My Champion

Thanks. Yes, let me add my word of welcome. My name is David Reimer. For those of you

who don't know me, and it's my privilege to be sharing with you from God's Word tonight.

As Gary mentioned, and as you'll see momentarily, we have a long psalm, not the longest psalm,

but still a long psalm this evening. And this is the last sermon in our series of psalm

studies over the past few weeks, nine in all. So we thought it would be an opportune evening

just to have a little glimpse back and set up and read this long psalm together. Then

we'll sing again before we tuck in and look at what God has to say to us this evening from

His Word. So as I mentioned, last of our psalm studies. So there's, I can do the maths, 141

more psalms to look at. And we're working our way through them on the Wednesday evening Bible

studies. We're up to 39, are we? 38? So lots more to go. So do come along Wednesday evenings

if you just haven't had enough of the psalms yet. But as I say, ninth of nine sermons. And

we began back in April with Psalm 19. Peter Irvine opened that out for us. And this evening

we come up to Psalm 18. So it's almost like we've gone full circle. But as I say, only

nine psalms, whether planned or not. See later, maybe this is planning and maybe I'm making

this up. But it seems to me that they fall into three groups of three, in fact, as we look

back over our sermons. Psalms 19, 33, and 24, our first three, really are about the praise

of God in creation. We see God as creator really clearly in those first three psalms.

In the middle three psalms, Psalms 13, 10, and 73, in each of those we see a psalmist in distress

for various reasons and a moment of deliverance. So if in our first three psalms we especially

saw God as creator, in our middle three psalms we especially see God as redeemer. And when

we come to these last three studies, Psalm 30, a couple weeks ago, 27, last week, and tonight

Psalm 19, in each of these three psalms we see someone has been delivered. And the response

to that and a sense of longing for more of God, a sense of yearning and a sense of being

sustained in the life of faith. So it seems to me we have quite a nice Trinitarian shape

to our set of studies with God as creator, redeemer, and sustainer. In fact, those themes running

through all our psalms in one way or another. And we've also had mentioned, I think, in almost

every sermon of the nine, that taking account of neighboring psalms can really help us understand

the particular psalm we're interested in. I think sometimes we get the sense that psalms

are not quite a random lucky dip of psalms, but a fairly amorphous, unshaped collection.

But I think we have seen through this series that actually taking attention to the context

of a psalm can help us to understand that individual psalm. And so too, this evening,

Psalms 17, 18, and 19, as a trio, form quite a remarkable set. And we won't be taking time

this evening to attend to that aspect to them, but perhaps in your own reading of the psalms,

your own studies and meditations, that will be a help.

Well, I'll make three introductory comments to Psalm 18 in particular now, and then we'll read

it, and as I say, then we'll sing again. So first of three introductory comments, Psalm

18 is quite special in many ways. One of the most striking things about this psalm, we don't

see from looking at it, but by realizing that it actually occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament.

There are other psalms that get repeated within the psalms, but as I'm sure most of you will

realize, Psalm 18 appears again at the end of 2 Samuel. So 2 Samuel chapter 22 is Psalm 18,

2 Samuel 22 · chapter mention

with some very minor changes. In 2 Samuel 22, the psalm there comes very near the end of David's life.

In fact, the next chapter is the last words of David. Well, he's not quite dead yet. And there's

some small differences between them, one or two significant differences, and one of those will

come back to as almost the last thing we consider later on this evening. But to notice this, that

our psalm this evening comes at the end of David's career, really embeds this psalm in the life of David

in a significant way, and in a special way, more so than most of the psalms, in fact. Which leads me to my

second introductory comment. In the psalms, you'll often notice there's a little bit in small print

at the heading of the psalm. Now, that's not, I don't mean the modern editor's title for the psalm,

but often there's a little verse or instruction or comment that isn't numbered in our English

versions. In fact, if we had our Hebrew Bibles open in front of us this evening, we see they're

numbered in the Hebrew psalms. And there is a superscription, which is what they're called,

to our psalm this evening. And in fact, it's one of the, it is the longest superscription of all the

psalms. For the director of music, of David, the servant of the Lord, he sang to the Lord the words

of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

And although other psalm superscriptions might be shorter or more specific, this one, again,

just as we notice with the repetition of this psalm in 2 Samuel 22, really locates and embeds this

psalm in David's career. There's a very clear resonance between the circumstance of David's life

that the superscription sets out. David's been given peace from his enemies. That situation calls forth

this song of praise that we see this evening. Now, in some ways, it looks as if the psalm that we're

going to read comes when he's just enjoying that first period of rest from his enemies, whereas in

2 Samuel, it comes near the end of his career. But however it works out chronologically, it's very clear

that God's working in David's life to grant him this peace calls for this song in response.

And my final introductory comment, I mentioned already it's a long psalm. It's precisely the third

longest psalm. We're not reading Psalm 119 tonight. Psalm 78 is the other second longest psalm.

But given that it's a long psalm, it makes it a little bit difficult, I think, to take in.

I mean, as we read it, we'll see that the chunks in the psalm are quite clear. But as we read through it,

what kind of shape does it have? It's a challenge to take that in at first sight or even at first hearing.

And its language is a bit intense. So I'll give you a little sketch map of the psalm, and then we'll

read it together. And then we'll take a break to sing again. So essentially, it divides up into three

big chunks, topped and tailed, with a little frame around it. The first chunk and the third chunk really

correspond to each other. So basically, verses 4 to 19 are about the Lord acting in response to David.

Then we have a middle section in which we see David's life and the life of his Lord sort of woven

together. And the third section is about David acting in response to the Lord. So if the first section is

about the Lord acting for David, the third section is about David acting in response to the Lord,

the middle section is a kind of mediating section in which we see their characters and in some sense

their life intertwined. And then, as I say, the first verse and the last few verses stand out as a kind of

response of praise to what's happening in between. So with that sketch map in mind, these three chunks,

let's read the song together, and then we'll sing. So for the director of music of David, the servant

of the Lord, he sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all

his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said,

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. My God is my rock in

whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord

who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death entangled me. The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave

coiled around me. The snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called to the Lord.

I cried to my God for help. From his temple, he heard my voice. My cry came before him into his ears.

The earth trembled and quaked. The foundations of the mountains shook. They trembled because he was

angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils. Consuming fire came from his mouth. Burning coals blazed out of it.

He parted the heavens and came down. Dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew.

He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him.

The dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence, clouds advanced with

hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven. The voice of the Most High resounded.

He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies. Great bolts of lightning and routed them.

The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke,

O Lord. At the blast of breath from your nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me.

He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong

for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster. But the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because he delighted in me.

The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of

my hands, he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord. I have not done evil by

turning from my God. All his laws are before me, and I have not turned away from his decrees.

I have been blameless before him, and have kept myself from sin. The Lord has rewarded me according

to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. To the faithful, you show

yourself faithful. To the blameless, you show yourself blameless. To the pure, you show yourself

pure. But to the crooked, you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble, but bring low those whose

eyes are haughty. You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning. My God turns my darkness into light. With your help,

I can advance against a troop. With my God, I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the

Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is a God besides the Lord? And who is

the rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for

battle. My arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains

me. You stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn over.

So I pursued my enemies and overtook them. I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they

could not rise. They fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle. You made my adversaries bow at my

feet. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. They cried for help. But there was no one to be a

one to save them. To the Lord. But he did not answer. I beat them fine as dust born on the wind. I poured them out like mud in the streets.

You have delivered me from the attacks of the people. You have made me the head of nations. People I did not know are subject to me.

As soon as they hear me, they obey me. Foreigners cringe before me. They all lose heart. They come trembling from their strongholds.

The Lord lives. Praise be to my rock. Exalted be God, my Savior. He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies.

You exalted me above my foes. From violent men you rescued me. Therefore, I will praise you among the nations, O Lord. I will sing praises to your name.

Amen. He gives his king great victories. He shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever. Amen.

Well, as this psalm settles into our hearts and minds, let's sing again to the praise of this God.

Let's just take a moment to pray before we study God's word.

Hosanna in the highest.

Lord, these are ancient words of praise as well as a cry for help.

So we ask for your help now.

As we attend to your word, your spirit might take it, work it into our lives so that we might be a people who glorify you.

For your glory's sake we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Well, perhaps as we read this long psalm, you'll have noticed that it has many striking features,

and we certainly can't deal with the whole psalm.

And there's plenty, plenty that I know I'll be leaving unsaid this evening.

And perhaps you found some of its language extreme or difficult to relate to.

So what I'm going to do this evening as we look at this psalm is just pick out a theme from each of those three sections.

Who is the God who comes to save David?

What is the nature of this David who's in distress?

And who are the enemies that David deals with?

Those three questions, in some ways slightly uncomfortable questions,

to see where they lead us in reflecting on this psalm as we observe God saving David

and David's response to the God who saves.

So our three questions corresponding to the three sections then,

who is the God who saves?

Who is this God who saves?

Who is this David who's in distress?

And who are those enemies who are defeated?

So first of all then, who is the God who saves?

Well, the psalm begins with very personal descriptions of this God who saves,

and I think that's unmissable.

The God who is my God, my rock, my shield, my stronghold, and on it goes.

And I think these are terms that we're used to seeing not only from other psalms that we read,

but from other songs that we sing together as a congregation.

And what we might find less comfortable is the God who turns up in response to David's cry.

So in verses 4 through 6, you'll have heard the desperation that David has.

Chords of death entangled me.

Snares of death confronted me.

In my distress, I called out to the Lord.

And the Lord comes.

Now, I hope you've got Bibles open in front of you as we work through this psalm.

And so then we have in verses 7 to 15 the description of this God who turns up to save.

And these verses are frankly somewhat terrifying.

We hear the voice of the desperate, the distressed, the drowning David, weak and helpless.

And the one who responds to his cry as the earth trembles and quakes is in every sense larger than life.

He's not only powerful, but his very presence brings upheavals,

even convulsions to the natural order.

If David is fragile and is in the face of the enemies,

we think at least the earth has a kind of permanence.

But then this God comes.

And what does this permanent world look like?

The earth quakes.

Mountains shake.

The heavens tear.

Lightning splits.

Oceans flee.

And the hand of God reaches down

and grasps a lost and limp David

and brings him, in verse 19, to a spacious place.

Perhaps a green pasture beside still waters where his soul is restored and his spirit revived.

We sometimes sing the hymn has this verse.

Father-like.

Father-like he tends and spares us.

Well, our feeble frame he knows.

In his hand he gently bears us.

Rescues us from all our foes.

It's just what David's experienced here.

But the one who gently bears in his hand to this place of safety

is also the ones whose very presence brings upheavals in the created order.

Now, this isn't new language to Psalm 18.

This language harks back to other aspects of Israel's story with this God.

Most clearly to the language of the Exodus.

In which God's presence in fire and cloud parted the waters to save and rescue God's people.

Not for nothing does the song of Moses in Exodus 15 call this God a man of war.

It echoes other Exodus language.

Especially the experience at the mountain of God

when the law of God is given to the people of God.

When God spoke from a mountain on fire through thunder and lightning

and smoke on a mountain that trembled in Exodus 19.

And as Moses reflects on that in Deuteronomy 5, he says,

speaking God's words to them,

they were right to be afraid at the mountain

and ask for Moses to intercede on their behalf.

And it resonates through the experience of God's people in the Old Testament.

As other experiences of the divine warrior rescue the people.

One of the closest parallels to our Psalm this evening

comes at the end of the little book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk.

Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 3 · chapter mention

Chapter 3.

And there the prophet prays a Psalm very much in these languages,

using these words to come back to God

and pray that this God would be the one who saves his imperiled people

from the hand of the enemy.

Well, I rehearse these echoes of Psalm 18 in the Old Testament

to point out that this language is maybe intense,

but it's fundamental and important to the Old Testament people of God

that this picture is a true picture of the God who saves.

For all that, we have a more complete picture of this saving God

in the person of his Son in the New Testament.

I want to suggest that even though that's a more full picture,

a more complete picture,

it's still one that's coherent with this picture in Psalm 18.

It remains fully coherent with it.

Just think for a moment about Jesus' earthly life,

his ministry as we've been thinking about it over weeks

in our Luke series in the morning services.

We catch a glimpse of this God of Psalm 18 in Jesus' life on this earth.

Jesus is the one who stills the storm.

And who can still the storm except the one who brings it?

Jesus is the one who cleanses the temple in his wrath.

And we see as he conquers his enemies,

laying down his life on the cross,

disturbances in the natural world.

And as other parts of the New Testament go on to tell us,

when Christ comes again, so it will be.

There will be these disturbances in the natural world,

just as we see in Psalm 18 here,

as the saving God responded to David's cry.

So I think as we spend time in Psalm 18 and with it,

we need to and are expected to,

insofar as our feeble senses permit,

to take in the very Godness of this God who comes to save.

This God is not like us,

as I heard it put in a sermon recently.

This God isn't like us.

This is the God that we have come to worship this evening,

one who is wholly other.

And I do wonder sometimes how our approaches

to times of corporate worship

or the lives that we live before this God

might be different if it had really settled

into our spirits and into our hearts and minds

who this God is.

Yes, we are accompanied by his Son

and brought into his presence by our Savior.

It's no less this God.

This is the one whose presence split the skies,

shakes the earth,

empties the sea,

and rescues.

This is the God who saves,

the one that we've come to worship this evening.

So if that's a glimpse into the

who is this God,

the God who saves,

our second who question

is who is this one in distress?

Well, we can answer that question pretty quickly.

It's David.

Okay, let's move on to section three.

Well, not quite so quickly.

Mention that the first and third sections

really correspond to each other

as God acts on David's behalf,

David acts in response to God.

And then there's this middle section

which mediates between them.

And here we see the characterization

of the psalmist of his own standing

before this God.

And it comes out strikingly in three statements.

So I slightly paused over them as we read,

and you won't have missed them, I don't think.

Verse 19,

He brought me out into a spacious place.

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

And it carries on into verse 24.

The Lord has dealt with me

according to my righteousness.

According to the cleanness of my hands,

He has rewarded me.

And then there's some reflection

on how that might be,

and then it's repeated in verse 24,

almost word for word.

The Lord has rewarded me

according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands

in His sight.

This is, most definitely,

not the way we're used to thinking of ourselves.

Christians commonly self-identify as sinners.

It's a good reason for that.

We are.

But David's perception here

seems quite different.

And we should pause then for a moment

just to think about what's going on

as David makes this claim.

In fact, this isn't the first time in our series

we've heard this kind of language.

But some weeks ago,

when we looked at Psalm 24,

we heard it there as well.

We heard the question posed,

Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord?

And who shall stand in His holy place?

To which came the reply,

The one with clean hands

and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul

to what is false

and does not swear deceitfully,

this one will receive a blessing

from the Lord.

Nor is this the only place in the Psalms

where we see this kind of language,

where the psalmist really says,

It's because I'm doing right

that God has acted on my behalf.

Psalm 7, Psalm 17, Psalm 26, Psalm 44, Psalm 112,

and there's a number of others.

They all point in the same direction.

So, our question then,

what's with David's righteousness language here?

I think it's important to note

that righteousness in Scripture

isn't simply a mysterious religious word

for something that's out of the grasp

of human beings.

It simply means this.

Righteousness is to be right.

It's to act in accord with a given standard

or to have a status in accord with that standard.

It's to have your actions or your being

in accordance with a given standard.

To be sure, when it is God's standard,

then it's exacting and demanding.

But it's also a joy and a delight

to do what is right,

to be righteous in his eyes.

Jesus said,

Blessed are those who hunger

and thirst for righteousness.

They shall be satisfied.

And he instructed his followers

to seek first the kingdom of God

and his righteousness.

So, do we simply dismiss David's language here

as being enlightened,

or at least unchristian,

somewhat self-righteous?

Well, no.

I believe this would be a misreading of our psalm.

Rather, we should think in terms

of the well-known claim

on the life of the people of God

from Leviticus.

Be holy,

because I, the Lord your God,

am holy.

So, when we look at David

used these words,

what we're seeing

is the character of David

being conformed

to the character of God.

It isn't about David

being absolutely perfect.

Clearly, clearly,

even in the Old Testament,

the property of sinless perfection

belongs only to the Creator.

But it's equally clear

that it's the business of those

who bear the image of God

to be in a creaturely sense

conformed to that holiness

and that righteousness

of the Creator.

So, it's important to see, again,

that this isn't simply

an Old Testament principle,

but is at work

in the New Testament.

I've mentioned already

Jesus' words

encouraging his followers,

his disciples,

to be righteous,

to seek righteousness.

And in Matthew 25,

he describes this discrimination,

the division of the sheep

and the goats.

And he identified the sheep

as those righteous ones

who had fed the hungry,

clothed the naked,

visited the sick

and the prisoner.

That is what it means

to be a sheep,

to be among the righteous.

Or as Paul says

in Romans 8,

God foreknew

those he foreknew,

he progestened

to be conformed

to the image

of his Son.

Or in the letters

to Timothy,

twice giving the instruction

to pursue righteousness.

This is, in fact,

the lasting picture

of the Christian life

right up to the end

of the New Testament.

In all of the writings

of John that conclude it,

but perhaps most clearly

in these verses

from 1 John 3,

1 John 3:7

verses 7 and 8.

Dear children,

do not let anyone

lead you astray.

He who does

what is right

is righteous,

just as he is righteous.

He who does

what is sinful

is of the devil,

because the devil

has been sinning

from the beginning.

The reason the Son of God

appeared

was to destroy

the devil's work.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

was a German pastor-theologian,

executed just three weeks

before his concentration camp

was emancipated

by American troops.

But he wrote a little devotional book

on the Psalms,

and in that he wrote this,

If, in other respects,

we take God's action

toward us

at all seriously,

then we not only may,

but plainly must,

in all humility

and certainty,

pray,

I was blameless

before God,

and I kept myself

from guilt.

Psalm 18,

Psalms 18:23

verse 23.

If, in other respects,

we take God's action

towards us

at all seriously,

this is the God who saves,

then we not only may,

but plainly must,

pray,

in all humility

and certainty,

I was blameless

before God,

I kept myself

free from guilt.

Bonhoeffer's point is

that as we reflect

on the life

of the desperate David

who cries out

to the God who saves

in Psalm 18,

we feel that claim, too,

to live a righteous life,

quite simply,

a life in accord

with God's will

and God's ways.

Now, perhaps you're here

this evening,

I don't know

everyone in the room,

perhaps you're here

this evening

as one who's begun

to recognize

in this God

someone to be revered,

someone to be worshipped,

and you also recognize

in yourself

a life that is not lived,

conformed to the character

of this God.

Well, if that's you,

let me encourage you.

There was one man

who brought together

completely

the holiness

and righteousness

of the Creator

in the life

of a creature.

That one man

was Jesus Christ.

And in his life

and death

and resurrection,

he triumphed

over sin and death,

living the life

we should have lived.

He died the death

we should have died.

And now invites us

to turn from sin

and turn to the living God.

That's what we call repentance.

And to place our trust in him,

to live our life

with and for him.

And if this captures

your sense right now,

then I'd be happy

to speak with you about it

after the service

or let the friend

that you've come with

this evening know

and I'm sure they'd be

happy to do the same.

So we've reflected on

who is the God

who saves.

We've reflected on

who is this David

in distress.

And finally,

we reflect on

who is,

who are,

these enemies

who are defeated.

And again,

I think we have

a little discomfort level

with each of these

three sections

that perhaps

it is most acute

in this third one.

I characterize

this third section

as David defeats

the Lord's enemies.

The Lord defeats

David's enemies

in section one.

In section three,

David defeats

the Lord's enemies.

But you say to me,

aha,

aren't these actually

David's enemies?

Well, yes,

they are.

But there are also

the Lord's

and it's important

to see how this works

in our psalm.

In biblical psalms,

there are often,

very often,

three characters

in the psalm.

There's God,

there's the psalmist,

the one who prays,

the poet,

and there's the enemies.

And these three

come together

again and again

through the biblical psalms.

And so here too,

you'll have seen this

right throughout Psalm 18.

This is the three characters,

if you like,

in the narrative

that unfolds.

God,

the psalmist,

the enemies.

And just as David

calls this God

my God,

so too he calls

these enemies

my enemies.

Verse 3,

verse 17,

verse 37,

verse 40,

40,

40,

40.

It's right through the psalm.

And in fact,

our superscription

that we noted

at the beginning

sets it up this way too.

The Lord delivered him

from the hand

of all his enemies,

presume that's David's,

and from the hand

of Saul,

that's certainly

David's enemy.

So where do we find

the clue

to this fuller identity

of who these enemies are?

God's enemies?

David's enemies?

Well,

we find it

in contrasting

verses 6 and 41.

Verse 6,

we read,

in my distress

I called to the Lord.

I cried to my God

for help

from his temple.

He heard my voice.

My cry came before him

and he comes to save.

Now,

with that precise language

in mind,

look at verse 41

as David's dealing

with the enemies.

They cried for help.

There was no one

to save them.

To the Lord,

he didn't answer.

Well,

we might find

this contrast

between verses 6 and 41

uncomfortable

for more than one reason.

Aren't we supposed

to love our enemies?

Can one cry to God

and not be heard?

And so we need

to think about this.

It's important then

to note,

well,

three quick things.

First of all,

this isn't personal.

This isn't about

David's spat

with neighboring monarchs

or his being

an imperialist

or settling old scores

with old enemies

when he was on the run.

It's David

as the Lord's king

dealing with the Lord's enemies.

Second thing,

we're not David.

You're not David.

Well,

I'm not David

in this sense.

None of us are this.

We had a lot.

We had four Davids

in one pew this morning.

But we're not David.

You haven't been placed

at the head

of Israel's armies.

And the third

quick thing to note,

we do have enemies.

And I'll say

a little bit more

about that

in just a moment.

So this is David's position

in the psalm,

however.

His enemies

are the enemies of God.

And hating what God

hates in the Old Testament

is the counterpart

of loving what God loves.

Or as we sang

in the song

just before the sermon,

what breaks God's heart

breaks our hearts.

And so we begin to see,

I think,

in reflecting on things

this way,

what Psalm 18

is telling us here.

That the Holy God

is a God of justice.

And it is right,

we would want it to be right,

that this God visits justice

on oppression

and injustice.

That this God

should consume

his enemies.

It's a truth

that Jesus teaches

in his parables

as we've seen

from Luke.

And this is the point

at which I think

it's helpful to think

about our enemy.

Our enemy.

Our enemy is,

we become God's enemy

when our sin

separates us from him.

And Isaiah

spelt this out

fairly clearly.

He affirmed a truth

and then drew out

an implication.

So listen to his words.

This is Isaiah 59.

Surely the arm

of the Lord

isn't too short to save.

Of course the arm

of the Lord

isn't too short to save.

Nor is his ear

too dull to hear.

Verse 41.

This God can hear.

But Isaiah goes on.

Your iniquities

have separated you

from your God.

Your sins have hidden

his face from you

so that he does not hear.

That's precisely the situation

of Psalm 18.

41.

The holy God

is a God of justice.

But it's important too

then to realize

that the holy God

is a God of mercy.

mercy.

And rightly received,

his judgments

can turn enemies

into friends.

C.S. Lewis

reflected on his time

as an unbeliever

in his autobiography

in these terms.

It's a slightly difficult sentence

but it's worth hearing.

So he's thinking back now

to the time

when he

was an atheist

and he was an enemy

of God

and the things

that God sowed

into his life.

He writes,

not that I might not

have learned this

sooner and more safely

in ways I shall never

now know

without apostasy

but that

divine punishments

are also mercies

and particular good

is worked out

of particular evil

and the penal blindness

is made sanative.

A penitential blindness

becomes a cure.

So attending rightly

to the judgments

of God

can realign our lives

so that we are

no longer

God's enemies

but his friends.

And for those of us

conformed to God's character

then we strive

to have rightly

ordered affections

like David

to hate those things

that God hates

to have our heart breaks

for the things

that break God's heart

to love those things

that God loves.

much as James

put it in

James chapter 4

James 4 · chapter mention

and sums up

in these words

in James 4

don't you know

friendship with the world

is enmity with God?

And so we seek

as we look at

David's psalm

and experience of God

being conformed

to the character of God

also to have

rightly ordered affections

to sow

beyond the Lord's side.

well it's

time to draw

our thoughts together

we've reflected on

who is this God

who saves

who is this

David in distress

and who are

these enemies

we see through the psalm

but we stand back

to make two observations

one a little bit longer

and one very very short.

the first thing

I hope you've seen

and we've reflected

on it directly

in some sense

is the way

in which

God and David

form a partnership

in this psalm.

Did you see

how David's life

is woven

into the life

of God

and especially

in that central section

and the acts

of God

and David

are woven together?

I think it comes out

so well

it comes out

clearly in many ways

but just set

these two

part verses together

verse 30

as for God

his way is perfect

verse 32

it is God

who makes my way perfect

God and David

God acts

and David acts.

I think we have

an understandable

tendency

to look at

some of this

kind of language

that we see

in Psalm 18

and say

God calls us

to do X

we can't do X

Jesus did X

we don't have

to do X

it's the good news

well there's a truth

there

but if that's

all we say

then the truth

I'm afraid

becomes a half truth

and a less than a truth

is on its way

to becoming

a snare

I think a better way

of putting it

is this way

with Jonathan Edwards

now some of you

will know of

Jonathan Edwards

he was the revival

preacher during

the New England

revivals

in the early

18th century

in the early

1700s

and he was writing

about a particular

theological controversy

in his day

and he's writing

here about

efficacious grace

the effective grace

that God works

into the lives

of those

who turn to him

and Edwards

writes this

I'll use his

18th century language

in efficacious grace

we are not

merely passive

nor yet does

God do some

and we do the rest

that God does

all

and we

do all

God produces

all

we act

all

for that is what

he produces

in other words

our own acts

God is the only

proper author

and fountain

we are

the only

proper actors

we are

in different

respects

wholly

passive

and wholly

active

we are

in different

respects

wholly

passive

and wholly

active

in the metrics

of the kingdom

it's not

50-50

in the metrics

of the kingdom

it's this

paradoxical

100%

God

100%

you

that's David

in Psalm

18

and as we

spend time

with Psalm

18's

David

so we're

called

into this

same kind

of life

it's the

same paradox

I think

that Jesus

invited us

into

when he

reflected

on the

teaching

of the

true

vine

if you

keep

my

commands

doing

all

you

will

abide

in my

love

resting

all

just as

I have

kept

acting

my

father's

commands

and

abide

resting

in his

love

or just

one more

example

from the

very end

almost end

of the

New Testament

the little

letter of

Jude

addresses

Christians

in his

day

and he

writes to

those who

are loved

by God

the father

and kept

for Jesus

Christ

passive

kept

and

finishes

the letter

by addressing

those same

people

and instructing

them

keep

yourselves

in God's

love

as you

wait for

the mercy

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

to bring

you to

eternal

life

active

so God

does all

Christ

has

one

all

and there

is all

for us

to do

first

reflection

as we

stand back

the second

one

much

shorter

where the

psalm ends

we end

I will

praise you

among the

nations

oh Lord

I will

sing praises

to your

name

and as

our week

begins

let's

begin it

where the

psalmist

begins

I love

you

oh Lord

my

strength

let's

pray

and as

we draw

our thoughts

together

and reflect

back over

the psalms

that it's

been our

privilege to

see

let's just

take a

moment of

quiet

let's

consider

first

this

God

who

comes

to

save

we know

that saving

God

let's

thank him

and ask

him to

show us

more

of who

he

is

and

perhaps

we

come

tonight

as

one

of

those

who

is

desperate

and

needing

help

is there

sin in

the way

this is

the moment

to say

Lord

I'm

sorry

I've

been

acting

like

an

enemy

please

forgive

me

so I

can be

your

friend

Lord

we

know

you

are

the

one

at

work

in

our

lives

to

accomplish

your

good

pleasure

so

grant

us

as

your

people

gathered

here

in

this

place

in

this

part

of

Edinburgh

in

this

neighborhood

and

in

the

neighborhoods

where

we

live

as

your

people

distributed

may

we

work

out

our

salvation

with

fear

and

trembling

and

lift

high

your

name

in

our

lives

for

your

glory

sake

and

in

Jesus

name

we

pray

Amen