The Righteous Judge Of All

Let me ask you to remain standing. This is something we're doing a little bit different as we've tweaked the order of service a little bit.

You know there's precedent to this? When the Word of God is read that His people would stand.

In the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8, after the children of Israel had returned, the remnant had returned to Israel.

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

And they were gathered together, and Ezra stood with the Word, and he began to read the Word.

And as he did, the whole congregation stood. And they stood, and they worshipped through the reading of the Word like we're doing this morning.

So we're in our series on Psalms, and we've made it to Psalm number 7 this morning.

I don't know if you have your Word with me, but after we read, I'd ask that you would open to Psalm 7.

But listen as I read the Word from Psalm 7.

Oh, Lord my God, in You do I take refuge.

Save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces with none to deliver.

Oh, my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,

if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause.

Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.

Arise, O Lord, in Your anger.

Lift Yourself up against the fury of my enemies.

Awake for me.

You have appointed a judgment.

Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about You.

Over it return on high.

The Lord judges the peoples.

Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may You establish the righteous.

You who test the minds and the hearts, O righteous God.

My shield is with God who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge

and a God who feels indignation every day.

If a man does not repent, God will wet his sword.

He has bent and readied his bow.

He has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his arrows fiery shafts.

Behold, the wicked man conceives evil

and is pregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

He makes a pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

His mischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

I will give to the Lord the thanks

due to his righteousness.

And I will sing praise to the name of the Lord,

the Most High.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Fathers, we open your word this morning.

I pray that you would open our ears.

That as we hear your word,

proclaim that, Father, you would help us to hear,

not just with physical ears,

but spiritual ears, God.

That we would hear this truth,

and you would grow us in understanding.

Father, help us to look at your word

and see the truths that are written therein.

And Father, I pray that it would move us

deep within our hearts.

That you would move us to worship you,

the righteous judge.

Amen.

Amen.

Please have a seat.

I forget those little transitions,

and my memory is bad.

Frank and Melanie, thank you for these flowers,

but if I leave them there,

I can almost grant you I'll knock them over.

So see if I can move it without knocking it over.

All right.

I would encourage you,

if you brought your Bible to open,

so you can look at the words

as we talk about this psalm.

I want to remind us of this.

We read,

and we just read an Old Testament text,

but I want to remind us,

but we're listening with New Testament ears.

Let me say that again.

We read an Old Testament text,

but we hear it with New Testament ears.

What does that mean?

That means on this side of the cross,

in this new covenant in which we stand,

we understand something spiritually.

David wrote this in his context,

and the physical things that were happening in his life

are written by David,

and certainly we see these truths,

but you know that every word that's in Scripture,

every single word was written by the hand of men,

but they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

And what we have here is the very words of God.

Not only do we see the story of David,

but I just want to say this,

that God in the message of this psalm

has a spiritual message for us to hear.

You know that when God prompted him to write this,

he was thinking far in the future as well.

He prompted him to put these truths in this psalm,

and that's what I hope the Lord will show us this morning

as we walk through this.

So I want you to look at the first four words,

and we want to start there.

You know, David could have said,

oh my God, or oh Lord God,

but you know what he said?

He said, oh Lord, my God.

There's something extremely significant about the word my.

And I wonder for you,

as you find yourself praying,

do you pray to the God who's far off?

Or do you pray to the God who's near?

Do you pray in this way

that illustrates that you have a relationship with him?

As you walk,

as you read,

as you live,

can you say this?

Is this true for you?

Is he your God?

Is there a close personal nature

to your relationship with him?

You know,

if we were to look backwards

in the scriptures,

and we were to go back

to the time when David was a shepherd in the fields,

you know what we'd see?

We'd see a God that spends

days upon days upon days

by himself

in the wilderness

tending for his flock,

taking them to the grassy fields

and water,

sources of water,

protecting them

at night

from the enemies

that would come against the sheep.

And what we would also see

is a boy

that came to know

a God

that is greater

than we can possibly understand,

and it was David's practice

to worship.

He carried a harp with him,

and he would sing

to this holy God.

And David can certainly say,

you're my God.

I've seen you

in the wilderness.

I know you.

I've heard from you.

I've watched your power

on display

as I've cared for this flock.

Now,

I asked us the question

this morning,

is he your God

in that way?

Do you experience him personally?

Do you worship

when you're alone?

Do you find yourself

constantly in conversation

with him?

It's my hope

that the answer to that

for all of us is yes.

So I want you to see

the relationship

that's so obvious

in these first four verses.

David says,

O Lord, my God.

And he says something

powerful after he says this.

In you,

I take refuge.

Not in myself

and my ability.

Not in the warriors

that walk with me.

Not in some other country

to come to my rescue.

I take refuge in you.

Do we live like that?

Would you say

that it's true for you

that you entrust yourself

into the hands of God?

Do you see him

genuinely

as your refuge?

Do you trust him?

Do you know him

in such a way

that you would take

your very life

and say,

God,

I'm not going to

any longer

try to protect myself.

What I'm going to do

is I'm going to take my life

and into your hands

I give it.

Whatever you choose

is okay with me

because I know

who you are.

you're the sovereign God

who loves me

and who can care for me

and into your hands

I take refuge.

I sure hope

that's true for us.

You know,

I think as we grow

in our spiritual journey,

we begin to digest

the reality of this truth.

We begin to know him

in a deeper

and a deeper

and a deeper way.

So much so

that at some point

along the way,

we realize

that a change

has taken place

in the way

we relate to God

that more so now,

hopefully,

than ever before,

I entrust myself to him.

He has shown himself

strong on our behalf.

You know,

the word declares this,

that God looks

to and fro

across all the earth

looking to show himself

strong

on behalf of those

whose hearts

are surrendered to him.

Is your heart

surrendered to him?

Are you his?

Do you really believe

that he'll show himself strong?

David did.

David says this,

Oh Lord in you,

my God in you,

I take refuge.

He says,

Save me and deliver me.

Save me God.

Deliver me God.

I know that you're able

and I'm calling out on you

to save me

and deliver me.

From who David?

From who?

Well, his pursuers.

There are those

who are in pursuit of him

to kill him.

And we'll look at a passage

in Samuel

in a little bit.

Two passages.

But there's a group of people

that are after him

to destroy him.

Instead of turning

and fighting,

what does he do?

He turns to God in prayer

and says,

You are the one

in whom I take refuge.

I trust you.

Save me and deliver me.

From whom?

From these pursuers.

Lest,

look at the wording here.

Lest,

like a lion,

they tear my soul apart.

Rending it in pieces

with none to deliver.

So these pursuers,

if he's given into their hands,

we see what the result might be.

He uses an illustration

from his days as a shepherd.

Do you see the illustration here?

Do you know what would happen

if a lion gets a hold of a sheep?

If you don't like blood,

don't go on YouTube

and don't look this up.

Because if you were to look it up

and you were to see it,

the powerful mouth of a lion,

the damage it inflicts on a lamb

is gruesome.

And you can just picture

this lion grabbing this lamb

and the force of his jaws

crushing the bones of the lamb.

And then he takes his head

and he slings it right

and he slings it left.

And what happens to the bones

and what happens to the body

of this little lamb?

It's just,

it's ripped apart.

It's broken to pieces.

It's separated.

There's pieces on the ground

for this lion

who's destroying

and trampling on

and feasting on

this lamb

that he's

caught.

You know,

the New Testament eyes

I talk about,

when we read this,

David is telling a story

that's this

illustration from his time

as being a shepherd.

But you know

the word of God

refers to somebody else

in this way?

In 1 Peter 5, 8,

you would remember

a verse that has been

oft quoted.

It says this,

to us as Christians,

Christians,

Christian,

it says,

be sober-minded,

be watchful.

Your adversary,

the devil,

prowls around

like a roaring lion

seeking someone

to devour.

We realize that

we have an enemy.

We have a pursuer

against us

as Christians,

as children of God.

So in our New Testament eyes,

we see that

there is

this accuser,

there is

this lion,

this one who prowls

and seeks to destroy.

You know,

Christ

tells of a parable

and he said,

the thief comes

to steal,

to kill,

and to destroy,

but I have come

that they might have life.

You know,

the enemy

hates us

because we're

stamped

with his mark,

because we're

called by his name,

because we're

covered in his blood.

He hates us.

And like a lion,

he pursues us.

And so in

the real

physical scenario

that David

is referring to,

there is a

physical army

or group of men

that are chasing him

to do him damage

and to kill him.

And he cries out

to the Lord.

And it's interesting

in verse 3,

he says again,

oh Lord,

my God.

He has three ifs.

I wonder if you see

the three ifs here.

Lord God,

if I have done this.

What, David?

If you've done what,

David?

If I have done this.

What is he referring to?

You know,

truthfully,

I don't know exactly

what he's referring to,

but I do know

it points back

to the preface

on this psalm.

If you look

at the preface,

it says this.

This is a psalm

that David,

which he sang

to the Lord

concerning the words

of Cush,

of Benjamite.

Who is Cush?

His name is never

mentioned in the scriptures

except here.

It's mentioned

in the preface

to the psalm.

So it begs the question,

what did he say?

What are the words

of Cush

to which David

is referring to here?

Whatever those words are,

he says this.

Oh, Lord,

my God,

if I have done this,

whatever those accusations are,

if I have done this,

if there actually

is wrong in my hands,

if my heart

is intending wrong,

and I've done

that which is wrong,

if I have repaid

my friend with evil,

or if I have plundered

my enemy without a cause,

then,

in your justice,

God,

let the enemy

pursue my soul

and overtake it.

and let him

trample my life

to the ground

and lay my glory

in the dust.

Do you hear

what David's saying?

He's appealing

to the righteous God,

to the righteous judge.

And he says,

Lord,

you heard it.

You know what

Cush has said.

You know the accusation.

And God,

if that is true,

and I have dishonored

your name,

and I've dishonored you,

and I've dishonored

your kingdom,

then it's right

that I would be captured.

It's right that I would be

broken in pieces

like the lion

to the sheep.

It's right that

that would happen.

Then let them trample me,

God.

You judge

and let them trample me

if I've done these things.

But look at verse 5.

And I would add this phrase

if we look at it

in the flow of the text.

If I've done these things,

then in your justice

allow them to pursue me

and catch me

and destroy me.

But if not,

but if not,

if I'm innocent, Lord,

if I've not done

what they've accused me of,

then arise,

lift yourself up,

awake for me.

You hear the cry?

Arise, Lord.

Lift yourself up.

Don't wait.

Don't sit.

Don't sleep any longer.

Awake for me, God.

I want us to see that

in this call of God

to rise up,

what is he calling God to do?

He's calling God

in his wrath

and his anger

to judge

those who are truly

evil.

those who are truly

wicked.

And let me stop

for just a second.

You realize that

all of us

fall into that category?

In our natural state,

we're all wicked.

You know,

last week

when we looked at Psalm 6,

David claimed

the same thing.

He talks about

the anger of God

against him,

the discipline,

the languishing

as bones are troubled,

soul is greatly troubled.

Why?

It's the effect of sin.

We all are wicked.

You know,

we don't have to turn

far into Psalms.

I turn to Psalm 14.

Listen to what Psalm 14 says

about you and me,

about all men.

It says this,

the Lord looks down

from heaven

on the children of man

without exception,

all men,

to see if there are any

who understand,

who seek after God.

In verse 3,

it says this,

they have all turned aside.

Together,

they have become corrupt.

There is none

who does good,

not even one.

You know,

there's no person

on the planet

can claim

that they do good

and they honor God

with the way they live

and think and act.

We're all wicked.

We're all slaves to sin

apart from the touch of God.

And even if we skip down

to verse 11 real quick,

God is a righteous judge,

a God who feels indignation

every day.

Why does He feel indignation?

The offenses of our sin

against a holy,

righteous,

loving God.

Everything is open

unto the eyes of Him

with whom we have

to give an account.

He sees it all.

There's nothing hidden.

But by the grace of God,

we would suffer

this judgment

that is talked about.

Notice He says

in verse 5,

Arise, O Lord,

in your anger.

Do you view God

as one who has anger?

Let's look at a couple

of verses right quick.

I will turn there.

No need for you to turn.

Just quickly.

The Word of God

in Romans 12,

this is Paul

sharing to the church

this.

He says,

Beloved,

never avenge yourselves,

but leave it

to the wrath of God.

Do you know

there's a day coming

when the wrath of God

is going to be

fully on display?

He says,

leave it to the wrath of God

for it's written,

vengeance is mine,

I will repay,

saith the Lord.

You know God

calls us to love?

He says,

don't you go

seek vengeance

for those who wrong you.

You let me do that.

You live for me.

You serve me.

You entrust yourself to me.

You honor me.

You obey me.

All that's in my court.

There's a day coming

where every wicked person

is going to face my wrath.

You know what?

It is not a day

that's going to be great for them.

It's not going to end well.

For the enemies of the church.

Notice the way it's worded here.

David says this,

in your anger

against the enemies,

the enemies I would say

certainly of David,

but I would also say

from New Testament eyes

against the enemies

of the church,

against the enemies

of the bride,

there's this cry

for judgment.

There's this cry

that says,

how long will you wait, God?

Every day they continue

to dishonor you.

They continue

to spit in your face.

They don't worship you

the way you deserve

to be worshipped.

How long will you wait?

In your anger,

rise up against the enemies

you have appointed

for judgment.

What is judgment?

You see that as being

a biblical truth?

Is there a day coming

where men will be judged?

We just read it this morning,

earlier in the service.

Listen to the words

of 2 Peter.

This is apostle of Christ

who writes this

to Christians.

He says,

just taking a little chunk here,

the heavens and earth

that now exist

are stored up for fire,

being kept

until the day of judgment

and destruction

of the ungodly.

You know there's a day coming

where the ungodly

will be destroyed,

where the earth

will be,

in a sense,

burnt up

and made new.

But there's a judgment

coming for all

who don't know

the Lord Jesus Christ

as Lord and Savior.

For all who haven't

bowed the knee

to worship and obey

a holy God.

Revelation 6

says it like this.

And it's talking about

the classes of men

and he touches

all these classes of men

when he makes his statement

in Revelation 6.

It says,

then,

meaning,

on that day,

on that day,

that judgment day,

here's what's said about it.

Then the kings of the earth

and the great ones

and the generals

and the rich

and the powerful

and everyone,

slave and free,

hid themselves in the caves

and among the rocks

of the mountains,

calling on the mountains

and the rocks,

fall on us

and hide us

from the face.

We've seen that word, right?

Hide us from the face of God.

Remember what he told Moses?

No man can see my face

and live.

Hide us from the face

of him who is seated

on the throne

and from the wrath

of the Lamb

for the great day

of their wrath has come

and who can stand?

There's a judgment coming.

In essence,

David is calling out to God,

bring it.

Bring it, Lord.

How long will you delay, Lord?

How long?

In essence,

you know what he's calling for?

He's calling for the kingdom

of God to come.

You know when we read

the Lord's Prayer,

you know what it says?

Thy kingdom come.

That's twofold there.

Thy kingdom come in my heart

that you would reign

inside of my heart.

But yet,

thy kingdom come.

The creation groans

and waits

for this new heaven,

for this new earth,

for the redemption

of all these things.

There's this crying out,

even in creation,

and certainly crying out

of the heart of believers,

I can't wait

to the time

where I'll see him

face to face.

I can't wait

to the time

where I'll have perfect fellowship

with the Father.

God, bring it.

Why do you wait, God?

You see all this evil

that seems to prosper.

Why, God?

Destroy.

Bring your day.

Bring your kingdom.

And here's this,

verse 7's so beautiful,

but we could miss it

if we don't understand

what he's saying.

In verse 7,

it says this,

Let the assembly

of the peoples

be gathered about you.

That takes us back

to a picture

in the Old Testament,

does it?

You remember

when the tabernacle

was dedicated?

You remember

what happened?

That God descended

in that pillar of fire

and he went into

the Holy of Holies

and what did he do?

The smoke of his presence

just spilled out

from under

and the awe

that was in the hearts

of the people

as they stood back

and in the incredible

presence of the Holy God

in the middle.

And what was common

when the people

really served

and worshiped him,

what was common?

They gathered for prayer.

They gathered for worship

as a nation.

God descended

into the midst

of the camp

and they all gathered

to worship.

Do you know

that 1 Chronicles 13

reveals something

about the time of Saul?

After David

was anointed

and there was

an overlap in time

between Saul

and David

and David

was fleeing

from Saul,

he was being chased

by Saul.

After the fact,

after that happened

that Saul died

and David became king,

here's a truth

that we see

back in Chronicles

that says this,

David consulted

with commanders

and it said,

let us bring again

the ark of our God

to us

for we did not

seek it

in the days of Saul.

You know,

in the days of Saul,

there was not

the gathering

of worship

for worship.

It's like every man

did his own thing.

It's like the nation

was running,

his wheels were running

off the chariot,

so to speak.

They weren't honoring God.

They weren't

worshiping God.

They didn't have God

as a central focus

of the nation.

And you know what

David is saying here?

God, save me.

Here's why I'm asking

you to save me,

so that the people

will gather for worship.

God, if you will save me,

God, if you,

the righteous judge,

will judge me,

God, if I'm wrong

in this,

then destroy me.

Allow them

to destroy me.

But if I'm right

in this,

God, show your righteousness

in your judgment.

Judge them

so that the people

will see your righteousness.

They will see

that you protect

those who are innocent.

It's this picture

of this act

of deliverance

that would inspire

the people

to worship.

Is that true

for you and I?

Is it true

when you see

the mighty hand

of God

on display

in your life

or in the life

of another,

do you tend

to worship?

When God

pulls back the veil

just a little bit

and we see his glory,

what's the response?

It's worship.

You know what God's saying?

God, deliver me.

I'm willing to die,

but deliver me

so that the people

will come together

and begin to worship you again

because you are worthy

of our worship.

You are our God.

We are your people.

You deserve to be worshipped.

God, these evildoers

that are chasing us down,

those who are righteous

that are hiding

because of the evil

that is in pursuit of us,

the wicked are in pursuit of us.

God, show yourself strong

on our behalf

that we might come together

and be inspired

to worship you

for you deserve it.

You're worthy.

Over it,

that is the nation,

return on high

as the sovereign,

holy one

that we would see you

for who you are.

We would worship you

for who you are.

And then verse 8.

Verse 8.

How in the world

can David say this?

The Lord judges the people.

Judge me, O Lord,

according to my righteousness

and according to

the integrity

that is in me.

How can David say

that he's righteous

and full of integrity?

What's that?

It's Christ.

It is the picture of Christ.

And you stole my thunder, brother.

We will get there at the end.

We want to look at Christ

in the pages of Psalm 7.

But you're exactly right.

That is a picture

of the only one

who can say that, right?

There's only one

that can say,

judge me according

to my righteousness

according to

the integrity

that is in me.

Jesus Christ can say that.

He alone can say it.

There's none other.

But yet David says it.

So how is it

in the text,

in the context

of what's going on

that he could say this?

Well, perhaps

it's hard to know.

I would say this.

It's hard to know

the timing of the psalm.

It's hard to know

where in the history

of the nation

and where in the history

of David

that this takes place,

that this psalm

spills out of

some time frame

in his life.

Perhaps.

Perhaps it's

in response to this.

If we were to turn,

and I don't ask y'all

to turn,

but I'm going to briefly

just remind us

of a couple of events

that happened

in 1 Samuel 24 and 26.

And I'll just,

I'll just

paraphrase

instead of taking

all the time

but just don't have time

to read the sections

that would be beneficial

to read.

But you remember

when Saul

was pursuing David

and his guy said,

he's in the wilderness,

let's go.

And he grabs 3,000 men

and they chase him

out in the wilderness

to try to kill him,

capture him and kill him.

And David and his men

were hiding in the cave.

And Saul goes in the cave

to relieve himself.

And you remember the story

that David,

the men,

they said,

there he is.

God has delivered him

in your hand.

Kill him right now.

He's the one that

without cause

is chasing you.

You've done nothing wrong.

You've served him well.

And yet he's chasing you

to kill him

because these people

are telling him

these words,

these things

that aren't true about you.

That you're out

to kill him

so he's defending himself.

It's not true.

And he's killing him.

God has done this.

God put him in the cave

so you can kill him right now.

David says,

no way.

No way will I harm

the one who's been anointed

by God as the king.

Far be it from me

to step in front of God

and make a decision.

I leave that

into the hands of God.

But he took his knife

and very skillfully

he cut off the edge

of Saul's garment.

And Saul walks out

of the cave

and as he walks out

and he gets the distance away,

David walks out behind him

and he calls

the name of Saul.

He says,

Saul, what are you doing?

Why are you believing

the lies that you're being told?

I'm not out to get you

for if I were out

to get you,

you see this?

This is the corner

of your road.

God delivered you

into the cave

and delivered you

into my hand.

But I value your life

because you are the king,

the anointed of God.

I will not harm you.

Don't listen

to the stories

of your commanders

and your people

that are in your ear.

Don't listen to them.

I do not mean you harm.

Saul realizes

at that moment

and he leaves.

But Saul doesn't get

the message very well,

does he?

And so again,

he hears in 26,

we see another story

that he hears

that David's in the wilderness

so he grabs 3,000 men again

to do what?

To go kill him.

And they're out pursuing him

and David is in the wilderness

and Saul and his people

are encamped

and David hears

that they are there

and he goes up on the hill

to see the camp

that's laying asleep

and he and one other

walk into the camp

and they walk right

to the king

and his top commander,

Abner,

and they take the water jug

and the spear,

they pluck it out

of the ground

and they walk up

to the hill

and they turn around

and they start yelling

the name Abner.

Abner,

the one who's supposed

to protect the king

with his life,

who allowed the king

to be killed

because he was asleep

on his job.

But he says this to Saul,

Saul, again,

I tell you,

here's your spear,

here's your water jug,

you do know

that I had God

delivered you in my hand

the second time

that I could have killed you

but I value your life

because I trust the Lord

that has anointed you as king.

I will not harm you.

Hear the words

two times I've told you

and two times you've seen

that I am not out

to harm you.

Whatever the accusations,

whatever the words

that are in your ear,

do not believe me any longer.

And so we turn back

to verse 8

in Psalm 7,

perhaps,

perhaps in that scenario

he can actually say

that I've honored you,

God,

by not killing Saul.

And I stand

with a level of integrity

because I've trusted you

and I follow your leading.

I do not take vengeance

into my own hands

but I allow vengeance

to be in your hands.

In verse 9,

oh,

let the evil,

the evil of the wicked

come to an end.

When will that happen?

When will the evil

of the wicked

come to an end?

It will never come

to an end

until the last day,

right?

Until the second coming

of Christ

when he makes

all things new.

We read in Revelation

this day that's coming,

this judgment day

when all that is evil

will be done away.

All who are evil

and are not covered

with the blood of Christ

will be destroyed.

They will be judged

and they will be judged

to spend eternity

away from the grace

and the love of God.

Eternity away.

And he also says

that you may establish

the righteous.

When will the righteous

truly be established?

It's the new heavens

and the new earth,

isn't it?

With New Testament eyes

we see

that he's talking about

God is woven

into the text here

this new world,

this hope that we have

that we can hold on to.

This hope of heaven,

this hope of

this kingdom of God

where the gates

will not need to be shut

to protect.

Where we'll have

perfect fellowship

with an almighty God.

Establish the righteous

this time

when your kingdom comes

and your will

is always done.

Where sin is done away with.

Where those who are evil

are done away with.

Where everything

is full of your love

and your grace.

Where your kingdom

has fully been established.

He's looking ahead.

The text is looking ahead

and pointing us there.

Verse 10.

My shield

is with God

who saves

the upright in heart.

You know,

God saves

those who've been

changed by him.

God saves

those who've been

bought with the blood

of Christ.

God saves

the truly

born again believers.

When he sees us

and we stand

before him,

can we say

we're guiltless?

Not a chance.

All of us are sinners.

All of us have gone astray.

But you know what

he's done on our behalf?

He's covered us

with the blood of Christ.

He's forgiven us

because of the

substitutionary death

of Christ on the cross.

And we've been

imputed with righteousness

because of the faith

we have in him.

He gave us the faith.

He opened our eyes.

He showed us the Savior.

And he says,

come.

And he establishes

his kingdom

and his kingdom

is full of the righteous.

Those who've been

made righteous.

Not those who were righteous.

Those who've been

made righteous

by the blood of Christ.

Through faith.

And notice what it says here.

It's through repentance,

isn't it?

Verse 12.

If a man does not repent,

what's the end result?

Judgment.

What does judgment look like?

Look at the illustration here.

If you ever watched

any movies

or you've ever seen

where a guy takes a sword

and he cuts into another person

and the sword is wet

with the blood

of the one that was struck.

And it's the picture,

this illustration

of what it's going to be like

for those who don't repent.

There's coming a day

when God will wet his sword

with the blood

of the enemies of his church.

with those who are wicked

and evil.

His bow,

he has bent

and has readied his bow.

He has prepared

for him his deadly weapons

making his arrow

fiery shafts.

What is a fiery shaft

of an arrow?

In the old days

when they would go to war,

they would light,

they would put a pitch

on the end of the arrow

and they would light it on fire

and they would pull it back

and they would shoot it

into these walled cities

and straw-covered roofs

of these places

would alight

and it would perhaps

burn the city down.

That was certainly the attempt.

But it's this destruction

that's being foretold here,

this judgment day,

this day that is coming

that God himself

is going to rise up

in his wrath

and he's going to destroy

all who don't repent.

So brothers and sisters,

let me ask you,

have you repented?

Have you come to the place

in your life

where you see your sin

for what it is,

that it's an offense

to a holy God

and that recognition

grieves you

the way that Matthew 5 says it?

There's a mourning

in our heart,

there's a heaviness

in our heart

when God opens our eyes

to see how offensive

our sin really is

to a holy God.

Have you mourned

over your sin?

Are you truly sick

as you see your sin

for what it is?

Have you come before him

and confessed

and said,

God, forgive me,

forgive me,

forgive me.

I did not know

until you opened my eyes

to see that I was

an enemy of yours.

I was in rebellion to you.

God, forgive me

for the sins

that you've opened

my eyes to see

and I come before you

with nothing

except the blood

of my Savior Jesus.

I now see why

he died on the cross.

He died for me.

He died that I might

trust in him.

I might take my sins

and my evil

and I would hang it

on the cross

and he would take it

to the cross

and he would die

that I might know life,

that I might be forgiven.

Have you repented?

It's my heart's desire

that every single one

of us in here

would be believers,

that we'd be born again

in newness of life,

we'd be spiritually born

because we've come

to understand this

and we truly see our sin

for what it is

and we turn

and worship him.

The wicked conceives evil

and mischief and lies.

Every thought,

every action,

every word is against God.

The result of that

is judgment.

And I love the way

that David finishes this psalm.

He's calling out

for the kingdom of God

to come.

He's calling out

for the protection of God.

He's calling out

for God to judge righteously.

God, you see the thoughts

and intents of every heart.

Based on what you see,

judge.

Your judgment is righteous.

For those who are trusting in you,

Father, establish your kingdom.

For those who are not trusting in you,

who are evil and wicked

in every thought, deed, and action,

God, destroy them.

Rise up in your anger

so that your kingdom can come,

so that your church

will be gathered for worship.

You know that in heaven

we're going to truly worship him?

When he really gathers

all of us together

in all this wilderness,

this place,

this sin that so clings to us

is going to be done away.

And when we worship there,

it's going to be unlike anything

you've ever experienced before.

It's going to be pure and genuine

with no taint of sin.

We're going to worship him

with all our heart.

It's going to be incredibly powerful.

I just look at the angels

and what they say,

holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty.

And look what David says,

God, even in this circumstance,

even though they're chasing me

to kill me,

I will give you thanks

and I will sing praise

to the name

of the Most High Sovereign God.

You're my God.

I trust you.

I worship you.

I praise you.

I leave myself.

I trust myself in your hands.

And brother,

where do you see Christ?

Where do you see Christ here?

You know the true accuser?

The one in Revelation 12

that's talked about,

the accuser of the brethren.

You know who he is?

He's Satan.

He's a true accuser.

And we know that he

was out to kill Jesus, right?

And what did Jesus do?

Did he take vengeance

in his own hand

or he entrusts himself

to the Father?

You know, he said

he could have called down

legions of angels.

To protect him.

When he was walking

through that last week

of his life,

he could have called down

legions of angels

to fight on his behalf,

but he did not.

Why?

Because he knew

that it was the route

of the cross

that was going to

give life to those

who trusted in him.

Without him being willing

to go to the cross,

we would never live.

He entrusted himself

to God.

And like a lion,

Satan comes to devour.

But you know what's powerful?

As God only allowed Satan...

How should I say this?

Satan desired...

Have you seen the movie?

Or you read the book

about Aslan?

This picture

that's illustrated

in the book

that he gives himself

into the hands

of the white witch

and they put him

on the table

and they kill him

on the table.

The table is split.

He allows himself

to do that

for the sake of the people

and then what happens?

He comes back to life.

He comes back in power.

All along,

Satan thought...

In that movie,

you see Demonstrator.

In that book,

you see Demonstrator

this incredible excitement

and the hordes of evil,

the ones that followed

the wicked witch.

And they were salivating

to get their hands

on Aslan to kill him.

You know Satan

and the demonic kingdom

are just like that?

They're salivating

to get their hands...

They were salivating

to get their hands

on Christ.

And when they got

their hands on him

and they spit on him

and they mocked him

and they beat him

with reeds

and they beat him

with a whip,

his body was a pulp,

all but dead

through the beating

and he carries his cross

at least part of the way

up Golgotha.

But you know

not one bone of him

is broken.

God allowed Satan

to do

only so much

for his son

to his son.

And Christ likewise

could say

if I have done evil,

if I have sinned

and I deserve it,

did Christ ever sin?

No, we know he didn't sin.

And so Christ

in verse 8

can say

judge me

of Lord

according to my righteousness

and according to

the integrity

that is in me.

You know what Jesus said?

well done

my son,

good and faithful.

I'm pleased

with my son.

We heard it

audibly.

We didn't hear it.

They heard it

audibly

when Christ says

I am pleased

with my son.

Because why?

Because

he never sinned.

Have you trusted

in him today?

Is he your

Lord?

Let's pray.

Father,

I'm grateful

that

Father,

you've opened

our eyes

to see

that you are

the sovereign God

and we can

entrust ourselves

into your hand.

That you're more

than able

to care for us.

Father,

in those circumstances

are heavy

in our lives

and those things

that we don't

understand

happen to us.

God,

we trust you

anyway.

And God,

we thank you

even for the

hard situations

because we know

you're doing a work

in our lives

that's for our good

and it's for your glory.

So God,

give us the courage

and the strength

to be faithful

in pursuing you

and be willing

to entrust our lives

to you.

God,

that we would present

our bodies

as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable

to you

which is a reasonable

expectation of worship.

And Father,

we worship you

by offering ourselves

to you

in order that you

might be glorified.

God,

I pray that

that you would

speak to every single

person here

this morning,

Father,

and if there's anyone

here that truly

is not born again

that doesn't know you

as Lord and Savior,

I pray that you would

speak especially

of their heart

that they might come

to see

your love

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

They might come

to know

the forgiveness

of their sins

through Jesus Christ.

God,

I ask that you

would bless

this song

that we're about

to sing this time.

We're about to worship you

and I pray that

from our hearts

we would lift you up

and I pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.