Salvation Belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:05.960 Psalm chapter three, or the Third Psalm. Listen, for this is the 2 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:13.150 word of the Lord. Oh Lord, how many are my foes? Many 3 00:00:13.230 --> 00:00:19.429 are rising against me, many are saying of my soul, there is no 4 00:00:19.710 --> 00:00:25.539 salvation for him in God. But you, O Lord, are a shield 5 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:31.899 about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud 6 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:37.130 the Lord, and he answered me from his Holy Hill. I laid down 7 00:00:37.210 --> 00:00:42.409 and slept. I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will 8 00:00:42.450 --> 00:00:48.009 not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all 9 00:00:48.130 --> 00:00:53.679 around. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for 10 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:57.799 you strike all my enemies on the cheek. You break the teeth of the 11 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:03.200 wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be on your people. 12 00:01:04.310 --> 00:01:07.750 Thus for the reading of God's word, may He bless it to us. 13 00:01:07.109 --> 00:01:19.579 Please be seated. I don't know if you've noticed, but we are living 14 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:30.099 in a day and age in which our words are incredibly powerful. Our words 15 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:38.450 have an audience like never before in human history. With an email, with 16 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:46.370 a text message, with a status update, we are constantly seconds away from 17 00:01:46.370 --> 00:01:53.159 addressing hundreds or possibly thousands of people. Now I'm a fan of history, 18 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:59.879 and you have to recognize that this is revolutionary. Not since the printing press 19 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:08.150 has the spread of words advanced so rapidly and so much. And yet look 20 00:02:08.150 --> 00:02:16.379 at what this advancement has done to our abilities to insult and abuse. It's 21 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:23.419 not simply encouraging or uplifting or helpful words that can now be spread in seconds, 22 00:02:23.979 --> 00:02:31.569 it's also those hurtful or wounding and derisive comments as well. From the 23 00:02:31.610 --> 00:02:38.770 protections of distance and anonymity, insults can be hurled into the world without fear 24 00:02:38.849 --> 00:02:45.039 of consequence like never before. And so while words are plentiful, so are 25 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:51.199 derogatory insults and abuse of put downs, which just goes to show that the 26 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:57.680 more things change, the more they stay the same. Long before printing presses, 27 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:06.189 long before smartphones, Psalm three begins with King David being mocked, with 28 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:12.270 the King of Israel being humiliated, and through the words of King David we 29 00:03:12.430 --> 00:03:15.620 see that he's experiencing something that few of us have ever had to deal with. 30 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:22.819 I hope he's dealing with enemies, not just competitors, not just rivals, 31 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:29.330 but enemies who are pursuing his life. The insults he endures come not 32 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:36.889 from unknown personalities out there, but from flesh and blood enemies, and it 33 00:03:36.969 --> 00:03:42.000 even though his life is in jeopardy, it's not the sight of the numerous 34 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:46.800 enemies that brings him into this distress. You See, David has been in 35 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:51.599 battles before. He's been in many battles and he has won many victories. 36 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.360 After all, this is the same David who who fought Goliath in his youth 37 00:03:55.469 --> 00:04:01.469 and struck him dead. What really concerns David is not the enemies he's facing, 38 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:09.949 it's their words. And of all the things his enemies could have said, 39 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:15.939 which one does David highlight? Which one stands out as particularly heinous? 40 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:25.490 Did you notice what insult creates the greatest sting for King David? Look at 41 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:29.529 verses one and two. The first one. Oh Lord, how many are 42 00:04:29.569 --> 00:04:32.290 my foes? Many are rising against me, many are saying of my soul. 43 00:04:32.490 --> 00:04:41.600 There is no salvation for him in God. So it's not just the 44 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:46.399 soldiers that is troubling him, it's their taunt. There is no salvation for 45 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:53.269 him in God. And so, of all the things to be troubled by, 46 00:04:55.069 --> 00:05:01.069 why is David Troubled by this accusation? This is the David who slayed 47 00:05:01.110 --> 00:05:08.019 Goliath by the power of the Lord. At this point in his life, 48 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:15.660 David's already been anointed by God to be the king. He's seen the Lord's 49 00:05:15.699 --> 00:05:20.769 work in his life in removing Saul so that David could be crowned. And 50 00:05:20.889 --> 00:05:26.290 what's more, at this point he's already received God's promise to build him a 51 00:05:26.529 --> 00:05:30.850 house. He's been told that he will be the father to an everlasting kingdom. 52 00:05:32.649 --> 00:05:36.040 And so David has been blessed by God. Again and again, he's 53 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:40.920 been blessed with a kingdom, blessed with the promise of an eternal kingdom. 54 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:48.199 How could he be troubled by the accusation there's no salvation for him in God? 55 00:05:50.069 --> 00:05:54.269 Shouldn't he, of all people, know that these words are just not 56 00:05:54.470 --> 00:06:00.110 true? Well, did you notice that with this psalm were told not only 57 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:04.300 who wrote it, we're also told when he wrote it. First one begins 58 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:09.939 with a saying that this is a psalm of David when he fled from Absalom. 59 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:15.740 His son David wrote this psalm during a dark period in his life. 60 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:21.449 The David we find here in Psalm three is the David after the incident with 61 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:27.730 Bashit Bathsheba. This is the David, who stands guilty of adultery, guilty 62 00:06:27.810 --> 00:06:31.769 of the murder of Uriah. And in fact, the reason David's son is 63 00:06:31.850 --> 00:06:36.800 seeking David's throne is because of his own sins and his failure to execute justice. 64 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:45.199 When absolom sister Tamar was violated, David did nothing. So absolum marches 65 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:49.310 against his father in Jerusalem, forcing David to flee the city. David was 66 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:57.230 driven from his throne, subjected to great humiliation, and not by a foreign 67 00:06:57.310 --> 00:07:05.660 pagan ruler, by his own son. This must have crushed David. It 68 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:11.379 was while David was fleeing the armies of Absalom, broken by the spiteful betrayal 69 00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:14.180 of his own son, that he sat down and wrote the words of this 70 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:20.850 Psalm. This is important. It wasn't while he sat on a throne with 71 00:07:21.050 --> 00:07:27.009 servants at his back and call. Wasn't while he was lying in a comfortable 72 00:07:27.050 --> 00:07:30.360 bed and a soft pillow, knowing that all was well with his family and 73 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:35.959 among his people. This salm comes in the midst of David's most devastating and 74 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:44.310 desperate hour. There was David, defenseless, covered with shame, with his 75 00:07:44.430 --> 00:07:48.990 head downcast, lamenting his many enemies lamenting their terrible taunts that there's no salvation 76 00:07:49.189 --> 00:07:57.470 for him in God. You see, what's so devastating about that taunt is 77 00:07:57.589 --> 00:08:05.779 the thought that it might be true. Santri actually parallels psalm too, the 78 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:09.379 famous psalm too, in a couple key ways. These two psalms are placed 79 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:15.889 right next to each other for a reason. PSALTO also begins with enemies surrounding 80 00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:22.730 the Lord's anointed, just like Psalm three. Why? To the nation's rage 81 00:08:22.769 --> 00:08:26.209 and the People's Plot in vain, the kings of the earth set themselves. 82 00:08:26.209 --> 00:08:31.000 The rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying let 83 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:35.039 us burst their bonds apart and cast away their chords from us. But in 84 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:41.629 Psalm too, victory was granted through the Lord's annointed. The Lord Brings Victory 85 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:46.190 and justice to the nations through his son. Now, therefore, O kings, 86 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:50.350 be wise, be warned, O rulers of the Earth. First Eleven 87 00:08:50.389 --> 00:08:54.389 of PSALMTU serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling. Kissed the son, 88 00:08:54.149 --> 00:08:58.139 lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath 89 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:05.700 is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Compare that 90 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:09.009 to psalm three, where it's not now pagan rulers who surround the king, 91 00:09:09.889 --> 00:09:16.490 it's not the nations who are plotting together against the Lord's anointed, it's Israelites, 92 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:24.320 not just any Israelites, it's David's own son. And yet David had 93 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:31.080 received a promise. What was the Lord's Covenant With David, that David would 94 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:39.750 have a son who would sit on his throne forever? Absalom's rebellion is the 95 00:09:39.909 --> 00:09:45.870 furthest thing from a fulfillment to that kind of a promise. David's flight from 96 00:09:45.909 --> 00:09:50.710 Jerusalem in shame looks like a disgraced king, not like the Lord's anointed ruler. 97 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:56.340 The taunt that there's no salvation for him in God it it stings because 98 00:09:56.379 --> 00:10:03.659 if you look at these circumstances, it could be true. These are not 99 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:07.730 empty insults. There's a sense in which it rings true in what David is 100 00:10:07.889 --> 00:10:20.090 experiencing. And you look at how abruptly David Responds to these accusations. In 101 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:26.360 verse three we have an abrupt transition. Now I work with middle schoolers throughout 102 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:33.159 most of the week. I'm used to seeing certain responses to insults. So 103 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:37.909 notice what's not here. He doesn't give excuses for his actions. He doesn't 104 00:10:37.909 --> 00:10:46.350 argue with his accusers. He addresses the Lord. But you, oh Lord, 105 00:10:46.389 --> 00:10:48.789 are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. 106 00:10:50.019 --> 00:10:54.259 I cried aloud to the Lord and he answered me from his Holy Hill. 107 00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:58.700 David knew how bad things had gotten. Nobody had to remind him how 108 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:05.169 much he deserved what he was getting. And Still David forcefully proclaims, but 109 00:11:05.409 --> 00:11:13.090 you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, the 110 00:11:13.250 --> 00:11:20.879 lifter of my head. Don't you see? It's only when he's been stripped 111 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:26.320 of everything that such a statement actually rings true. It's without the safety of 112 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:31.200 city walls and palace gates, without the large armies of soldiers to protect him. 113 00:11:33.470 --> 00:11:37.029 It's without these things that David is able to see where his protection is 114 00:11:37.230 --> 00:11:43.029 truly found, that God himself is David's shield. The imagery involved. I 115 00:11:43.149 --> 00:11:48.899 love this. A shield about me, but that's not how shields work. 116 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:52.940 In the ancient world, a shield was held in one hand and it would 117 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:58.620 provide cover from that one direction. Shields never encircled somebody. That's impractical on 118 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:03.610 a battlefield. No, obviously he's not talking about a natural shield, but 119 00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:09.009 a but a supernatural shield. He's talking about the protection of the Lord who 120 00:12:09.129 --> 00:12:13.529 stands on all sides of him. He's talking about the perfect safety that belongs 121 00:12:13.570 --> 00:12:16.240 to him, as he's encircled not by iron armor, but by the very 122 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:26.039 Lord of Heaven and earth. And aren't you wondering, how can he say 123 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:33.389 this? How can David Call The Lord His Shield? For What is the 124 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:39.990 Lord actually protected him from? Has he been shielded from the shame and humiliation 125 00:12:41.110 --> 00:12:48.220 of losing his throne? Has he been shielded from the unnatural tragedy of his 126 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:54.820 son becoming his enemy? Has he been shielded from the terrible consequences of his 127 00:12:54.940 --> 00:13:01.769 own failures and sins? The Lord shielded him from none of these things. 128 00:13:03.610 --> 00:13:09.450 Why would David Call The Lord His Shield? What is the Lord protected him 129 00:13:09.490 --> 00:13:15.559 from? About the only thing you could say is death. He's lost everything, 130 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:22.759 but he still has his life. And this language of a shield, 131 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:28.509 it implies danger, it implies that there's confrontation. You don't wear shield when 132 00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:35.750 you're going to the supermarket. When are they necessary in battle, in in 133 00:13:35.950 --> 00:13:43.539 warfare? When David Calls God his shield, he's describing a situation of opposition 134 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:52.820 he's not describing the absence of trials. Write the very imagery declares that he's 135 00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:56.850 in the midst of great trials. And so, you see, David is 136 00:13:56.889 --> 00:14:05.289 confessing that even here, even in the depths of opposition, even here with 137 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:09.889 his life hanging on by a thread, even here where all seems lost, 138 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:16.200 things aren't as they appear. Even here, in this fragile state, he's 139 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:26.190 not fragile, he's not alone. The Lord is his shield and more than 140 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:31.230 that, David says the Lord is his glory. Just think about the the 141 00:14:31.389 --> 00:14:37.350 royal pomp and ceremony in that he had, the glory that he had as 142 00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:41.740 King of Israel, all the palaces and prominence in authority he he left behind 143 00:14:41.820 --> 00:14:46.860 when he had to flee for his life. All those things were temporary. 144 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:54.330 All that glory was parish of bull and easily lost. All the royal riches 145 00:14:54.370 --> 00:15:00.970 David owned, all the earthly glory he possessed, none of those things were 146 00:15:01.129 --> 00:15:07.639 his true glory. For you see, all these things are gone, but 147 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:11.039 his true glory has gone nowhere, because the Lord, as he says, 148 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:16.399 is his glory. You, oh Lord, are a shield about me, 149 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:22.870 my glory and the lifter of my head. So then, where does this 150 00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:26.990 confidence come from? The circumstances of Psalm three are almost a hundred eighty degrees 151 00:15:28.110 --> 00:15:31.710 different from psalm to. In Psalm to, the Lord's anointed had victory. 152 00:15:31.750 --> 00:15:39.659 Here David Flees before his enemies, where Psalm too looked back upon the dividic 153 00:15:39.980 --> 00:15:43.820 covenant, where God promises a son to David who would sit on his throne 154 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:48.820 forever. Now David has a son, and Psalm three, who is seeking 155 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:56.690 not only David's throne but his life. The accusations which begins Psalm three attack 156 00:15:56.929 --> 00:16:06.480 this very promise and it David Responds with confidence in the Lord. So what 157 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:12.200 is this? Explains David's confidence? What explains David? David's fearlessness to lay 158 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:15.480 down and sleep, to wake again, for the Lord has sustained me. 159 00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:22.990 I Love how David's words here Echo, Echo and even more ancient covenant. 160 00:16:23.509 --> 00:16:30.750 The Lord will be faithful to his promise to David, because the Lord has 161 00:16:30.830 --> 00:16:37.940 been faithful to his promise to Abraham back in Genesis fifteen and that famous passage 162 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:45.419 where God establishes his unconditional covenant with Father Abraham. We find these words in 163 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:48.409 Genesis Fifteen, verse one, the Word The lord came to Abram in a 164 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:53.889 vision. Fear not, Abram, I am your shield. Your rewards shall 165 00:16:53.970 --> 00:17:00.250 be very great, the Lord tells Abraham. Do not be afraid, I 166 00:17:00.409 --> 00:17:03.319 am your shield. David is echoing this promise when he says you, oh 167 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:07.880 Lord, are a shield about me. David is echoing this promise when he 168 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:15.319 declares that he will not be afraid. And do you remember what the Lord 169 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:19.829 also told Abraham in Genesis Fifteen, verse five? Look toward the heaven and 170 00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:23.430 number the stars. If you're able to number them, then he said, 171 00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:30.460 so shall your offspring be? Do you hear David echoing this promise when he 172 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:37.859 calls God the lifter of my head? I mean not only has David's Posture 173 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:41.980 Likely Gone from dejected to confidence, from looking down to looking up, but 174 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:47.289 the emphasis here is on David's faith, which is being called to look up. 175 00:17:48.210 --> 00:17:52.009 And as he looks to the stars, he's looking directly at the promises 176 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:56.289 of God. So by the end of Psalm three, the multitudes return, 177 00:17:57.369 --> 00:18:03.680 that wicked rabble once again surrounds the Lord's anointed. And yet, despite the 178 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:11.759 accusations beat despite the antagonism, salvation still belongs to the Lord Arise, O 179 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.789 Lord, save me, O, my God, for you strike all my 180 00:18:14.869 --> 00:18:18.150 enemies on the cheek. You break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs 181 00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:25.109 to the Lord. Your blessings be on your people. Truly, then, 182 00:18:25.150 --> 00:18:29.940 this is a psalm about salvation. David is answering this important question. Where 183 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:33.980 is salvation to be found? The taunt says there is no salvation in the 184 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:40.940 Lord, and it's the Taunt of utter blasphemy. That's the taunt of pure 185 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:48.130 evil. It's Satanic, for it's the taunts of Satan himself. And to 186 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:53.490 believe that accusation is to agree with the enemy. To believe that is to 187 00:18:53.609 --> 00:19:00.240 stand with the enemy in opposition to the Lord. And this taunt, then, 188 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:03.880 is answered by the response of faith. It's the response of faith which 189 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:11.589 says, with Verse Eight, that Salvation Belongs to the Lord. And this 190 00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:15.309 is what faith looks like. Just as David looks away from himself, so 191 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:19.509 also we are called to look away from ourselves, as David looks away from 192 00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:26.980 himself, we're also called to look away even from David, for what's evident 193 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:30.980 in this psalm is that David, the the anointed servant of the Lord, 194 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:36.579 is not the anointed servant of the Lord. This king of Israel is not 195 00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:42.250 the promised King of Israel. In Psalm too, it tells us where salvation 196 00:19:42.329 --> 00:19:48.210 is to be found. It's found in the Lord's anointed. Psalm two ends 197 00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:55.279 with the blessing blessed are those who take refuge in him, in the Sun, 198 00:19:55.480 --> 00:20:00.200 in the anointed. The triumph of Psalm too is immediately met then with 199 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.880 the laments of Psalm three. David, the Lord's chosen anointed, does not 200 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:11.869 provide this refuge. Rather, he himself is in need of refuge, and 201 00:20:11.990 --> 00:20:18.269 so David trusts not in himself, but in the Lord. The Lord is 202 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:22.299 the one who promises deliverance. The Lord is the one who secures this salvation. 203 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:29.019 For this reason, it has to be the Lord himself who is truly 204 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:36.210 the Lord's anointed. So how does David know that salvation belongs to the Lord, 205 00:20:36.529 --> 00:20:41.769 even for a murderous king like himself? I hope you hear the necessity 206 00:20:41.809 --> 00:20:48.250 of the Cross in David's words. How does David know his sin will not 207 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:57.039 separate him from his God? God's promises to Abraham and of grace, God's 208 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:02.759 promise of grace to David and to the rest is only possible because of the 209 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:07.150 certainty of Christ's finished work on the cross. He's he it's only on the 210 00:21:07.190 --> 00:21:15.150 basis of Christ's perfect atonement and righteousness that God could promise such blessings to his 211 00:21:15.309 --> 00:21:21.539 people. Jesus came to take upon himself the the guilt and the shame of 212 00:21:21.619 --> 00:21:27.299 our sin, for many rose up against him, and yet he did not 213 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:34.450 retaliate. The very people who saw Jesus Perform Miracles mocked him and scoffed at 214 00:21:34.490 --> 00:21:41.210 him. The very people whom he created spit on him and beat him. 215 00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:48.160 His own disciples abandoned him and betrayed him. And though he was perfectly righteous, 216 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:53.920 though he was almighty, he he left himself without a defense. Silently, 217 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:59.559 he suffered for the sake of his people and finally, upon the Cross, 218 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:04.869 he exposed himself to the eternal wrath of God. As his hands were 219 00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:08.910 pierced with the guilt of his people, his head covered with the thorns of 220 00:22:10.109 --> 00:22:17.500 shame. And therefore Jesus bore away the guilt of his people. And by 221 00:22:17.539 --> 00:22:25.180 enduring this, Jesus removes the shame even from David. You See, without 222 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:30.730 Jesus, such prayers for deliverance or salvation would just be wishful thinking. And 223 00:22:33.930 --> 00:22:37.849 so do you see why Jesus is your perfect shield, who protects you not 224 00:22:38.009 --> 00:22:45.240 from the trials and torments of this life, but protects you from eternal death, 225 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:52.119 protecting you from the accusations of Satan himself? Do you see why Jesus 226 00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:59.150 is Your glory? Where the glory of this world fades and perishes, the 227 00:22:59.230 --> 00:23:07.269 glory of Christ is heavenly and eternal and through the resurrection, Jesus is the 228 00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:11.630 lifter of your head. For we too are called to look up, to 229 00:23:11.789 --> 00:23:17.220 look up from our own guilt and shame, to gaze with eyes of faith 230 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:25.579 upon where Jesus is now seated in glory. Colossians three seal tells us. 231 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:30.210 If you then you have been raised with Christ. Seek the things that are 232 00:23:30.210 --> 00:23:34.089 above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds 233 00:23:34.329 --> 00:23:37.849 on things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth, 234 00:23:37.730 --> 00:23:42.759 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God, 235 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:48.920 so that, when Christ is your shield, what can disturb you, what 236 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:53.480 can bring you fear? When Christ is your glory, what can take that 237 00:23:53.640 --> 00:24:00.269 glory away from you? When Christ is the lifter of your head, what 238 00:24:00.430 --> 00:24:06.349 can take your eyes away from him. So I hope you see, this 239 00:24:06.430 --> 00:24:11.180 is not just a psalm for King David in his trials and in his torments. 240 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:15.859 This is a psalm for all the people of God, because this is 241 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:22.460 a psalm for those who find their hope and their life in Christ. These 242 00:24:22.539 --> 00:24:29.650 heavenly words give expression to the confusing frustrations of our own struggles. The Psalm 243 00:24:29.730 --> 00:24:33.970 is for you when your your own doubts and trials, call into question the 244 00:24:33.089 --> 00:24:40.400 salvation of God. Here we're shown the accusations of the enemy. Were reminded 245 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:44.319 of that ancient accuser who would try to dissuade our confidence and our trust. 246 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:51.960 And yet these very words lead us away from such accusations, because they lead 247 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.869 us away from our own guilt, from our own shame. In this Psalm 248 00:24:56.910 --> 00:25:03.750 were led right to Christ, and in Him we two can declare salvation belongs 249 00:25:03.869 --> 00:25:10.779 to the Lord. Your blessing be on your people. This is your psalm 250 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:11.500 as well. Amen,