To the 244 00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:04.509 Tabernacle housed the ARC. Inside the arc where the tablets of the law two 245 00:23:04.710 --> 00:23:11.750 stones cut from the very rock of Sinai. So it's Sinai is in the 246 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:18.819 sanctuary. Is An important reminder and it's a terrifying thing. Sin I was 247 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:22.900 a mountain of dread and gloom. The Tabernacle, then, serves not only 248 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:30.250 to illustrate God's presence with his people, but it also served to show what 249 00:23:30.369 --> 00:23:37.289 a dangerous thing that is. The Sanctuary of God was not designed to contain 250 00:23:37.490 --> 00:23:41.799 God, to house God, as if it ever could, but more importantly, 251 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:52.119 to keep people away from his unmediated holiness. And therefore what I want 252 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:56.029 you to see is how this psalm of victory, this psalm of such fulfillment 253 00:23:56.190 --> 00:24:03.829 and praise, is still looking beyond itself, because it's not just describing the 254 00:24:03.950 --> 00:24:08.549 Lord's prior provision for his people. Even in this psalm, there's still a 255 00:24:08.710 --> 00:24:15.779 problem that needs to be resolved for God to dwell with his people. This 256 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:22.859 psalm shows us that Sinai has to be satisfied that his people have to be 257 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:30.690 made holy. And that's exactly what this psalm is saying. While it looks 258 00:24:30.690 --> 00:24:36.130 back on the historical fact of God's Protection of Israel in the Wilderness, we're 259 00:24:36.130 --> 00:24:40.759 also being called to anticipate, to anticipate a far greater deliverance and a far 260 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:45.960 greater salvation. Just look at how David begins this very palm as he quotes 261 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:51.920 from Moses in Verse One, He also modifies Moses's words just a bit. 262 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:57.910 He's not simply looking back, saying God has arisen, remember when he used 263 00:24:57.950 --> 00:25:03.950 to do those things, or God has scattered. Nor is he speaking as 264 00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:07.380 Moses speaks in the present tense, saying arise God, scatter your enemies. 265 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:15.859 It's not a direct quote. Rather he makes it future. God shall arise, 266 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:22.009 his enemies shall be scattered. But is this a Salma fulfillment? Isn't 267 00:25:22.009 --> 00:25:25.289 this a psalm of God being faithful to his promises? And yet David is 268 00:25:25.369 --> 00:25:30.369 already, at the very beginning of this psalm, looking beyond, looking to 269 00:25:30.490 --> 00:25:34.759 a future deliverance. For David, the purpose of Israel is not found in 270 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:41.000 her past, the exodus from Egypt. It's not found in the present with 271 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.000 his own battles, his own success, which Suc secured the promised land. 272 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:52.589 Even for David, Israel's primary purpose is still future, it's still to come. 273 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:57.150 As he says in Verse Twenty, our God is a god of salvation, 274 00:25:57.990 --> 00:26:04.299 and to God the Lord belonged deliverances from death. But God will strike 275 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:08.220 the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his 276 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:17.619 guilty ways. Do you hear how this divine warfare is pointing us to something 277 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:22.970 far greater than just David and Jerusalem? This language is meant to draw our 278 00:26:22.009 --> 00:26:27.170 attention back to the pages of genesis itself. That God crushes the heads of 279 00:26:27.250 --> 00:26:33.319 his enemies is a part of that First Gospel announcement to Adam and Eve. 280 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:38.000 When cursing the serpent, God says to the seat of the woman, of 281 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:41.559 the seat of the woman, he will crush your head, you shall bruise 282 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:48.430 his heel, because this is what God's ultimate salvation looks like. This is 283 00:26:48.470 --> 00:26:55.950 why salvation and deliverance from death go hand in Hand for David, because God 284 00:26:56.109 --> 00:27:03.339 is victorious over death, over sin, over Satan himself. Aren't these the 285 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:11.140 true enemies that stand in the way of God? Dwelling with mankind, as 286 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:15.130 will become evident in the very life of Israel, her biggest problem was not 287 00:27:15.210 --> 00:27:22.329 foreign invaders. The temple will be destroyed, the people will be carried off 288 00:27:22.369 --> 00:27:26.690 into exile, not because the Lord is not powerful, but because of sin. 289 00:27:29.809 --> 00:27:33.160 Therefore, even these events are pointing US toward the one who is to 290 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:37.839 come, the faithful son of David, the ultimate victory he would receive. 291 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:49.710 This victory took the very descent of Christ from the heavenly courts to Galgatha, 292 00:27:51.910 --> 00:27:56.990 from the upper room to the cross. It's Paul tells us. In Philippians 293 00:27:56.029 --> 00:28:00.180 too, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality 294 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:03.779 with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the 295 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:07.299 form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of men and being found 296 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:12.410 in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient and to the point of 297 00:28:12.569 --> 00:28:21.250 death, even death on a cross. And for what purpose, therefore, 298 00:28:21.369 --> 00:28:26.089 God has highly Exalted Him and bestowed on him the name that is above every 299 00:28:26.170 --> 00:28:29.200 name, so that, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow 300 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:33.279 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that 301 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:38.480 Jesus, Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. It's 302 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:45.150 only in light of Christ's fulfillment here that psalms sixty eight begins to make sense 303 00:28:45.230 --> 00:28:51.150 for us. Because Psalm Sixty eight begins by calling out for the enemies of 304 00:28:51.230 --> 00:28:55.190 God to flee, right to be scattered. And yet by the end of 305 00:28:55.269 --> 00:29:03.619 this very psalm, the nation's and the Kings of nations are bringing tribute. 306 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:11.890 Those who were God's enemies. At the end of this psalm are called worshipers. 307 00:29:14.769 --> 00:29:18.529 Verse. Thirty one nobles shall come from Egypt. CUSH shall hasten to 308 00:29:18.609 --> 00:29:23.680 stretch out her hands to God. Oh Kingdoms of the earth, sing to 309 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:27.119 God, sing praises to the Lord, to Him who rides in the heavens, 310 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:32.400 the ancient heavens. Behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty 311 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:37.279 voice. The one who rode with his people in the desert is now the 312 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:42.269 one who rides in the heavens. Do you see how Christ, who is 313 00:29:42.430 --> 00:29:48.109 tempted in the Wilderness, ascended to heaven writing on a cloud, and so 314 00:29:48.190 --> 00:29:53.779 that only in Christ's defeat of sin and death can enemies of God be reconciled 315 00:29:55.019 --> 00:30:03.460 to him? And as this psalm describes God's dwelling with his people. We 316 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:07.250 see that this has been the goal from the beginning, for God to be 317 00:30:07.369 --> 00:30:12.930 present with his people, as you and I are, these nations being summoned 318 00:30:12.970 --> 00:30:18.450 to worship the Lord. We've been brought to a mountain that is far greater 319 00:30:18.569 --> 00:30:25.720 than Sinai, far greater than Jerusalem, where Paul could even look at the 320 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:30.319 real Jerusalem and say, Heygar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and glaciers, for 321 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:36.069 she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children, 322 00:30:36.349 --> 00:30:41.309 but the Jerusalem above is free and she is our mother. And as 323 00:30:41.349 --> 00:30:45.549 Hebrews Twelve says that you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of 324 00:30:45.670 --> 00:30:53.339 the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal gathering into 325 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:59.740 the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. This is the eternal 326 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:03.809 fulfillment of a of a journey that began long before Sinai, this journey that 327 00:31:03.890 --> 00:31:10.009 began with creation itself, when God rested on the seventh day. The Lord's 328 00:31:10.210 --> 00:31:15.130 Sabbath rest has been held out to mant mankind ever since, ever since Adam 329 00:31:15.170 --> 00:31:18.920 failed to achieve it, Israel, in the promised land, was but a 330 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:25.119 picture of this eternal rest. But Christ, in his faithful obedience as a 331 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:30.000 son, in his suffering for the sins of his people and his victorious resurrection 332 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:37.349 over the grave, he has now ascended into heaven, ascended to the right 333 00:31:37.430 --> 00:31:42.750 hand, ascended into an eternal Sabbath Day. Don't you see? He has 334 00:31:42.829 --> 00:31:51.299 one and everlasting victory over Satan and sin and death. But his victory isn't 335 00:31:51.339 --> 00:31:59.339 complete with his own ascension. His victory will only be complete in your ascension. 336 00:32:01.529 --> 00:32:07.450 For notice who comes with the Lord in his assent. In verse eighteen, 337 00:32:10.170 --> 00:32:16.039 you ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and 338 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:22.160 receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may 339 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:30.230 dwell there. How have you been brought into this eternal Sabbath? How have 340 00:32:30.349 --> 00:32:37.630 you been brought up into this heavenly mountain, this heavenly city, as victors 341 00:32:38.309 --> 00:32:44.150 taking up your own throne? No, Christ has taken the throne and he 342 00:32:44.269 --> 00:32:49.740 leads you like a host of captives. See how Christ has won the victory. 343 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:58.220 You are the reward. You are Christ's riches, you are his spoils. 344 00:32:59.609 --> 00:33:05.410 He fought Satan, sin, death and one so that he could call 345 00:33:05.529 --> 00:33:13.559 you beloved, so that he could call you his own. And this is 346 00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:17.359 the victory we have right now. Christ is right now sitting at God's right 347 00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:25.640 hand, and we await the fullness of this victory. Know that your dwelling 348 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:30.509 place with God is secure, because a son of Adam, a son of 349 00:33:30.630 --> 00:33:37.750 David, is there enjoying God's eternal rest, and he is the first fruits 350 00:33:37.789 --> 00:33:44.940 of the resurrection and revelation twenty one gives us a picture of this dwelling place, 351 00:33:44.980 --> 00:33:49.059 a new heavens, a new earth, in the shape of a temple 352 00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:53.299 of God at the center. And I heard a loud voice from the throne 353 00:33:53.420 --> 00:33:59.450 saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will 354 00:33:59.450 --> 00:34:01.970 dwell with them, they will be his people, and God himself will be 355 00:34:02.130 --> 00:34:09.599 with them as their God. Before Christ ascended to his father, he announced 356 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:14.760 his victory to his disciples, saying all authority on Heaven on earth has been 357 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:20.159 given to me, and he says go, therefore, go to the nation's 358 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:27.630 proclaiming God's word, making disciples, baptizing. I Love Verse Thirty Two of 359 00:34:27.710 --> 00:34:31.829 this Psalm. Oh Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, sing praises 360 00:34:31.909 --> 00:34:36.309 to the Lord, to Him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens. 361 00:34:36.349 --> 00:34:45.860 Behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. God's word 362 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:52.860 continues to go forth. God's Word is still having a marvelous effect, for 363 00:34:52.969 --> 00:34:59.090 his Gospel is going into the nations of this world. God's is raising up 364 00:34:59.130 --> 00:35:04.849 captives for Christ. God is at work calling citizens into his eternal throne in 365 00:35:04.969 --> 00:35:12.079 heaven. Know that in Christ, his home is your home as well. 366 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:19.719 So how else could we respond? But with faith, but with gratitude and 367 00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:24.429 with praise. Awesome is God, from his sanctuary, the god of Israel. 368 00:35:24.789 --> 00:35:30.829 He is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed 369 00:35:30.070 --> 00:35:35.590 be God. Amen. Let's pray.