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The Lesson Of Defeat
Psalms 60
January 19, 2020

It was Vince Lombardi who coined the famous phrase,
“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

That phrase certainly seems to encapsulate the American mindset to be sure, but it is probably an accurate description of the human mindset.

Everyone wants to win.
Losing is never fun.

And yet, if we learn anything from the examples of Scripture,
God often times seems to teach us far more when we lose
Than during the times in our life when we win.

We are all familiar with the mandate of our Lord if we are to follow Him.

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

At the very beginning of the call of salvation is a call to “deny” self.

• Certainly this would include the concept of repentance, where we turn from the sin of our life and that which the flesh loves (like money and the world) to follow Christ.

• Certainly this would include the surrender of any and all future plans and dreams, (as in love your father and mother or wife and children more than Me) as well as all resources to the will and glory of Christ.

• But it is also a call to deny any and all efforts or achievements we have already accomplished by which we deem ourselves worthy of anything.

For the religious man,
It is a willingness to see all his religious achievements
As that which has no value in regard to salvation.

• He has to see that all his praying, all his giving, all his fasting, all his church attendance, so far as earning salvation is concerned is but a filthy rag before God.
• And he must throw himself upon the imputed righteousness of Christ as his only means of justification from the Father.

This is the very essence of what Jesus meant when He said:
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The very first attitude of salvation is when a man comes to realize
That he has nothing of value by which he can purchase salvation.

In short, where he to find himself standing this very moment before the Judge of the Universe, he would quickly realize he has no leverage and nothing with which to bargain.

He is totally and utterly spiritually bankrupt.

That is the first attitude of salvation because
• That is the only type of person who will then mourn over his sin,
• Be meek before God,
• And subsequently hunger and thirst for the righteousness which only Christ can provide.

This is at the very heart of salvation.
This notion of being poor in spirit or of denying self.

THE OPPOSITE ATTITUDE would be that of pride or self-reliance.
• The man who considers himself to be able and good and capable of achieving salvation.

Not only is God opposed to that man,
But that man is also destined to fall.

• FIRST because his own ability is never enough to secure salvation.
• AND since he sees value in his own religious works he will never forsake them in order to grab hold of Christ.

That makes this attitude of pride and self-reliance
The most dangerous of all attitudes.

And so you understand why it is so important to the Lord
To utterly root it out of our lives.

God continually works to produce humility and reliance in His children,
And the fact of the matter is that this lesson
Is MUCH EASIER TAUGHT THROUGH DEFEAT than it is through victory.

• When we win, there is something idolatrous in human nature that will
instinctively rise up and want to take just a little bit of the glory for what
occurred.

• We may even realize that 99% of the victory was because of God’s grace and
good favor, but there is still something so appealing about sharing in that
glory, even if it is only a little part.

• Winning doesn’t help us with humility, but losing does.

It is in losing that we often learn to
Consider our frailty and our weakness.

And it is there that God softens the clay
Into that which can be used for even greater purposes.

Consider as a chief example the Apostle Paul:
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;”

He spoke of a TERRIBLE AFFLICTION in his life,
But also one he saw as ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
To get him to stop trusting in himself.

Paul was a strong man and a man who was accustomed
To being able to use that strength to deliver himself
So God put him in a burden that was “beyond our strength”
So that Paul would no longer trust in himself.

Or later in the book:
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 “Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows — such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows — was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

You have a unique incident occurring there.
• In order that God might comfort Paul and encourage regarding his present sufferings God allowed him to see a vision of heaven and no doubt the treasure that awaited him for his toil in the Lord.

• This vision would allow Paul to make such reassuring statements to the church like:
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Or
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Those were more than just hunches from Paul.
He had seen it, he knew it.

God had given him a great vision in order that
He might be a voice of great encouragement to the church.

However, such a vision, with such accolade also came with a risk.
It ran the risk of tempting Paul’s flesh to start exalting himself.

And in order to balance this the Lord gave him
“a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment [him]”

Over the years many have questioned what this thorn was, but that is funny to me because Paul actually tells us it was “a messenger of Satan” (i.e. a false prophet)

But through this thorn Paul was able to come to the understanding
That true strength does not come through human ingenuity,
But through full reliance upon God.

We are confident that Paul knew that before he received the thorn,
But he certainly knew it afterward.

Only when we know our weakness and this weakness drives us to Christ DO WE FIND TRUE STRENGTH.

It is the truth Jesus taught us in John 10
John 15:4-5b”Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

• When we are self-reliant and sure of our own strength, this is when we are most prone to fail.

• We will establish nothing for the kingdom when we work in our own strength.

• Victories can be dangerous because they can puff us up to believe we are capable of more than we actually are.

• And yet it is in losing, in hardship, in struggle, in persecution, in affliction, in suffering, that we come up against our weakness but the result of that is trust more in God where true strength comes from.

Jeremiah said:
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”

And if you’ll realize it, this has been the very calling of Paul
Regarding our understanding of OUR OWN SALVATION.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

It is just so important to understand that
In and of ourselves, we are not capable.
We must continually learn where our strength comes from.

And in order to teach us this, God often uses “The Lesson Of Defeat”

AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE 60TH PSALM.
(I realize this was a lengthy introduction, but it won’t take long to work through this Psalm)

Psalms 60 comes to us with a setting in its heading.
“For the choir director; according to Sushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach;”

• Clearly in this Psalm David learned a lesson and it is a lesson that he wishes to pass on to the church.

“when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.”

• So the setting is given to us, but I’ll go ahead and tell you that tracing this one out is difficult.

To be certain
• We can find where David battled with “Aram-naharaim and with Aram-
zobah”
• And we can find where Edom was defeated in “the Valley of Salt.”

You can read about those events both in 2 Samuel 8:1-13 & 1 Chronicles 18:1-12.

But if you turn and read those and then read this Psalm
You are going to walk away scratching your head a little,
Because this Psalm clearly indicates a defeat.

This Psalm clearly indicates a defeat, a rejection, a hardship, etc.
• And this Psalm implies that it came at the hands of Edom, likely before Joab went and attacked them.

The only problem is the passages in the Old Testament
Do not reveal any such defeat, only victories.

We don’t doubt that they happened, it’s just that you can’t read about them.

• What most likely happened is that while David was in the north defeating Philistia and Moab and Aram-zobah that Edom must have attacked in the south and defeated Israel.

And so what you have is
A new King David who has really been winning left and right.

In fact in
2 Samuel 8:6 “Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.”

To this point
• David had defeated the remnant of Saul’s family.
• David had defeated the Philistines several times.
• David had defeated the Moabites.
• David had defeated the Arameans.

And even though he has certainly seen his share of battles,
David has known only victory.

And as we said, while victory is fun, it can be dangerous.
And so it is apparent that the Lord has appointed to teach David a lesson.

• Edom apparently attacked and surprised David with a defeat,
• And that loss sort of rocked David and sent him immediately back to the source of his strength.

That is Psalms 60.

4 points tonight.
#1 A SHOCKING REJECTION
Psalms 60:1-3

Regardless of the fact that neither 2 Samuel nor 1 Chronicles bears it out,
It is abundantly clear that David has suffered a shocking defeat in battle.

And David attributes it directly to the fact that it was the will of God.

He knew he lost and he knew that God caused it.

“O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us.”

David was keenly aware of God’s sovereign prerogative.
• Even in defeat, David is keenly aware of one thing.
• If God had wanted them to win, they would have won.

So the fact that they lost could only mean that God had caused it.

David was NOT like so many in our day who wish to attribute everything that we enjoy in life to God and everything hard in life to Satan.

David knew that BOTH come from the hand of the Lord. David knew that God uses BOTH victory and defeat in order to work in our lives.

And make no mistake, it was a shocking defeat.
(2) “You have made the land to quake. You have split it open;”

The analogy of an earthquake was poetic language simply to reveal that that which appeared unmovable has been moved.
• That which we didn’t think could fall actually fell.
• That which seemed solid has crumbled.

It is “split open” to which David cries, “Heal its breaches, for it totters”

David continues:
(3) “You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger.”

And so it is clear to us that David has suffered a shocking defeat
And he knows who is behind it.

It reminds us a little of the story of Joshua after he had conquered Jericho and then he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Ai.

Joshua 7:5-9 “The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! “O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?”

That defeat totally interrupted Joshua’s expectations.

Of course the LORD would reveal that it was a defeat because Achan had taken that which was under the ban.
Once the problem was fixed Israel was again victorious in battle.

DAVID HAS A SIMILAR CONFUSION HERE.
He writes as one not totally sure why they have lost.

And you see that next.

A Shocking Rejection
#2 A SIMPLE REQUEST
Psalms 60:4-5

When I say that David is confused by the defeat
YOU SEE THAT CONFUSION HERE.

“You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah”

When you read of a “banner”,
• Think of it as a modern day flag carried into battle.
• It is the identifying mark of the nation for which you fight.

It is far more than just an identifier of the army,
It stands for that nations ideals and beliefs and expectations and goals.

To this day the American flag is a symbol of freedom.
The Nazi flag was a symbol of oppression.

Well David says here that they had been carrying God’s banner.

And they “displayed [it] because of truth.”

That is to say that they fought their battles in the name of the Lord.
• They battled the enemy in the name of God.
• They were spreading His truth.
• They were declaring His message.
• They were promoting His righteousness.
• They were silencing His enemies.

That’s what makes this so shocking.
Had David been out fighting in his own name or for his own banner
It might have been understandable why God had refused to go with him.

But David was carrying God’s banner.
He was going forth in God’s truth.
He was doing this on God’s behalf.
And that is what made this defeat a little strange to him.

That even seems to be the reason for the “Selah” here.
• It is a good time to contemplate.
• God had actually rejected His people when they were fighting in His name.
• That is certainly something to ponder; why God would do that?

Sort of like why God would appoint a “messenger of Satan”
To torment Paul and war against his preaching
When Paul was only working to further God’s kingdom.

It can obviously seem strange to a human way of thinking.

So David is shocked, but that doesn’t stop his prayer.
(Paul implored 3 times)

(5) “That Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and answer us!”

• He may have lost, but David still knows he is God’s “beloved”
• David may be shocked, but he still knows God is his savior.
• And so David cries out to God, even during this peculiar loss.

Certainly that is a testimony to his faith and sound doctrine.
• Something may be wrong, but it isn’t permanent.
• God may have smitten them, but it is not for the purpose of destruction.
• God may have caused a defeat, but it is surely for their good and His glory.

David didn’t lose sight of that.

A Shocking Rejection, A Simple Request
#3 A SOVEREIGN REALITY
Psalms 60:6-8

Here is more of David’s theology and that which sustains him.

• Even in defeat, David knows who is sovereign.
• Even as nations invade and seek to take over the land, David is well aware that God alone appoints the boundaries of man’s habitation.

And so David begins to recall in his mind the truth of God’s promises.

(6-7) “God has spoken in His holiness: “I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. “Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.”

David speaks of what God had already spoken in the past.
• That is, David recounts a past promise of God.

Namely that God already determined who owns “Shechem” and “the valley of Succoth”. God already portioned it out.

And He gave it to Israel.
He said, “Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.”

• That is to say, these are My lands.
• He already appointed Ephraim to be a strong defense.
• He already appointed Judah to rule.

He already gave them this land.

Beyond that, He already determined that this land would NOT be for the foreign nations that are now warring with Israel.

(8) “Moab is My washbowl” – it is a picture of service and submission as a servant who must carry the bowl to wash the warrior’s feet.

“Over Edom I shall throw My shoe” – another subservient role as Edom would be the servant to whom the master threw his shoes when taking them off.

“Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!” – it is a picture of fear and dread because of the LORD’S power.

THE POINT HERE IS THAT
• As David begins to sort of take a mental inventory as to why this defeat happened,
• He goes back to the promise of God that this land belongs to Israel and not Edom.

• He knows that God has already decreed that.
• He knows what God has already decided.

And so, David, by the process of elimination is able to scratch more off his list.
• He knows they didn’t lose because they weren’t battling for truth – they
were.
• He knows they didn’t lose because they were trying to take land God
hadn’t given them – He had.

He’s just searching out what the lesson is in this defeat.

And that brings us to the final point.
#4 A SINCERE RELIANCE
Psalms 60:9-12

David is now again filled with contemplation.
“Who will bring me into the besieged city? Who will lead me to Edom?”

THAT IS TO SAY,
• How can I expect to go and defeat these people who have attacked us?
• How can I now win?

“Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us? And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?”

So you hear David.
• He’s contemplating how he could possibly have victory over Edom if God doesn’t go with them.
• And in David’s mind, to fight this battle without God would be a sure and certain failure.

And all of a sudden it is as though a light bulb comes on.
David has his epiphany.

• Joshua learned that his defeat was because Israel had disobeyed God regarding the spoil of Jericho,
• And now David has learned the root behind his defeat to the Edomites.

And here is what David learns again.
ONLY GOD GIVES VICTORY
(It has nothing to do with man’s strength)

And it’s almost as if, during his contemplation, it hits David that
• Even though he had been battling in the name of the Lord,
• And even though he had been pursuing an objective that God had ordained,
• That perhaps David had been lifted up in pride and been tempted to see the strength of his own arm in these battles.

And now, through a defeat to the Edomites,
God has reminded David that his strength is nothing.

And so David, now in humility, is returning to God as he should.

(11-12) “O give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain. Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.”

And that is what David desired to teach the church through this song.
For that is what David learned through this defeat.

In losing this battle, David was once again forced to brush up against his own human frailty.
• It’s not that his theology was bad…
• It’s not that his mission was wrong…
• It’s not that his goal was off…

It’s just that David had apparently
Gotten a little too confident in his own abilities.

David had won so many battles
That it becomes easy to take those victories for granted
And to assume that in some small measure
They may have something to do with you.

And so God teaches David the lesson that is best learned through defeat.

• And once David humbles himself and returns to the Lord confessing that every ounce of the victory is for him.

• Well then God granted the victory and Joab slew twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

IT WAS JUST IMPORTANT THAT DAVID BE REMINDED
THAT APART FROM GOD HE COULD DO NOTHING.

That is an important lesson to learn.
That is an important lesson to be reminded of.

• We all love the days of great success…
• All preachers love the compliments at the back door…

BUT IN REALITY,
It is the failures and the rebukes that make us better
Because they crush our pride and make us more reliant upon God.

When we realize more fully the weakness of our branch,
We are more likely to cling ever closer to the vine.

It was a lesson David learned and we learn continually.
And it is a good lesson.

2 Corinthians 12:10 “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

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The Whole Story About Loving Wealth
Luke 16:19-31
January 19, 2020

If you’ve been with us the last couple of weeks you know that
Jesus is back on the topic of wealth.
It is a topic that Jesus continually returns to.

And in Luke 16 He chose to warn His disciples with a sermon
Regarding the dangerous consequences of loving the world.

FIRST – He gave us that story about
• The unrighteous manager who squandered his master’s possessions
• And then, when caught, cut a deal with all his master’s debtors
• In order to make friends out of them.

And then to everyone’s surprise
He actually praised that unrighteous manager.
Not because he was dishonest, but because of his SHREWDNESS.

He used wealth he could not keep to create for himself a better future.

And Jesus basically said, “I wish My disciples did that.”
• I wish they understood that all wealth belongs to God; they are only
borrowing it.
• I wish they understood that someday this wealth will fail; they will lose it.
• I wish that they understood that this borrowed temporary wealth was given to
them in order to grow the kingdom, not increase their comforts.

To which Jesus reminded:
Luke 16:10-13 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

It was a pretty pointed sermon to say the least.

But you’ll also remember that mid-sermon JESUS TOOK A DETOUR
To address the Pharisees who loved money and were scoffing at Him.

He addressed their propensity to justify themselves
And promised that it would only lead them to judgment.

And now, having addressed them, JESUS RETURNS TO THE WARNING about money that He began giving to His disciples.

And He ends His sermon with a story.
Theologians argue whether this story is a made up parable, similar to the prodigal son, or if it is an actual true account.

I tend to think it is a true story that actually happened, after all Lazarus is mentioned by name, but other preachers will tell you it’s simply another parable.

There’s obviously no way for us to know,
But either way the point of the story is true because Jesus says it is.

And THE POINT of the story is (as Paul Harvey would say)
To give you “The Rest of the Story”

The fact of the matter is, that as we live in this earth, we only get to see half of the story.
• We see life as it is lived here.
• We don’t see the afterlife.
• We don’t see what is currently going on beyond the grave.

We only see half of the story.
This has caused great CONFUSION and FRUSTRATION over the years.

TURN TO: PSALMS 73
• Psalms 73 is a testimony of a man named Asaph
• Who admitted to being frustrated by the fact that his faith had led him into a life of hardship
• While those who are godless seemed to have a life of ease.

(READ 1-14)
You see his frustration don’t you.

From his vantage point, all he could see was the godless
And they were wealthy and comfortable and it left him feeling like
His decision to follow God was the wrong one.

But he only had half of the story.
All he was able to see was what took place in this life.

(READ 15-20)
• There God took Asaph into the sanctuary and showed him “their end”.
• Asaph saw that their comfort ends as soon as this life does.
• He could’ve been the first to coin that phrase, “All that Glitters Isn’t Gold”

When Asaph got the full story, it completely changed his outlook regarding wealth and what true treasure was.

(READ 21-28)

• Asaph went from being an angry envious man to a contented worshiping man because he saw the entire story.

• No longer was he envious of the wicked and their wealth, now he was filled with gratitude for the true treasure that he did possess which was God Himself.

I read you that story because the goal of Luke 16:19-31
Is to produce exactly that same response in you.

Jesus gives this story to His disciples
Because He wants them to know the rest of the story.

And may knowledge of the whole truth here totally change our perspective regarding the value of worldly wealth as well.

After we finish, may we all answer sincerely with Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

That is the goal.
So this morning let’s listen as Jesus takes us into the sanctuary
And shows us “their end”.

We will break this text down into 3 points this morning.
Each of them serves as a contrast.
#1 LIFE
Luke 16:19-21

First we look at the part that we can all see.
We see two men, and there is a great contrast to be seen here.

• One life could be described as: HABITUAL JOYOUS SPLENDOR
• The other life described as: HELPLESS HUNGRY SUFFERING

They are exact opposites.
• One is rich, the other is poor
• One is clothed in purple and fine linen, the other in sores
• One is joyously living, the other longs to be fed with crumbs
• One lives in splendor, the other is laid at a gate to beg

It’s a stark contrast to be certain, and from a human perspective,
THE RICH MAN’S LIFE IS CERTAINLY TO BE DESIRED.

The rich man has, by all accounts, what appears to be the better life.
• He’s got the life you’d naturally envy.
• He’s got the life you’d naturally want.
• He’s got the life you’d work to obtain.
• His life is the goal.

“habitually dressed in purple and fine linen”
Indicates extreme wealth since purple fabrics expressed the highest wealth, typically only for royalty.

• The purple dye had to be extracted from sea slugs and was very expensive to obtain.
• The “fine linen” would have been imported Egyptian cotton which was also highly expensive.

This man had all his world could offer
And because of his comforts, he was “joyously living”

That is to say, he loved life.
He loved his life.

And he enjoyed it “every day”.
• It wasn’t a vacation, it wasn’t a get-a-way, it wasn’t an aberration.
• This was his life every day.

He had the life everyone wanted.

CONTRASTED WITH THIS POOR MAN who “was laid at his gate”
• Indicating a likely paralysis or inability to walk.
• This man was a cripple who had to be brought to this place in order to beg.

He was “covered in sores” indicating a constant discomfort.
• Perhaps it was boils or bed sores or some other disease,
• But apart from being laid on the ground, apart from being laid in the elements,
• This man had no physical comfort to speak of.

He was “longing to be fed with the crumbs”.
• Dogs in that day would fight for the table scraps that fell from the table,
• And certainly a dog gets to scraps quicker than a cripple.
• He couldn’t even beat a dog to the table scraps.
• Instead, “the dogs were coming and licking his sores”

It paints a similar picture of hardship
To that of the young prodigal brother who found himself in a pig pen
Wishing he was a pig so he could eat a carob pod.

This man was hungry and no one would give anything to him.
• This rich man had ignored him.
• This rich man had overlooked him.
• This rich man was concerned only about his own comforts, and was not interested in mingling with this helpless beggar.

That is the picture of this man.
AND OBVIOUSLY, HIS WAS THE LIFE TO AVOID.

And IN JESUS’ DAY the Pharisees had devised a theology that actually painted this man as a sinner who was suffering for his sin,
And the wealthy man was obviously a saint whom God had rewarded.

Today we call it “The Prosperity Gospel” and it is certainly not new.
Job’s friends clearly believed it many years ago.

Well they believed it here too.
• The rich man not only had the best life, but according to their theology, he
also clearly had God’s favor.
• The poor man not only had the worst life, but also according to their theology,
he had God’s disdain.

And it seemed so clearly obvious to the human eye.
That is why you had guys like Asaph in Psalms 73 confused
Because he had tried to please God and was poor,
While those who didn’t try to please God were wealthy and fat.

He couldn’t figure out why they had God’s blessing and he had not.

AND THAT’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE DOESN’T IT?

It looks like God is smiling upon this rich man
And God is punishing this poor man.

And so, based on this information,
If you have to pick which life you want to pursue,
Then clearly everyone would have picked the rich man.

But that’s only because you don’t know the whole story.
You have only seen the beginning, you haven’t seen the end.

But that’s LIFE
#2 DEATH
Luke 16:22

Here we get another contrast.
“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”

The first thing you must recognize is
The great equalizer that has now occurred in their life.

It has been called “the debt that all men pay”

The writer of Ecclesiastes actually seemed to lament this reality.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven — A time to give birth and a time to die;”

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 “For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.”

(That is, they all go to the dead)

Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.”

Despite their contrast in life, neither of these men could escape death.
That is important.

But even in their death we see again a great contrast.

We have a POOR MAN whose death went unnoticed on earth.
• There was no funeral, there was no parade, there was no grieving.
• His death actually made life easier on the people around him.
• No one had to carry him to the gate anymore.
• The rich man no longer had to step over him or ignore him.
• His life appeared insignificant and his death did as well.

On the other hand we have the RICH MAN who Jesus simply said, “also died and was buried.”

The implication there is that he had a great funeral.
• Many showed up to mourn him.
• There were no doubt professional mourners hired.
• There was likely a death parade.
• There was a fine tomb.
• It was a big spectacle to pay homage to this wonderful life.

He was celebrity in life and he was treated as celebrity in death.

And that only adds to the human mystique of the wealthy.
MEN LONG FOR THAT.

• No one wants to be the poor cripple who gets the county burial in a cardboard box because no one cares enough to provide him a funeral.

• Everyone marvels at the man with the massive visitation and the expensive casket and the church full of friends and the TV coverage and national mourning.

The way these men died only reinforced the human mentality that
The rich man’s life was to be pursued over that of the poor man.

But again, that’s because you only know the first part of the story.
You don’t know the end.

And death is NOT the end.

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

There is a death and then there is an “after this” that you must see.

And if you don’t take the real end into account
It is quite likely that you will make the wrong decision in this life.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

And this is what Jesus wanted you to know.
This is what Asaph was shown as he entered the tabernacle of God.

Psalms 73:16-17 “When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.”

That is what we see next.
Life, Death
#3 AFTERLIFE
Luke 16:23-31

There again the contrast could not be more distinct.

And I realize this story may present some questions for you regarding things like:
• Can those in hell really see those in heaven?
• Can they actually communicate across?
• Since this is before the cross, how was the poor man saved?
• Why was this rich Jewish man not saved?

I realize there are questions that immerge, and we could spend some time on that I suppose, but we aren’t going to this morning. Feel free to ask me later.

I think a lot of it depends more on the fact of rather this is a true story or a parable.

But I think to chase that rabbit will take more time than we have and will cause us to miss the main point of the story and so I don’t want to chase it right now.

ASK ME LATER if curiosity is getting the better of you,
But let’s make sure we get the main point here this morning.

There is another clear contrast between this rich man and this poor man.

LET’S FIRST LOOK AT THIS POOR MAN.
• His life was miserable as he lived as a cripple and a starving and sickly beggar.
• He was unnoticed, ignored, and unloved.
• His life was full of pain and misery.

But after death that all changed.
• In fact, though it could not be seen with human eyes, we found that when this poor man died in verse 22, he “was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom;”

• And in verse 25 we receive only a few words about his new state and that is that “now he is being comforted here”

There was no comfort for him in life,
But there is tremendous comfort for him in eternity.

Psalms 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.”

And even in the Revelation we see it again:
To those martyrs under the altar who had been so cruelly attacked in life.
Revelation 6:11 “And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”

Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

Indeed it is true:
Psalms 23:4-6 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

That is the end for the poor man.
His 40-50-60-70 years on earth was full of pain and suffering,
But eternity is filled with comfort and peace and rest.

However, for the WICKED, there is NO REST.
There is no peace.

Jesus actually warned us of this already:
Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Jesus warned us not to put too much stock in what we see now,
But to look with eyes of faith to what was coming.

James said:
James 5:1-6 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.”

• James also warned about a rich man who hoards his wealth while men around him starve.
• James also warned about a rich man who withholds the pay of his laborers so that he can keep more for himself.
• James also warned about the rich man who oppresses the poor and in effect puts him to death through his refusal to help.

James said that miseries are coming for that man.

AND HERE THEY ARE.
The tables have clearly turned.

And just to make sure we get a comprehensive look, let’s break down the afterlife of this rich man into 4 easier points here.
1) PHYSICAL SUFFERING DUE TO FLAMES (24)
(24) “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’”

Make no mistake, hell is a place of physical suffering.
Hell is a place of physical pain.

When you read Revelation 9
• And hell is opened for a brief time
• So that demons (described as locusts) might come and ravage the earth,
• It is a disheartening picture when that door is opened.

Revelation 9:2 “He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.”

Jesus described hell like this
Mark 9:42-48 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.”

Other passages of Scripture refer to it:
• As “the outer darkness”
• Or also the “lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels”
• Or also a place “where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth”

Hell is a place of physical pain and this man is feeling it.
He is in such agony that his plea is for Lazarus to be sent
To dip his finger in water and touch it to his tongue.

“Give me one drop of water on my tongue
That one part of me might feel one moment’s relief”

And this pain is just punishment of God on the unatoned sin of this man.

Luke 12:5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”

This man is in horrific physical suffering.
He wants mercy.
• It is clear that he still sees Lazarus as a servant…
• It is clear that he has no room for repentance of his love of the world or lack of compassion…

But he wants mercy none the less.
And he wants it because the physical suffering is enormous.

2) EMOTIONAL SUFFERING DUE TO REGRET (25)
“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.”

His request for mercy is DENIED.

Matthew Henry said, “He who denied the crumb was here denied a drop”

WE CALL THIS JUSTICE.
This man absolutely got what he deserved.

And I must remind you that THIS IS THE VERY NATURE OF JUDGMENT.
• At the judgment, men get what they deserve.
• Holy God renders to them, exactly what they deserve to receive.

• This man spent his whole life hoarding and enjoying his wealth and ignoring
the poor around him.
• This man cared more for feeding his dogs than for feeding the poor.
• This man determined to clothe himself in purple and fine linen not caring that
the poor had no clothing at all.

HE CHOSE THIS LIFE FOR HIS INHERITANCE
And that is what he received.

There was no injustice in it, and Abraham merely reminds him of that.

“Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.”

This is what you chose.
This is the justice you wanted.

And one can only imagine the agony associated with that memory.
• Flooding to his mind were all the times he felt an inner compelling to help the poor man but instantly ignored it that he might have more for himself.
• Memory after memory of all the opportunities he had to share his wealth.
• Memory after memory of all the warnings he heard not to be greedy.
• Scripture passages now flooding to his mind that told him this would happen.

And now those memories serve to be a horrible emotional torment.

How many will descend into hell and instantly remember the warnings of Jesus?
Luke 13:25-30 “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘ I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

Today such passages are terrifying warnings,
In hell they will become gut-wrenching memories.

This man is suffering physically due to flame and emotionally due to regret.
3) ETERNAL TORMENT DUE TO PERMANENCE (26)
“And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.”

The point?
Even if we were willing, we couldn’t.

• Your life on earth was temporary.
• Your life on earth was never meant to last forever.
• But this is your life now, and this life never ends.
• This life is eternal.

Of hell we read
Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

That makes hell a place of suffering from which there is no escape.
• It is permanent.
• It is eternal.

And if you need more in order to grasp this point,
It is sufficient to know that this story was told 2,000 years ago by Jesus
And THAT RICH MAN IS STILL THERE TODAY.

It is actually more than can be fathomed by the human mind.

4) SPIRITUAL TORMENT DUE TO REASON (27-31)
“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house — for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

Upon realizing
• That his suffering will never end
• And there is nothing that can be done to sooth it,
This rich man actually becomes an evangelist.

He begins to beg for his family.
• All those he gave a bad example to.
• All those he trained the wrong way.
• All those to whom he said, “I’m telling you this is the life, you’ve got to get one of these purple robes.”
• All those to whom he said, “Don’t worry about Lazarus, he’s a filthy beggar”
• All those who attended his funeral to honor him
• All those who looked to him as the model of success and the type of man you should become

He realizes he has made a grave mistake and that his influence and life has not only lead many astray, but even his own family.

And he pleads that they might be warned.

What manner of horror would overtake a father in hell when he realizes that he spent his life training his children to follow him to this very place?

What manner of horror overtakes a mother in hell when she realizes that she never told her kids of the importance of forgiveness through Jesus?

• I pushed them to college…
• I pushed them to earthly success…
• I pushed them to make money…
• I laughed at their immorality…
• I ignored their lack of concern for spiritual things…
• I led them down this path and one day they will follow me here…

What horror would that spiritual torment be!

And this man pleads again that Lazarus might leave his place of comfort
And if not come to meet him in hell,
Then go back to his hell on earth to warn his brothers.

And Abraham again says “No”
They already have the ultimate evangelist.
They have the word of God.
They have been warned.

And this man says, “That’s not enough!”
(30) “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’”

And that’s not true.
• We actually have a story of Jews covering up the resurrection of Jesus.

There is no greater witness than the very word of God.
• The gospel is “the power of God for salvation”.
• “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”.

If a man won’t listen to the inspired words of God,
He won’t listen to anything.

(31) “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

Well friends that is the rest of the story.
That is “the end” that Asaph saw.

No wonder he said:
Psalms 73:17-20 “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.”

But now let me remind you again who this story is for.
• We found out back in the first part of the chapter that Jesus was speaking to His disciples here.
• Yes, He was forced to address the Pharisees half-way through, but ultimately this story is for those who were following Jesus.

And Jesus has already made His point.

Luke 16:9-13 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

This story is meant to reinforce that truth.
• When we are confronted with Jesus.
• When we are confronted with the only One who can justify us before God.
• When we are confronted with the only One who can satisfy God’s wrath.

And when this One says that:
He will save us IF we will forsake this world in order to follow Him,
WE ARE THE CONFRONTED WITH A REAL DECISION.

We are forced to choose our treasure.
Will this world be our treasure or will Christ be our treasure?

YOU CAN’T HAVE BOTH,
• Because to love one is to despise the other.
• To be friends with one is to hate the other.
• “That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

And if all the information you had was what you see on earth,
That would be a difficult choice, for by all earthly accounts
The rich man’s life is clearly the better.

And that is why Jesus shows you “the end”.

• So that you will see how much more valuable Jesus is than the world.
• So that you will see why the call to forsake this world and follow Jesus is hands down the best decision.

• So that you will no longer see the rich man as the enviable life, but now see the truth that he has the life to be avoided.
• So that you will no longer see the poor man as the life to be avoided, but as the one to be sought.

James actually said:
James 1:9-11 “But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

James said you should glory every time that money gets tight and the world slips through your fingers because it will teach you not to love this world.

That is the purpose of this story as well.
Jesus has graciously granted us the right to see “the end”
So that we might make the proper decision.

So that you will confess as Asaph did:
Psalms 73:21-28 “When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within, Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

THAT’S IT FRIEND.
• Do not choose this world.
• Instead use the wealth of this world for eternal purposes.
• Use it to lead men to Christ and to secure eternal treasure.

Don’t think about what you have on earth,
Think about what you’ll have in eternity.

Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

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God My Strength
Psalms 59
January 12, 2020

Tonight we come to the 59th Psalm and the conclusion of
This trilogy of Psalms we’ve been looking at recently.

It is the Psalms which share the distinction: “set to Al-tashheth”
Which of course means “Destroy Not”
Psalms 57, 58, and 59 are the “Destroy Not” Psalms.

But we have also said that can at first be a little misleading since in these Psalms it is clear that David also anticipated the coming judgment of God.

In Psalms 57 we read:
Psalms 57:2-3 “I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.”

In Psalms 58 we read:
Psalms 58:6 “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.”

And even in this Psalm we read:
(13) “Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more; That men may know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah”

Clearly a “Destroy Not” distinction
Can be a somewhat confusing distinction
Based on the fact that David so clearly asks God to do just that.

Rather, we have recognized that the “Destroy Not” distinction
IS NOT FOR GOD, BUT FOR US.

Again I remind you of the New Testament equivalent that we have so quickly related to these Psalms:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

So we are studying this trilogy of Psalms which remind us that
We are those who do not take our own revenge.
It is not our objective to destroy the wicked.
We turn the other cheek, we go the extra mile,
We graciously endure a wrong suffered.

In all things we look to our chief example who is Christ.
1 Peter 2:19-23 “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

That is clearly our calling.
And that is the message David is relating in these Psalms.

And we also find that David is NOT some inexperienced or untested theologian in these Psalms either.

For the backdrop to 2 of these 3 Psalms is given.
THE FIRST was when David was hiding in the cave and had the opportunity to kill Saul but refused.

AND this Psalm also comes with a setting.

We read in the subheading, “A Mikhtam of David,
When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.”

Once again we find David in a position of great danger among lethal men
And yet, even in that situation he knows that the call is to “Destroy Not”

Let’s look at the setting first this evening.
TURN TO: 1 Samuel 19

1 Samuel 19 is earlier on in the Saul/David saga.
It was in chapter 17 that David approached Saul in order to fight the giant, and David on that day won a great victory for the children of Israel.

And in chapter 18 David became a great warrior for Saul.
1 Samuel 18:5 “So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.”

But it wasn’t long before jealousy set in on Saul’s part.
1 Samuel 18:6-9 “It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.”

And by the time we get to chapter 19 we read: (READ 1-11)

So you see the setting to the Psalm.
It precedes the incidents that we have read about previously.
Indeed, this may have been the incident in which David first learned to “Destroy Not”

We have hear a young David (filled with innocence,)
But caught up in what God is doing in the life of Saul.

• Saul had sinned against the LORD back in chapter 15 when he failed to destroy Agag of the Amalekites and even spared some of the livestock for sacrifice.

• Then Samuel asked Saul, “Has the LORD as much delight in burn offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams” (15:22)

• And finally Samuel revealed to Saul that the Lord “has rejected you from being king.”

• That is why Saul is at times tormented by the LORD.
• That is why David, who’s already been anointed by Samuel has God’s favor.
• That is why Saul is so jealous of David.

So as you can see, none of that is David’s fault.
He’s really just sort of a naïve innocent figure
In the midst of a greater narrative.

And all of a sudden, despite always doing his best for the King,
He finds himself trapped in his own house with the King out to kill him.

It’s an unfair and difficult situation to say the least.

And it is here that David pens yet another Psalm
And one that he would add to the “Destroy Not” trilogy.

And here is the distinction of this one.
• In the 57th Psalm we learned that no matter the opportunity afforded you, you still should not take your own revenge.
• In the 58th Psalm we learned that no matter how wicked and deserving of judgment your enemy may be, you still should not take your own revenge.
• And here in the 59th we learn that no matter the danger you are in, you still should not take your own revenge.

Even in dangerous and undeserving situations
God’s children should not take matters into their own hands
And take their own revenge.

We are still called to walk in faith and trust God,
Even in that unfair and dangerous situation.

And in this Psalm, not only do we see the faith of David modeled for us,
But we also see the theology that drove David’s faith,
And that is what we focus on tonight.

We see what David believed
• And it is that belief that allowed him to so greatly trust and obey in the midst of these unfair and dangerous situations.

So let’s look at the Psalm together tonight.
4 points.

#1 FIERCE MEN ATTACK, BUT GOD SEES
Psalms 59:1-5

The Psalm begins with the OBVIOUS FEAR AND ANXIETY of David,
For he is in a very difficult situation.
The King of the land is conspiring to kill him.

(1-2) “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed.”

Nothing there surprises us.
• If we were to find ourselves in David’s shoes we would have qualms about praying that prayer either.

David’s simple prayer is basically, “Get me out of here!”

And then David begins to express to God more accurately
THE STATE OF THE DANGER.

(3-4) “For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!”

If you need a better feel for exactly the danger that David is in,
Just listen to his description of it here.

1) THESE MEN ARE SEVERE
“they have set an ambush for my life”

• They don’t want to just teach David a lesson.
• They don’t want to just run David off.
• They don’t want to just ruin David’s reputation.
• THEY WANT HIM DEAD

This is severe.
They want to kill him.

2) THESE MEN ARE SKILLFUL
“Fierce men launch an attack against me.”

• We aren’t just dealing with angry but impotent men.
• This isn’t a Chihuahua running down the street barking at David.

These men want to kill him, AND they certainly have the skill and ability.

They are “fierce men” and they have a skillful and well planned “attack”
Which has been launched.

3) THESE MEN ARE SINISTER
“Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD”

In short, they want to kill me even though I don’t deserve it.
• I have not wronged them.
• I have not wronged the king.
• I have done nothing but what I ought to have done.

All David had ever done was everything the king had commanded
And yet they seek to kill him.

The point?
• These men can’t be reasoned with.
• They aren’t killing him because he deserves it.
• They aren’t killing him because he is evil.
• They are killing him because they have been told to by their king and there is no appealing his way out of it.

These are sinister and evil men.

4) THESE MEN ARE SWIFT
“For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.”

To make matters worse, they seem eager to do it.
• “they run” to their task.
• “they run” to their attack.
• “they run” to hatch their plan against me.

So do you have some sense of the danger David is in?
There is no escaping, there is no reasoning, there is no delay,
There is no hoping they won’t do it.

David is trapped in his house by those who are evil and seek to kill him.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN FACING SUCH EVIL MEN?

Well, if you’ll notice, the man who had already killed a lion,
A bear, and a giant, and several Philistines in battle
DID NOT HATCH A PLAN OF REVENGE.

• He did not call together those loyal to him that he might fight his way out.
• He did not gather his sling and his sword and prepare to one by one eliminate
those who might attack.

Instead David trusted in God and appealed to him.

WHY?
Because David believed that God sees.
(4b-5) “Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.”

The cry is for God to see.
The belief is that God does see.

David is well aware of who God is.
• He is the “LORD God of hosts” (God of angel armies)
• He is the “God of Israel” (as in the One who delivered them from Egypt)
• He is the punisher of nations.
• He is the one who judges those “who are treacherous in iniquity”

David knows God is just and David knows God is powerful,
David’s one desire here is that this just and powerful God
SEE what is occurring.

And the joy to David, and the joy to us is that GOD DOES SEE.

All of our affliction, and all of our danger is not lost to the Judge.
He is not unaware of our infirmity, or unaware of our danger.

When He calls you to not take your own revenge and to wait for Him,
It is not because He does not see.

In the book of Genesis,
• Perhaps you will remember the story of how Abraham walked in the flesh and instead of trusting God that Sarai would conceive, he instead went in to Hagar.
• Of course after Hagar conceived Sarai hated her and persecuted her.
• This caused Hagar to flee from Sarai.

But if you remember the story:
Genesis 16:7-13 “Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” The angel of the LORD said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers.” Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?”

God was indeed asking a difficult thing of Hagar,
To go and submit herself back to Saria.

• Hagar now was willing because she knows “You are a God who sees”
• The angel had told her “the LORD has given heed to your affliction.”

Later when Jacob was being oppressed and cheated by his uncle Laban.
Genesis 31:12 “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.”

And of course God protected Jacob and delivered him.

Even later when Laban pursued Jacob, Jacob said to him.
Genesis 31:42 “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”

Later, when the children of Israel were in Egypt and were cruelly afflicted by Pharaoh, God appeared to Moses in order to send him back to Egypt.
Exodus 3:7-9 “The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.”

David knows this, and so he appeals to the God who sees.

We have the same promise.
• We know that the hairs of our head are numbered.
• We know that He sees every time a sparrow falls, and He promises that we are more valuable than the birds.

To the persecuted church of Smyrna Jesus said:
Revelation 2:9 “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Their tribulation wasn’t lost on Christ.

And if you can grasp that, and believe that, and lean on that,
Then you do not have to take your own revenge.

Rather, like Christ, you can entrust yourself to Him who judges justly.
That is what David is doing here.

Fierce men attack, but God sees.
#2 FOOLISH MEN BOAST, BUT GOD SCOFFS
Psalms 59:6-8

David is aware that God sees, judges,
And will judge these wicked men who attack him.

And David ALSO KNOWS that these men are absolutely no match for God.

In fact, THERE IS A CONFIDENCE creeping in here for David
As he notes that for these men to continue in their wickedness
Is quite the foolish thing.

David further describes his attackers.
“They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, “Who hears?”

You pick up there on their arrogance and confidence.
• Compared to a howling dog that is claiming victory over it’s prey.
• Their talk is unending and boisterous and lacking any sense compared to a belch.

And all the while, they attack the innocent, and they mock and they scorn
And they boast, and they say, “Who hears?”

It is akin to that great 73rd Psalm again.
Psalms 73:8-11 “They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

Or
Psalms 10:9-11 “He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net. He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

It is the foolishness of the wicked.

So on one hand we have an afflicted man
Quite certain that God sees everything,
And on the other hand a band of thugs who think He doesn’t.

They run off at the mouth, they make bold claims;
Even blasphemous ones.
BUT THEY DO NOT INTIMIDATE GOD IN THE LEAST.

(8) “But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations.”

In Psalms 2 we saw the wicked of the earth take their stand against Christ in order to cast His cords off of them.
In response to their conspiracy we read:
Psalms 2:4-6 “He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

Later in Psalms 37 we read about the wicked attacking the righteous.
And we read:
Psalms 37:12-13 “The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming.”

God laughs, not because He finds their rebellion humorous,
But because He finds it pathetic.

We are reminded that God is not the least bit challenged, threatened, or concerned about the rebellion of the wicked.

They can boast with their mouth, but they are no threat.

Probably the greatest example of this is the man we know as anti-Christ.

Paul spoke of his boisterous speech.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

John speaks of it in the Revelation.
Revelation 13:5-6 “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”

But this braggart is no threat to God.

In fact Paul went on to say:
2 Thessalonians 2:8 “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;”

Did you catch that? “slay with the breath of His mouth”
• Not with a sword
• Not with a bomb
• Not with a club.
• Christ will need nothing more than His breath, His word to slay him.

And in the Revelation we read:
Revelation 19:19-21 “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

It wasn’t even a good fight. It was never close.
There was no threat.

AND DAVID KNOWS THIS.
In fact, this is his confidence.

That in all his affliction, he need not act on his own behalf,
For God sees and is more than capable of stopping his foe.

What a great confidence for the believer.

Fierce men attack, but God sees Foolish men boast, but God scoffs
#3 FAITHLESS MEN CURSE, BUT GOD SAVES
Psalms 59:9-13

In verse 9 we read:
“Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold.”

My Bible shows an alternate translation to that verse as,
“My strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold.”

I show it to you to see more clearly that
David is not so much enamored with the strength of the enemy
As he is enamored with the strength of God.

HE KNOWS HOW STRONG GOD IS.
Not only to destroy the wicked, but also to save His own.

And this is David’s confidence.
(10) “My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.”

• Why should I have to fight?
• Why should I have to attack?
God will do it for me.

WHY?
Because of His “lovingkindness”
This is that wonderful word CHECED again.

It gets translated “love” or “lovingkindness” or even “mercy”
But really none of those do it justice.

What it really is, is LOYALTY.

TURN TO: PSALMS 136

• I actually chuckled at this a little at the Thanksgiving service this year.
• For the Scripture reading they selected Psalms 136, but if you were there then you noticed that they read the first 9 verses and then skipped to the last 4.
• They didn’t read verses 10-22
• The reason is because most people don’t know what to do with those verses.

They translate the word “lovingkindness” or in the NIV simply “love”
And over and over boast about how “His love endures forever”

And it seems to make such a beautiful statement in those first 9 verses
• Where we read about God doing great wonders
• Or making the heavens or giving the sun or giving the moon,
• And each time we sing, “His love endures forever”

But people get to verse 10 and don’t have a clue what to do with it.
“To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

WHAT?

Or verse 15, “He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Or verse 18, “He slew mighty kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

And people omit those verses because they have a tough time seeing God smiting the firstborn of Egypt as an act of love or God drowning Pharaoh as an act of love or God slaying kings as an act of love.

That’s because it’s not about love as you want to think of it.
It’s about God’s loyalty to Israel.
It’s about His loyal love to His own.

And He is so loyal to His own that He slew Egyptians
In order to save His people because His loyalty never fails.

You get the idea?
• Well that’s the loyalty David is clinging to here.
• God will save, because God is a loyal Savior.

In fact, David is SO convinced of God’s loyal intervention on his behalf
That he actually prays for God to restrain His anger
And not be as harsh as He could be.

(11) “Do not slay them, or my people will forget; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield. On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they utter.”

• These are faithless men whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, but God don’t kill them.
• Instead, scatter them and make a perpetual reminder of them.
• Let people see that they are not pleasing to You and are under Your wrath.

Make an example of them.

Verse 13 seems to contradict that a little:
“Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more.”

• But that word “destroy” can also be translated “bring to an end”
• David can just be saying, stop their rule, stop their reign, strip their authority.
• And in light of verses 11&12, I’d say that is preferred.

And the reason David wants an example made of them
IS SO THAT GOD WILL ONCE AGAIN BE HONORED.

(13b) “That men may know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah”

And here we see again the reasoning why we don’t take our own revenge.
• Not only do we trust that God sees…
• Not only do we trust that God scoffs or is able…
• But we also trust that God saves, and because He saves we do not wish to rob Him of His glory as the Savior.

We wait and we trust for God to step in and save the day
So that the world may see that He is a loyal Savior to His own.

THAT IS DAVID’S BELIEF.

And this isn’t the only time you ever saw that in David.
1 Samuel 17:44-48 “The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.” Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.”

So we don’t take our own revenge,
Even when trapped in dangerous situations
Because we believe that God sees, God scoffs, and God saves.

Fierce men attack, but God sees Foolish men boast, but God scoffs
Faithless men curse, but God saves
#4 FETTERED MEN RETURN, BUT GOD SHIELDS
Psalms 59:14-17

Here we are once again confronted with the frustrating reality that
We do not war against flesh and blood,
But against the forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In short,
• A man may appear to be your enemy,
• And you may rise up and take your own revenge and even kill that man,
• But it will not be over, for the enemy has many servants at his disposal.

That’s why I call them fettered men, they are enslaved to the enemy.
They are held captive by him to do his work.

Someone else will arise. Someone else will come.

There will always be those who threaten us.

That will not go away.
The believer must learn to trust God in those situations.

And David does.
Even when this battle is over there will be another.

First there was a bear then there was a lion then there was a giant, then there was a king, soon it will be an entire nation of Philistines, and then his own son.
It never ends.

(14) “They return…

“They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. They wander about for food and growl if they are not satisfied.”

The sinful desires of the wicked will always be there.

But it is still wrong take your own revenge.
Instead trust that God will always be there to shield and to protect
And praise Him in the midst of your affliction.

(16-17) “But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.”

David’s confidence shines through doesn’t it.
Two words really seem to pop
• Strength or Stronghold
• Lovingkindness

David is convinced that God will
Always SEE, always SCOFF, always SAVE, and always SHIELD.

• He refuses to give in to the fear of man…
• He refuses to trust his own arm for deliverance…
• His theology is that God is real and God will take care of it.

For us in the New Testament, as evil men continue to come,
We rest upon the promise of our Lord.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

And that’s really the heart of this matter
As we said at the very beginning of it all, back in Psalms 57.

When we are tempted to rise up and take our own revenge;
At that moment do we really believe that God sees
And will vindicate and save His people?

Do you really believe that?

David did.
(We see in the N.T. that Jesus did)

And so to close the Psalm
We might also point out how David’s faith was rewarded

1 Samuel 19:12-24 “So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes. When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death.” When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?'” Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. It was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

God didn’t just deliver,
He showed His tremendous power over Saul in a humiliating fashion.

And at the end of that story, NO ONE TALKS ABOUT
How strong David was to outwit Saul and fight his way through.

Instead we talk about how faithful and powerful God was
To subdue David’s enemy.

David trusted God and God received the glory.

This is the calling for us.
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

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Scoffing During The Sermon
Luke 16:14-18
January 12, 2020

If you were with us last time you know that Jesus began a new sermon which He directed at His disciples regarding stewardship.

I think we can all agree that what Jesus had to say was very convicting.

He began by telling a story of
• An unrighteous manager who squandered his master’s possessions
• And then when he was caught, he actually cheated the master even more
• By going to his master’s debtors and slashing their debts in half.

He did this in order to make friends
That would welcome him after he lost his job.

And much to our surprise Jesus used that man as a POSITIVE EXAMPLE.
He, in effect said, “I wish My disciples were as shrewd as that man.”

What did that man do that solicited praise from Jesus?
He used wealth he couldn’t keep
To secure for himself a better future.

And though the man was wicked in many accounts of his life, Jesus still saw in that an example that He passed on to His disciples.

In fact, He told us:
Luke 16:9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

And we learned from Jesus about what true stewardship actually is.

According to Jesus money is NOT TO BE hoarded or stored or loved.
Money is to be invested.

But not invested in stocks or CD’S meant to make more money
Or to give us a feeling of security.
Money is to be invested in the kingdom.

He told His followers to use money to make friends that would eventually be in heaven and would gladly welcome you there.

In short, use your money to further the spreading of the gospel
And to see men saved.

And even AFTER that instruction HE CONFRONTED our underlying greed and covetousness by reminding us that stewardship and generosity
Are NOT MATTERS OF SURPLUS, BUT RATHER FAITHFULNESS.

Luke 16:10-13 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

In short, if we’re getting honest,
The real reason His disciples aren’t faithful with the little they have
Is because they don’t actually love God.
The real problem is that they love money.

And according to Jesus this does not bode well for their eternity
If they are not faithful in the wealth which God lets them use on earth,
Will they ever get the opportunity to have their own true riches?

In other words: If you won’t forsake this world,
Which you don’t own and you can’t keep,
Can you really expect to inherit your own eternal kingdom?

It was convicting to say the least.

And I don’t mind telling you that THE SERMON IS NOT OVER.

Jesus is going to close this sermon with another story
About a rich man who lived this whole life for earthly comfort
Only to find in eternity that it was not worth it.

And Jesus is just about to get to that story when He notices something.

THERE WERE SOME OUTSIDERS LISTENING TO HIS SERMON
AND THEY WERE SCOFFING AT HIM.

In the middle of a sermon which warns men that
Loving this world can actually cause you to lose eternal life
Jesus catches a group of people who are scoffing at what He is saying.

So before Jesus finishes the sermon, He actually stops His current message to address the scoffers who don’t like what He is preaching.

That’s why we call the study of this text: “Scoffing During The Sermon”

So Jesus will not take a short detour in the sermon
To address the self-righteous hypocrites who are scoffing at Him
Before He returns to finish His sermon.

And the heart of His message.
JUSTIFYING YOURSELF IS A FOOLISH DECISION
That’s what these men had done and Jesus is about to call them on it.

3 main points this morning.
#1 SELF-JUSTIFICATION EXHIBITED
Luke 16:14

Here we find out what went down as Jesus was preaching.

“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.”

FIRST we see that “the Pharisees…were lovers of money”

This should not surprise us.
• We saw it in Luke 14 when the Pharisee only invited his friends and not the
poor to his dinner so that he might be paid back by them.

• We saw it in Matthew 15 where we found out that they were unwilling even to
help their parents financially. They actually twisted the Law to say they
couldn’t help their parents because all of their money was dedicated to God.

• We see it in Matthew 23 and Luke 20 where we learn that they are those who
“devour widow’s houses”.

These men were “lovers of money”

AND THEN we find out that because of this greed, they “were scoffing at Him” as He preached.

It is a word that means “to deride; or to turn up the nose”

The word shows up again when He is on the cross.
Luke 23:35 “And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”

There it is translated “sneering”, but it is the same Greek word.

And that gives you some insight into the mood.
They didn’t like what they were hearing
And they were sneering and they were scoffing.

Jesus just preached about a sinful and greedy mindset
That can even keep a man out of heaven
And these Pharisees scoffed at it.

And apparently were making a bit of a scene as they did it.

What you have there is an EXHIBITION OF SELF-JUSTIFICATION.
• If you can hear Jesus speak about a sin so dangerous that it can keep you out of heaven
• And you can just turn your nose up at it like it’s not important
• Then obviously you have already judged that you are fine and don’t need to hear it.

But again I would remind you that
THIS SUBJECT on which Jesus preached is NO LAUGHING MATTER.

The issue of coveting and greed and a refusal to be generous
IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE.

Not only is not coveting one of the 10 commandments.
But it is also clearly a sin with far reaching destruction.

Remember the Rich Young Ruler?
Matthew 19:16-20 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

Now if you’ll remember the 10 Commandments
• You’ll remember that 4 of them point upward (as they relate to God)
• And 6 of them point outward (as they relate to man)

And when Jesus is proclaiming the Law to this young man He starts giving him those 6 that reach out to humanity.

But you notice that Jesus subbed out the final command.
He didn’t give the 10th commandment, instead He substituted it with the second greatest command which was to love your neighbor as yourself.

The command Jesus omitted?
“Thou shalt not covet”

Why did Jesus omit it?
Because that was the sin that covered this man’s heart
And Jesus was about to reveal that by asking him to give up all his possessions.

And yet it was this sin that kept the Rich Young Ruler from being saved.
IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS SIN.

If you’re familiar with Paul’s personal testimony
• You’ll remember that despite his impeccable resume as a Pharisee and a
Hebrew of Hebrews and one who ascended beyond his contemporaries
• Paul acknowledged one major sin in his life that he couldn’t kick and one
which literally caused him to declare himself a wretched man.

What was that sin?
Romans 7:7-8 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.”

Later, after Pentecost as the church was in full missionary form
• Philip began to preach and a man named Simon claimed to believe;
• He was even baptized, but later on he tried to obtain and use the Holy Spirit for
money
• His heart was revealed as being covetous and listen to what Peter said to him.

Acts 8:20-23 “But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

Despite this man’s public confession…
Despite this man’s baptism…
Peter saw his covetous greedy heart
And boldly proclaimed him a man still in bondage to his sin.

Loving Money is a HUGE SIN and one that keeps men from being saved.

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

James 4:1-4 “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

We actually heard Jesus say last week:
Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

It’s a real problem and a real bad indicator.

SO if Jesus preaches on greed and it convicts you or exposes you.
THE EXPECTATION OF THE DAY
Is that you repent and humble yourself
And ask for mercy and forgiveness from Christ.

That is what SHOULD happen.

But these men didn’t think they needed mercy or forgiveness.
They had already justified themselves.
• And so INSTEAD OF weeping they were scoffing.
• INSTEAD OF humbling themselves they rejected and mocked the preaching of
Jesus.

It was Self-Justification Exhibited, and Jesus wouldn’t put up with it.

#2 SELF-JUSTIFICATION EXPOSED
Luke 16:15

Jesus certainly was aware of their scoffing.
Even if they hadn’t done it outwardly, He would have seen their heart.
And He stops mid sermon to not only call attention to them
BUT TO FULLY EXPOSE THEM.

“And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

According to Jesus there are SOME REAL PROBLEMS
With their theology and their thought process.

Let me lay them out for you.
1) THEY HAD AN UNQUALIFIED DEFENSE
“You are those who justify yourselves”

What you have here is a sort of court-room scene
And a person without qualification standing up to offer the defense.

A defense attorney is only allowed to speak at the permission of the Judge,
And even then it is closely scrutinized and listened to
And the Judge has the authority to stop him at any moment.

Well here you have a man who feels like
He has the right to speak on his own behalf before the Judge.

And that is foolish because this man has nothing to say
That the Judge is interested in hearing.

It reminds of the story of Job
Who had determined to sort of justify himself before God.

God let Job know pretty quick that He wasn’t interested in his defense.
Job 38:1-3 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!”

And of course that went on for 4 chapters until Job finally did answer.
Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Job learned that he had no right
To stand before God in an effort to justify himself.

Paul said this is one of the purposes of God’s Law;
Namely to stop men from trying to justify themselves.

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

The point is that these men would justify themselves before God
But what they didn’t seem to understand is that
They were unqualified defense attorneys.

The Judge is interested in evidence not their excuses.

But that wasn’t their only problem in this courtroom.
2) THEY HAD A POWERLESS JURY
“You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men”

The Pharisees entire game plan and ambition was to prove to men how righteous they were.
• That’s why they sounded a trumpet when they gave…
• That’s why they prayed on the street corners in public…
• That’s why they neglected their appearance when they fasted…
• That’s why they broadened their phylacteries…
• That’s why they lengthened the tassels on their garments…

They were constantly putting on a show before men to prove how righteous they were.

There is one profound problem with that.
MAN IS NOT THE JURY

Men don’t decide your fate, Christ does.
John 5:22-29 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

Someday at the judgment you won’t get to plead your case before all the inhabitants of heaven to see if you can convince them to let you in.

THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

What will happen is the books of evidence will be opened and God will judge you based on your deeds to determine whether or not you get in.

Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Justifying yourself in the sight of men is as foolish as it comes.

But I’ll tell you another problem they had.
3) THEY HAD AN INVALID STANDARD
“but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

These Pharisees justified themselves before men, which was foolish enough.
But even worse was the fact that when they did seek to justify themselves THEY DID SO WITH THE WRONG STANDARD.

That is to say they always measured themselves
By an external human standard.
AND THAT IS NOT THE STANDARD THAT IS USED.

Remember what Paul said about the Judaizers?
2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.”

And yet that is how the Pharisees walked.
They stood before a human jury and justified themselves
By putting on an outward show
Of how much better they were than other people.

Luke 18:11-12 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’”

AND THEIR MOST GLARING PROBLEM IS THAT
They didn’t understand God’s standard of judgment…RIGHTEOUSNESS

Isaiah 28:14-19 “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.” Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place. “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place. “As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

When you stand before God, you are NOT judged by your own standards,
You ARE judged by His standards.

He determines, by His standard of righteousness,
Whether or not you are righteous.

Romans 2:5-11 “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”

God is the judge, and HE DOESN’T compare you to other people
And HE DOESN’T look at the outside.

God looks at the heart.
“but God knows your hearts”

His judgment is not just of what you do, but of your motives.

Do we not remember that penetrating sermon of Jesus in Matthew 5?
• Where He reminded us that just because you haven’t murdered anyone that doesn’t mean you aren’t guilty because everyone who is angry with their brother has committed murder in their heart
• Where He said it doesn’t matter if you haven’t physically committed adultery but if you have looked at a woman with lust you have done it in your heart

God’s judgment is regarding true evidence
And it is a judgment of your heart, not just your appearance.

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Do you see the problem of the Pharisees?

1. They did all their work on the outside
2. To satisfy a faulty standard
3. And to impress a jury who didn’t get to decide anything
4. All the while they ignored the true righteous standard
5. Of the One who would ultimately be their judge.

HOW FOOLISH!

AND MEN ARE PRONE TO DO IT.
• We hear those who are “work place justified” because all their buddies
agreed with them that they are ok.
• We hear those who are “momma justified” because their momma convinced
them that they are a good person.
• We hear those who are “social media justified” because all their friends on
Facebook said, “Girl, you deserve to do that!”

And people who justify themselves in such a way
Are those who ultimately scoff at the commands of God
Because they have already justified themselves in their sin.

But it is so foolish!
Let me show you the heart of the real Judge.
“For that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

So what is “highly esteemed among men”?

He’s talking about what man loves and desires.
And that has been clear from the beginning.
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Paul laid it out for us in Romans 3
Romans 3:13-18 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

That is what man highly esteems.
• Man loves sin.
• Man loves this world.
• Man loves the gratification of the flesh.

And Jesus says that these things are “detestable in the sight of God.”

The real Judge will destroy you for those things.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.”

You can follow the pattern of the world and let society be your jury,
But come judgment that will not benefit you at all.

The things of this world are “detestable” to God.
That is a word that means “foul”.
It is rotten and corrupt and it stinks to Him.

Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

That word “abominable” is the same word rendered “detestable” here.

Those people will be judged.

SO JESUS EXPOSED THESE PHARISEES
AS THOSE WHO WERE IN GRAVE DANGER BEFORE GOD.

Self-Justification Exhibited Self-Justification Exposed
#3 SELF-JUSTIFICATION EXPLAINED
Luke 16:16-18

Here Jesus goes even a step deeper
TO EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING
• When men ignore the commands of God in order to justify themselves in the sight of men.

“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached…”

That’s just a divine timeline.
• Until John all we had were promises and prophecies of the coming kingdom.
• But John was the forerunner showed up and started proclaiming the kingdom.
• Remember: “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

HOWEVER, THE UNIVERSAL PROBLEM IS THAT
Even though John and Jesus both told us how to enter the kingdom (“repent”) men did not want to enter that way.

Instead “everyone is forcing his way into it.”

What He means is that instead of repenting
Men are trying to force their way into it.

Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”

In effect men attack the kingdom.
• They attack its standards
• They attack its requirements

They seek to lower its walls and widen its gates

They aren’t interested in earning the favor of the King,
Instead they determine to scale its walls and enter it
As a hostile takeover not as submitted slaves.

This was evidenced in what Jesus said:
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus exposed the expectation of men.
• They just knew that if anyone was to enter the kingdom then someone would
have to come and show them which commands didn’t matter.
• In order to be pleasing to God someone would have to come and use their
sharpie and mark out the unimportant commands.

That is what the Rich Young Ruler wanted.
When Jesus told him to “keep the commandments” he said, “which ones?”

But Jesus was clear: ALL OF THEM!
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets”

Here in Luke He says:
(17) “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”

You’d have an easier time destroying the galaxy than you would getting God to omit even one dot or stroke from His righteous standard.

“It ain’t gonna happen.”

If your plan is to go to heaven by omitting God’s righteous decrees or lowering God’s righteous standard
Then you are in a world of hurt, because it won’t happen.

But that is why self-justifying men try to do.
• They try to destroy the righteous standard of God.
• They try to omit His Laws and disregard His ordinances.

And Jesus even gives an example.
(I realize verse 18 looks like it comes out of nowhere, but it doesn’t. Jesus is just giving another example of a place where the Pharisees did violence to God’s Law)

One way they assaulted God’s righteous Law was in the area of divorce.

Jesus says:
(18) “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.”

Why did Jesus bring that up? Because this was another area where the Pharisees abused God’s Law in order to justify themselves.

Matthew 19:3-9 “Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

The Pharisees actually told Jesus that Moses commanded divorce.

They are referring to:
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.”

The point of Moses was that
• All too often men in Israel send their wives away for some reason of indecency
• And then later, after she is remarried try to marry her again,
• And Moses forbid it.
• The only point of Moses was that divorce causes adultery.

But the Pharisees took verse 1 and saw Moses warning as permission.
THEY TWISTED what Moses said to mean that
They could divorce their wives for any reason at all;
Including if she didn’t cook good or wasn’t as pretty as another woman.

AND JESUS BRINGS THAT UP
As just another incident where they did violence to God’s Law.

They were men who mutilated God’s Law in order to justify themselves.

And do we not see them same today?
• We have churches and even entire denominations rewriting their doctrine on homosexuality in order to justify men who are sinning against God.
• The entire Methodist church is about to split over this issue.

THAT IS HOW SELF-JUSTIFICATION WORKS.
1. Men nullify God’s Law
2. They then replace it with their own outward standards
3. And then they defend themselves before other men
4. And thus they feel good about themselves
5. So good in fact that they mock and scorn when God’s truth is presented

BUT WHAT A FOOLISH ERROR
1. For someday those men will stand before the real Judge
2. Only to find that not one dot of that Law was nullified
3. And they will be judged according not only to what they did but according also to what was in their heart.

In short, scoffing at Jesus when He warns of judgment
Is a very foolish thing to do and Jesus revealed that here.

Friend, I would remind you that:
• God’s Law has not been removed.
• God’s righteous standard has not been nullified.
• God will still judge every man based on the good or bad he has done.

God’s Law has not been abolish, BUT it has been fulfilled.
• Jesus Christ came to this earth and He alone fully obeyed God’s Law.
• He kept every jot and tittle.
• He obeyed every command without flaw.

And He offers that righteousness which He earned
1. To every man who admits that they fall short of God’s righteous standard,
2. And runs to Him asking for forgiveness
3. And trusting in His righteous life and His death for their salvation.

When you stand before God you will be judged
By the righteous or sinful deeds you have done.
But it is possible to stand there clothed in the righteousness of Christ so that you are made acceptable.

When you hear Jesus speak of God’s Laws and the requirements of salvation,
• Don’t scoff, humble yourself and run to Jesus for mercy and righteousness.
• Don’t justify yourself, run to Christ who alone can justify you before God.

Romans 3:19-24 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

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The Encouraging Promise of Judgment
Psalms 58
January 5, 2019

Tonight we come back to our study of the Psalms and
We also return to that small mini-section that we identified last time.

Psalms 57, 58, 59, & 75 share a common distinction.
The subheading says they are “set to Al-tashheth”

And if you will remember from our study of Psalms 57 a few weeks ago,
This phrase means “DESTROY NOT”

And we also said that we find that interesting,
Especially when we read some of the things included in these Psalms.

For example:
(6) “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.”

When you read that a Psalm has a subtitle that means “Destroy Not”
It is a little shocking to find a verse in it like this one.

Or like in Psalms 59
Psalms 59:5 “You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.”

Perhaps you will remember from last time the explanation.
David doesn’t title these Psalms “Destroy Not” as a request to God.
David titles these Psalms “Destroy Not” as a command to us.

As we said, it is best summed up in that New Testament command:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

In short, the point of the Psalm is that believers should never take their own revenge, but rather they should trust that
God will one day avenge them and justly judge the wicked.

This concept was important to David because,
As we saw last time, he had to do this repeatedly with Saul.

David had multiple opportunities to kill Saul,
But he believed that vengeance was God’s prerogative, not his.

Instead David sang these “Destroy Not” songs to remind himself and those with him that God would avenge him when the time was right.

Even after sparing Saul’s life in the cave, David cried out to Saul and said:
1 Samuel 24:12-15 “May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. “As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘ Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. “After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? “The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

Later when David had another chance to take Saul’s life and Abishai even told David to take the opportunity.
1 Samuel 26:9-10 “But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’S anointed and be without guilt?” David also said, “As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish.”

So you understand then why David wrote these songs.
• Their ultimate purpose is to remind the church that God will one day vindicate them.
• Their ultimate purpose is to remind the church that they are not forgotten.
• Their ultimate purpose is to remind the church to choose to walk righteous before God and allow Him to avenge.

You see that again in this Psalm.
While Psalms 58 does not include a context in the heading.

The fact that both Psalms 57 and 59 deal with Saul’s unjust treatment of David
I think it is fair to assume this one was written during the same conflicts.

But since we don’t know that for certain, we can’t bank on it.
Instead, we look within the Psalm for context.

And for us the context, or the setting of the Psalm is found in verse 11.
(11) “And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”

The entire flow of the Psalm is to reinforce that truth.
• It is a song to encourage the church that God will reward them for their
righteousness.
• It is a song to encourage the church that God will judge the wicked.

And what an important reminder for the church even today.

Peter told us about mockers who would come.
2 Peter 3:3-4 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.””

We remember how Asaph looked at the prosperity of the wicked and wondered if he had chosen the right path.
Psalms 73:12-14 “Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence; For I have been stricken all day long And chastened every morning.”

We even read of the martyred souls who dwell below the altar who cry out in anticipation wondering how long it will be before God avenges them.
Revelation 6:9-11 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ” How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”

The point is that we are a people who
Hang our hats on the coming judgment of God.

If God does not reward righteousness then why are we righteous?
If God does not judge wickedness then why do we abstain?

In a world where men mock us for our righteousness
It would be easy to join them where it not for our steadfast belief
That there is a day of judgment coming.

Beyond that, think of the ramifications for even the gospel message.

We are well aware through our study of the Scriptures that
FOLLOWING JESUS IS COSTLY.

We see His value in parables like the treasure in the field or in the pearl of great value.

But we also see in those parables that anyone who would acquire those treasures would lose everything to do so.
• We read about losing father and mother, wife and children.
• We read about losing earthly inheritance.
• We read about losing reputation and freedom.
• We read even about people losing their life.

IT IS COSTLY TO FOLLOW JESUS.
So why do we follow?

Because we believe that only in Jesus
Can we obtain the righteousness which God requires.

One of the chief motivations for our faith in Christ
Is the fact that God rewards the righteous and judges the wicked.

If He does not, then why forsake this world?
If He does not, then why live holy?
If He does not, then why follow Jesus?

IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE CHURCH TO HAVE
A STEADFAST BELIEF IN THE COMING JUDGMENT OF GOD.

The reality of God’s judgment strengthens our resolve.

AND THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS SONG.
To remind you, that no matter how bad men around you get,
We stand strong and we “Destroy Not” because we believe God will judge

It is a fairly straightforward Psalm to study. We can break it down into 3 points.
#1 AN OBSERVATION REGARDING MAN
Psalms 58:1-5

Surely the purpose of these 5 verses is
To demonstrate that the wickedness of man is no joke.

We are NOT fighting an imaginary war.
We are NOT oppressed by an imaginary enemy.

We live in a wicked world among wicked people.

And in these 5 verses we get a concise description of the nature of man.

And let me just tell you that I find these 5 verses
To be so very important regarding even our Gospel Theology.

As you know, I believe, as do many of you,
In the doctrines regarding God’s Sovereign Election.

I absolutely believe in things like foreknowledge and predestination
And the sovereign salvation of God.

Those of you who share that belief however also know that
There is a vast number in the evangelical world who do not.
And we are prone to get into debates from time to time regarding these very doctrines.

At the top of the list for many is an intense desire to defend the autonomy of man.
It is the doctrines of Arminianism that wants to uphold the belief that
Man is both RESPONSIBLE and at the same time CAPABLE
Of choosing salvation.

• And we get various arguments like “God doesn’t make robots”
• And we get various arguments like “Man has total free will to choose”
• And we get various arguments like “A God who chooses is not a loving God”

I don’t have time to go over all the sort of “snipit” arguments we get.

But every time I find myself in one of those conversations,
It can ALWAYS be traced back to one major theological problem.

Those who take issue with God’s sovereign election
And who want to sort of defend this autonomous view of man,
They all have the same error in their theology.

THEIR VIEW OF GOD IS TOO LOW,
AND THEIR VIEW OF MAN IS TOO HIGH.

If you can ever get them to be honest,
What they really believe is that man and not God is actually the one who is sovereign over salvation because after all salvation is up to man.

Tonight I will remind you again why that is such a bad theology.

Because man, of his own free will, never chooses God.

Man is not good, he doesn’t choose good, he doesn’t want good,
And if salvation is up to man’s free will then he will never be saved

ON THE OTHER HAND

God is good, He does choose good, and it’s a good thing salvation is up to God because He actually chooses sinners to be saved
In spite of their sinful desire.

We could read Ephesians 2:1-3 again:
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Such a clear theological statement on “all” men.

DEAD IN SPIRIT – “and you were dead in your trespasses and sins”
• That means you had no ability whatsoever to “choose” life.
• We couldn’t choose.

DESIRING SIN – “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind”
• That means if you could choose, you wouldn’t have chosen what was right. Your very nature did not want God, it wanted sin.

DOOMED TO SUFFER – “where by nature children of wrath even as the rest”
• All humanity was headed to hell.

And that is what made that next verse by Paul so great.
Ephesians 2:4-6 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

We didn’t do it, God did it.
Those of the Arminian view of man’s autonomy and freedom of choice
Think way too highly of sinful man and give him way too much credit.

THEY NEED TO HAVE THEIR DOCTRINE OF MAN CORRECTED.

Well, Psalms 58:1-5 would be a great place to start.

It begins with 2 questions:
“Do you indeed speak righteousness, o gods?”

You’ll likely have a translation note in your Bible
That indicates that “gods” there can also be translated “mighty ones” or “judges”

It seems evident that David is not talking about celestial beings here.
Rather David is wanting to know
If the judges of earth ever choose what is right?

Stated more clearly next:
“Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?”

That’s a good question.
David looks at humanity and basically asks them
If they ever make righteous judgements?

… if they ever choose righteousness?

And then David answers the question:
(2) “No”

And again, we know why. THEY ARE DEAD!
They have neither the faculty nor the desire to choose righteousness.

Man doesn’t choose righteousness.
Man doesn’t choose God.
Man doesn’t make righteous judgments.

And to sort of support his assertion David gives 5 descriptors about man.
1) HIS UNRIGHTEOUS HEART (2a)
David says, “No, in heart you work unrighteousness;”

We have said it over and over, and it is such an important understanding.
Sin originates in the heart.

• You don’t sin because of your circumstances.
• You don’t sin because of your influences.
• You don’t sin because of your deprivation.
• You don’t sin because of you ignorance.

You sin because your heart is sinful.
Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

When we talk about man, WE AREN’T just talking about people
Who found themselves with no other option than to sin.
We are talking about people whose first desire was to sin.

It was in their heart. It’s who they are.

You have to understand that about man.
Man sins because he is sinful.

A man doesn’t become a murderer after he kills someone.
• He kills someone because he is a murderer in heart.
A man doesn’t become an adulterer after he has an affair.
• He has an affair because he has an adulterous heart.

Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

2) HIS VIOLENT HANDS (2b)
“On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.”

Because the evil is in his heart
It doesn’t take long before it is expressed with his hands.

And the picture is that of violence.
• Cain had murder in his heart and it wasn’t long before he murdered his brother.

God spoke of humanity in Noah’s day by saying:
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Man is just looking for opportunities to express wickedness.
It was first in his heart and then in his hands.

That is why James said IN ORDER TO BE SAVED:
James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

THIS IS MAN.
When you give them a choice,
And one without restraints they will always choose sin.

3) HIS EVIL NATURE (3)
“The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak likes go astray from birth.”

People seem to really want to battle on this front.
• Men are born good (they say)
• Babies are born good (they say)

Is that what David said?

Or what about David’s famous Psalm of repentance?
Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

What about Paul’s dilemma that he announced to the Romans:
Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

If men only become sinners after they sin,
Then how do you explain the time period between Adam and Moses?

• After Adam sinned man was removed from the garden and there were no commands on the earth.
• God’s commands didn’t show up until Moses.

• For 1500 years man lived without a command to break.
• And Paul said, “sin is not imputed when there is no Law”

Well if there was no law, then there was no sin to condemn men by.
SO WHY DID THEY KEEP DYING?

Because they weren’t sinful externally, they were sinful internally.
• They were sinful from birth.
• They came out of the womb defiant.
• They came out of the womb screaming and demanding their way.

Man isn’t just evil in motive or evil in action.
Man is evil in nature.
It’s who he is.

4) HIS DEADLY VENOM (4a)
“They have venom like the venom of a serpent.”

Romans 3:13 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;

That is deadly force. That is deadly deception.

It speaks of the level of their evil.
• Man isn’t just out to harm his brother…
• Man isn’t just out to aggravate his brother…
• Man isn’t just out to irritate his brother…
• MAN IS OUT TO KILL HIS BROTHER.

His level of evil knows no boundaries.
He is capable of the most heinous evil imaginable.

He can cut up unborn babies inside the womb
And he can cut off children’s heads for not following his religion.

He is a snake. (Of the same species as the one in the garden)

It’s no wonder John the Baptist had this to say:
Matthew 3:7 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

Man is wicked.

5) HIS CLOSED EARS (5b-6)
“Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers, or a skillful caster of spells.”

In short, he doesn’t even want to know the truth.

Paul said:
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

You can show him God and show him truth and call him to morality,
But he will cover his hands over his ears and resist it at every turn.

Like the day when Stephen preached:
Acts 7:51-57 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.”

This is sinful humanity.
This is what man is.

Romans 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

• They are evil to the very core.
• Dead in their sin.
• “None who does good, not even one”
• “None who seeks for God”

And this only further emphasizes their need
For God to do for them what they will never do on their own.

It only emphasizes that if man is to be saved
It will not be because he chose God, but rather because God chose him.

But that isn’t really the point of this Psalm.
Here David just wants you to understand
That he is well aware of the wickedness of man.

• He is well aware of what you and I are up against in this world.
• He knows how hard it is to turn the other cheek.
• He knows how hard it is to go the extra mile.
• He knows how hard it is not to take our own revenge.

And that leads us to the second point
That David wants to remind the church of.

An Observation Regarding Man
#2 AN INTERCESSION REGARDING JUSTICE
Psalms 58:6-8

This section of Scripture makes it abundantly clear that
David has been PUSHED TO THE LIMIT by the wicked around him.

He realizes that taking his own revenge is not the plan of God,
So David begins to pray that God will rise up on his behalf.

David here gives 5 analogies to God as he prays for the wicked to meet their day.

1) MAKE THEM POWERLESS LIKE A BROKEN LION (6)
“O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.”

• David here pleads that God would neutralize the threat that is the wicked.
• It is no secret that the destructive power of the lion is in his teeth.
• And David’s prayer is that God would knock his teeth out of his mouth.
• When he strikes me, I must turn the other cheek, but You can make vengeance for me.

2) MAKE THEM LEAVE LIKE A FLOWING RIVER (7a)
“Let them flow away like water that runs off;”

David understood that rivers by their nature leave.
If you set something in a river it will float away and never be seen again.

This is his prayer regarding the wicked.
• That God would simply cause them to leave.
• That God would cause them to go away.

That I might wake up in the morning and they be gone.

3) MAKE THEM UNSUCCESSFUL LIKE A HEADLESS ARROW (7b)
“When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.”

If you’ve ever tried to shoot an arrow with no tip,
You know it is not accurate in the least.

And even if it did hit you, it would not do any harm.
Without the head, it has no guidance and it has no weight, and it has no point.

The call here is to make them an empty threat.
• They can rage, and they can war,
• But let them be totally unsuccessful in all they plan.

Thwart the plans of the wicked David prays.

4) MAKE THEM FADE LIKE A DISSOLVING SNAIL (8a)
“Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along.”

(I remember slug tracks from my childhood)

Obviously a snail or a slug aren’t actually fading away,
But they do give that allusion.

And here David prays that they would do just that.
• Let them become insignificant.
• Let them lose their influence.
• Let them gradually and slowly fade into oblivion.

It’s simply a cry for them to be no more.

5) MAKE THEM UNSEEN LIKE A MISCARRIED CHILD (8b)
“Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.”

It is an analogy that means let them be unseen.
• Let them never show up at their appointed time.
• Let them simply not be here.

This is the cry of David against the wicked in the world.
• These men who are so evil and so bent on evil.
• These men who are murderous and deceptive and never satisfied with sin.
• These men who make bad judgments and oppress the righteous.

David is not able to take his own revenge on them.
David is not able to draw the sword and put an end to Saul.
We certainly do not call down fire on our enemies.

But David here does pray that
God might arise in justice and stop the wicked.
That God might make His holy zeal known
And thwart the plans of the wicked.

And this is the prayer of the righteous.

• Certainly we do not take our own revenge, but we do most certainly hate the evil of the world in which we live.
• We certainly pray for the salvation of sinners while we also pray against the success of their sin.

Take abortion for an example.
• We don’t blow up abortion clinics.
• We don’t assault abortion doctors.

But we would pray that God would put abortion to an end.
• We do pray that God would destroy every abortion clinic on the planet.
• We do pray that God would cause them to leave and never return.
• We do pray that God would make them unsuccessful in their Satanic schemes to kill the unborn.
• We do pray that God would let them fade away like a dissolving snail.
• We do pray that God would make them scarce, and unseen like a miscarried child.

We are not those who get militant against the wicked,
But we most certainly do pray that God would stop it.

How could we not?

I don’t know where this concept was formed in the church
That God loved sinners so much that He didn’t even oppose their sin.
BUT IT’S NOT TRUE.

The church is the pillar and support of the truth,
And while we do not attack the culture,
We do most certainly confront it and pray against it.

2 Corinthians 10:4 “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

We follow David’s intercession here
For we have no other recourse in this life against a world so given to evil.

And we do not lose hope.
We trust and we believe that God will judge and God will avenge,
And God will vindicate.

And that is the high note on which this song ends.

#3 AN EXPECTATION REGARDING VENGEANCE
Psalms 58:9-11

Verse 9 is nothing less than a warning to the wicked (which we also give)

“Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.”

David reminds the wicked that
• They can gather a pot,
• And they can throw the righteous into it.
• They can gather branches and they can build a fire under it.

But ultimately it will not succeed.
God has “a whirlwind” coming which will at once sweep them all away.

It is one of the great hopes of the believer,
That God will judge and vindicate His children.

We certainly leave room for the wrath of the Lord.
We do not lose heart in our tribulations for we know our God will save.

And that is the final praise of the song.
(10-11) “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”

It may sound harsh, but it is certainly true.

On the day when God returns to judge the mighty Babylon for all that she did to afflict God’s people. We read:
Revelation 18:20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”

On the day when Christ returns, and slays the wicked, and blood runs through the streets as high as the horses bridles for a distance of 100 miles. We hear the song:
Revelation 19:1-4 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

The prophet Isaiah ended his prophecy with a picture of the day when the Lord finally judges His enemies.
Isaiah 66:18-24 “For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. “I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. “Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. “I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says the LORD. “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the LORD. “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

There is coming a day when God’s justice will not only be rendered,
But will also be celebrated.

It causes David’s theme of “Destroy Not” to seem all the more worth it.
It causes Paul’s admonition:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

It causes that admonition to be sweeter to recall.

And we are reminded once again that
• No matter how wicked or evil man may be, and no matter how successful they may seem.
• It is not for us to destroy them, but rather to pray and humbly wait for the vindication of the Lord.
• For God will judge the world and He will indeed reward His children.

Based on this reality, the apostle Peter asked a fitting question
That I’ll leave you with tonight.

2 Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

Since God will judge, what sort of people ought you to be?
• That’s a good question, and one that highlights our need for the justification of Jesus, for apart from Him we would also be wicked.

• It also reminds us that our hope is not in this fallen planet, but we are looking for a new one where righteousness dwells.

SO THERE’S THE SONG CHURCH.
The world is certainly evil and for this we must pray.
But rest assured God will not tolerate it forever,
There is coming a day in which your righteousness will all be worth it.