Can I Always Trust in God? Psalm 63

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a

couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in

practical ways. By good morning everyone, it's if, in fact

it's morning. I'm Chris, this is Jeff, and we are

the Bible Guys.

We are so happy to be here.

Do you know that I was actually contemplating putting I

have I have a bottle of water over here. I

was contemplating actually gurgling good morning. But I but you know,

here's the thing. I didn't trust myself because I I

was gonna spit it, and so I thought to myself, Oh,

I don't think I could ever do that. So I

don't think I could do it by surprise. So who knows.

Maybe tomorrow I'll start that way.

Maybe.

So there you go. That's the reason to tune in if.

You're a new listener with us.

Chris has a habit of at least once a week

singing good morning to our listeners.

Yeah there, yeah, listeners, just wait yesterday today, No.

They do know, they do not. I think like five

people and they keep on saying it.

Well, that's about the extent of our listeners except for

the new one listening.

Today look, Billy's listening from Canada. Hi mom, Hi mom,

that's great. All right. Well, hey, Desiree has a section

that's it's called stump the Pastor. We do this every

once in a while.

Yeah.

Yeah. And so here's the way this one reads. And

this is from Bella L.

Bella, Hi, Hi, Bella, Yes, Hi, Bella L. We're so

glad that you're listening. Yes, and you decided that the

thing you wanted to do was stump us.

Try to stump us, Yes, try to stump us. All right,

So it says this, it says, wow, Chris, what made

Chris mad this week? Is my favorite bit? Oh look

at that.

See I told you, I told you it's everybody's favorite.

It's Bella's favorite bit. She said, Stump the pastor is

my close second. So here's my question. Wow, my husband

and I were reading through Genesis and we came up

with a question we couldn't find the answer to. So

what are your thoughts on dinosaurs? And are they biblical

or in the Bible? There's no direct reference to them

in creation, says Bella L. So she wants to know,

you know, where did Baba's fit in the bob? Where

did dinosaurs fit in the Bible.

Where did dinosaurs fit in the Bible? I don't know that. Well,

I don't know. One. Great question, Yeah, great question, really

great question. Yep. Two, what do you think, Chris Well.

I think that they were I believe that they existed

with mankind. So I think there's a reference to job

talking about Leviathan, which which is literally translated into great

terrible lizard. Right, there's a I think there's a couple

other references to things like that. And I think that

perhaps when things you know that the theory is there's

one common theory that says that they could have been

on the arc. So, you know, and people say, wait

a minute, dinosaurs were huge, they couldn't go on the arc.

What about baby dinosaurs? Right whatever? So, so so they

could have been on the arc. God could have, you know,

just allowed them to cease to exist. So, but one

thing is clear, they were a part of the world.

Now there's another theory. The other theory is is that

because God exists out of time and and and God,

you know, uh could have could have allowed the earth,

you know, to have gone through and dinosaurs could have

been before humanity. Uh you know, you know, there's another

theory like that.

Yeah, there's kind of a doctrinal issue with that one

with regard to this earth, because it says, wherefore as

by one man, sin entered the world talking about earth

and death by sin. So death passed upon all men

for all of sin. So death came because of sin.

So if all those dinosaurs were here and then they

died before humanity.

Came, that's doctrinally where would.

Death have come from? Right, So there was no purpose

behind death prior to man's sin. So the idea that

they existed before and then died and then men came

is doesn't really lying.

Yeah, so I think you mentioned a couple things you mentioned.

Is important to know because that's the theory, right right,

that's what the world believes.

Yeah.

Yeah, so you mentioned Leviathan and you can look this up.

So one, you're right, it's not in the creation story

other than the fact that the Bible just says He

created everything on the land and on the sea right right,

and in the air right. So, but the Book of

Job does seem to reference. Now that Job is the

oldest book in the Bible, and Job was probably written

about the time of Abraham. So this is a couple

thousand years after a thousand years, a couple thousand years

after Adam. And in job forty one, it describes Leviathan. It'says,

can you pull a Leviathan in with a fish hook?

Or tie down his tongue with a rope? His back

has rows of shields tightly together. His snorting throws out

flashes of light. His eyes are like the rays of dawn. Right,

so it's kind of a seems like a marine, kind

of a dinosaur type of animal. In or he also

mentions Behemoth in chapter forty. It says, look at Behemoth,

which I made along with you, and which feeds on

grass like an ox. We know a lot of the dinosaurs.

Eight you know, we're herbivorous. And he says, what strength

that has in its loins? What power? And the muscles

of its belly? Its tail sways like a cedar right right,

like his cedar tree. Yeah, like a cedar tree. The

sinews of his thighs are close knit. Its bones are

tubes of bronze. Its limbs are like rods of iron.

It goes on and talks about how neither one of

these animals can be subdued or tamed. By humans. In Isaiah,

it mentions the idea that he shall slay the dragon

that's in the sea. So there seems to be these

references of these great creatures that humans just accept it

as like they're not saying, hey, did you ever hear

about this? They're referencing it as if everybody knows what

they're talking about, right.

Right, Otherwise they would have made more of a spectacle

of it.

Yeah.

Yeah, but at some point they became extinct. Some people

would point to the flood as being one of the reasons.

There's a lot of If you've never been the Creation Museum,

that'd be interesting to go down.

They have some theories about it.

There's lots of different people who have different theories about

but there are tons of animals that are extinct today

that existed thousands.

Of years ago.

You know, I was at a guy's and a guy

he has a private family museum, and he has a

baby wooly mammoth, and they're trying to bring back the

wooly mammoths using the DNA from this frozen it was

frozen in the tundra, and the South Koreans are working

with him. He's a billionaire and they're working with him

to bring back wooly mammoths from the DNA that's still

in that wily mammoth.

Right, isn't that amazing?

Yeah?

Right, So that kind of stuff, there's lots of animals

that become extinct. So I don't think that there's a

problem with the fact that we see dinosaur bones. I've

got a bunch of fossils in my office, right, don't

I Ye. I love that stuff, And I just don't

have a problem with the idea that dinosaurs existed, and

I don't have a problem to the idea that they

exist at the same times humanity. Every single people group

in the world that draws in caves have drawn some

kind of version of Europe has it, South America has it,

Asia has that. Africa has drawings of long necked animals,

large animals that aren't elephants or hippos or rhinoceroses that

are much larger, And so it seems like there's this

collective memory among humans that there were these animals that

were bigger. Yeah, And then every continent has dragon legends

that are the same, fire breathing, flying, big reptile kind

of animals. Every single continent has those.

Right.

So when I was in New York just a few

months ago with my family, my brother Jim, who was

a pastor down in Texas, doesn't necessarily hold the title

pastor now even though he has a pastoral degree. But anyway,

he works for a creation organization. Did you know that?

So anyway, he that's all he does. So as we

were looking through the museum. We were in the museum

in New York, and they had a dinosaur section, right,

so there's all these different bones and uh, and they

had pictures of kind of how they were found, and uh,

my brother Jim was explaining the whiplash positions that some

of these very large creatures would have been in and

how their necks looked like they were broken, right, And

he said, so, how do you break the neck that

looks like a cedar tree? And he said, guess what?

Guess what a big flood?

Right?

Those those bones, some of those bones are as big

as whale bones. Yeah right, and right, I mean they're

they're they're bigger than your body.

Right.

But that neck got snapped somehow, and it's not just one,

it's the whole field of them right where they found

them laying right yeah, yeah, and so and say they

died in cataclysms, right.

And so that's that's the reason why, because you know,

even if there was a meteor or lava or you know,

which is sort of the imagery that we have, you know,

for the extinction of Oh there's a comment that came

and then you know, lava, meteors and all these different things,

but water, water is the force that could do exactly that.

So anyway, it was interesting because he is so educated

and I can't even begin to repeat what he what

he said because I would look dumb, right, because he

said ten thousand things. And as we were walking through,

and he was like, but it was basic. But I

just remember thinking, holy cow, and and and and he

was right in that when he pointed out like I

remember him pointing out like ten different things. He's like,

see this photo, He's like that neck is snapped. And

then we go to the next one and he's like,

you see this. Uh, they could be preserved this way,

this way, or this way, and one way was underwater.

And the only reason why this whole thing would have

been because it was a conglomerate, like almost like a

burial site, right, you know, like member Lion King when

they said the Elephant's graveyard argument.

That that's what most fossil discoveries are found in large

fossil they call them literally fossil beds.

And it can be a whole valley or.

The whole side of a hill and just it's just

covered with all these different dinosaurs.

Yeah, and and uh. And it's because they believe that

they were washed away in the flood and taken down

to a place where they collected right together, and and

all of them, like I said, you know, just having

evidence that sort of pointed to a great force. So

it was interesting, it was really interesting to me. So

I am I am not the believer of the before

man theory. I am a believer of the flood theory

that the flood was was the thing that wiped him out.

So now here come all the angry anti science emails.

So we just want to thank you for bringing that

up as well for us. But thanks, thank you, Bella.

Yeah.

But so here here's where we are not scientists. Nope,

we just don't have a problem with what we know.

We don't have a problem with saying that they live

during human times and that the Bible does reference them

on multiple occasions.

Yep. So with that being said, let me encourage you.

There are other great places to find lots of information

about dinosaurs and humans from a biblical perspective. And so

I like the Creation Museum. I like what's what they're

doing down there in Kentucky.

A lot of that stuff. They're not the only ones.

Your brother has. What's the name of the organization? Maybe

we should put that in the notes and see if

that be helpful. Okay, well, hey, great question, Bella, And

well you almost stump this there.

That's a tough one.

I want to text him right now and I'll see

by the time the end of this podcast happens if

he answers.

Oh, great, Well, we're gonna pivot.

And we're still in this time when David is running

from Absolom. Is where we're at now. And this is

a psalm of David regarding a time when David was

still in the wilderness of Judah. He's hiding and he's

asking God for God's presence, for his provision, for his protection.

And so here's what it says. David says, Oh God,

you are my God, honor, I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirst for you. My whole body longs for you.

In this parched land, in this weary land where there

is no water, I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love

is better than life itself.

How I praise you.

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting

up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me

more than the richest feast. I will praise you with

songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating

on you through the night because you are my helper.

I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

I cling to you. Your strong right hand holds me securely.

But those plotting destroy me will come to ruin. They

will go down into the depths of the earth. They

will die by the sword and become the fruit of jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God, All who trust

in him will praise him, while liars will be silence.

It's awesome out there.

So there you go. My brother wrote me back right away.

Oh wow, he works for the Institute for Creation Research.

Oh I've heard of them.

Yeah that's a good one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Institute for

Creation Research is interesting. Now, you know, all science is

the study of things. It's not the law of things, right, right,

So all these different science organizations, both on the secular

side and the Christian side, they're they're they're studying a thing,

they're research a thing, they're looking for plausible answers.

And so I think that the.

Institute for Creation Research, and then also ken Ham's organization

up there and at the Creation Museum and all that

kind of stuff, is it. Well, hey, great, check those out.

There's a bunch more, but check those out. So back

here with David running from his son Absolom and saying, God,

I don't really have any hope except for you, but

I'm completely content in trusting that you're going to take

care of me.

Yeah, that's great. And by the way, this is beautiful imagery,

isn't it.

Yeah, you know.

The latter half of this when he says, because you

are my helper, I can sing for joy. And the

shadow of your wings, well, the shadow of your wings

is uh uh. It's it's like a mother hen who protects, right,

or or a you know, I guess a father could

do the same thing, right.

But any animal always the it's always.

It's always it's always the hen. Yeah. So but it's

a uh, it's a it's a protection thing. Right. So

you know in the previous chapter that we just read, uh,

he says, God, you are my shield. So there's this.

You know, there's like a word picture that comes with

every metaphor, right. So you know, for instance, think about

this when Jesus says, uh, I'm the shepherd and you

are the sheep, You're like, oh, well, you know, every

shepherd knows that that has a thousand applications. When he

says I'm the vine and you are the branch, and

then and then you bear fruit if you're connected, you're like, wow,

every vennor knows, every vineyard knows like, oh yeah. And

when I get disconnected, then there's the pruning, and then

there's the harvest, and then there's the there's the water

source and holy cow, right it be like a tree

plant about the rivers of water. Oh yeah, that's a

great word picture. So here it is again. And he says,

I sing for joy and the shadow of your wings.

I cling to you. You hold strong with your right hand,

you hold me securely. I think to myself, that is

a beautiful word picture. And everything that comes with it.

Right when you observe nature. You could probably watch an

entire documentary about a mother protecting her chicks and understand

just how awesome just that one sentences.

I was going to comment on that same verse. So

that's great that that's what got yeah. Yeah, So growing

up we had one hundred chickens. Well you know, growing

up as a kid, and so I have a lot

of familiarity with chickens for a while when we lived

we live in the suburbs, but we had four chickens

in our backyard for quite a while. That was that

was pretty great too. They lay hens, they were hands.

They lay eggs every four days, they lay four eggs

a day.

I'm sorry, that's what we will get.

So anyways, just recently, I was in Tanzania and we

were doing this safari drive one afternoon. It wasn't a

safari trip, it was a mission trip working with Christian leaders,

but we had this afternoon, so we drive out to

look at the animals and we stopped at a spot

by the way. About fifteen minutes after we'd seen lions.

We stopped and we get out of the truck and

there was a little picnic area and some restrooms and stuff,

and so there's no fences or anything, you know, and

you're kind of thinking in the make of your mind,

we weren't driving very fast to get here. I bet

where like a half a mile from where those lions were, and.

That tall grass is not very far.

Away, exactly.

But when so I walk around, there's there's a great, big,

giant banyan tree, and I walk around that, and there's

some guinea fowl. You ever see guinea fowl, They look

like a chicken kind of right, They're a little bit bigger,

but they looked like a chicken. And she had a

whole bunch of hens. And she made a clucking kind

of a noise, and all the baby chicks, peepepeepepeep peep,

come in and she kind of fluffed out her wings

and it was like eight chicks just disappeared, right, And

then she was kind of dancing around. Everywhere I would walk,

she would move to face me, and you can hear

peepepeepee peep, but you can't see.

Any of them.

They're all hidden under her wings like that, right, And

I was thinking that this is exactly what he's talking about,

is those little chicks had no protection. Now, of course

she wasn't gonna do much either, but she was there,

ready to risk her life to protect those baby chicks.

And she was squaring off with me and I'm two

hundred none of your business pounds and she probably weighs

like five pounds, right, But she's there, she's protecting these chicks,

and those chicks knew instinctively when danger was here, I

need to run underneath her wings. And so that was

the immediate images I thought. And then it talks about

how he holds me with it securely with his strong

right hand. And I can remember my daughter, she's the

youngest of my three, and my two boys. I'm like,

suck it up, buttercup, right, you're gonna be tough, be tough.

I might have been a little too tough on them,

but Jenna was exactly the opposite way. Jenna wrapped me

around her finger the minute I saw her, and from

that point on it was like, Okay, I'm gonna do

whatever protect her. So but she always had this desire.

She wanted to be tough. The boys were tough. She

wanted to go do dangerous things. And so I can

remember we were at a carnival and there were these rides,

and the ride might have been just a little bit

too big for her, but the boys went, and she

really wanted to go, and Daddy come with me. So

I get with her, and then, you know, it was

a pretty rambunctious ride, one of those I don't know,

spinner things or whatever, and she got really scared. She

started crying. So I put my arm around her and

pulled her in real tight, and she grabbed a hold

of my arm like this, and by the end of

the ride she was laughing. So it was scary when

she felt like she was by herself trying. She was

just trying to stay in the ride. You know what

I mean, You're that little You're just trying to stay

in the ride. The ride just bouncing all around, She's

crashing all around. But when I grabbed her and pulled

her in tight, she grabs onto my arm like that,

and then at that point she's not bouncing around. She

has a certain amount of security. And then it went

from being terrifying to fun. And so we get off

the off the the ride and here, have you ever

seen a kid that's laughing and crying at the same time, Yes,

says right.

The little kids have this ability.

So she's like, I don't know, like seven or eight

years old, and she's got tears streaming down her face

with a big smile on her face at the same time.

And I think of that that that's this is what

I say. I cling to you, and your strong right

hand holds me securely. That's that's what he's He is

our father. That when when the world is just bouncing

us around, we feel like we're hanging on, trying not

to fly out. Yeah, God puts his arm around his

hangs on, and then from that point it's not so bad.

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, yeah, and uh. And David is

once again talking about his enemies, right.

Yeah, yeah, let's put that they'll go down to the

depths of the earth. The Hebrew there is they're going

to go to hell, right right, He's like, God, they're

trying to ruin me.

But I know they're going to hell.

Yeah, And he says, he says they would die by

the sword, they would become the they would become food

for the jackal. Right, but the king will rejoicing God

and all those put praising him in the will. The

liars will be silenced. So this is this is him

basically proclaiming the future. And he says and he says, hey,

regardless of how things look, right, now, here's what I know.

What I know is God, You're going to give me

the victory because I stand on the side of what

is right, and and I know that You're going to

accomplish this just like you always have. And think about

David's you know, first fifteen years of his you know,

race to the throne, right, how many battles could you count?

Could he count on his fingers and toes where God

just showed up and did miraculous thing against all odds

and so and so David knows this is not unfamiliar

with him. And so there's a sermon in there somewhere

where it tells us to let's let's trust God for future,

you know, fears based on his past deliveries. Right, So

there's there's a better way to say that.

So, so because of what I can trust to.

Trust God's past faithfulness for that which lies ahead. So

I think that, you know, it's a reminder if we

can see God's hand in the small things, there's no

reason to believe that he's not going to show up

in the big things. And by the way, my brother

keeps on texting me this is so funny, he says.

Their mission statement is on the website, but they mainly

exist to show that scripture is supported and confirmed by science, right.

They want to provide the information, the science and the

research and the resource resources to quit believers and give

them confidence of knowing that the Bible is supported by science.

That's what it is.

So well it's in there, then that sounds good.

Yeah, yeah, I think that's good. So all right, well

that is our time and so we will see you,

hopefully next time on the Bible guys,