Praise the God Who Works

questions. So this is David, and he writes, I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.

I will recount of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your

name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before me, or they stumble and

perish before your presence. For you have maintained my just cause. You have sat on the

throne giving righteous judgment. You have rebuked the nations. You have made the wicked perish.

You have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins.

Their cities you rooted out. The very memory of them has perished. But the Lord sits enthroned

forever. He has established his throne for justice. He judges the world with righteousness.

The people with uprightness. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed and a stronghold in times of

trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those

who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord who sits enthroned in Zion. Tell among the peoples his deeds.

For he who avenges blood is mindful of them. He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Be gracious to me, O Lord. See my affliction from those who hate me.

O you who lift me up from the gates of death.

So David begins this psalm, and I'm just going to say this psalm, I mean 9 and 10, with praise to God.

That's his first posture in addressing the evil and wickedness, not only within this world, but also that was in David.

He begins with the praise of God, telling God who he is.

I will recount of your wonderful deeds. David chooses to begin his plea for help with the God who

who is worthy to be praised. Notice, David doesn't say,

I am righteous. God, this is not fair.

He begins with the truth of,

this is who God is from eternity past to eternity future.

We read of what God has done in the past, so we are free to grieve over our present circumstance.

And we plead with God to act as he has in the past.

Okay, as you and I read the Bible, if you are someone who reads the Bible,

you read of the history of God engaging his people,

bringing comfort, bringing peace,

meeting them in their present circumstance.

And then you and I need to realize,

where are we in our present circumstance?

And to be honest about it.

And what we are called to be encouraged by

is the way that God has acted in the past,

promised in the present.

He is Emmanuel.

He is God with us.

And that he will meet us again in the future.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

We are to remember.

That's a lot of our reading of the Bible,

is to remember.

It's to remember,

how did God meet the Israelites in the Old Testament?

How has God met the people of God throughout history?

Remember,

that is the God of the Bible.

And that is what he does.

But the big problem is,

we have our own personal expectations

of this is how God needs to meet me today.

And when God does not do that,

we get frustrated.

And we become disenfranchised

with the God of the Bible

and many times the church

and other Christians.

Because we've created this way

that we assume God is gonna meet us.

God is there.

But the truth is,

throughout Scripture,

God is there.

God is worthy of praise.

And God knows.

God is there.

He was there in the past,

throughout history,

and he is there now with you.

He is worthy of praise,

always has been,

always will be.

And God knows.

He's not surprised

by whatever is going on in your life.

He's not a surprise to him.

And this is part of what we do every Sunday

as people of faith in Christ,

is that we gather with a community of believers

to be reminded of these things.

That God is there,

God is worthy of praise,

and God knows.

And we hear words,

and we sing words,

and we recite words

that carry these truths.

So whenever you go home today,

if you take your worship guide,

worship bulletin with you,

I encourage you,

read through it.

Because what you have been reminded of

is these three things.

And what does that mean for you

as you wake up Monday morning?

In this psalm,

there's a cry of lament

from King David.

We don't like lament.

It seems weak

and maybe un-American.

But the majority of the psalms are lament.

Are people crying out to God

for help.

That they would know

that God meets them

in whatever struggle

they are walking through.

Lament

is to be a normal part of our life.

Lament is not saved

for the day you grieve

over someone's passing.

Or someone's hurt against you.

Lament is a part of every day of our life.

That we are to lament

that there is not only evil in this world,

but there's also evil in our heart

that has been unrefined.

I think that's a greater lament.

We are not called to ignore sorrow and evil

that is around us.

We are called to first turn to God

and cry to him

about the affliction we experience.

And this goes for everyone.

If you are five years old,

if you are 12 years old,

especially,

we have five kids at our,

well, four kids at our house,

we have five kids total,

one's 20,

lives on our own,

blah, blah, blah.

But it's also,

it's lamenting.

It's allowing adolescents

to have a deep theology of lament.

I think I'm middle age.

I'm 49.

I don't know.

Is that middle age?

Or maybe it's old.

I'm not sure.

But there's a part of my life

that I realize

there's a part that I just need to lament

and grieve.

And what helps me

is reading the Psalms.

And recognizing,

yeah,

spiritually,

I'm not as far along

as I really thought

I would be at 49.

I thought I'd be

a lot more spiritually mature.

And those are some of the things

that I cry out to God

and turn to him

and acknowledge

my own failure.

And I confess

and repent

knowing

that Christ is the one

who is perfect.

It's Christ who's done

everything right.

as much as I'm called to,

as a child of God,

to live

in the rightness

of his righteousness.

But I realize

more and more

as I grow

that the only perfect

person

is the God-man,

Jesus Christ.

Christ.

So think about

your plea

for mercy

and lament.

If you've ever

even had one,

maybe you haven't

and that's fine.

But think about

where would you start

with that plea?

David here

starts with

praising

the God

of his righteousness.

A call to God

is where our plea

is to begin

and to end.

Our plea is heard

because God

is a stronghold

and it shows

how we seek him.

What does that mean

in your lament,

in your frustration,

in your confusion

of evil

in this world

and in your heart?

What does it mean

that you go to God

first and last?

And what does

that look like?

Verse 12

says,

he does not forget

the cry

of the afflicted.

And maybe

that is where

you are right now

in your life.

That you are

deeply

hurt

and afflicted.

You are not

forgotten.

You are not

forgotten.

God sees

and he hears

and he is

Emmanuel

to you,

God with us.

That's who

he is.

So let's look

at David's

three pleas

for help

in this passage.

His three pleas

for help are,

God,

be gracious

to me,

let not evil

prevail

and forget

not the afflicted.

be gracious

to me,

let not evil

prevail,

forget not

the afflicted.

This shows

the author

David understands

who God is

and how humanity

is called

to come

to God.

We are to come

to God

only by his grace.

Only by his grace.

There is only

one redeemer.

There is only

one mediator

between God

and man

and it is

the Lord

Christ.

And the God

of the Bible

is the great

inviter.

He is the

great initiator

and he is

the God

who moves

toward you.

Notice

David does

not plea

for fairness.

He does

not plead

for what

he has

earned

but he

has a

proper

perspective

of God

as God

relates

to his

creation.

By a plea

for grace

David is

moving

toward God

and reconciliation

only because

God has

invited him.

and God

has invited

you.

He has

invited you

to dwell

within his

house.

He has

invited you

to be called

one of his

children.

He has

invited you

to no longer

be an

orphan

but to be

a child

of God.

And as

you wrestle

through not

only the

evil that

the sin

that you

struggle

with

but also

the sin

that you

see outside

of you

it begins

with

accepting

and living

within that

truth that

you are a

child of God

and that only

comes through

faith in

Christ and

repentance of

sin.

And you

are invited

into that.

So how

does evil

prevail?

Well I

can't fully

answer that

question.

Obviously

that's a

deep

deep

question.

There is

evil in

this world

because this

world is

broken.

This is

not how it

is supposed

to be.

And the

only comfort

I take

in this

is that

there is a

God who's

in charge

of everything.

And he

is not

only

ultimately

wise and

loving and

gracious,

he knows

why

everything

happens

and I

don't.

God's

and that's

just part

of the

mystery

of living

as a

human

being

in

God's

creation.

But there

are a few

things that we

can understand

of why does

evil prevail?

One, because

we are self-centered

and prideful.

We are.

Let's begin

with us.

Okay?

Let's begin

with us.

We are.

We're not

looking outside

of us.

We are.

And the

only healing

and restoration

that we need

is a

redeemer.

we long

to build

a value

system

that revolves

around

ourself.

And we

do that

by ignoring

God

and the

law of

God.

And we're

pretty good

at that.

Aren't

we?

You can

nod.

I'll nod.

Yeah,

we are pretty

good at

that.

verse 2

says,

in arrogance

the wicked

hotly pursue

the poor.

This desire

is to

fill

self

and

ignorance

that are

made for

something

greater.

It's to

fulfill

our own

selfishness.

And then

we long

for selfish

prosperity.

Verse 5,

why do

the selfish

continue

with selfish

pursuits?

Honestly,

because at

some level

it works.

Like,

at some

level

it's

functional.

If we

are selfish

and we

pursue

our own

selfish

desires,

at some

level

you and

I will

find

satisfaction.

Okay,

that is

just true.

At some

level.

Ultimately,

we begin

to destroy

our own

soul,

our own

self,

and the

people

around

us.

And it's

only when

we have

the long

view of

life

and we

see that

there is

a creator

and there

is a

redeemer

and there

is grace

and there

is mercy

and God's

spirit works

within us

that we

can let

those go.

Think of

the workaholic.

The workaholic

will continue

in their

work more

and more

and more

thinking this

is actually

going to

solve it

but actually

it's really

a selfish

thing for

the workaholic.

But what

are we

told

from our

culture?

What we're

told is

well,

the workaholic

you're actually

just not

working hard

enough.

And then

what does

the workaholic

do?

You know

what they

say?

Great.

Now I

have something

more to

do.

And then

they pursue

that more

and more

and more.

And it

is the

complete

opposite

of grace.

It is

the

complete

opposite

of grace.

Another

struggle

that we

have

in our

pleas for

help

is security

of self.

Thinking

I shall

not be

moved.

I am

the one

who holds

who I

am.

I am

the one

who gives

myself

significance.

I am

the one

who is

ultimately

valuable.

And when

we say

that,

what we're

doing

is we're

telling

Christ

and the

God of

the Bible

who created

us and

loves us

that they

really

don't know

what they're

doing.

God's

work of

redemption

is

realigning

these

desires

so we

can be

shaped

by what

is true

and beautiful.

You want

to live

a

flourishing

life?

A

flourishing

life is

understanding

Christ

is all

in all.

And in

your

affliction

and that

you dealing

with the

evil

within you

and the

sinfulness

that you

and I

have,

you dealing

with judgment

and criticism

from people

outside of you,

the only

thing that

heals and

restores is

Christ.

it's not

working

harder.

It's not

being more

wise.

It's not

being more

articulate.

It's not

all of

those things

that is

going to

set you

free.

It's not

another

seminar.

It's not

another

class.

It's not

another

book.

It is

Christ.

And so

when you

wake up

tomorrow

morning

and your

feet hit

the floor,

you have

really two

options.

Your feet

can hit

the floor

and you

can say

something in

the realm

of the

beginning

of Psalm

9 that

God,

you are

worthy of

praise.

Or you

can hit

the floor

and say,

I'm just

going to do

the best I

can.

I'm going to

work really

hard and

this day

hopefully will

turn out much

better than the

next day.

And then

the question

is, what

will you

do Tuesday

morning?

What will

you do

Wednesday

morning?

Because you

will face

affliction.

God does

not forget

the

afflicted.

And in

these

pleas, we

see the

suffering of

Jesus on

our behalf.

For the

afflicted,

the just

for the

unjust,

the innocent

for the

guilty,

the perfect

for the

broken.

The

opposite of

these are

the cries

of the

wicked.

God,

make me

happy.

Give me

wealth and

prosperity.

Make me

secure in

myself.

love.

This

psalm ends

with the

same thing

that Psalm

9 began

with.

So Psalm

10 ends

with the

same thing

that Psalm

9 began

with.

So verses

16 through

18 of

Psalm 10,

the Lord is

king forever

and ever,

the nations

perish from

his land.

The Lord,

this is

Yahweh.

O Lord,

you hear the

desire of the

afflicted,

you will

strengthen their

heart,

you will

incline your

ear to do

justice to

the fatherless

and the

oppressed,

so that man

who is of

the earth

may strike

terror no

more.

The God

of the

Bible is

not far

off.

He is

with the

afflicted

and the

broken.

And maybe

some of

your struggle

might be

that you

aren't able

to admit

that you

are the

afflicted,

that you

are broken.

as I

grow more

and more,

not in

height,

maybe in

weight,

but grow

in age,

I realize

more and

more how

I am

broken

and I

need the

healing work

of Jesus

more and

more.

more.

Your

pleas for

justice

are heard

and

strength

is

provided,

but it

might not

be what

you assume

it should

be,

and the

terror of

evil will

end,

but God's

forever

rule will

never,

ever

end.

I

encourage

you to

move

toward

whatever

brokenness

you know

is in

your life,

whatever

affliction

you feel

like you

have faced,

whatever

evil that

you see

God

bringing

to light

in your

life,

and you

take time

to move

toward that

with

the comfort

of Christ.

Let me

pray.

Most

gracious

God,

we are

thankful

that you

are

your

father,

and we

admit that

maybe our

view of

that word

is very

distorted,

but we

thank you

that you

are a

God who

restores,

and you

meet the

afflicted,

and we

pray that

we would

be people

who would

give you

praise.

We would

be thankful

for who

you are

to us,

that you

are always

with us,

that you

will never

ever forsake

us,

that we

will never

ever be

alone because

of your

great work

and the

work of

Christ.

Thank you

that you

are the

God of

comfort

and peace.

In the

name of

Christ,

we pray.

Amen.