Sunday, November 21. 2021 AM

So the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forevermore As I said

Christmas choir begins tonight because of that Choir will be meeting in here. And then if you choose not to be in choir, you'll be over in the fellowship hall

So we'll be meeting in there also in the back if you haven't picked up your directory updates

Look for your name and your slot in the little mailbox back there. There'll be some manila envelopes There may be some new pictures and and addresses in there for new members

And then there's also some sheets in there that you may need to just update some address information or phone number information for existing members

So if you have any more updates to that let Tristan call know and she will help make those updates

Mentioned it last week, but the church Michael and a few other guys have some a podcast that they're putting together and that'll get started up and we'll be able to listen

To it starting the first of the year 2022 but if you have any questions

Q &A or ideas, please shoot those to Michael either via email or there'll be a section on the church website

Where you can kind of fill out a form and submit those that way Thank you to everybody who helped contribute to the

Thanksgiving dinner last week It was a blessing to be together to share in a meal to share in fellowship as well

And then continue to be in prayer for our deacons particularly particularly the new ones that we have here at the church

Any other announcements before we start worship this morning? We're gonna have a time just for prayer and quiet reflection

And then after we're done with that Brian will come up and open us in prayer father in heaven that the privilege of being here this morning is

He's eternal To be with brothers and sisters Heirs to the kingdom forgiven by the blood of Christ Encouraged by the fellowship

Taught by the word led by the Holy Spirit Lord may our lives reflect

This gift This gift This gift that no one else no thing else could provide

Humble our hearts May our gratitude be daily

May you expand our understanding and knowledge of your word And We look forward to that day when one day we will see you face -to -face

And rejoice eternally With those Saints who've gone before We're now

Lord. Let us worship you and praise you And thank you

We Ask these things in Christ's name Amen Well, good morning.

We're gonna have a call to worship and if you would stand This is from Psalm 72 verses 5 through 7

And if you haven't caught on and it took me some instruction from my My boss over here

Now each month we're using a psalm as a theme and this is 72 this week

So if you say this with me May they fear you while the

Sun endures and as long as the moon throughout all generations

May he be like rain that falls from the mown grass Like showers that water the earth in his days.

May the righteous flourish and peace abound Till the moon be no more

From your Psalms for worship 72 a Oh And a familiar one in your blue books 563 count your blessings appropriate song for for this week

I Have Oh Oh Scripture reading this morning comes from the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah chapter 7 starting in verse 18 and we'll be reading through chapter 8 verse 4

So if you have your Bibles, I encourage you to turn there follow along. I'll be reading from the ESV the

English Standard Version Yours may vary a little bit if you've got a different translation But I think you'll be able to follow along.

So Isaiah chapter 7 starting in verse 18 In that day the

Lord will whistle for the fly that as at the end of the streams of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria and they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thorn bushes and on all the pastures

In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the river

With the king of Assyria The head and the hair of the feet and it will sweep away the beard also

In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep and Because of the abundance of milk they give he will eat curds for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey

In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver

Will become briars and thorns With bow and arrows a man will come there for all the land will be briars and thorns

And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe You will not come there for fear of briars and thorns

But they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread Then the

Lord said to me Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters

Belonging to Maher Shalal Hashbaz And I will get reliable witnesses

Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jebe Jeberekiah to attest for me

And I went to the prophetess and she conceived and bore a son Then the

Lord said to me Call his name Maher Shalal Hashbaz For before the boy knows how to cry my father or my mother

The wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria This is the word of the

Lord would you pray with me Almighty God God Great and merciful father

Thank you for giving us your word And may we give attention to your word this morning as we read of the certainty of your judgment on nations

With that same certainty, we know that there will come a day When all things will come to an end on this planet and You will judge

The righteous and the unrighteous you will separate the sheep from the goats you will as with a razor

Strip away all the things that we tend to trust in But that provide no hope and Lord as we have read in this passage of Not only the certainty of your judgment, but the promise of deliverance and a deliverer

You have kept your word in that by sending Jesus The Messiah the

Anointed One In whom is all our hope and trust

Lord may we look to Christ today and be kept safe from the judgment that is to come

Lord even if in these days in which we now live we find ourselves in seasons of distress and want

Lord help us to remain faithful To keep our eyes upon Jesus You are faithful You are good

And we give you thanks for your mercies that are new every morning in Christ In his name we pray amen

You may be seated the next three songs come from again a heart of gratitude

Come ye thankful people come that's going to be five five nine We gather together 561

And then a praise chorus that Dennis Jernigan wrote Thank you,

Lord Oh It's Oh Oh Oh Oh I You For all that you're going to do

You promised and all that you are All that has carried me through Jesus I thank you

And I thank you Free Good morning, dear friend.

Let's go to the Lord together in prayer Father we thank you for this day

We are grateful to you for all that you've done and for all that you're doing indeed We thank you that you have reconciled us through your son

Jesus Christ It is the same Christ who is truly God and truly man who reigns today at your right hand

Who is above all? Who is the answer to our greatest need we thank you for him and for all the blessings we have in Christ Lord we ask that as we come to your word today

That we would love it Because it is of you. It is your words Help us

Lord to gain wisdom to know how to live our lives and to know thus saith the

Lord therefore This is how we will live Please fill us with more thankfulness this coming week and in the coming years of our lives

Lord that you have given unto us Again, Lord, we thank you and we pray all this in Christ's name.

Amen We'll be in Psalm 5 this morning Psalm 5

Earlier in the book of Psalms, we have the morning and evening hymns Psalms 3 & 4 respectively

These were Psalms that were written by David when he experienced the political rebellion of his own son

Absalom And these were difficult times for David to put it lightly Yet we see from these

Psalms that David responded with faith Knowing that God will sustain his saints and be a comfort and a confidence for them even in dark times

What a joy that is to know and now we come to Psalm 5 where yet again

David is facing evil The situation specifically is unclear to us.

Some have made the point that it's another morning hymn during Absalom's rebellion some have said that this is during the reign of Saul and Whenever this took place we do know

That this Psalm has spiritual wisdom and guidance with what we should do when faced with evil

Now, let's go to the inspired text and see what David writes what the Holy Spirit writes I would encourage you to stand for the reading of God's Word as we hear what our

Lord says Psalm 5 To the chief musician with flutes a psalm of David Give ear to my words.

Oh Lord consider my meditation Give heed to the voice of my cry my king and my

God for to you. I will pray My voice you shall hear in the morning. Oh Lord in the morning

I will direct it to you and I will look up For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness

Nor shall evil dwell with you the boastful shall not stand in your sight.

You hate all workers of iniquity You shall destroy those who speak falsehood the

Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man But as for me

I will come into your house and the multitude of your mercy in fear of you I will worship toward your holy temple

Lead me O Lord in your righteousness because of my enemies make your way straight before my face

For there's no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb.

They flatter with their tongue Pronounce them guilty. Oh God, let them fall by their own counsels

Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions For they have rebelled against you

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in you Let them never shout for joy because you defend them let those also who love your name be joyful in you

For you O Lord will bless the righteous with favor. You will surround him as with a shield praise

God This is his word. You may be seated Evil was a very potent reality that constantly confronted

David in a variety of ways in his lifetime While he was blessed of the

Lord He still had to contend with evil in many ways and such is the situation For every saint of the

Lord being much blessed by him but still having to contend daily with evils that confront us in our workplaces in our church and our nations and in our very homes

And so with that in mind How can a Christian respond to evil around us?

How should we respond to that which we face? And God has given us guidance in this particular

Psalm when faced with evil pray Pray This is where we find

David when he's confronted by sin he comes before the Lord There are several different aspects to his prayer in Psalm 5 and we'll take a look at each one

But before we begin I'd like to make clear that the Bible the Word of God gives us much more guidance and knowledge about how to address sin and how to Contend against it this solution that we find this guidance in Psalm 5 is not an exhaustive answer

But the Word of God gives us wisdom to know how to respond to evil We need only look at our

Savior Jesus Christ while he was ministering on earth. How did he respond to evil?

With godly questions with rightly timed actions and reactions With wielding the

Word of God effectively against lies and he also took time to pray So with that in mind, let's examine

David's prayer in Psalm 5 The first aspect of his prayer in Psalm 5 is that when faced with evil he prays with a sincere heart in verses 1 through 3

David sets the stage for the rest of the psalm beginning in these verses He opens with a genuineness of heart and mind

We see specifically how he prays with a sincere heart before the Lord first By being real in verses 1 & 2

Take a look at those verses verses 1 & 2. He says give ear to my words Oh Lord consider my meditation and give heed to the voice of my cry

David offers up the words of his mouth the meditation of his heart and the voice of his cry

He is transparent before the Lord. He comes not with falsehood not with a half -hearted attitude

But he comes being real before the Lord David prays in two ways with his mouth and with his heart yet.

They're both unified in seeking God How good it is for the saints of God to be real in prayer

To not hold fast to lies or distractions during time with the Lord But to offer up both the words of the mouth and the meditation of the heart

How good it is to be real in prayer knowing that we were once rebels against God But have been brought into the kingdom by Jesus Christ We can be real and open and it's because of Christ that God hears our prayers as a father hears his children

Because we are in the Son and we are therefore sons of God praise

God Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ himself gave us guidance on being real in prayer in the gospel of Matthew Christ says and when you pray you shall not be like the hypocrites

For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men

Assuredly I say to you they have their reward But you when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly and When you pray do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do for they think they will be heard for their many words

When faced with evil pray with a sincere heart being real before the Lord Trust Christ and offer up to the

Lord the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart casting all of your cares upon him for he cares for you and Of course, we can come before the

Lord as sons of God because we have faith in the Son Jesus Christ Hallelujah Hallelujah Next David prays with a sincere heart being humble

Excuse me in verse 2 we see that he refers to God as my king and my

God David comes humbly before the Lord knowing him to be supreme and sovereign over every aspect of his life

Every aspect Here is David who either at this time in his life was the king of Israel or was close to the king of Israel Yet he comes to the

Lord saying you are the true king you are over all things Whether we acknowledge or not that the

Lord is supreme over all things This does not change the reality of God's utter rule over all things

The Saints come in prayer. We come humbly giving glory and honor to the Holy One We confess we agree with God that he is both

King and God Similar words were spoken by Thomas after he beheld the risen

Christ and Beheld the marks of death on his body Thomas said my

Lord and my God Saying that is everything It's everything

Here is the true anointed of God in the form of Jesus Christ the one who the Lord declares.

You are my son Today I've begotten you ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession

All authority has been given to Christ who is our Lord our Savior our Shepherd our

King and our God Those who approach the throne of grace with pride and arrogance will not be heard for God resists the proud

But he gives grace to the humble Praise God when faced with evil pray with a sincere heart being humble before him

It is Christ who rules over you and all else including the evil you face right now

Let this reality be your comfort and rest in the battle against evil David prays with a sincere heart being devoted and we see this in verses 2 & 3

For to you I will pray my voice you shall hear in the morning. Oh Lord in the morning

I will direct it to you and I will look up David makes the commitment.

I will pray you shall hear my voice in the morning in The morning before he begins his daily activities or addresses the evil any further

He comes before the Lord praying to him David also demonstrates devotion by directing his prayer to the

Lord and the ESV translates this part of Psalm 5 as Prepare a sacrifice for you

With intent and direction aimed toward the Lord David prays and offers up his prayer to the

Lord Prayer is not a mindless act that requires little to no attention.

This is something has thought behind it. It has Devotion behind it.

Prayer is a gracious gift one that should be practiced with thankfulness and devotion The Saints should commit to prayer and make time in their days to speak with the

Lord Researching this part of Psalm 5. I ran across a quote from Charles Spurgeon and Regarding praying in the morning

Spurgeon said this an hour in the morning is worth two in the evening While the dew is on the grass let grace drop upon the soul

Let us give to God the morning of our days and the morning of our lives

Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night Devotion should be both the morning star and the evening star end quote

If we ever lack devotion in our prayers look to Jesus Christ Remind yourself of the gospel of who he is and what he's done for you

Remember Jesus Christ Know it's because of him that we can come to the Father that we have access a direct access

To God the Lord of all the universe Therefore having been justified by faith.

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom also we have access by faith in this grace in which we stand

Also Look to Christ as our example of being devoted in prayer From the gospel of Luke it says he himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed

He withdrew he secluded himself from everyone else to spend time with the

Lord in secret prayer When faced with evil pray with a sincere heart being devoted when trials come do not forsake your time with the

Lord But continue with faithfulness devotion praying to him trusting him with everything

David prays with a sincere heart also as he awaits an answer in verse 3

David not only prepares and lays his prayer before the Lord, but he looks up he lifts his eyes and waits with anticipation

For an answer and rest in the knowledge Dear friend that if you are a child of God in Christ the

Lord will hear your prayer as a father hears his children and He will answer not according to our will not according to your will

But according to his perfect and goodwill, which is for his glory and for our good in Christ's name we pray

First John says now this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us

We look to Jesus again as our example Consider his time on the night of his betrayal in the garden.

What did he do? When faced with a coming evil when faced with the wrath of God to come knowing exactly what it will be like What he will face what evil he will confront

Christ comes before the Lord secluded in isolation and he prays father and while he prays he sweats drops of blood and he prayed

He prays with a sincere heart asking the father to hear his words Consider his meditation and heed the voice of his cry in Christ's prayer.

He is sincere. He is humble. He is devoted and he awaits an answer an

Answer according to God's will not his own Listen to Christ's words Father if it is your will take this cup away from me

Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done the word of God is clear pray with a sincere heart awaiting an answer according to God's goodwill and He will give you an answer

Meditate upon the example of our beloved Christ when faced with evil he prayed and let us do the same

Next in his prayer David considers God's holy character in two particular ways first God's holy intolerance in verses 4 through 6 and God's holy mercy in verses 7 and 8

Concerning God's holy intolerance. This for sure is not a word. We often use to describe

God. Is it our Culture and our churches now would say to use a word to describe

God like so is blasphemous. It's wrong for they believe that God is

Accepting of oneself for who they are how they behave and how they identify themselves

But we see something different in the Word of God we see something different in Psalm 5 don't we

We see God's holy intolerance on display in Verse 4 take a look for you are not a

God who takes pleasure in wickedness nor shall evil dwell with you God takes no pleasure in sin.

He does not seek it out. He does not find satisfaction or entertainment in it

Sin finds absolutely no favor before God whatsoever No sin dwells with him

The Lord is holy separate and set apart in his utter transcendence above all else

No evil finds favor with him and no evil dwells with him That is evil does not come to God's door and asks if he can spend the night

No Both sin and the sinner are before God he sees them and he will address them but not in a favorable way

Verse 4 acts as the general introduction to how God views evil But now in verse 5

David becomes a bit more specific The boastful shall not stand in your sight you hate all workers of iniquity

The proud will not stand before God Those who would stand on their own merits their own strength who would say look at me and how great

I am I make my stand with pride They will not stand before God for he resists the proud

They will not stand on their own merits or abilities But will face a holy God and will have to answer for their proud hearts and their boasting

Next we see that God hates Workers of iniquity those who practice sin

Habitually on a continuous basis day in day out night after night year after year

Once again, we see another word we don't often ascribe to God Many would say that the

Lord does not hate he is in capable of doing so And we have to ask ourselves the question.

Is this something that God is capable of doing does the Lord hate? According to God's holiness and the

Word of God. Yes He does so We must be cautious here.

However, for we must know that when God hates he does so in a perfectly just and good way

In a perfectly just and good way. He does not sin He does not hate in a sinful or wicked way

James says do not be be deceived my beloved brethren every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and Comes down from the

Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning The Lord cannot act against his nature

He is holy and in a right and just way we see that his holy wrath is set against sin and against evildoers

Verse 6 you shall destroy those who speak falsehood the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man

God destroys the liars is not truth important to God does not all truth come from him from his words

He is intolerant of those who would tell falsehood and falsehoods and lies rather than the truth

Those who would take truth and twist it pervert it into something it is not twist it into something else entirely lies dangerous lies that keep people from the truth and the

Lord abhors he loathes and detests the bloodthirsty and Deceitful those who eagerly seek to shed blood and those who ever so subtly manipulate with deception

In These three verses we see that God is intolerant of evil and evildoers

That he hates sin and the sinner Why is he so intolerant of these people in these things?

Why does he hate these things? Because he is good dear friend Because he's good and holy and just I appreciate the illustration used many times by Ray Comfort Many of you have probably at least heard this man who does street evangelism and during his conversations

He brings up this image of the mind If you were to see a judge who would be brought a guilty criminal

This man has done horrible acts of sin. The evidence is clearly there Everything lines up.

This man is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt What if the judge were to take that case and not give it his full attention?

To not give proper Attention or proper justice to the case.

What if you let the man go free? Is he a good judge? on the other hand

What if the judge was ready for the case? What if he was prepared he examined the evidence clearly and fully and what if he gave right justice to the man?

who was on trial and Using this illustration dear friend

I want to make sure that I'm not commenting on current events, but I'm trying to show you with this illustration

The holiness of God and I appreciate this illustration, but it pales in comparison

To the holiness of God to how he is intolerant of sin and evil and how no evil will stand before him

He will be sure as a good judge that all evil will be dealt with every sin and every sinner for all of time

For he is that good David when faced with evil prays with confidence in God's holy and tolerance

He rests in the fact that God is not a mixed God sometimes good sometimes bad sometimes cruel sometimes nice No, it was a comfort to meditate on the holy character of God when confronted with evil

He ran to the one who is altogether good altogether is the goodness of God and his holy and tolerance a confidence for you dear friend in your prayers

To meditate on his holy intolerance, and how he is altogether good and just For we indeed face many evils today

And with that in mind can we see David's list of evils in our own society in our own land in today's world?

Yes, we do we face those who take pleasure in wickedness and many allow sin to dwell with them

How are people entertained in this world? Just look at Hollywood Look at the newsstands look at the internet

You see that people let sin dwell with them. They practice sin habitually on a continuous basis

We see the boastful they have the best of lives. They have found truth within themselves and They say you can only save yourself

They don't need anyone's help. They are perfectly fine the way they are We see many who speak falsehoods

Politicians who conceal important truths and news outlets that promise to give you nothing, but the truth

But promote falsehood and lies and where do we find the bloodthirsty and deceitful?

at your local Planned Parenthood The workers there ever so ready to shed blood and ever so ready to deceive people saying it's not a life

It doesn't feel it doesn't have a soul There is evil in the land

But like David We run to the one who is altogether good who rules over all of it and who is in control

We trust in him we rest in him a God who is altogether good One who'll be sure that justice is done for every sin and every sinner

The Lord is our confidence when faced with evil. The Lord is our comfort For he is intolerant of wickedness

For he is good dear friend He's not only good, but he's merciful

And this is the next aspect of God's character that David prays with confidence in verse 7

It begins with a contrast but as for me I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy in fear of you.

I will worship towards your holy temple But as for me David recognizes that he stands in the camp of the blessed and is not in the camp of those facing

God's holy wrath David comes to the house of God in the multitude of God's mercy

It is mercy that grants David access to come to the Lord and worship him and how does he worship in fear

Yet again, this is another spiritual reality that is not often promoted of promoted or spoken of in our culture or in our churches the connection between the fear of God and worship

David while mercy has granted him access to come in to worship He comes recognizing that he is the creature coming before the

Creator the creature coming before the Creator By the Creator's mercy alone not by the creature's merits or strength, but by the

Creator's mercy He sees life from God's perspective The fear of the

Lord is the beginning of wisdom the Word of God tells us when man recognizes who God is and who he himself is

The fear of God should stir should stir up deep worship as it does with David verse 8

Lead me O Lord in your righteousness because of my enemies make your way straight before my face

Having come before the Lord due to holy mercy and coming in fear and worship David now makes his central request of this psalm when faced with evil

David seeks that God and his holy mercy would grant him guidance Lead me

O Lord in your righteousness because of my enemies David does not rely on his own strength or follow his own way, but seeks

God's way Lord how would you have me react to these enemies is not

David saying in a sense not my will But thy will be done We know that the word tells us that there is none good.

No, not one. So what makes the difference for David? If we know that there is none who seeks after God none righteous all have fallen short

What makes the difference for David that he can stand in the camp of the blessed before the

Lord and seek guidance from him? What makes the difference for this man who is also a sinner?

Who will at times shed bloodshed? Who will deceive? What makes the difference?

the difference dear friends is God's holy mercy. Yes, the Lord is holy and just and intolerant yet praise be he is rich in mercy

It is his mercy that makes the difference for David and it is his mercy that makes the difference for sinners like you and like me

For like David, how do we fit the mold of his description of the wicked in verses four through six?

Do we not take pleasure in wickedness and let evil dwell with us? Are we not boastful of ourselves?

Do we not speak lies? Act deceitfully and perhaps not commit physical murder of another but look with unholy hatred in our hearts

We are workers of iniquity Dear friend. You are a sinner. I am a sinner and God is right and just to be intolerant of this world of Planned Parenthood of dirty politicians and he's right to be intolerant of you and me

But praise be his name. He is merciful He grants grace unmerited favor and where is

God's mercy and grace most clearly seen at the cross of Jesus Christ Where God's holy intolerance and his holy mercy meet here is

Christ our holy mercy who by his personal work Grants us access to come to God not as guilty sinners dear friend, but as forgiven sons of God forgiven sons

Let this be known to you dear friend when we were dead in trespasses and sins Guilty sinners yet God who is rich in mercy

Even when we were dead made us alive together with Christ for by grace You have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves

It is the gift of God not of works least anyone should boast let this be known to you today

Through faith in Jesus Christ by trusting in him to be your sufficient mercy from God by grace

You have been saved from the wrath of God therefore repent and believe

Trust Christ hold fast to him if he have not done that do that today dear friend

If you have trusted Christ continue in him continue in faith continue to trust in grace

You need him as much as you do today as that day You first trusted in him and may you be able to say with David, but as for me

But as for me the Lord is my salvation Salvation in Christ means newness of life

It means that we can come boldly before the throne of grace through the multitudes of mercy found in Jesus Christ alone

Now we are free to worship in fear of God. We are free to seek God's will No longer are we slaves or flesh or the ways of the world or the devil

For those not in Christ know only bondage to sin Now like David we can come before God in prayer and ask not my will but thy will be done

Lead me O Lord in your righteousness How would you have me respond to evil? How would you have me live?

Not to gain salvation with you But out of obedience and out of joy and out of thankfulness for what you've done for me for how you have saved me how should

I then live Lord and God is good to give us guidance to show us how to live as image bearers of God and To bring us home one day finally in a new heaven and a new earth

To experience the fullest joy with Jesus Christ in all of his glory

When faced with evil, do you think of God's character? Are there elements of his character that come to mind that are a comfort for you in your prayer as you are confronted with evil?

Whatever evil you are facing in these days dear friend pray Pray with confidence in the holy character of God know that he is intolerant of evil that he is altogether good and Know that he is merciful as well

We see both of these at the cross of Christ may this bloody cross of Jesus Christ be your comfort and Confidence in the fight with evil and now we come to the last aspect of David's prayer in verses 9 through 12

David prays Trusting God with the wicked and trusting

God with himself To begin this portion of the psalm David again turns to the state of his enemies

He turns to their character who they really are and he turns them over to the

Lord in verses 9 and 10 Verse 9 says for there is no faithfulness in their mouth.

Their inward part is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb They flatter with their tongue

David further describes the evil before him. We see that the wicked are particularly very specifically

People who have no truth within them whatsoever no truth

There is no faithfulness in what they say. The only thing you can count on with what they say is

What that what they speak is not true. It never is true Contrast this reality with the faithfulness of God with the truthfulness of God How often was

God faithful with the Israelites? How often when God speaks is it true? But here with the enemies of David There is no truth whatsoever.

Not every once in a while. They'll have something to say but absolutely no truth whatsoever

He says their inward part is destruction Who they are on the inside is nothing but evil their their very heart is wicked and corrupt a

Gospel of Luke says an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks David goes on to say their throat is an open tomb out of their mouth comes nothing but deadness

Nothing good is within them. Have you ever talked with someone with bad breath?

Like really bad to the point you are having a conversation and you secretly run to the

Lord in prayer and say Lord, please help me But what is it like when you come across someone who might not have bad breath?

But only deadness comes out of their mouth Their speech smells like the grave their mouth and their speech and The thoughts and words that are pouring forth are wicked reflecting of their inner heart the inner nature of that person

David continues to describe his enemies as those who flatter with their tongue Those who deceive with a false sense of reverence who try and gain extra favor for their own situation

Who try and benefit themselves at the expense of others in the epistle of Jude?

Jude writes that there were apostates among the church he wrote to who were not of the faith, but would mouth great swelling words flattering people to gain advantage and Flattery is used this way.

Is it not to deceive people to make one's own situation better and David noticed this clearly in his enemies in Verse 10.

He says pronounce them guilty. Oh God, let them fall by their own counsels Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions for they have rebelled against you

After further note of the wicked before him who they are David now turns his enemies over to God He seeks that God would act rightly in light of what these wicked have done who they are and how they have sinned

May they be found guilty and punished for it. May the sin they have committed be what trips them up in the end

Be their snare May God cast them out for they have sinned against him

Earlier in verse 8 David prays lead me O Lord in your way in your righteousness make your way straight before me

He prays not my will be done, but thy will be done and now here in a similar fashion

Lord may your justice be done For David is not seeking personal retribution or personal revenge or personal payback in this situation

But he's seeking that God would be just and would deal just judgment on these people who are sinners

He turns them over and he trusts God with the evil with the wicked he faces at this moment in time

As a good judge, we trust that the Lord will deliver unto the wicked what is due them He will grant mercy on whom he will grant mercy and on everyone else.

He will give them their proper wages for the Lord is good and we take comfort we take rest don't we dear friend and that Christ has taken all the punishment that we deserve all of the justice that is due us

Christ has taken fully and completely There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus What a glorious Savior we have

To fully save us and to fully satisfy God's holy wrath, which is altogether good and altogether holy

Praise God we trust God with the evil in the land today

We must trust him with the evil we have and the evil we face According to God's Word.

We have guidance to pray for justice But also for mercy to be granted to strive against the darkness of this present evil age

But also to love those in it and lastly

David Ends his psalm trusting God with himself in verses 11 and 12

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in you let them ever shout for joy because you defend them

Let those also who love your name be joyful in you for you Oh Lord will bless the righteous with favor.

You will surround him as with a shield David now moves to the last part of his psalm and he says that those who trust in God let all those rejoice

Let them shout for joy Why? Because the

Lord defends them he surrounds them with favor as with the shield David trusts the

Lord with the evil he faces, but he also trusts God with himself David knows that the

Lord has granted them. Holy mercy how he can come before the Lord and fear and praise He has freedom to live as he should as an image bearer of God He can seek more mercy and guidance for every moment of his life

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and the heavenly places

In Christ We know as Christians dear friend we are blessed in Christ.

We are favored because we are in Christ because he is the blessed and favored son In a sinful fallen world where we ourselves were once spiritually dead.

We are now saints alive because we trust in Christ We are blessed in him.

We find joy in him such a joy that it cannot be quenched by the evils around us Unlike the enemies of God.

We do not speak forth evil our mouths do not Pour out wickedness, but we shout for joy because of Jesus Christ Praise be unto the

Lamb who is worthy who has made us right with God who has reconciled us to the Father And may this be a comfort to you dear friend that you are favored in Christ You are protected in him and the

Lord will hold you and Your names your your your days are numbered on this earth but up till the

Lord will call you home and Until that time the Lord will protect you provide for you all that you ever need and all that you need

When faced with evil, let us pray trusting God with ourselves When we confront the evil of this world of our particular time

Let us pray with confidence and comfort that we are secure in Christ That we trust him with our eternal salvation with every breath we take with every meal we have and with everything

We trust him. Psalm 5 recounts a real person David Encountering real evil in his lifetime as real as the evil we face today

And we gain from David example by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when faced with evil pray

Pray seeking God would give you wisdom and guidance to know how to further act how to obey him and how to live out your faith

Let's close with prayer now father.

We thank you for your word. How does all together? Sufficient to build us up into the people you would have us to be

We thank you for the wisdom and guidance that gives us Lord to answer every question that we have

It is truly good Lord to know that we are reconciled to you in Jesus Christ and That when faced with the evil of this world, we can pray we can go to one who is altogether good

And we thank you for being altogether good. We thank you for being holy and merciful and Just and for granting us mercy beyond anything we could ask or imagine

We thank you for the blessings we have in Jesus Christ and we thank you that He experienced the cross for us and that cross of Jesus Christ for your holy mercy and holy justice meet as Where we find forgiveness and grace

May we remember Jesus Christ in the days to come and in Christ's name we pray. Amen Thank you brother for that truth.

Would you stand as we sing our Song of benediction, it'll be in your psalm book 100

D make a joyful noise And that's what we should do Oh Grace and peace be to all of us.