Live Unto The King Of Heaven

Psalm 5 to the chief musician upon the Nehaloth, a Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

Hearken unto the sound of my voice, my cry, my King and my God, for unto thee will I pray.

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord.

In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee.

The foolish shall not stand in thy sight.

Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

Verse 6, Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing.

The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy.

And in the fear of you, I will worship toward your holy temple.

Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness.

Because of mine enemies, make thy way straight before my face.

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth.

Their inward part is very wickedness.

Their throat is an open sepulcher.

However, they flatter with their tongue.

Destroy thou them, O God.

Let them fall by their own counsels.

Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice.

Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them.

Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous.

With favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Would you pray with me?

Father, thank you for how you have breathed out scripture.

By the power of your Holy Spirit, you have put these words through the mouth of various prophets over thousands of years.

And you've preserved your word.

You've kept your word pure for the benefit of us, your people, and every living generation.

We gather, Lord, to hear your word, to hear from you by the power of your spirit.

We ask that you will speak despite the preacher, despite the shortcomings that each of us bring with our listening.

Lord, we pray that you will speak with power, the power of your Holy Spirit through your word.

And even more than that, that your Holy Spirit will take your truth and apply it to our lives.

That we will leave here changed.

That we will become more and more the pure bride that's prepared to receive you, the groom, when you return.

From 1 Timothy 1.17, we ask now unto you, our King,

eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.

Be all honor, all glory, forever and ever.

Amen.

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

my exhortation for you today from Psalm 5 is live unto the King of heaven.

Live your life on earth as you're living unto the King of heaven.

One of the joys of being part of a church plant with each one of you

is by hearing of God's enduring love,

his long-suffering faithfulness in your lives.

And there are times when each one of us, when he gives you a new heart,

there's something that changes in the way that you experience being with God.

And part of the thing that's the hardest about this church,

and I think church life in general,

is as we hear one another's stories, there's also pain.

There's very real pain.

I think the hardest type of pain is the pain that we experience within the kingdom of God,

within the church.

And so Psalm 5, I really believe, is perfect for you today and for me.

Because Psalm 5, it's David.

Most likely, I think all the clues of the text point to the time

where he is in the wilderness with his family and household.

He's away from the temple of God.

And his prayer is that the king of heaven will rule over him and over Israel.

He's not on the throne.

The throne is up for grabs.

There's been turmoil and rebellion within the kingdom.

And that's the context of Psalm 5.

David away from the kingdom, praying for the kingdom,

looking to the king of heaven.

Well, sometimes when there's dissent against the high king of heaven within the church,

it's blatant and it's obvious.

And I've heard stories from you of church meetings where someone openly says,

I don't care if that's what God's word says.

We need to do this this way.

That's blatant.

That's obvious.

My stomach turned when I'm sitting in the seat and the pastor from the pulpit

spends, you know, two-thirds of the sermon disparaging the word of God,

pushing the word of God down.

That's blatant.

That's obvious.

But sometimes the pain we suffer within the church,

it comes in a twisted, subtle form.

And that's really hard to discern.

Because we question ourselves.

Like, David, we're sinners.

I know I'm twisted.

What am I hearing?

So as I try to apply what I've read in Psalm 5,

that's the context.

It's a man in the wilderness looking to the high king of heaven

and praying for the kingdom of heaven to come on earth,

beginning with his own kingdom.

And the first observation is this.

What does David do?

How does David live before the invisible king of heaven

when the visible kingdom on earth is so corrupt?

Number one, I've got about seven of these.

First one is this.

Before all else, David submits himself with reverence to the high king of heaven.

Look at verse two.

David says, give attention to the sound of my cry.

Even if my words are unintelligible, I'm crying out to you, Lord.

Notice who he says.

Listen, my king and my God, to you do I pray.

I don't put my hope in Egypt.

I don't put my hope in Babylon or Assyria,

the other surrounding empires or kings.

I don't even put my hope in who's going to be my successor.

To you, my king and my God, do I lift my voice.

See, David's sick of gossip.

He's sick of trying to get validation from men.

What do men know?

He goes straight to the Lord.

That's our first application.

When life inside the kingdom of God is hard, even confusing,

before all else, submit yourself to the high king of heaven with reverence.

He doesn't do this at the end of the day.

He doesn't just pray a little bit before he eats his food at lunch.

Look at when David prays.

He says, in the morning, in the morning will I direct my prayer.

In verse three, unto thee I will pray in the morning and I will look up.

I'm going to deliberately take my eyes off of those around me.

And I'm going to try to be like Stephen.

When God opened the skies and he could see the kingdom of heaven.

With the eyes of faith, I look up, Lord, because I don't know what else to do.

Someone pointed out, David also teaches us that there's no amount of injustice, discomfort, corruption, or even danger

that should keep any one of us from fellowship with God each morning.

And David says, I will direct my prayer.

See that word in verse three?

I will direct my prayer unto thee and I will look up.

That word direct, it can be translated a lot of different ways.

And the connotations are either of a priest or the military.

So I will direct my prayers.

I will systematically lay them out before you.

Like a priest lays out the loaves around the altar.

Like a priest arranges the wood for the sacrifice.

Takes the pieces of meat and sets them on the altar as God has instructed.

To direct his prayers to God.

That's how David says, even in the wilderness, away from the temple,

I will lay out my prayers.

I will direct them following your orders.

And it's also used to describe a soldier reporting for duty.

Give me my orders.

I direct my prayers to you.

I direct myself as a soldier to receive what you tell me to do.

And I will say, yes, sir, and go do it.

Or like an army that's been arrayed for battle.

It's the same Hebrew word.

That's what David says.

In the morning, I will lay out my prayers systematically before my God,

the way you have asked me to do that.

So how do you know how to pray in a way that pleases God,

how God has ordered it and directed?

Well, let Scripture teach you.

When you don't know how else to pray,

open up the Word of God in front of you.

Take a psalm.

If you don't know which psalm to pick,

you can, there's 150 of them.

Divide them by the days of the month.

You can have one psalm, you know, every day,

and just get a good rotation going.

So you're not repeating yourself.

And do your best to read a verse

and redirect that verse as a prayer to God.

Let God order your thoughts.

Let the Scripture shape how you even pray to God.

See, the kingdom on earth, we feel the injustice.

And in that injustice, we can all testify,

it's in those moments of injustice

with what's supposed to be the kingdom of God on earth

that then Satan comes in and twists it into lies

and sends us into backsliding and sin

and a hard heart toward God,

eventually a hard heart toward Christ and His church.

But you need to look to the King of Heaven

and remember, He is just.

He is the just King who does rule over heaven and earth.

Proverbs 29.4 says,

By justice, a king shall build up his land.

So you hold on to that promise.

Even though I feel the injustice,

I direct my cry to the Lord

because by justice, our King Jesus

will build up His kingdom.

And praise God, I'm part of it.

By His grace.

So live unto the King of Heaven, church.

Submit yourself first thing each day

unto the High King.

Who sits on the throne.

Well, how else do you live before the invisible King of Heaven

when the visible kingdom on earth is corrupt?

Number two,

evaluate what you are seeing

by the law of His kingdom.

He is just.

He sits on the throne.

He has a just law.

Don't let your emotions, your view.

Don't let the words of men shape how you evaluate what you're going through.

Let the Word of God Himself shape how you view His kingdom.

Look at verse 4.

David, he has studied God's law.

He has sought to understand the heart of God.

And in verse 4, David can say with confidence,

God is displeased with wickedness.

Evil cannot dwell with God.

And too often,

in the name of Christ,

people want to lower the standard.

They want to say things that God is clearly not pleased with.

They want to pretend like He is.

And they want to try to put words in God's mouth.

We need to realize what's going on

and evaluate what we are seeing

by the law of God's kingdom

and His kingdom alone.

How do you know what pleases God?

Can we even know that?

You must know what God has revealed.

Every kingdom has a law.

God has revealed what pleases Him

throughout all of Scripture.

All of Scripture gives us glimpses into the character,

the attributes, the desires of our God for His people.

And even better than that is through Jesus Christ,

He's taken that law

and He's put it inside of you.

He's written it on your hearts

and He's put it in your mind.

That's what we read in Jeremiah 31,

interpreted and applied in Hebrews 8,

that the church is able to test and approve

what is God's will,

His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Romans 12.

Because God has taken His moral law

and He has reformed your heart.

He's renewed your mind.

He has put His law inside of you.

So we can, as a church, know what pleases God.

And we must evaluate ourselves

and what goes on inside of His kingdom

by the law He has given.

In the book of Revelation,

we read of the unfolding events of the last things.

Something that should make all of us tremble in our boots

from Revelation is that Jesus Christ,

when He comes back to judge the living and the dead,

He begins His judgment with His own church.

He begins bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth

with the kingdom on earth first.

And then He judges everyone else.

That should make us tremble in our boots.

We need to seek what is it that pleases God.

And we need to pray and beg for His Spirit

to work that out in our lives.

And when there are areas where we are out of line,

we need to confess that quickly and humbly.

We need to forgive one another

and realign ourselves to the words of our King in heaven.

His judgment is coming

and He will begin by judging His own church.

See, if you don't align yourself with the kingdom of Christ

and you don't hide behind His righteousness alone,

you will stand before the judge of all the earth.

He will judge every soul

for the life you live.

Not one of us can live a life that's blameless.

We need the righteousness of Christ put on us.

And by God's grace,

He has done that.

Romans 3 tells us,

one is justified by faith

apart from the works of the law.

But listen to what Paul writes next.

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith?

By no means,

on the contrary,

we uphold the law.

So you see,

we don't save ourselves by keeping the law.

We can't do that perfectly.

Christ fulfilled the law for us.

His righteousness is put on His people.

But He doesn't leave His people lawless.

He doesn't send us out to be licentious.

The Greek word for law is nomos.

And this has been a controversy

over all the centuries.

We need to be very careful

that we don't fall to one side or the other.

We do not work for our own salvation under the law.

But if we belong to the true kingdom of heaven,

His law does rule in us.

By the work of His Spirit,

He has put it inside of His people.

And by His help,

we seek to uphold the law.

It does work its way out.

We are regulated.

We are constrained by His love.

So live unto the King of heaven.

Evaluate what you are seeing

by the law of His kingdom.

How else do we live

before the invisible kingdom of heaven

when the visible kingdom on earth

is so corrupt and twisted?

What we want to do

is we want to go around fixing

what we see broken, don't we?

We see the brokenness here on earth

and we want to go around

trying to fix other people's lives.

Maybe with our kids and spouse,

it shows up first,

but that's in our heart

and that'll be that way for the church.

That's what we want to do.

What we need to do

is to pray for God

to purify His kingdom.

See, there's a part

inside of every person

that man cannot touch.

Words cannot get in there.

The Holy Spirit Himself

must go

and renew the soul,

renew the inner being.

So the best we can do

is to pray

for God to work powerfully

and change what we can never touch.

Notice how

David prays, though.

He's evaluated

what's going on

in the kingdom.

These are a wicked people, Lord.

Just like you told with Moses

that they will desire

a king like all the other nations?

That's exactly what happened.

What did both Saul

and Absalom have in common?

They were handsome men.

Saul stood head and shoulders

above all the other men.

Absalom was beautiful

from head to toe,

the scripture says.

They wanted a king,

a poster boy,

so they could be like

all the other nations.

That's the temptation.

They want an earthly,

worldly king.

Well, don't we want

that same type of thing?

We want something worldly

because we think

that's the ultimate way

to have peace

and enjoy life.

It's with earthly prosperity

or earthly comfort.

And then we get puffed up.

You know,

just like they were puffed up.

Look at us.

We got Saul as our king.

We got Absalom.

Let's rally around him.

Forget David

and his shame

and his God clearly

is not a God

we can follow.

Not like he does.

So let's bring Absalom

and let's be like

all the other nations.

And look at verse 5.

David sees this.

He's evaluated it

by the law of God

and he prays this way.

He says,

fools who do not fear God.

They perform their iniquities

before him

and they bring the wrath of God

upon themselves.

He prays in verse 6.

God hates.

God abhors those

who speak lies.

He says they are bloody

and deceitful.

And he trusts God will

destroy them.

Now these are some of the

strongest words

in Psalm 5.

I want to break down

a couple of them.

In verse 5,

he refers to these

arrogant men

that are worldly.

He refers to them

as fools.

The word fools,

it's been translated

otherwise

as transgressors

of the law.

You know,

he says they do their

iniquities before God.

Iniquity is a,

it's a hand lifted up

to heaven like

I don't care

what God says.

And they do that

before God.

That's why they're foolish.

It's been translated

as the unrighteous.

Those who contradict

the precepts of God.

It comes from a root

which signifies

praisers of themselves,

proud boasters

and mockers.

David says

these are fools

that bring the wrath

of God

upon themselves.

and he says,

God,

I know you hate that.

I'm evaluating

what I'm seeing

by your law.

I know you hate this.

You abhor this.

You will destroy

men who act that way.

And it's not necessary

for us to try

to soften those words

to dilute the word

hate

or wrath

or destroy.

One commentator

pointed out

the reason God

hates that

it's because

there is no such thing

as abstract evil.

What that means

is that

anytime evil

is happening

it's happening

to someone else.

Evil

has victims.

Evil

hurts

the image bearers

and the people

of God.

So you see

these proud

arrogant men

within the kingdom

of God

in Israel

they are

hurting

God's sheep.

And God's wrath

boils up

to stop that.

See evil

is such a terrible

force in this world

as someone said

it wrecks

the lives

of God's

image bearers

and it ensnares

souls

for eternity.

And when God

hates such evil

that hurts his people

it's not an emotional

or reactionary

hatred.

It is

judicial.

See God

is not passive.

God is not

sitting there

letting us

inflict anything

on him.

God is

holy.

God is

just.

And his

justice

it bears

forth

on those actions

against him

and against his

people.

The justice

the wrath

of God

is merely

an expression

of God's

holiness.

We read in

Romans 3

Romans 3:26

verse 26

that God

shows his

righteousness

and how

does he do it?

God who is

both just

and the

justifier

of his

people.

That's how he

shows his

justice.

If you have

faith in

Jesus Christ

you no longer

get the wrath

of God

for he is

just.

you now

get justified

by that

very same

God

in the

person and

work of

Jesus Christ

his son.

So we pray

for Christ

to keep

his congregation

pure.

We pray

for God

alone to

purify his

people.

God change

our hearts

where we

can't change

ourselves.

God when

you see the

wickedness

the injustice

you go

and you

change it

Lord.

whatever it

takes you

bring your

true people

into alignment

with your

kingdom in

heaven.

And he

does this

through his

church as

well.

See the

church is

preparing the

bride for

Christ.

And there's

a word that

we hate as

Americans as

as Westerns

and it's the

word discipline.

But if you

are a true

disciple of

Christ it

means that you

are being

disciplined in

Christ.

He says my

yoke is easy

and my burden

is light but

you will be

discipled with

me.

You will

walk as

I walked.

My yoke

will be on

your shoulders

and I will

carry the

load but

you will be

discipled by

me Jesus

says.

And he does

that through

his church.

So when there

is blatant sin

within the

church it's

through church

discipline.

It's through

church discipline

that Christ

brings sinners

to repentance

again and

restores them

to true

worship.

The call to

be disciplined

and the call

to pray for

the purity

of the bride

that's really

to share with

the heart

of the groom.

You know in

Gethsemane when

Jesus prayed he

was in anguish.

That word is

hardly ever used

when it's

describing Jesus

praying.

He's in

anguish.

Someone defied

anguish as

anger,

anger,

love.

Anguish is

anger plus

love.

And when you

pray for Christ

to purify his

church you're

joining, you're

letting Christ

bind your

heart to his

and you're

praying that

he will

purify you

and purify

his church

to live

unto him

in his

kingdom in

heaven.

We read in

Hebrews 5

7 that during

the days of

Jesus's 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.

Being God

of very God

that's how

Jesus prayed

while he was

on earth.

While he was

bringing the

kingdom of

heaven here

to earth.

That's how

our Lord Jesus

prayed.

And that's

how we

ought to

pray for

him to

purify his

bride,

the church.

So how

do we live

before the

invisible king

of heaven

when the

visible kingdom

on earth

feels so

broken?

I want to

draw your

attention next

to verse

9.

I'm skipping

verses 7 and

8 for now

because I see

those as really

the heart

of Psalm 5.

So I want to

bring those to

you last.

So look at

verse 9.

David teaches

us to

guard yourself

against deadly

temptation out

of love for

your king.

He prays in

verse 9.

There is no

faithfulness in

the mouth of

those wicked

ones.

Their inward

part is very

wicked.

He says their

throat is an

open sepulcher

and they flatter

with their tongue.

That's verse 9.

Look at verse 11.

He says,

let them that

love thy name

be joyful in

thee.

I highlight that

because he

says these

men, they are

flatterers.

In other words,

they're trying to

hold out for me

a fake joy.

They're trying to

use their words

in their mouth

to draw me

toward them.

But in verse 11,

he's resolved.

No, let those who

find their joy in

God.

Let those who

find their joy

in God be

protected by

your love.

That's why he

says their throat

is an open

sepulcher.

A sepulcher is

like a hole

cut into a cave.

And he's

describing that's

where you would

carry in a dead

corpse.

So that's the

entrance to

death itself.

It's decay and

rotting and

eternal damnation.

If I listen to

what comes out

of their

throats, what

comes out of

their lips is

death for me.

It's not

faithful because

it spews out

what's in their

hearts.

Their inward

part is very

wicked.

They're fools

who don't love

God.

So David

says guard

yourself, guard

your ears from

deadly temptation.

And why do you

do that?

You do it

because of

verse 11,

because you

love the

name of the

Lord and you

know that true

joy is only

found in

him.

Colossians

1 16

encourages me.

Listen to the

promise we have

of the love of

God and the

joy of belonging

to him.

For by him

all things were

created in

heaven and on

earth, visible

and invisible,

whether thrones

or dominions or

rulers or

authorities, all

things were

created through

him and for

him.

So do you

hear the words

of someone in

a position of

influence?

Do you hear

these words of

temptation that

are leading you

away from joy

and loving the

name of God?

See, they serve

a higher king.

It was God who

set every ruler

on his throne.

If someone

enjoys influence

for a small

short season, it's

because God gave

that to them.

Think of

Nebuchadnezzar.

He wanted to be

like this foolish

king.

He wanted to

puff himself up

and the Lord

humbled that

man.

He said,

Nebuchadnezzar,

if you have had

any kind of

influence on my

earth, it's

because I gave

it to you for

a season for

my purpose.

So don't be

ensnared by the

words of those

who are puffed up

against God.

There is a

higher king in

heaven, the

creator of heaven

and earth, who

made all things

visible or

invisible.

Don't fall for

any other

temptation.

Don't bow your

knee to any

lesser king.

Live unto the

king of heaven.

Out of love for

your king, guard

yourself against

deadly temptation.

Well, how else

do we live before

the invisible king

of heaven when

the kingdom of

earth feels so

corrupt?

Not only do you

need to guard

yourself, David

teaches us in

verse 10, you

need to separate

yourself from

those who rebel

against your

king.

Look at verse 10.

He says, make

them bear their

guilt.

Oh God, let them

fall by their own

counsels because of

the abundance of

their transgressions.

Cast them out for

they have rebelled not

against me.

They have rebelled

against you.

David is asking the

Lord to take the

punishment, the

justice that their

sin deserves and put

it on them and let

that justice weigh on

them and drive them

out of the presence of

God.

He's asking God,

Lord, this is your

kingdom.

You purge your

kingdom.

Separate from this

congregation.

Separate from your

people, this church.

Separate those who

have sinned against you

blatantly, who are

unrepentant.

That's what he's

calling for.

And it's hard for us

to live in that

mindset of ancient

Israel and a time of

war.

And out of the 150

Psalms, Psalm 5 here

is one of the 12

that's an imprecatory

psalm.

It's a psalm where

the believer is

crying down judgment

on those who have

opposed God and his

kingdom.

Does that make David,

as some have accused,

a vengeful brute?

I think that the

answer is no.

I think that this is a

sanctified way to

uphold the purity of

God's kingdom even on

earth.

And to understand what

David is asking, he's

asking that those who

are in the land,

outside of covenant

relationship with God,

they need an awakening

right now.

You are not in his

kingdom.

You are exiled from his

holy presence.

So to understand what

David is praying and

asking, we need to

situate Psalm 5 in

redemptive covenant

history.

When the Lord Jesus,

or I'm sorry, when the

Lord God, through Moses,

when he called his

people to the base of

Mount Sinai, he says,

I am the Lord your God,

you are my people.

He gave them covenant

language.

In the book of

Deuteronomy, he laid

before them the two

ways to live.

There's the way that

brings blessing and

obedience to my law.

And there's a way that

leads to death and

curses and banishment

and exile from my land.

He laid that before the

people.

So blessing in the land

of God is tied to

obedience to God.

Blatant disobedience to

God.

Flagrantly disobeying

his covenant,

disregarding his law.

That is what leads to

being cast out of the

land.

Covenant breaking rebels,

they're rejecting the

gracious God who rules

over them.

So God, David here is

simply asking for God to

carry out the terms that

you gave our nation.

Carry out the terms under

this law.

Purge the land, Lord.

Purify it so that you

might preserve your

kingdom.

Well, for the church

today, this is one

reason it's so important

that we very carefully

present the free gospel

to whosoever will come.

And at the same time,

like John the Baptist,

we look for fruit in

keeping with repentance.

We don't want to give a

false assurance to

someone who later will

come under church

discipline.

So as a church, we need

to be very vigilant.

We need to show that

kind of love.

We need to disciple one

another out of love

and preparation, knowing

that Christ will come for

his church first.

We need to encourage one

another toward holy

lives.

We need to confess our

sin and encourage one

another to be cleansed,

be purified as the

bride of Christ before he

returns.

There's a sense of

earnestness and urgency

for the people of God.

Many will say, well,

isn't God love?

Isn't that what John

preaches?

God is love.

Yes, and John also

preaches that God is

light.

And he preaches that

the light of God

through Jesus Christ,

it repels all darkness.

And there are parts of

the life of a Christian

that need that darkness

to be chased away by

more and more of the

presence of Jesus

Christ.

with Christ, there can

be no darkness.

How do you live before

the invisible king of

heaven, knowing that his

kingdom will come on

earth as it is in

heaven?

You stay close to your

king by the abundance

of his steadfast love.

love.

This brings us back to the

heart of Psalm 5.

Look at verses 7 and 8.

I picture David in the

wilderness.

In 2 Samuel, we read how

the people in the towns,

they were giving them bread

and honey and milk and

nourishment because they

were in exile.

They were going to starve in

the wilderness.

And look at where David's

prayers take him in verses

7 and 8.

David says,

But I, through the

abundance of your

steadfast love,

will enter your

house.

Lead me, O Lord,

in your righteousness

because of mine enemies.

Make your way

straight before me.

So there's David in the

wilderness.

He's not even near the

tabernacle.

The temple hasn't been

built.

David was of the tribe of

Judah.

He was not of the tribe of

Levi.

So he could never enter into

the tabernacle.

He could never be inside.

But he prays,

Through the abundance of

your steadfast love, I will

enter your house.

I'm there in my soul, in my

prayers.

I'm with you.

David's thoughts are with

the priests.

The holy reverence as they

got themselves dressed.

As they prepared

themselves, went through a

purification ceremony and

entered in to minister the

sacrifices that God called

for.

David was obeying the Lord,

even in exile, using the

means of grace available to

him at that time.

And he was enjoying the

presence of God leading

him.

He says, lead me, O Lord, in

your righteousness.

My enemies are many, but you

make the way straight for me,

Lord.

And then verse 8, he says, I

will bow down toward your

house.

This can be translated your

holy temple or your

tabernacle.

Even though I'm not there

physically, I will bow down in

that direction, thinking of

you, turning my life toward

you and your gracious

presence.

Out of the steadfastness of

your love, I direct myself

back to you, the place where

you promised to me saved

sinners like me.

He says, I prepare a sacrifice

for you in verse 3, and I

watch.

I watch to see how you will

work, O Lord.

See, there's comfort for you

and me.

On this earth, when things

feel confused, when we feel

so deeply hurt, even by other

Christians or by our own

family, those cuts that cut the

deepest, it's not your

faithfulness to God that gives

you grounds to approach him, his

throne of glory.

God's love for you.

It's the steadfastness of God's

love for you.

The same steadfastness that he

showed David.

He calls for you to turn

yourself back to him.

Turn your life toward his holy

hill in heaven.

And the Lord Jesus Christ is your

priest that you're thinking of.

He is the one who has prepared

everything.

He has laid out the means, the way

that you can receive grace from the

holy God.

Think of Christ interceding on your

behalf from his throne in heaven.

And you stay close to your king

because his steadfast love for you

is so abundant.

If you are more close to your king

today than you were one year ago,

it's because he is steadfast to you.

If you look back on your life five

years ago and you think of ways in

which your sin is so embarrassing and

so shameful and you look at ways in

which he's cleaned you up now, it's

because of the steadfast Lord for you

over these years.

It has been so abundant for you.

So when you're in that distress of the

kingdom on earth feeling twisted, know

that same steadfast love will carry you.

It will be for you tomorrow.

And that same steadfast love will carry

you one year from now, five years from

now, as many days as God gives you on

earth.

And it's the steadfast love of Christ

that will usher you into his heavenly

kingdom when he returns or when your

soul gets there before your body.

Stay close to your king by the abundance

of his steadfast love.

Live unto the king of heaven.

See the last little image here in Psalm

five is of protection in battle.

Look again at verses 11 and 12.

David says, let all those that put their

trust in the rejoice.

Let them ever shout for joy because thou

defendest them.

Let them that love thy name be joyful in

thee.

That's emotional language shouts for joy.

It's the cry of an army after a great

battle has won.

God came and avenged them.

He defended them.

Now notice the emotions.

They flow from the truth.

He begins by declaring who God is and

it's not the other way around.

It's not a whipped up emotionalism.

That's really empty.

It's the the word of God ministering to

David, ushering him back in by the

means of grace God has provided.

But it's loaded with emotions on the

backside.

So if you're truly in God's kingdom, if

Christ is truly your defender, you

should not be cold.

You should not be emotionless, but it

should be an outcome of his true work

in your heart.

We should hear some shouts for joy when

we go when we gather as a congregation.

I know we're more influenced by the

Greek, you know, Northern European

maybe, but man, we need to learn from

our brothers and sisters around the

world.

There should be some loud amens every

now and then.

Shouldn't be fake.

Should be in response to truth.

There should be, you know, clapping.

I mean, it's OK to express your joy in

Christ.

In fact, you're disobeying him if you

don't.

And look at what he says in verse 12.

Thou, Lord, will bless the righteous.

With favor will thou encompass him.

As with a shield.

He's used the word shield before in the

earlier Psalms, but here it's a

different word for shield.

The word he's used before is a smaller

shield that was a circular that you'd

wear in your arm.

So it's lighter way.

It's mobile.

You could run with it and you could go

into battle.

The shield that he uses here at the end

of verse 12 of Psalm 5.

It's the size of a door.

It's rectangular.

It's going to cover your whole body.

You are you're not walking with this

thing. You're standing there holding it

like this, forming a wall.

What a great picture for the church.

Christ is our shield.

Every part of us is tucked behind him

and nothing can get through the shield

of Jesus Christ.

We're behind the shield.

We're shouting for joy.

He defended us.

Though they came after us.

Our God is our shield.

Because our king became our high priest.

In Hebrews 4 verse 16.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach God's throne of grace

with confidence so that we may receive

mercy and find grace to help us in our time

of need.

So Christian,

if you trust God

and if you love his name,

live unto the king of heaven.

You can be truly joyful

even on earth

because Christ is your shield.

So live unto this king of heaven.

God's favor is upon you

in Christ.

So live unto the king of heaven.

Let's pray.

Echoing verses 11 and 12.

Father,

let all who put their trust in you rejoice.

Let us ever shout for joy

because you defend us.

Let us who love your name

be joyful in you.

In you alone is true joy.

By the work of your son,

apply to us

by your Holy Spirit.

The sanctifying work.

Prepare your bride.

Keep us pure.

We trust that you,

Lord,

will bless the righteous.

With favor,

you will encompass

your own people.

Those upon whom

you have put your righteousness

as with a shield.

and help us to trust

your promise

that King Jesus

is with us

and his favor

shields us.

By his most precious name,

we ask,

Lord,

that you will be glorified

in our lives

as we live unto you,

our high king of heaven,

for your glory alone

and for the sake of Christ's name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Take a moment to respond

to the word that you've heard

from Psalm 5.