Psalm 28

Psalm 28.

Of David.

To you, Lord, I call.

You are my rock.

Do not turn a deaf ear to me,

for if you remain silent,

I shall be like those who go down to the pit.

Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

towards your most holy place.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with those who do evil,

who speak cordially with their neighbours

but harbour malice in their hearts.

We pay them for their deeds

and for their evil work.

We pay them for what their hands have done

and bring back on them what they deserve.

Because they have no regard

for the deeds of the Lord

and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down

and never build them up again.

Praise be to the Lord,

for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield.

My heart trusts in him and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy

and with my song I praise him.

The Lord is the strength of his people,

a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Save your people and bless your inheritance.

Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Amen.

Ray, over to you.

Hi everyone.

Let's praise.

We ask God to help us to understand

and hear his word together tonight.

Father, thank you for the opportunity we have

of hearing from your word.

We thank you for that psalm of David.

Speak to us, Lord.

Make my words clear.

Make all of our thoughts clear.

And will you please do your work in us this evening.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So this psalm is a prayer or song of David.

And as it was read through,

you've probably picked up there

that he is pouring out his heart to God,

his needy heart.

He's expressing to God where he's at

at that particular moment.

So that's our starting point tonight.

Where are you tonight in your experience with God?

Does God, as it seems at the start of the psalm here,

does God seem distant to you?

Do you find it hard to pray?

Perhaps the joy that you think you should have

as a Christian, you just don't feel that.

Or maybe you had it once, but it's kind of evaporated.

Is that your position tonight?

Or are you more like the end of the psalm?

You're assured that God is walking with you.

You're happy in that.

You're rejoicing in his strength.

And you're giving thanks with a joyful heart.

Where are you tonight?

That's where we're starting.

But I want us all to realize

that both of those experiences

can be true of the Christian tonight.

And in fact, it was David's experience

both of those experiences

just in this one psalm.

So we're going to delve into that

and see if we can explore that a bit more.

We first of all see David's despair

in verses one to two.

David here is expressing,

above everything,

he's expressing his need of God.

Let me read those verses to you.

To you, Lord, I call.

You are my rock.

Do not turn a deaf ear to me,

for if you remain silent,

I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

towards your most holy place.

So David here is desperate.

You can get from the tone of this

that he's calling out to God

from his desperation.

He is pleading with the Lord

to hear him.

Verse one, he says,

to you, Lord, I call.

Do not turn a deaf ear to me.

Verse two,

hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you to help.

Help me as I lift up my hands

to your dwelling place.

What's at stake here for David?

David.

He's saying,

if you remain silent,

I should be like those

who go down to the pit.

In other words,

it's as if I was dead,

as if I'm a goner.

No hope

if you remain silent.

So he needs to hear God

answering his prayer

and he's praying

from a point of weakness.

He's praying,

feeling his great need.

If that happens to be

where you are tonight,

then you are in a good place.

I say that because

when we feel our weakness,

we are then open to God

and what he has for us.

And he is able to deal with us.

If we're coming in strength,

then, you know,

it can be from a point of pride,

can't it?

Praying from a point of weakness

is a good place to start

because we then throw ourselves

on God's mercy.

And as we see later on

in this psalm,

God becomes our strength.

So he's pleading with God

to hear him.

But as we read on,

verses three to five,

we see that he's particularly

troubled by the behavior

of the wicked.

So he has his issues

with whether God is hearing him,

but particularly,

his troubles revolving around

the attitude

and the presence

of the wicked.

Verse three to five.

Let me read that for you.

Do not drag me away

with the wicked,

with those who do evil,

who speak cordially

with their neighbors,

but harbor malice

in their hearts.

Repay them for their deeds

and for their evil work.

Repay them for what

their hands have done

and bring back on them

what they deserve.

Because they have no regard

for the deeds of the Lord

and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down

and never build them up again.

So this is what David is saying.

Follow with me.

Verse three.

They're hypocrites.

They're speaking cordially

with their neighbor,

but in their hearts

is malice,

pretending to be friends,

but actually getting evil.

Verse five.

They've got no regard

for the Lord.

And if you look at

what verse five says there,

it's no regard for evil

for what the Lord does

or no regard

for what the Lord has made.

Perhaps for David,

perhaps people around David.

No regard for what

the Lord has made.

He's so concerned here

for the honor of the Lord

that this is grieving him.

This is getting to his heart.

This is causing him anguish.

So he asked God

to give them what they deserve.

So he puts it like this,

according to the work

of their hands.

David here stresses

that he doesn't want

to be counted with them.

He wants to be held separate

from the wicked

and from the judgment

that they deserve.

So he asks in verse three,

do not drag me away

with the wicked.

It's not so much

the fear of death,

but it's more the disgrace

that being dragged away

with the wicked would be.

He wants to walk with God.

He wants to be separate

from the wicked people.

He doesn't want to suffer

the same fate as them.

So the mood again

starts to change slightly

in verse five.

There seems to be

some kind of resolution coming.

He realizes that really

he doesn't have to worry

about the wicked.

So he asks God,

he knows that God

will bring them to judgment.

He doesn't seek revenge.

He knows he can just

leave that with God.

God's justice

is assured in this case.

This new perspective

is the turning point

of the psalm.

And from now on,

we see a different language.

From verse six onwards,

it changes quite radically.

So we can learn

from David here

that it is actually right

to be troubled

by wickedness around us.

That's not a bad thing.

To actually be sad

when we see some of these things

on the news

and it should cause us

to pray

for the wars

that are going on

and the various troubles.

For the persecuted church

or injustice

that we see around us.

Or perhaps it's been

committed to us,

being poured on us,

injustice to us.

We don't have to worry

about those things.

The God of justice

will do things

as he should.

He will bring judgment

at the right time.

And it is for us

to trust him

and to leave it

in his hands.

And now we see

verse six,

David starts to

address this trust.

He starts to speak

of this trust he has.

Verses six and seven.

Praise be to the Lord

for he has heard

my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength

and my shield.

My heart trusts in him

and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy.

And with my song

I praise him.

So verse seven,

this language

and the tone

completely changes.

The Lord is my strength

and shield.

from a desperate

calling for help

in verses one and two.

He has assurance

and a heartfelt praise

to God.

How does he get there?

We've seen in verse five

that he leaves

the wicked to God.

He's not going to stress

about that.

He trusts God

to do what is right.

But now he also

has assurance

in verse six

that God has in fact

heard his cry

for mercy.

What's changed?

Certainly

probably,

yes,

certainly not his circumstances.

But his trust in God

has changed

because now he knows

for sure

that God has heard.

And this is an

exercise of faith.

It's not suddenly

that something else

has happened.

But he

casts his faith

completely

on the Lord

and he aligns

his heart

with the Lord.

What do I mean

by that?

Verse seven,

read this,

heart comes up

twice there.

My heart trusts

in him.

My heart leaps

for joy.

So he's still

got a heart cry

but this time

it's no longer

a desperate try

but one of trust.

In verse two

he's asking

hear my cry

for mercy.

Now in verse six,

he has heard

my cry

for mercy.

What was a prayer

to the Lord

in verse two

is now

a declaration

of faith

that God

has heard him

and his response

is to sing out.

His heart

sings out.

So he hasn't

seen a resolution

to his problems

but what he does

see now

is the Lord

is his strength

and shield.

The Lord

is his helper.

the Lord

is the source

of his joyful

praise.

He trusts

that the Lord

has heard his

prayer not

because he now

of what he

feels

but because

of who God

is.

It's a bit

like what we

were hearing

this morning

actually

that

our mind

is what

drives the

change in us.

When our mind

is fixed on

the Lord

then our

hearts

change.

The final

two

verses here

are a

conclusion

to the

prayer

conclusion

to David's

prayer

and they're

a prayer

for God's

people.

We see

that God

has answered

David's

prayer

had shown

that David

strengthened

shield

and we

see here

that he

does

something

for him.

David

here is

called

God's

anointed.

And what

God does

for his

anointed

so he

does for

his people.

The blessing

and this is

important to

grasp

the blessing

for God's

people

flows through

the anointed

king.

Now you've

probably from

other psalms

we've looked

at already

seen where

we're going

with that

that Jesus

is our

anointed

king

our blessings

flow through

him and

David is

just a

reflection

he's

looking

forward

to that.

So verses

8 and

9

blessing

through

the

king

the

Lord

is

the

strength

of

his

people

a

fortress

of

salvation

for

his

anointed

one

save

your

people

and

bless

your

inheritance

be

their

shepherd

and

carry

them

forever

!

The Lord

is David's

strength

in verse

7

so in

verse 8

we're

told

he's

also

the

strength

of his

people

the Lord

is a

fortress

of salvation

for his

anointed

one

verse 8

so David

then

prays

to God

save

your

people

David's

experience

is the

people's

experience

the blessing

for the

people

flows

through

the

king

we know

from the

Psalms

that

the

anointed

king

David

is a

picture

of God's

anointed

king

Jesus

and what

David

experience

foreshadows

Jesus'

experience

so I

want to

just finish

tonight

by looking

at how

Jesus

is the

fulfilment

of this

psalm

we know

don't we

that Jesus

would have

been familiar

with this

psalm

he was

familiar

with all

of the

psalms

he heard

them

every week

when he

went to

he went

to the

temple

and he

heard

that

heard

psalms

read

he sang

them

he no

doubt

memorised

them

and he

probably

memorised

this very

one

it puts

a different

flavour on

it doesn't

it when

we see

that actually

this is

what the

Lord

was singing

himself

but we

can imagine

that as

he faced

death

the words

of this

psalm

became

starker

to him

in their

reality

we see

there in

verses

one and

two

that God

is silent

or David

feels that

God is

silent to

him

this was

Jesus'

experience

of course

on the

cross

the

father

was

silent

Hebrews

5

7

tells us

that

during

the

days

of

Jesus'

life

on

earth

he

offered

up

prayers

and

petitions

with

fervent

cries

and tears

to the

one

who

could

save

him

from

death

and

he

was

heard

because

of

his

reverent

submission

so

God

always

heard

Jesus'

prayers

but

in

these

three

dark

hours

on

the

cross

God

did

not

answer

my

God

my

God

why

have

you

forsaken

me

as

Jesus

repeats

Psalm

Psalms 22:1

22

verse

1

to

God

the

response

silence

he

was

dragged

away

with

the

sinners

verse

3

speaks

of

David

though

a

sinner

himself

he

pleaded

not

to

be

dragged

away

with

the

wicked

not

to

share

their

fate

and

his

David's

plea

in

verse

4

was

that

they

will

be

repaid

for

the

evil

deeds

that

they

have

done

but

Jesus

was

repaid

for

the

evil

deeds

that

we

have

done

though

pure

and

innocent

the

king

of

heaven

gave

himself

to

suffer

death

and

hell

for

you

and

I

he

was

dragged

away

with

the

wicked

to

share

the

fate

that

should

have

been

theirs

justice

at

the

cross

too

was

satisfied

David

called

out

for

justice

and

here

we

see

as

David

trusted

the

God

who

does

justice

and

is

just

we

see

the

justice

of

God

satisfied

on

the

cross

who

who

!

who

!

He's now interceding.

Because of his death, he prays for us,

as David prayed there in verse 9,

who prayed for God's people to be saved and to be shepherded

and to be carried forever.

Now that is Jesus' prayer for us.

So just to conclude,

the blessings that belong to Christ

because of his death for us are now ours.

We know that because of Jesus,

we needn't doubt as David did.

God answers our prayers because of Jesus.

Because of Jesus, God's justice is satisfied completely.

Because of Jesus, the Lord Almighty is our strength and shield.

And because of Jesus, our hearts can leap for joy

as we consider who he is and what he's done for us.

And may God help us to feel some of that joy as we reflect on him.

Can I just pray and then hand back to Steve?

Father, we want to thank you so much for this psalm.

We want to thank you particularly for how it shows us our Lord Jesus.

And how he satisfied your will, your justice so completely.

He was prepared to be dragged away with the sinners for us.

Thank you that all we have is because of him.

And we pray that, Lord, we will live joyfully in response to his death for us.

In his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

If you'd grab your Bible again, turn with me to Isaiah 52, page 741.

741.

I'm going to read this to us as we come to share the Lord's Supper together.

That race shown us, hasn't he, just how brilliant it is what the Lord Jesus has done for us.

That he went through the rejection of Psalm 28 so that we could rejoice in him and not be likewise rejected.

And that's the theme that Isaiah 52 and 53 pick up really famously.

And as we prepare our hearts to come to share the Lord's Supper together, perhaps you can reflect on these words as we read them.

Thank the Lord that he has done this for you.

Pray that the Lord would draw near to you as we share bread and wine.

And as I finish reading that, we're going to have just a time of open prayer where anyone may pray and thank the Lord for what he's done for us.

Let's thank the Lord for this bread and wine before we share it together.

But let me pick it up.

Verse 13 of Isaiah 52.

See, my servant will act wisely.

He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.

So he will sprinkle many nations and kings will shut their mouths because of him.

For what they were not told, they will see and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance so that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.

Yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

The punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to our own way.

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted.

Yet he did not open his mouth.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet he of his generation protested.

He was cut off from the land of the living.

For the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death.

Though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer.

Though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days.

And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.

By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many.

He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great.

He will divide the spoils with the strong.

Because he poured out his life unto death.

And was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many.

And made intercession for the transgressors.

Amen.

Amen.