Hear My Voice, O Lord!

Y'all didn't go to sleep, did you?

Sometimes I keep going.

We continue this morning in our series in the Psalms,

and we've got just a few more here.

Summer is drawing to a close.

School is around the corner,

but it has been exciting to see the truth of scriptures

through the eyes of the psalmist.

And this morning we will see through the eyes of David

these truths this morning,

and I hope that it will resonate with us,

and I hope that God would touch our heart with these truths.

And before we stand and read it,

I would just say this,

is that David this morning,

as we read, or David in Psalm 28,

which we were reading this morning,

he indicates or he talks about

or he distinguishes two different groups of people in this psalm.

And as he talks about these two groups of people,

he really makes a distinction

that there's really one main thing

that differentiates these two groups.

So two groups of people,

one main difference this morning.

That's what I ask you to look for as we read it.

I would ask you,

in honor of the Word of God,

would you stand this morning as we read Psalm 28?

Psalm 28, a Psalm of David.

To you, O Lord, I call my rock.

Be not deaf to me,

lest if you should be silent to me,

I become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the voice of my plea for mercy

when I cry to you for help.

When I lift up my hands

towards your most holy sanctuary,

do not drag me off with the wicked,

with the workers of evil

who speak peace with their neighbors

while evil is in their hearts.

Give to them according to their work

and according to the evil of their deeds.

Give to them according to the work of their hands.

Render them their due reward

because they do not regard the work of the Lord

or the work of His hands.

He will tear them down

and build them up no more.

Blessed be the Lord,

for He has heard the voice of my plea for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield.

In Him my heart trusts and I am helped.

My heart greatly rejoices.

And with my song I give thanks to Him.

The Lord is the strength of His people.

He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

Oh, save your people

and bless your heritage.

Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

God, we are grateful for this truth,

these truths and this psalm

and the reality of your mercy

and how great it is that you would save.

And so God, this morning,

would you open our ears

that we might hear spiritually?

Would you open our hearts

that we might receive

the message you have for us this morning?

In this I pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

You can have a seat.

Did you notice the two groups of people

that David draws our attention to this morning?

Even in verse 1,

we see him talking about

a group of people.

In verse 1, he says,

those who go down to the pit.

Those who go down to the pit.

Who are those?

Who are the ones

that go down to the pit?

Well, in verse 3,

he further explains who they are.

Verse 3 says,

do not drag me off with the wicked.

It's the wicked,

this group of people

that are categorized as wicked.

And David says that their destination

is the pit,

that they will be dragged off to the pit.

And so this morning,

as we look at these two groups of people,

I want to look at three different aspects

of both of these groups.

Three aspects of both of these groups.

I haven't even shown you,

or we haven't talked yet

about that second group,

but I will draw your attention

to verse 9,

and we'll see exactly

who the second group of people is.

David says,

oh, save your people,

the people of God.

So we have these two categories,

this category of the wicked

and this category of the people of God.

Totally different spectrum.

And what we're going to look at

in this psalm this morning

as we hear what David says

about these two groups of people,

you're going to see a great division.

But really,

there's one main distinguishing truth

that separates these two groups of people.

Now, it plays itself out very uniquely,

but really there's one group,

and one main truth,

we've heard it this morning already,

read when Dick was up here,

and we'll talk about that as we go forward.

First this,

what is the destination of the wicked?

The destination of the wicked.

Well, we've already made this point

that the destination of the wicked is the pit.

Well, what does the pit refer to?

You know,

we would,

in prayer sometimes,

talk about the pit.

We would talk about the destination

as being hell.

You know,

he doesn't amplify,

doesn't talk much about what it is,

but he does say that

the wicked go down to this place,

the pit.

They're dragged off,

in verse 3,

to this place called the pit.

And so it begs the question,

David,

what are you talking about?

You know,

we probably already know,

because we,

many of us have read widely in the scriptures,

I would refer to

what Paul says,

Apostle Paul,

to the church in Thessalonica.

He talks about the destination of the wicked.

And here's what he says,

reading in 2 Thessalonians,

it says this,

and he's talking to this church,

these Thessalonians,

who are being heavily persecuted.

And he's encouraging them.

He talks about their suffering,

and he says this,

since indeed God considers it just

to repay with affliction

those who afflict you,

and to grant relief to you

who are afflicted,

as well as to us,

when the Lord Jesus

is revealed from heaven

with his mighty angels,

in flaming fire,

inflicting vengeance

on those who do not know God,

and on those who do not obey

the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And here,

in verse 9,

he shares the destination.

He says this,

they will suffer the punishment

of eternal destruction

away from the presence of the Lord

and from the glory of his might.

They will suffer the punishment

of eternal destruction

away from the presence of the Lord.

Does that strike you?

Can you imagine

what that actually is like?

That there's no grace at all.

You know that all of us

experience the common grace of God?

We all experience the blessings of God.

All of mankind experiences

the common blessings

that God gives to all of us.

But there's coming a day

for the wicked

when they will no longer

experience the grace of God.

In any respect,

they'll no longer

be in his presence.

They'll be eternally

separated from him.

If you remove all goodness,

which God is a source of good,

from their lives,

from the life of anyone,

if you removed all goodness,

what do we have left?

We would probably use the term hell.

And we could read in Revelation,

the book of Revelation,

when it talks about in symbolism,

the beast and the harlot

and the dragon,

when they are removed,

when they are ultimately destroyed.

You remember what Revelation says?

It says they will be cast

into the lake of fire.

This place where worm does not die

is what the scriptures talk about.

This place of unending pain.

And that's the destination

of the wicked.

But you know,

it doesn't have to be so.

Doesn't God offer,

doesn't he offer salvation

to any who would come to him?

This extension of his grace to all

is open to all.

But you know,

it's not unjust what God is saying here.

It's not unjust how David is pointing us

to the destination of the wicked.

The second point is this.

Look at their deeds.

If you look at the deeds of the wicked,

then we would say it's just,

it's right that the holy God

would punish,

would judge

based on their deeds.

And what do you see here in verse 3?

They're workers of evil.

They speak peace.

In other words,

they say something that sounds very

gentle,

very loving,

very peace-filled,

and yet,

even when they speak it,

there's evil in their hearts.

They're quick to deceive.

He talks about in verse 4

that their deeds are evil.

And he also says

the works of their hands are evil.

And then he goes on to say,

God,

render to them their due reward.

So I ask the question of us,

church,

is it right

that God would punish eternally

those who

walk

in these evil ways,

those who choose

what is evil?

Those who would be classified

as wicked.

Is it right that God would punish?

The answer,

biblically speaking,

is absolutely.

We don't understand

the great holiness of God.

We understand it cognitively,

and we've embraced it somewhat,

but it's far greater,

I think,

than we can fathom.

But I want you to see

that their destination

is eternal separation.

Why?

Because their deeds.

Because their deeds are evil.

They do not honor God in any way.

They do not do what is righteous.

They do not do what is loving.

Even what appears to be loving

is backed up in their heart

with deception.

So the way that they would be

categorized,

this group,

is wicked.

And so their destination

is eternal separation.

Because their deeds

are wicked,

why are their deeds wicked?

Why would they walk

in such a way?

Why would they choose

to

mistreat

and dishonor

and deceive

and hurt

and wound

and kill?

Why?

Well,

the Word of God says why.

Because their hearts,

their hearts

are far away from God.

Their hearts

are full of evil.

You see it in verse 3?

While evil

is in their hearts,

their hearts

are full of evil.

people.

You know,

in verse 5,

I think this is the difference

between these two groups

of people.

We'll talk more deeply

about this

as we look at it.

But in verse 5,

listen to what David says

about this group

called the wicked.

He says this,

they do not regard

the works

of the Lord

or the works

of His hand.

They do not regard.

They do not look.

They do not praise.

They do not notice.

They do not care.

All that the Lord

has done

and all of His grace

that has been poured out

on mankind,

they do not care.

They do not regard it.

Why?

Because their hearts

are evil.

Though God

proclaims

His greatness

in all of His creation.

When y'all look

at what is created,

do you marvel?

Do you find yourself

going,

wow,

wow.

You know,

I think when I was young

and first in the faith,

even before I was a Christian,

I still marveled

at the complexity of things.

I think I'm just wired that way.

But once I came

into the kingdom,

it all tied together

as this is

the handiwork of God.

And so,

things that I've noticed

under a microscope,

things that I've noticed

on top of a mountain

and looking out

and seeing,

it just makes us

worship,

doesn't it?

It amazes.

And yet,

those who are wicked

is as if they don't

even notice.

There's no worship,

no praise,

no real interest

in their hearts.

Their hearts

do not

regard

the Lord.

Let me ask this.

Do you see yourself

in the picture

of this group of people,

these wicked?

You know,

for those of us

who've been changed,

for those of us

who've been born again,

for those of us

who've been drawn

into His kingdom,

for those of us

that call ourselves

and really genuinely

are born again Christians,

you know,

it's different,

isn't it?

We say,

no, no, no,

we're not like that.

We're not wicked.

We don't have evil

in our heart.

But let me ask this.

Was there a time

when you did?

You know,

we,

even before we accepted

Christ as Lord and Savior

and understood our need

and our sin

and our separation

from the Holy God,

our rebellion,

even before

we came into the kingdom,

you know,

we weren't as bad

as we could have been.

it's possible

to be more evil,

but you know what

the Word of God says?

It says there's nothing

good in us

before Christ.

And I wonder

if we see ourselves

in the rebellion

that we used to be in

when we were in Adam.

So I ask this question

and you've heard it

if you've been around

this church for long,

you've been in Sunday school

or even from the pulpit,

I've mentioned this,

the natural state of man.

What is the natural state of man?

You know,

there's four options here

and I think there's

a lot of confusion

even in the hearts

and understanding

and the minds of Christians.

They don't really know

how to answer this question.

What is the natural state of man?

Well, he could be,

man could be 100% good

in everything he does,

in every way,

in every thought,

in every desire.

We would quickly say,

well, that's not me.

But some say,

we are,

as humans,

we're mostly good

with a little bit of bad.

And a lot of people

would land there.

We're mostly good

with a little bit of bad.

Some would go on

to say,

no, no, no,

that's not quite right.

What I find is

we're mostly bad,

but there's good

in everybody.

There's at least

some good

in everybody.

And then some

would go on

to make the claim

that no, no, no,

that's not right either.

There's nothing good in us.

We're all bad.

So you see

the four options here?

Either we're all good,

mostly good

with a little bad,

mostly bad

with a little good,

or we're all bad,

which is true.

Well,

let's let the Word of God

declare it.

Let's let the Word of God

answer this question

so that we recognize

the truth.

Listen to

this section of Scripture

that was read

this morning by Dick.

Did y'all catch

who we used to be?

Now,

Paul is saying this

about all of mankind.

All of mankind.

He says this.

He said,

you were dead,

spiritually dead.

Why?

Because of your trespasses

and sins

in which you once walked.

Following the course

of this world,

following the devil,

the prince of the power

of the air,

the spirit that is now

still working

in the sons of disobedience,

those who have not

acknowledged God.

He's still very actively

at work in the hearts

of them.

Among whom

we all once lived

in the passions

of our flesh

carrying out the desires

of the body

and the mind

and were by nature

children of wrath.

Do you embrace

that as true for you?

If that is true,

which one of those

four seems to be true?

We once walked

following the course

of this world.

We were by nature

children of wrath.

Let's look at another place

in the book of Romans,

which is Paul's

explanation for this

very same thing.

He says,

the Jews,

he's arguing

with the Jews

to say,

hey,

you're no better

than the Gentiles.

Why do you think

that your nationality

is going to save you?

Just because you're a Jew

and you were a part

of the tribe

of Israel,

it doesn't mean

that you immediately

get a free ticket

to heaven.

He says,

no, no, no.

Listen to what

the word of God

says in Psalm 14

and Psalm 53,

which is what

David is quoting here.

David says this,

are we Jews

any better off?

No,

not at all.

For we have

already charged

that all,

both Jews

and Greeks

are under sin

as it is written.

None is righteous.

No,

not one,

not one,

not one person

on the face

of the planet

is righteous.

No one seeks

for God.

All have turned aside.

Together they have

become worthless

without worth.

No one does good,

not even one.

He goes on to say,

their throat

is an open grave.

Who's he talking about?

All of mankind.

All of mankind.

Their throat

is an open grave.

They use their tongue

to deceive.

The venom

of asps,

snakes,

is under their lips.

Their mouth

is full of curses

and bitterness.

Their feet

are swift

to shed blood.

In their path

are ruin

and misery.

In the way

of peace

they have not known.

There is no fear

of God

before their eyes.

And we turn back

to this psalm

and how similar

does this sound

when David says

they do not

regard the work

of the Lord

or the work

of his hands.

They don't even

regard it.

You know,

unless God

does a work

in the heart

of a person,

a man or a woman,

he will be

in this camp

of the wicked.

You know there's

only two camps?

David is talking

about the only

two camps

there are.

those who are wicked

and those

who are his.

And how is it

that a person

goes from being wicked

to being

not wicked?

From being wicked

and separated

from God

with an eternal

destination,

eternally separated

from God

to the point

where they're

changed men.

How?

Well,

David

shows that.

This morning

in this psalm,

you'll see

that David

is an individual

that's included

in this grouping

of people

called God's people,

God's children.

And David

represents

the group

of God's people.

He's an example.

He's one of

those who

has been changed.

And in what way

was he changed?

It's his heart.

His heart

has been changed.

So,

I hope you

heard the point

that I was trying

to make

that you know

of those four choices,

you know where we land,

there's none good,

not one.

We have no good

in us,

not any.

There's not partly

good and some bad,

it's all bad.

There's no righteousness

in us.

How is a man

who has no righteousness,

who's an enemy

of God,

who is born wicked,

how is it

that he's going

to be included

in this grouping

of people

called God's people?

Well,

it's the work

of God,

right?

It's the work

of God

on the heart

of a man.

It's heart change.

And so,

I ask you the question,

how is it

that a heart

is changed?

Well,

obviously,

we'd say

it's the power

of God.

Why some

and why not others?

Let me

flip over,

you don't have

to flip,

but I'm going

to read

a couple

of verses

out of the

book of John.

So,

Apostle John

is sharing

about this

truth.

How is it

that a man

goes from

the grouping

of the wicked

and he's

transferred

into the group

that is the

people of God?

How?

Here's what

John says.

He says,

you know

that no one

can come to me,

this is Jesus

speaking,

no one can

come to me

unless the

Father who sent

me draws him.

Let me say it

again,

I messed that

up.

No one

can come

to me,

Jesus,

unless the

Father God

who sent

me draws him.

No one

can come

unless the

Father draws

him.

Again,

in verse

65,

it says this,

and he

said,

this is why

I told you

that no one

can come to

me unless

it is granted

him by the

Father.

You know,

we read

that salvation

is not

the result

of our works.

You know,

we read it

in Ephesians

2 earlier.

Did you hear

it?

It's by grace

you're saved,

by faith,

not according

to your works.

It's not as

if you can

do all

these good

things and

earn your

way into

heaven.

Do you know

that's not

possible?

Because the

standard is

perfection.

That would

mean you

never sinned

ever even

once in

your life.

How many

times did

Adam have

to sin

before he

had to

exit the

garden?

Do you

realize the

holiness of

God demands

perfection?

And he

would have

had to

have been

absolutely

perfect.

He took

from the

fruit of

the tree

that he

was not

supposed to

touch and

then what

do you have

to do?

You've got to

leave.

You've got to

leave.

And they put

an angel

with a flame

and sword

at the gate

of the garden

and said,

don't you

come back.

If you

come back

you'll die.

Because your

sin can't be

in the presence

of a holy

God.

And here

it is

that's not

based on

our works

and what

we do

is based

on the

drawing

of God.

Even when

we were

dead and

our

trespasses

isn't

God,

but God,

God gave

us life.

Life

comes from

God.

This eternal

life,

a changed

spirit,

a changed

heart.

How does

it happen?

It's the

work of

God.

It's the

work of

the Holy

Spirit that

draws us

to God,

that makes

us aware

of his

holiness,

that makes

us aware

of our

sin,

and causes

us,

gives us

the motivation

to do what

David says

right here.

Look,

do you see

what David

did?

To you,

O Lord,

I call.

And in

verse 2,

I cry to

you for

help.

Do you

see the

difference

between the

wicked who

don't even

regard God

or the

works of

his hands?

And here's

David saying,

God,

I see you,

I know you,

and I desire

you,

and I call

to you,

God,

my rock.

It's because

of you that

I have any

hope.

It's because

of you that

I have any

joy.

It's because

of you that

my life has

been changed.

There is a

desire that's

spilling out of

the heart of

David here.

He calls to

the Lord,

be not deaf to

me,

God,

I desire

to hear

from you.

Do you

know that

the wicked

don't desire

to hear

from him?

No interest.

No interest.

Does God,

is God able

to hear from

the wicked?

Let me just

say this,

if there's a

person on

the planet

that's in the

camp of the

wicked that

says,

God,

I see my

sin,

I'm sick

over my

sin,

God,

would you

help me?

Do you think

God hears

that?

Listen,

you know

what,

how do you

explain that?

That's a

heart that

is humbled,

that's a

heart that

is reaching

out to

God,

that's a

heart that

is genuine

and says,

God,

help me.

It's not

some insurance

policy prayer.

All right,

just in case,

I want to

make sure I

make it to

heaven,

what do I

need to

say?

Oh,

yeah,

okay,

can you help

me?

What words

do I need

to use?

It's like a

formula.

It's like an

insurance policy.

Well,

I've done

that.

All right,

I went to

church 12

times.

Man,

I've got to

be good

now.

I'm good.

You know,

that is not

a heart that's

reaching out to

God and

saying,

help me,

God.

But look at

David.

He's calling

out to God.

He's crying

out to God.

He's lifting

up his hands

in verse 3

toward the

most holy

sanctuary.

So we've

looked at the

three aspects

of those who

are wicked,

their destination,

their deeds,

and their

heart.

And now

what we see

in the life

of God's

children is

a heart

that has

been changed.

A heart

that is

soft to

God,

a heart

that desires

God,

a heart

that calls

out to

God,

a heart

that cries

to God

for help,

a heart

that yields

to the

holiness

of God,

who lifts

up his

hands and

said,

praise you,

Lord,

praise you,

Lord.

I've come

to see

how great

you are.

Let me

ask you,

what is

your heart

like?

It's my

hope that

everyone sitting

in here is a

born-again

believer,

that you're

saved,

that you

know him,

and that your

heart has

been changed

from a

heart of

stone to

a heart

of flesh,

from a

hard heart

to a tender

heart.

From a

heart that

does not

regard God

in any

way to a

heart that

says,

I long

for you.

For those

of us who

have come

into the

kingdom,

do y'all

know the

change?

Have y'all

come to

recognize how

different we

are?

When God

gives us a

new heart

and changes

us,

it is like,

it doesn't

happen,

the night and

day difference

doesn't happen,

it kind of

grows over

time.

But the

things that we

used to love

and long

for and do

are so

different now

that we're in

the kingdom,

the things that

we long for

and desire

are different.

And when we

choose what

we used to

like,

there's a

conviction,

there's a

sickness,

there's a

grief in

our heart.

We're different

people,

we've been

born again.

And so I'm

asking if

there's someone

here who is

still investigating

Christianity,

that still

doesn't really

know what it

means to be

saved.

God,

listen,

the difference

is this,

it's a heart

that says,

God,

help me.

God,

I want

you,

I need

you.

You know,

God always

hears that,

he always,

always,

always hears

a genuine

heart that

reaches up.

And you

know what,

it doesn't

take magic

words,

it doesn't

take correct

phrases,

it doesn't

take a lot

of talking,

you know

what it

takes?

A heart

that says,

I need

you.

God,

I want

you.

Would you

change my

life?

Would you

call,

if you're

not sure,

or if you

maybe are

sure that

you're not

in the

kingdom,

that you're

just kind

of on the

edges of

this thing

trying to

figure out

what in

the world

is really

true here,

do you

have a

desire to

call out

to him

and cry

out to

him?

I hope

you do.

And I'm

telling you,

if you

do,

he will

hear you.

And if

you're

genuinely

sick over

your own

sin and

you recognize

that you

were rebellious

towards him,

you know

that if

you'll say,

God,

forgive me,

you know

what the

word of

God declares?

From

someone who

from the

heart says,

forgive me,

he says,

as far as

the east

is from

the west,

I'll remove

your sin

from you.

Based on

the work

of Jesus

Christ on

the cross.

David is

a man

whose heart

has been

changed.

And do

you see

how it

changes

his deeds?

Again,

these three

aspects,

the destination,

the deeds,

and the

heart.

The heart

of David

has been

changed.

You know,

it's fun

when we

read the

scriptures

and we

ponder

the life

of David

who we've

talked about

a lot.

We'll

talk about

more.

But David

is a

shepherd

who has

an instrument

in his

hands.

He's

worshiping

God

with no

one

around.

You know,

there's

something

important

to see

here,

is that

those whose

hearts

have changed

desire to

worship,

and the

heart of

David was

changed.

I don't

know when.

The word

of God

doesn't

declare

when,

but we

see the

deeds of

David.

We see

that with

the changed

heart,

that

there's

worship

that

happens.

Genuine,

heartfelt,

real

worship.

A

recognition

of his

holiness

and a

lifting up

hands.

Wow.

And that's

what we

talked about

earlier.

Look at

creation.

For those

who are in

the kingdom,

how can

you look

and not

say,

wow,

look at

the

incredible

beauty

of what

God has

made,

and the

creativeness

of what

he's made,

and the

marvel of

all these

things that

just shout

beauty,

and shout

the beauty

of God.

And it

causes us

to praise

as Christians.

Do you,

I mean,

how can you

go to the

mountains and

see the

beautiful

landscapes and

not go,

wow?

Or how do

you go to

the ocean and

see the

power of

the ocean,

and the

beauty of

the ocean,

the vastness

of the ocean,

not say,

wow?

Or how do

you take a

microscope and

look at one

drop of water

and see all

the life that's

teeming in

there and

not say,

wow?

It's a

changed heart.

But look at

his deeds.

Here,

David doesn't

go into deeds

all that much

in this

psalm.

But if you

turn back

to Psalm

26,

he speaks a

little more

about that.

In verse

3 he says,

I walk in

your faithfulness.

I do not

sit with men

of falsehood,

nor do I

consort with

hypocrites.

I hate the

assembly of

evildoers.

I will not

sit with

the wicked.

Do you

see the

division here?

Do you

see the

difference?

David,

who at

one time

in his

life,

don't know

when he

changed,

his heart

was changed,

but he

was wicked,

just like

you and

I and

every man

that's on

the planet,

until God

does something

to captivate

the heart

of David

and draw

him to

himself.

And then

David's

heart is

changed,

where he

acknowledges

God and

cries out to

God and

calls out to

God and

says,

I need

you.

And his

deeds change.

He doesn't

any longer

walk with

the wicked.

He doesn't

sit and

hang out

with that

crowd.

He doesn't

do what

they do

anymore.

He doesn't

want any

part of it.

Hey,

by the way,

it doesn't

mean we're

perfect as

Christians,

but it means

that our

heart is

different.

And we

do,

do you

find that

every now

and then

you choose

something

that's

sinful?

Do you

find that

you

volitionally

step over

that line

when you

know you

shouldn't

because the

bells and

whistles are

going off

and God

say,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

!

and lastly of these three in this category the third one is the destination what is the

destination of God's people well we've already looked at that earlier but I want you to see it

here at the end of this psalm here

it says this oh save your people and bless your heritage be their shepherd shepherd and carry

them forever you know what the destination for God's people are in the hands of the Messiah in

the hands of the Father that's the destination we'll be with him for eternity we will be we'll

enjoy him in his presence did you notice the change in David I skipped this kind of intentionally

the heart of David did you see the effect in verse six and seven

the effect of a man who's been forgiven the effect of a man whose heart has been changed look at it

this is David blessed be the Lord for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

the Lord is my strength and my shield do you think he's recognizing who he is do you think he's honoring

you think his eyes are turned to him do you think he's regarding the Lord yeah the Lord's my strength

my shield in him my heart trust I am helped my heart greatly rejoices

and with my song I give thanks to him you know what's my hope is that all of us as believers

for those of us who are believers that we would begin to worship like this when no one's around

that you know what I find is that Holy Spirit creates songs in our heart now I will say that

there's songs I love to listen to that aid me in worship but I will say this is that God does

something to create those songs in our heart that spill out of us from his Holy Spirit you know David

has many psalms to his name and you think that that how do you think that happened

I can picture him in the wilderness with that harp and he's sitting worshiping and that plays itself

out in what has become a song and certainly that didn't end when he turned 17 and it didn't end when

he turned 25 and it didn't end when he turned 46 or however long he lived I don't actually know how old

he was when he passed away but we know from the psalms that some of these psalms are written in

hardship later in life some are written in difficult times some are written when he's praising some are

event driven it wasn't something that stopped there's something that was a part of David's life

that there's songs that spill out of him there's worship that spills out of him you know where's that

come from it's a changed heart a heart that is changed will do what will not live like we used to live

a heart that is changed the man or woman that's born again we are different people we've been born

spiritually we desire different things we desire to honor and live for God our life looks different

the way we treat people is different there's a love and a gentleness and that should come out of

those who are maturing in the faith it doesn't happen on day one doesn't happen on day 10 doesn't

necessarily happen on day 100 you know what happens is the Holy Spirit is gently and gradually changing

us into the very image of Jesus that we're becoming like Christ we're becoming like Christ in this way is

that Christ didn't sin and you know what what maturity is is it's a this gradual growth of saying no to sin and

yes to God in living for him

I wonder if you notice uh verse 9 this this beautiful we'll end on this this beautiful picture

oh save your people and bless your heritage if you ever pondered what it means when he when David says

that save your heritage if you ever thought about what the heritage of God is

isn't that an interesting topic in turn

save your heritage I love the next verses be their shepherd you see the picture of Christ here

how is it

that the people are ever gonna receive this changed heart it's always always always through the Savior

it's always through the Shepherd and the Shepherd is Christ

it's always through Christ

that we are drawn to the Father through the Son based on faith

it's the work of Christ on our behalf and we become his heritage what is a heritage what is the heritage of the Lord how would we

articulate that

I would say this we're trophies of his grace

that's a phrase that I stole

I didn't generate that but I've heard it it's lingered in my ear because it speaks

to me volumes we're trophies of his grace as if

at the end of time when when all is done and Christ comes back he brings it to he

he retrieves his bride takes his bride home

no more weeping no more tears we're in the eternal kingdom we're glorified

and it's like

the Father can say to the Son look

look

we get to share our glory with these

these trophies of our grace

they had no hope apart from

the grace that we extended

that they might know us that they might fellowship

with us that they might be in our presence

that we might enjoy

one another and God looks at the trophies of his grace

look what he has done through the

the work of Christ on our behalf

I'm gonna close with Ephesians 1 I just want you to listen

to what

has been done

for the sake of the heritage of God

that is us

just let the word of God speak to you here

and I want you to listen to the according to

the phrase according to

what is the reason that God has

given grace

special grace to us that leads to salvation

why would he do that

what was the reason

according to

we'll see here

listen

blessed be the God

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

who has blessed us in Christ

with every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly places

even as he chose us in him

before the foundation of the world

that we should be holy

and blameless before him

in love he predestined us for adoption

to himself

as sons

through Jesus Christ

according to the purpose of his will

again

according to what

the will of God

to the praise

of his glorious grace

with which he has blessed us

in the beloved

in him we have redemption

through his blood

the forgiveness of our trespasses

according to what

according to the riches

of his grace

which he lavished upon us

in all wisdom and insight

making known to us

the mystery of his will

according to what

according to his purpose

which he set forth in Christ

as a plan

for the fullness of time

to unite all things in him

things in heaven

and things on earth

in him we have obtained

an inheritance

having been predestined

according to what

according to the purpose

of him who works

all things

according to what

according to his own will

it's by the will of God

that we know him

it's by the will of God

that we've been

brought into the kingdom

it's by the will of God

that he's drawn us

and he's tapped on our heart

and said

do you see my glory

do you see my glory

will you respond to me

will you call to me

and cry to me

let's pray

father

again this morning

I think of your mercy

that

father we didn't deserve

your mercy

we were an offender

an offense to you

because of our sin

and yet you

forgave us

father I thank you

for your mercy

I thank you

for your gift

of salvation

I thank you

for your son Jesus

who would come

and suffer

suffer the ridicule

of the Jews

he would suffer

the cruelty

of a cross

he would be

beat to a pulp

for our sake

when he didn't deserve

any of that

being righteous

and just

and holy

God I thank you

that you would

tap on our hearts

and you would

draw us to yourself

I thank you

that it would

change our heart

the way we would

desire you

we desire your honor

we desire to worship you

we desire to sing to you

we would be full of

overflowing song

your cup is overflowing

God thanks to you

I thank you for the

indwelling Holy Spirit

that you've given to us

God that we might be

taught

we might be

made

we might be changed

into the very image

of Christ

we might be

united

with our Savior

in the heavenly kingdom