The God Who Is For Us (Psalm 56)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:10.150 Comes from Psalm fifty six. Please turn there in your bibles. Here the 2 00:00:10.269 --> 00:00:16.629 word the Lord, the arrant inspired, authoritative, pure word of the Lord, 3 00:00:16.789 --> 00:00:22.339 Psalm Fifty six, to the choir master, according to the dove on 4 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:27.660 far off terribins, a Mixtim of David when the Philistine seized him in Gath. 5 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:32.740 Be Gracious to me, Oh God, for man tramples on me all 6 00:00:32.859 --> 00:00:38.049 day long in attack or oppresses me. My Enemies trample on me all day 7 00:00:38.170 --> 00:00:43.049 long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put 8 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:48.130 my trust in you and God, whose word I praise. In God I 9 00:00:48.409 --> 00:00:53.560 trust. I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? 10 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:59.119 All Day long they injure my cause. All their thoughts are against me for 11 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:03.280 evil. They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps as 12 00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:08.670 they have waited for my life for their crime. Will they escape in wrath, 13 00:01:08.870 --> 00:01:15.269 cast down the People's Oh God, you have kept count of my tossings. 14 00:01:15.709 --> 00:01:19.260 Put my tears in your bottle, are they not in your book? 15 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:25.060 Then my enemies will turn back in the day. When I call this, 16 00:01:25.540 --> 00:01:30.900 I know that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, 17 00:01:30.019 --> 00:01:34.209 and the Lord whose word, I praise in God, I trust. 18 00:01:34.489 --> 00:01:40.170 I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? I must 19 00:01:40.209 --> 00:01:42.969 reform my vows to you, Oh God. I will render thank offerings to 20 00:01:44.049 --> 00:01:49.840 you, for you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet 21 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.359 from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. 22 00:01:55.439 --> 00:02:00.629 Let's pray, Lord, we are so thankful for your word. We know, 23 00:02:00.829 --> 00:02:05.469 Lord, that it is through your word that you sanctify your people, 24 00:02:05.989 --> 00:02:12.069 that you cause us to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus 25 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:17.379 Christ. We know that it is only through your word, by means of 26 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:23.699 your spirit, that we could glorify you by becoming more like, more like 27 00:02:23.979 --> 00:02:30.689 you. We know, Lord, that your word is good and you are 28 00:02:30.770 --> 00:02:37.889 faithful and true, and you are faithful and true always and forever. So, 29 00:02:38.009 --> 00:02:40.849 Lord, I pray that you would bless the reading of this word and 30 00:02:42.409 --> 00:02:47.240 the preaching of it as well, that you would attach the eternal truths of 31 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:53.000 your word to our hearts, that we might not sin against you. In 32 00:02:53.120 --> 00:03:04.389 Jesus name, Amen, you may be seated. Juliana's life was full of 33 00:03:05.270 --> 00:03:13.139 trials and misery, and I meant suffering. She was given up for adoption 34 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:17.500 when she was just a baby. She was the product of a drunken night 35 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:27.370 with some stranger and neither parent wanted to remember that that evening, and so 36 00:03:27.490 --> 00:03:34.610 they gave her up for adoption and Julianna never did meet her biological parents. 37 00:03:36.210 --> 00:03:39.330 Sad to say that her parents, her adoptive parents, weren't any better. 38 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:46.520 Her father, adoptive father, abused her in every way imaginable on a weekly 39 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.439 basis, and the mother just ignored it, just pretended that everything was okay, 40 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:55.669 thinking if she just ignored it the problem wouldn't be there. And one 41 00:03:55.789 --> 00:04:02.270 wonders why these parents even wanted to adopt her in the first place if they 42 00:04:02.270 --> 00:04:09.710 weren't going to treat her well. And from the abuse from father, Julian 43 00:04:09.789 --> 00:04:14.580 always walked a little funny when Juliana went to school. She grew up in 44 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:17.620 went to school. She was an outcast. She was rejected by her peers. 45 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:23.180 She dressed in all black, walked weird, had some scars on her 46 00:04:23.300 --> 00:04:28.290 wrists and thighs from cutting and, of course, for these reasons and others, 47 00:04:28.410 --> 00:04:33.449 she wasn't very sociable. For several years. Julianna thought on many occasions 48 00:04:33.490 --> 00:04:41.160 if she should just end her life. Nobody would miss their anyways. But 49 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:45.600 you could never pluck up enough courage to do so, she thought. And 50 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:50.279 so she thought she would just lead a a miserable life, life being unloved 51 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:59.670 and alone, and she would just let time take her away. and Juliana's 52 00:04:59.709 --> 00:05:05.670 life isn't too different from others their lives. Admittedly, it seemed to be 53 00:05:05.750 --> 00:05:13.379 the case that the harsher providence lay upon her than on others. She experienced 54 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:17.180 the men suffering great trial, I. Men's oppression and hatred from others, 55 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:25.930 but we all do. We all experience trials of various kinds. We all 56 00:05:26.329 --> 00:05:33.050 experience oppression, rejection from others, hatred from others, suffering torments. And 57 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:40.199 if you haven't, you just haven't lived long enough and you will face those 58 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:45.560 trials if you live long enough. We all experience enemies from within. We 59 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:51.550 all experience enemies from without. And David, his life wasn't immune to trials 60 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:59.189 either. David's life was full of enormous torment and tribulation, as we see 61 00:05:59.629 --> 00:06:03.339 in this psalm and as we examined this text, Psalm fifty six, we 62 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:12.100 will take note of David's plight, his immend's suffering and torment and tribulation his 63 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:20.449 affliction, and then we'll look at his plan. How David addresses this suffering, 64 00:06:20.730 --> 00:06:26.730 how he, by faith, deals with all of the attacks of his 65 00:06:26.769 --> 00:06:32.519 enemies. As we began the Psalm, we see the Psalm is situated in 66 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:40.439 a particular point in history, it says just above verse one, when the 67 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:46.759 Philistines seized him in gas. Now we see this story in First Samuel Twenty 68 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:48.350 one. You don't need to turn their, I'll summarize it for you. 69 00:06:49.029 --> 00:06:54.709 And that's really just the narrative of what is going on. And Psalm fifty 70 00:06:54.750 --> 00:07:01.420 six is a window into David Soul, how he is interacting or experiencing this 71 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:09.819 affliction. Saw and first amuel twenty one, David was running away from Kings 72 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:15.170 Saul, who was hot on his heels. You might recall. Saul did 73 00:07:15.290 --> 00:07:20.209 not want David to succeed him and so he tried everything in his power to 74 00:07:20.370 --> 00:07:29.250 end David's life, God's successor to the Kingdom. So David fled to Gath 75 00:07:29.329 --> 00:07:33.600 and to its king, aqish. When David gets there, he has of 76 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:40.199 course not a Philistine, he's he's not a friend, he's an enemy, 77 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:46.629 and ACACIA's servants rightly, are surprised at David's presence and they don't offer him 78 00:07:47.069 --> 00:07:51.990 a warm welcome. They don't say, David, is great to see you, 79 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:57.949 come on in, what can we do for you now? They are 80 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:03.420 confused and wondering what's going on. But David is a little deceptive and he 81 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:11.860 lets the spittle trickle down his face, writes some insane markings on the walls. 82 00:08:13.329 --> 00:08:20.089 He becomes a madman and he ends up preserving his life through this way. 83 00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:26.009 God preserves his life and allows David to live there for a time. 84 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:33.360 But it wasn't peaches and cream for David. In the land of the Philistines, 85 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:41.909 in Gath, David is feeling the waight of his enemies from within and 86 00:08:41.309 --> 00:08:46.750 from without. Wherever he turned and he has met with people who hate him, 87 00:08:46.950 --> 00:08:50.230 who reject him, who will press him, and we see this affliction 88 00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:54.940 at several points in this Psalm Verse One, for instance. He begins with 89 00:08:56.379 --> 00:09:01.419 man tramples on me, whether it is Saul in his own kingdom or a 90 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:07.299 Philistine outside of his kingdom, David feels trampled under foot by his enemies. 91 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:13.490 He feels overtaken by those who hate him so vehemently. Like a man running 92 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:20.570 in a crowd who then trips and the inattentive and careless crowd just tramples under 93 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:28.240 on him. So David experiences the the weight of his enemies, feeling trampled 94 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:33.759 oppressed. Verse One goes on all day long. An attack or oppresses me. 95 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:41.029 This oppression sadly doesn't let up. There's no reprieve, there's no modicum 96 00:09:41.269 --> 00:09:46.509 of rest for David. As far as David's enemies are concerned, the only 97 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:54.860 kind of reprieve David will get will be his death. Verse too, David 98 00:09:54.940 --> 00:10:01.980 Says, many attack me proudly. This attack from his enemies is an arrogant 99 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:05.940 one, from an elevated, condescending position, where they are stooping down and 100 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:11.250 looking at David and they are boasting in their touns against day David, in 101 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:20.529 their oppression, in their assailments. And they loved to mock David, considering 102 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:24.879 him so weak. They love to mock David's God. Where's your God? 103 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.600 He's in effectual, he's weak, he doesn't care about you, obviously, 104 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.320 or if he cares, he's not powerful not to do anything about it. 105 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:39.389 David, abandon this God of yours is clearly a false god or an impotent 106 00:10:39.509 --> 00:10:46.669 God. Verse Five. All Day long they injure my cause. These enemies 107 00:10:46.789 --> 00:10:54.740 take David's words and they twist them to mean what David never intended. Perhaps 108 00:10:54.740 --> 00:11:01.779 you've been on on their receiving end of such word games or twisting, where 109 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:07.809 somebody takes your words, maybe takes your words out of context or hones in 110 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:11.690 on one particular thing you said, perhaps not with great clarity, and just 111 00:11:11.889 --> 00:11:18.129 uses that to come against you, uses that to support their own cause and 112 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:24.080 to attack yours. That's what these enemies were doing to David and that's what 113 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:30.679 the enemies of God's people do. Peter tells us as much. He says 114 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:35.909 that false teachers and scoffers take Paul's writings and they twist them, like they 115 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:43.549 do the other scriptures, to their own going in destruction. Verse Five continues. 116 00:11:43.750 --> 00:11:48.419 Their thoughts are are against me, are evil against me. David's tormentors 117 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:54.340 imagine and conjure up evil things against David. They arise in the morning thinking 118 00:11:54.620 --> 00:12:01.690 what can we do to make David's life a living hell? Let's see how 119 00:12:01.850 --> 00:12:07.730 much we can do to hurt David. That's their purpose in life. David 120 00:12:07.809 --> 00:12:15.049 is experiencing all their thoughts are evil against me and verse six. They stir 121 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:18.559 up strife, they lurk, they waited for my life. Not only do 122 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.840 they think evil, they lie in wait to carry out those malicious plots that 123 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:30.789 they have been so carefully conspiring together to carry out, just watching and waiting 124 00:12:31.509 --> 00:12:35.389 for the the littlest slip up of David, a moment of weakness, a 125 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:43.149 moment of vulnerability. There's nipping at his heels, watching, waiting. Can 126 00:12:43.190 --> 00:12:52.340 you imagine David's pain here? This is weighty suffering, this is wady oppression. 127 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:58.850 I'll go on a limb here and say that you have not experienced this 128 00:12:58.049 --> 00:13:05.090 kind of oppression in your own life. Perhaps you have to this extent, 129 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:11.879 perhaps not, most of US having to experience such hot hatred, such opposition 130 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:18.960 from our enemies. But we still do have enemies. We have our own 131 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:26.679 sin, after all, that would want to subject us to its rulership once 132 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:31.669 again, even after we've been freed from it in Christ. We have, 133 00:13:31.789 --> 00:13:37.190 of course, the world, that group of people, that system of thinking 134 00:13:37.350 --> 00:13:41.110 that is set in opposition to God and all those who trust in him. 135 00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:48.620 Of course, there is the devil, the enemy. What do we do 136 00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:56.929 when our enemies trample us. What do we do when the world assails us, 137 00:13:56.049 --> 00:14:01.289 when our sins, which so easily entangle us, oppress us or weigh 138 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:05.490 us down, or when the devil gives it all he's got to lay waste 139 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:11.279 to our souls? Well, David shows us the way, or, to 140 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:16.919 be more precise, God, through this inspired Psalm, through David's life here, 141 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:24.950 shows us the way. David pleads with God. He feeds himself with 142 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:30.549 sound teaching, reminding himself of who God is and who he, David is. 143 00:14:31.669 --> 00:14:37.149 He trusts in God, he worships God and he walks in obedience. 144 00:14:39.019 --> 00:14:45.139 So we've seen David's plight, his affliction and in his time of great trouble. 145 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:52.500 Now we see his plea and his plan. Verse One Again Says Be 146 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:58.250 Gracious to me. Oh God, notice the urgency. Be Gracious to me, 147 00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:03.129 O God. The very first words that come out at David's mouth are 148 00:15:03.210 --> 00:15:09.159 a cry for grace. He says, Lord, do you see the bloodthirsty 149 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.240 wrath of my enemies? Do you see the attacks of My Enemies? Oh 150 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:20.440 Lord, deliver me, deliver me now, please, Lord, deliver me. 151 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.350 Be Gracious to me, Lord, I need your grace. Without your 152 00:15:24.509 --> 00:15:31.830 grace, I will be overwhelmed and overrun by My Enemies, by my oppressors. 153 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:41.580 His first course of action is crying out to God for grace. That 154 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:46.220 should be our first course of action as well. When we are beset by 155 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:50.490 the world's attacks. We need to cry out to God, cry out to 156 00:15:50.570 --> 00:15:56.809 him for grace. Lord, be gracious to me. I'm entirely dependent upon 157 00:15:56.929 --> 00:16:04.120 you. Can't do anything apart from your grace. I can't fight these enemies. 158 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:14.159 I need your grace. There's this plaque or Waldcor and in our master 159 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:22.909 bedroom and it says when life is too hard to stand, kneel. And 160 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:26.509 if you're thinking that's cheesy, it's because it is a little cheesy, probably 161 00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:30.190 something from Hobby Lobby. Not Knocking Hobby Lobby. It's a good store, 162 00:16:30.470 --> 00:16:36.659 got some good Waldycor and other things, but I make note of that because 163 00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:41.899 even though it's cheesy, it's true. When life is too hard to stand, 164 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:45.419 we are to kneel. We we are recognizing that we can't do things 165 00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:49.370 on our own. We're to pray to our God, cry out to him. 166 00:16:49.610 --> 00:16:55.129 Lord be gracious to me, for man tramples on me. What is 167 00:16:55.169 --> 00:17:00.679 your immediate reaction when you face trials of various kinds, when your boss withholds 168 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:07.119 justice from you, when your family members speaks evil things, hurt think hurtful 169 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:11.960 things, false things about you to you, when your child, who is 170 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:17.390 wayward, doesn't ever seem to respond to the gracious advances of the Gospel, 171 00:17:18.509 --> 00:17:23.670 when you've lost your job, when you are undergoing chronic sickness, when you've 172 00:17:23.789 --> 00:17:29.349 lost a loved one? What do you do when you face these trials, 173 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:33.779 when you even just feel a bit of the oppression and persecution from the world 174 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:40.339 because you stand firm for Jesus Christ? Do you say, Oh, Lord, 175 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:45.170 I can't do this on my own, I can't handle this, it's 176 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:48.369 too hard. My enemies seemed to overpower me. They seem to trample on 177 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:52.930 me all day long. They oppress me. Even my friends, my family 178 00:17:53.009 --> 00:17:56.650 members, are against me. Lord, I need you to be gracious to 179 00:17:56.730 --> 00:18:06.279 me right now. I needed this moment. Is that your first response when 180 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:11.519 you face trials of various kinds? Because too often, when life gets hard, 181 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:17.829 people tend to run away from God, they tend to run away from 182 00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:22.869 the church, the very institution God established that we would find comfort, refuge 183 00:18:23.109 --> 00:18:29.819 strength. Too often people run away from their refuge Jesus Christ, from their 184 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:34.059 God, from their fortress. They don't fall upon the greatest of the Lord. 185 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:41.849 But crying out to God is essential. It shows our weakness, it 186 00:18:41.970 --> 00:18:48.970 shows our vulnerability, it shows our utter dependence and great need for our loving 187 00:18:49.049 --> 00:18:56.519 heavenly father, and it is a call to action. It is a call 188 00:18:56.759 --> 00:19:02.599 for our great God to act favorably towards his people. Because we know, 189 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:08.640 don't we, that the Lord has our good in his heart, he has 190 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:15.470 our best interests in mind, he loves us with an everlasting love, and 191 00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:18.750 that's why we cry out to our God and say, Lord, what we 192 00:19:18.829 --> 00:19:22.269 are experiencing doesn't match up, at least on the surface, with your faithfulness, 193 00:19:22.509 --> 00:19:26.099 with your protection, with your provision. Lord, be gracious to me. 194 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:33.940 We call Lord, Our Lord, to act. That's what David is 195 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:37.859 doing here, so we need to be doing he cries out to God for 196 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:41.049 grace, but he doesn't cry out to God only for grace. We see 197 00:19:41.089 --> 00:19:49.490 him crying out to God for particular kind of Administration of grace, namely Justice 198 00:19:49.769 --> 00:19:55.359 on his enemies. Verse Seven, he says for their crime. Will they 199 00:19:55.400 --> 00:20:00.160 escape? It's rhetorical question. The answer, of course, is absolutely not. 200 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:04.680 Will they escape and so he says, in wrath, cast down the 201 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:14.750 People's Oh God, in Your Holy Hatred against sin, in your white hot 202 00:20:15.109 --> 00:20:19.069 anger against all that is against you. Lord, cast down these people, 203 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:25.099 these enemies, he's oppressors, he's attack, curse. Cast him down, 204 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:30.180 oh Lord. These are strong words, there's no doubt about it. David 205 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:36.170 recognize that God is the judge of all the earth and as judge, he 206 00:20:36.529 --> 00:20:42.609 will judge rightly. So David is is right to call upon the Lord for 207 00:20:42.769 --> 00:20:48.849 Justice. The Lord loves justice. The Lord Loves Grace. He loves to 208 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:52.839 give grace to his people. He loves to give justice to those who who 209 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:59.599 sin against him, who don't trust in him. So Dave is calling out 210 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.950 for grace's calling out for justice. But he doesn't take justice into his own 211 00:21:04.069 --> 00:21:11.950 hands. He doesn't take whatever insignificant resources he has at his disposal, which 212 00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:18.349 really aren't any at this point. He doesn't try to destroy all the Philistines 213 00:21:18.430 --> 00:21:26.099 single handedly. He doesn't do that. He doesn't pull a Shamgar for instance, 214 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:32.819 kill six hundred Philistines with an ox code. Doesn't go sampton style with 215 00:21:32.930 --> 00:21:42.009 a donkey job OOne calls upon the Lord here because he knows he's utterly dependent 216 00:21:42.130 --> 00:21:49.519 Upun God to get him out of enemy territory. He doesn't take justice in 217 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:57.319 his own hands, using whatever his sense of justice would be. He pleads 218 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:03.630 with a just judge to do what is right, to meet out justice as 219 00:22:03.670 --> 00:22:11.630 the Lord sees fit. When you cry out to God for Justice, do 220 00:22:11.710 --> 00:22:21.579 you then try to carry out justice in your own way, thinking, well, 221 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:25.700 that person did something to me, Lord, give me justice. I 222 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:30.569 am now a vessel of your just hand and I will take my rod and 223 00:22:32.490 --> 00:22:37.490 seek my enemy and destroy him. That what we do? I hope not. 224 00:22:37.890 --> 00:22:41.369 Do you let the Lord of Vengeance, of venge you in his time 225 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:48.200 and in his way. VENGEANCE is mind, says the Lord isn't yours, 226 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:57.400 it's the Lord's. But this is not a life of passivity or a life 227 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:04.829 of inactivity. This is not a just so let go and let God kind 228 00:23:04.869 --> 00:23:11.029 of attitude. We are doing something. This is active. We are praying. 229 00:23:14.059 --> 00:23:18.420 Prayer is a very powerful means that God has established for us to call 230 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:29.049 upon him to act. It's very powerful and effectual because we are praying to 231 00:23:29.170 --> 00:23:37.009 our great and gracious and righteous and Wise God and we are submitting ourselves to 232 00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:42.240 his will, to his plan, to his timing to his sovereign and good 233 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:49.440 ways, which ways are not our ways. The prayer of the righteous avails 234 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:56.670 much so we are doing something. David is doing something, something significant, 235 00:23:56.710 --> 00:24:00.869 something that we all need to be doing. When we face trials, instead 236 00:24:00.869 --> 00:24:04.309 of earn away from God, we cry out to God for Grace and for 237 00:24:04.470 --> 00:24:11.420 justice. And that's what he does. He pleads with the Lord. Furthermore, 238 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:18.019 David feeds himself with sound teaching, with the truth of God and scripture. 239 00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:22.940 He reminds himself of who God is. First we see that he reminds 240 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:29.049 umself the God is a trustworthy God. David's God and our God is a 241 00:24:29.289 --> 00:24:33.450 trust worthy God. Verse Four, he says in God whose word I praise, 242 00:24:33.730 --> 00:24:40.759 in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can flesh 243 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:45.680 do to me? Look at all of human history and you will not find 244 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:52.160 one point at which God failed to be faithful, at which point God failed 245 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:57.269 to be worthy of all your trust. He has always been trustworthy, and 246 00:24:57.430 --> 00:25:03.230 that's why he calls us to trust in him, because he alone is worthy 247 00:25:03.509 --> 00:25:07.539 of our trust. Though every man be a liar, God will be truthful 248 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:15.900 even when we are faithless. God will remain faithful and notice the emphasis and 249 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:18.740 verses three and four. In just a matter of a few words, he 250 00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:23.529 says the same thing slightly differently. He says, I put my trust in 251 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:30.970 you, and then in God I trust. He is confessing and rather rather 252 00:25:30.250 --> 00:25:40.160 professing. Reminded himself the of the object of his faith. My God is 253 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:47.000 the object of my faith. There is no one strong enough, there is 254 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:53.589 no one worthy enough to be trusted. Then our God, and our God 255 00:25:53.789 --> 00:25:59.750 is then worthy of all of our trust, not just some of our trust, 256 00:25:59.829 --> 00:26:03.549 not just some areas of our lives. These things we can't really handle, 257 00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:06.299 so we'll give them to God, but those things we can, so 258 00:26:07.019 --> 00:26:11.900 that's our domain. Doesn't work that way. God is worthy of all all 259 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:22.690 of our trust. And if not God, then who you me? Maybe 260 00:26:22.809 --> 00:26:26.809 we all just came together collectively. We're worthy of trust. Perhaps some religious 261 00:26:26.809 --> 00:26:32.009 figure, your pastor and elders. They worthy of all of your trust? 262 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:38.279 Presidents, are they worthy of all of your trust? Perish the thought. 263 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:47.000 Not One of us is is worthy of all of another person's trust. Only 264 00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:51.509 God, father, the son, the Holy Spirit, is worthy of all 265 00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:55.910 of our trust. And just look at your life and see all of God's 266 00:26:55.950 --> 00:27:00.069 faithfulness. Look at how he has worked in your life. I don't know 267 00:27:00.150 --> 00:27:07.019 how you guys do things, if you have a midweek prayer service or if 268 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:11.940 you at Sunday school take prayer requests or how you do that, and maybe 269 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:17.690 it's just be a email, but I'm pretty confident that you guys give prayer 270 00:27:17.769 --> 00:27:22.849 request to to one another and you are made aware of this prayer requests and 271 00:27:22.970 --> 00:27:30.000 I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do, because hasn't it 272 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:33.960 been your experience that most the time, just a few weeks, months or 273 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:38.039 so after you give your prayer request, you find out that that request is 274 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:45.109 turned into a a praise, a Thanksgiving, and we see over and over, 275 00:27:45.430 --> 00:27:49.630 week after a, week after week, how God has shown himself to 276 00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:57.029 be faithful in our lives and as he has been faithful to other people, 277 00:27:57.309 --> 00:28:03.220 you are then encouraged because you are a part of God's people and that faith 278 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:07.940 in less looks different, of course, in different situations, but God remains 279 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:12.130 faithful in your life. And just look at all of scripture and see his 280 00:28:12.329 --> 00:28:18.329 faithless to his covenant and to his people, how he's faithful to provide a 281 00:28:18.730 --> 00:28:22.289 seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent, how he is 282 00:28:22.329 --> 00:28:29.119 faithful to to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David and in 283 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:36.039 the new covenant with Jesus Christ. He has been faithful, even if people 284 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.319 had to wait a long time, even if they had to wait thousands of 285 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:45.630 years, especially for those in the Old Testament, as they are awaiting a 286 00:28:45.710 --> 00:28:55.029 heavenly city. God remains faithful even in their time of waiting. Because God 287 00:28:55.190 --> 00:29:00.460 is trustworthy. David can put his trust in him and notice he doesn't deny 288 00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:07.299 his spear. He's not a good stoic or Buddhist. He's not suppressing his 289 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:14.049 sorrow, his emotions. He's not saying emotions are beneath me and it's just 290 00:29:14.369 --> 00:29:18.210 the mind and I'll just mind over matter. I'll just deny all of my 291 00:29:18.769 --> 00:29:23.170 fears. They don't exist. It's all my it's all an illusion. Maybe 292 00:29:23.210 --> 00:29:29.440 he's hidden do in that regard. No, he doesn't deny his fear. 293 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:36.400 He says when I am afraid, he recognizes that he is afraid. It's 294 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:41.470 natural for US weak men and women to be afraid. There are so many 295 00:29:41.750 --> 00:29:48.430 things that come against us. If he had no reason to be afraid, 296 00:29:48.069 --> 00:29:57.460 from an early perspective anyways, what is that? I don't doesn't make any 297 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:03.140 sense. We are afraid evil threatens to undo us. We have so many 298 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:12.769 reasons to be anxious, because perish the thought that you could ultimately control all 299 00:30:12.890 --> 00:30:19.130 things. If you could, you wouldn't ever go to any funerals or hospitals. 300 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:26.599 I don't think you'd ever think it'd be a good idea to have bronchitis 301 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:34.400 or something. There are so many reasons for US things and keen, from 302 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:40.470 an earthly perspective, to be afraid because ultimately nothing is in our control. 303 00:30:44.150 --> 00:30:48.670 So David doesn't deny his fear, but he is essentially saying when I am 304 00:30:48.670 --> 00:30:57.339 afraid, I won't be afraid. And how can that be? Because of 305 00:30:57.460 --> 00:31:03.450 the object of his faith. He looks to his redeemer. He doesn't look 306 00:31:03.809 --> 00:31:11.329 inward to his own self strength or fortitude. He doesn't even look outward to 307 00:31:11.410 --> 00:31:18.920 any hopeful armies that come to his aid. He looks upward. He looks 308 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:26.400 upward to his redeemer, his Lord. He looks to his God. He 309 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:32.160 doesn't find strength in himself, he finds strength in his Almighty God. He 310 00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:37.390 doesn't feed his fear either. He doesn't just worry and worry and worry and 311 00:31:37.470 --> 00:31:44.349 worry which accomplishes nothing. He doesn't stare at his problems. He trusts in 312 00:31:44.950 --> 00:31:48.460 God, and that's why he can say, that's why we can say, 313 00:31:48.859 --> 00:31:52.420 what can flesh do to me? Or, later on, in verse eleven, 314 00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:56.940 what can man do to me? Now, if you're reading the Psalm, 315 00:31:57.700 --> 00:32:06.890 you might object. David. Clearly man's doing quite a bit to you. 316 00:32:07.930 --> 00:32:15.049 Read Your Own Psalm. Man's trampling on you all day long. An 317 00:32:15.049 --> 00:32:19.240 attackers oppressing you. Your enemies trample on you all day long. They attack 318 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:23.039 you proudly. They injure your cause. All their thoughts are against you, 319 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:28.240 for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch your steps, 320 00:32:28.279 --> 00:32:32.150 they wait for your life. Seemed to be a problem, doesn't it? 321 00:32:32.190 --> 00:32:37.910 David? Why are you complaining if man can't do anything to you? 322 00:32:39.710 --> 00:32:46.180 Well, sure, from an earthly perspective he could be killed, he could 323 00:32:46.180 --> 00:32:54.500 be tormented, as he is to some degree here. But David isn't stuck 324 00:32:55.059 --> 00:33:01.089 on the earthly he is viewing his oppression, his suffering, in light of 325 00:33:01.250 --> 00:33:07.569 his redeemer, in light of eternity. He is viewing it by faith. 326 00:33:10.529 --> 00:33:19.440 This trial is light and momentary affliction. As Paul will say, this life, 327 00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:25.200 after all, is the worst it will be for us. Joel Osteen 328 00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:31.309 should have written your worst life now for a disbelievers, your best life now 329 00:33:31.750 --> 00:33:37.269 for unbelievers, but your worse life now for believers. So those who trust 330 00:33:37.309 --> 00:33:45.299 in Christ, this is the worst is going to get. Even pile of 331 00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:50.900 all of suffering, the person who has suffered the most in this earthly life, 332 00:33:51.019 --> 00:33:57.970 it pales in comparison to the way to the glory that awaits us. 333 00:33:58.329 --> 00:34:01.809 This is not to say that our sufferings are not real. This is real 334 00:34:01.890 --> 00:34:07.970 suffering that David is experiencing. We're not to deny are real suffering, but 335 00:34:07.050 --> 00:34:14.559 wh're out of you are suffering in context of eternity, by faith, trusting 336 00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:20.440 in our God, and that's why we can say what can flesh, ultimately 337 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:25.349 speaking, do to me? If I die, I'll be with Christ. 338 00:34:28.630 --> 00:34:36.989 To die is to gain David's God. Our God is a trustworthy God, 339 00:34:37.269 --> 00:34:45.139 is also a caring God. Here reminds himself of David's of God's tenderness, 340 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:49.500 of God's affection. Verse Eight, and this is what the verse that has 341 00:34:49.860 --> 00:34:55.130 drawn me to the Psalm. I Love, love this psalm. It's my 342 00:34:55.210 --> 00:35:01.010 favorite psalm. Perhaps it's just my favorite right now because I've studied it. 343 00:35:01.530 --> 00:35:06.210 I find that with each passage I study and preach on it because my favorite 344 00:35:06.650 --> 00:35:09.719 and I just love the Psalm Verse Eight. You have kept count of my 345 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:15.360 tossings. Put my tears in your bottle. Are They not in your book? 346 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:22.070 It's term tossings can also be translated as wanderings or mind reminiscent of the 347 00:35:22.590 --> 00:35:30.070 exile. But pointing here to David's Aimlessness, his homelessness, as he has 348 00:35:30.230 --> 00:35:34.030 run away from Saul and is now in the enemy territory, in a foreign 349 00:35:34.030 --> 00:35:38.820 land. The Lord has kept count of David's unrest, of David's fear, 350 00:35:39.179 --> 00:35:45.340 of David's sorrow, of his nightly tossing and turning, of his sleeplessness, 351 00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:52.369 and he has collected all the tears that David has shed, all those that 352 00:35:52.449 --> 00:35:57.090 have trickled down his face or all those that have burst forth from his face 353 00:35:57.170 --> 00:36:00.849 as he is urgently cried out, called out to his God. The Lord 354 00:36:01.170 --> 00:36:09.360 has kept count of them, he has put them in a bottle. David 355 00:36:09.440 --> 00:36:15.880 is assured that his whole past is struggles, his the attacks of the enemies, 356 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:20.269 his unrest, his sorrow, that these are all known by his God. 357 00:36:20.949 --> 00:36:25.630 And God cares. It isn't the case the God just knows about things 358 00:36:27.150 --> 00:36:32.059 and says our a good good luck with all that. Hope you do well, 359 00:36:32.179 --> 00:36:38.659 see you on the other side. He cares. He cares about them 360 00:36:39.059 --> 00:36:45.340 and they're all written in God's book. There ever, present before God. 361 00:36:46.650 --> 00:36:52.050 Likewise, the Lord is not oblivious to your tears. He's not oblivious or 362 00:36:52.170 --> 00:36:58.610 heardhearted to your cries for mercy, to your please for justice, for wisdom, 363 00:36:58.969 --> 00:37:05.039 for grace, for strength, for deliverance. He's not hearthhearted towards those. 364 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:08.960 He's not oblivious to them. He knows and he cares. He hasn't 365 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:15.630 forgotten our exile, wanderings, our wanderings in a foreign land as we away 366 00:37:15.710 --> 00:37:23.070 to heavenly city. He hasn't forgotten are tossing and turning. He hasn't forgotten 367 00:37:23.110 --> 00:37:30.539 our tears. He knows them all and he cares. God is a caring 368 00:37:30.619 --> 00:37:34.099 God. God is a trustworthy God, and here we see in verse nine 369 00:37:34.179 --> 00:37:37.820 that God is a God who is on David's side. God is on our 370 00:37:38.019 --> 00:37:42.860 side. Verse Nine, then My enemies will turn back and the day when 371 00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:52.929 I call David knows that, when he calls upon his holy and just God, 372 00:37:52.809 --> 00:37:59.079 that his enemies, David's enemies, which are God's enemies, will turn 373 00:37:59.199 --> 00:38:01.920 back. They will turn away and shame, they will run away and they 374 00:38:01.920 --> 00:38:06.519 will seek a hiding place from the holy God, but they will not find 375 00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:13.349 that hiding place. They will not escape the wrath of God. Justice will 376 00:38:13.389 --> 00:38:19.150 be given to them accordingly, for they have not been the knee to the 377 00:38:19.269 --> 00:38:30.099 Lord. He says this, I know, we saw that. He recognizes 378 00:38:30.179 --> 00:38:34.500 his own fear and in the midst of this fear he is going back to 379 00:38:34.739 --> 00:38:39.139 what he knows. He's going back to what the firm foundation is that he 380 00:38:39.219 --> 00:38:44.130 has in the word of God. This I know. I know that. 381 00:38:44.210 --> 00:38:51.050 I know that, I know something that cannot be shaken. I know that 382 00:38:51.329 --> 00:38:59.000 God is for me. Oh what a comfort it is to know that God 383 00:38:59.679 --> 00:39:04.519 is on our side. How God has shown us his favor. God has 384 00:39:04.679 --> 00:39:09.030 chosen us, he has, in love, predestined us to be adopted, 385 00:39:09.510 --> 00:39:15.429 he has given us new spiritual life. What a comfort it is. No, 386 00:39:15.630 --> 00:39:19.909 the God is on our side, the God is for us. He 387 00:39:19.949 --> 00:39:23.780 has made us children of God, he has forgiven us, he has redeemed 388 00:39:23.820 --> 00:39:29.539 us. Oh what a comfort is to know that God is for us, 389 00:39:29.579 --> 00:39:34.940 that God is on our side. He has justified us, he has declared 390 00:39:35.019 --> 00:39:39.050 US righteous in his holy sight, he has sanctified us, devoted us to 391 00:39:39.170 --> 00:39:45.170 him, is sanctifying us right now. He has lavished wisdom upon us and 392 00:39:45.409 --> 00:39:49.530 inside. Oh what a comfort it is to know that our God is on 393 00:39:49.610 --> 00:39:53.559 our side, that our God is for us. He has sealed us with 394 00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:59.760 with his Holy Spirit. He has made us one in Christ, in one 395 00:40:00.199 --> 00:40:06.239 with each other, and he has, before we were even born, prepared 396 00:40:06.440 --> 00:40:09.789 good works for us from before the foundation in the world, that we might 397 00:40:10.070 --> 00:40:15.550 walk in them. Oh what a comfort is to know that our God is 398 00:40:15.710 --> 00:40:20.670 for us, that our God is on our side. He has given us 399 00:40:21.030 --> 00:40:29.820 his word, his faithful, true, inharrant, infallible, authoritative, pure 400 00:40:30.340 --> 00:40:35.849 word. He has given US each other to stir one other up to love 401 00:40:36.250 --> 00:40:40.050 and good deeds and, most importantly, he has given us himself. Oh 402 00:40:40.170 --> 00:40:45.210 what a comfort it is to know that our God is for us, that 403 00:40:45.369 --> 00:40:50.639 he is on our side. And, as a Psalmist says in chapter thirty, 404 00:40:50.679 --> 00:40:55.280 verse Five, God's favor is for a lifetime. It never lets go. 405 00:40:55.360 --> 00:41:00.639 God's favor never lets up, it never leaves us and never forsakes us. 406 00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:12.349 It always pursues us. His steadfast love endures forever. The mercy and 407 00:41:12.590 --> 00:41:21.460 grace pursue us all the days of our lives. If God is for us, 408 00:41:21.460 --> 00:41:27.099 and who can be against us? Who can rightly bring a charge against 409 00:41:27.139 --> 00:41:34.969 God's elect for there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ 410 00:41:35.010 --> 00:41:39.610 Jesus. When you wake up, you are met with new mercies. Every 411 00:41:39.690 --> 00:41:46.320 morning, you are met with God's favor, God's grace. Only in always, 412 00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:57.519 sometimes that grace looks like discipline. We are given his grace. There's 413 00:41:57.599 --> 00:42:04.869 no longer any condemnation, no longer any justice upon us, because the just 414 00:42:05.190 --> 00:42:10.309 penalty for our sins has been taken care of. Because of Christ. He 415 00:42:10.429 --> 00:42:15.579 has paid the penalty, and this is is the best news than anyone could 416 00:42:15.619 --> 00:42:22.820 ever receive, that God is for them. It is worse news know the 417 00:42:22.900 --> 00:42:30.449 Gods against us, because our God is in all consuming fire. It is 418 00:42:30.570 --> 00:42:36.050 a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God if you're not 419 00:42:36.289 --> 00:42:40.369 on his side, if you don't trust in him, but it is the 420 00:42:40.530 --> 00:42:49.079 best, most blessed thing to be in the loving and gracious hands of our 421 00:42:49.159 --> 00:42:53.440 God. Knowing what God has done for us, how can we then not, 422 00:42:53.800 --> 00:42:59.230 along with David respond in worship verse ten, in God, whose word 423 00:42:59.309 --> 00:43:02.550 I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise. David praises God 424 00:43:02.750 --> 00:43:07.469 for his powerful, true, faithful word, this word that revives the soul, 425 00:43:07.989 --> 00:43:12.710 this word that will never fade away, will never pass away, this 426 00:43:12.940 --> 00:43:17.820 word that will never return to God void, but will always accomplish the purpose 427 00:43:17.940 --> 00:43:24.380 for which God has sent it. Do you worship God for his word? 428 00:43:27.139 --> 00:43:34.889 Do you worship God because of its unbreakable, rock solid promises? When you 429 00:43:34.969 --> 00:43:40.559 are in a heat of trial, is your first reaction to worship the ink 430 00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:46.800 at think about David's life, probably the lowest point in his life when he 431 00:43:49.679 --> 00:43:55.550 committed adultery with Bathsheba, murdered your Ayah, broke essentially all the ten commandments 432 00:43:55.630 --> 00:44:02.829 in that episode, and how the Lord said that the discipline, the gracious 433 00:44:02.869 --> 00:44:07.070 discipline of the Lord, for that grieve it for those grievous sins, would 434 00:44:07.070 --> 00:44:13.900 be the affliction and death of David's son, the result of David Bathsheba's Union. 435 00:44:13.940 --> 00:44:22.179 And when this is taking place, David would fall upon his knees and 436 00:44:23.610 --> 00:44:27.690 and cry out to God for Mercy for, as he says, who knows, 437 00:44:27.769 --> 00:44:31.409 maybe the Lord will spare the child, but in God's good Providence, 438 00:44:31.449 --> 00:44:40.199 he didn't. And What is David Do? He gets up, WASHES HIMSELF 439 00:44:40.239 --> 00:44:49.440 OFF, changes his clothing, eats and worships God. Worships God. This 440 00:44:49.559 --> 00:44:52.840 is the worst part in your life, David. You're going to worship God. 441 00:44:52.030 --> 00:45:00.949 He afflicted your child. Your child is dead because of God. At 442 00:45:01.030 --> 00:45:07.179 David's lowest point, in the harshest or most severe providence of God on David's 443 00:45:07.260 --> 00:45:17.860 life, he worships. Do you worship the Lord amidst your great trials, 444 00:45:19.340 --> 00:45:27.570 when enemies oppress you all day long? Finally, David Walks in obedience. 445 00:45:27.889 --> 00:45:32.050 Deliverance leads to worship, which leads to obedience. Verses Twelve and thirteen. 446 00:45:32.090 --> 00:45:37.119 He says, I must perform my vows to you, Oh God. I 447 00:45:37.239 --> 00:45:40.880 will render thank offerings to you, for you have delivered my soul from death, 448 00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:45.679 yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in 449 00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:51.670 the light of life. David is so sure that his life will be spared 450 00:45:51.789 --> 00:45:57.670 he can speak of it as already accomplished. David's deliverance is as good as 451 00:45:57.869 --> 00:46:02.550 done, even though David's feet are at the moment of composing Psalm Fifty six 452 00:46:02.829 --> 00:46:09.300 not sure, not safe from an earthly perspective, because of his enemies, 453 00:46:09.420 --> 00:46:15.980 God's justice and care for him. Are Sure because God is faithful to his 454 00:46:15.139 --> 00:46:22.610 people. Likewise, we have been delivered from God's wrath, we have been 455 00:46:22.610 --> 00:46:28.010 delivered from death, from slavery, to sin, from the domain of darkness, 456 00:46:28.090 --> 00:46:31.730 and we have entered into the marvelous light the kingdom the son of God. 457 00:46:34.719 --> 00:46:39.320 How can we not then walk in obedience, walk before our God in 458 00:46:39.400 --> 00:46:43.880 the light of life, in the light of the life that he has given, 459 00:46:43.920 --> 00:46:49.829 the abundant life that Jesus promises us in him? How can we not 460 00:46:50.070 --> 00:46:54.909 then obey him and do those works that he prepared for us before the foundation 461 00:46:55.309 --> 00:47:01.860 of the world? By God's grace, Juliana met someone who ended up sharing 462 00:47:02.260 --> 00:47:09.099 the Gospel with her. Juliana went to college her freshman year. She was 463 00:47:09.539 --> 00:47:15.099 sitting at the cafeteria. She had gotten her food and sat down, all 464 00:47:15.139 --> 00:47:20.329 alone, of course, when another woman, a fellow freshman, saw her 465 00:47:21.210 --> 00:47:23.570 asked if she could sit down next to her, and Juliana, a bit 466 00:47:23.650 --> 00:47:30.360 reluctantly, said sure, and this person showed an interest in Juliana's life. 467 00:47:31.400 --> 00:47:37.440 It's talking with her, asking about her, but our history just showing genuine 468 00:47:37.480 --> 00:47:45.949 interest in her, and this sparked relationship that would eventually include her friend sharing 469 00:47:46.869 --> 00:47:54.949 the Gospel and helping Juliana to see that God is for her in Christ, 470 00:47:59.420 --> 00:48:05.820 helping Juliana to see the providence of God in her life, how he has 471 00:48:05.900 --> 00:48:10.059 worked out even all these immense sufferings to bring Julian to a point of ultimate 472 00:48:10.179 --> 00:48:19.769 trust in the savior. Like Juliana, we can have hope in God as 473 00:48:19.809 --> 00:48:24.889 our salvation, because he has promised. said, though man trample us, 474 00:48:25.170 --> 00:48:30.920 the offspring of the woman, the son of Man, the son of God, 475 00:48:31.039 --> 00:48:37.000 Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has trampled under foot evil, he has 476 00:48:37.639 --> 00:48:45.030 trampled serpent, he has conquered all the evil that was threatened to unto us. 477 00:48:45.869 --> 00:48:52.030 And though we shed many tears of sorrow because of Christ's victory in his 478 00:48:52.269 --> 00:48:55.780 death and resurrection and now his State of ascension, ruling at the right hand 479 00:48:55.820 --> 00:49:00.820 of the father, because of these things, he will come back and when 480 00:49:00.860 --> 00:49:06.780 he does, he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, every tear 481 00:49:07.099 --> 00:49:09.849 that he collected in our in his bottle, every tear that is written in 482 00:49:10.090 --> 00:49:15.170 his book. Death shall be no more. Neither will there be mourning, 483 00:49:15.489 --> 00:49:22.130 nor crying nor pain for the former. Things have passed away. Behold, 484 00:49:22.889 --> 00:49:27.119 the new has come. Amen