Fighting for Faith

Psalm 9 & 10 Fighting For Faith Introduction: Psalm 9 and 10 can be taken as one Psalm - this is the way the Septuagint has it and a few christian traditions follow this pattern for two reasons the flow is seamless between the two and there is no title to Psalm 10. These two Psalms follow the pattern of many other Psalms in that what is being reflected on is the reality of two worlds, or two kingdoms. The Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of man and how we make sense out of God being God (the Biblical description of God - All Loving, All just, All Knowing, All powerful) and the world being in the state that it is in. This is a Psalm about fighting for faith - The Psalms are a great place to wrestle with God Though faith may be based on the past record of God’s faithfulness or the future promises of God, it can only live in the present. Otherwise it is not faith. Contrary to popular belief faith is not just believing something. It is a word of action, like hope.. If I truly have faith or hope in something or someone it will be seen or will be acted out in my daily living. Many of the Psalms help is in fighting for faith. This is where the scripture often leave us in the shadowlands. We Know that Christ has died for our sins, and was raised for our justification, we know that he will return again in power and glory, that he will judge all unrighteousness and usher in his kingdom or righteousness… we know that if we have trusted in his saving death - we are a part of that. But we still have to live in the in-between where people still get sick and die, where murder and hatred abound, where families fall apart, where greed and pride and selfishness abound, where racism and bigotry are rampant...where the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Psalm 9 celebrates God as Judge and King, whereas Psalm 10 focuses on mankind as predator and prey - showing the brutality of the world around us.. are we prepared to face this world? How does one handle this sort of world, and not become so jaded or totally removed… The answer is - by deep contemplation and prayer upon Yahweh the Judge and the true King of the World. 1. Thanksgiving and Praise 1. Four times in a row David says, “I will…” and each time it follows with thanksgiving or praise. Don’t misunderstand what’s happening here David is not buttering God up in order to get what he wants. What he is doing is aligning his heart with his head. David is doing what paul exhorts us to do in Philippians 4 - to think on things that are true, lovely, praise worthy… and as we do the peace of God will rule in our hearts…. 2. I will give thanks to the LORD - YHWH (I will confess YHWH with all my heart) - his name is his character - Hear how God describes himself in Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 1. What does it mean to confess the LORD? It’s not just to say God exist, or that Yahweh is God, nor simply to affirm his goodness or character.. anyone might be able to do this - but that is not a confession or a praising with the whole heart… 2. It is to believe and trust that all that Yahweh is ultimate reality. It is to look at the world around you and almost with a tone of hopeful defiance say, “This is Yahweh’s universe we are living in” - “It’s Beyoncé’s world and we’re just living in it” (Alarming thought) , rather it is God’s world and we’re just living in it (comforting thought…). 3. To believe that He is THE TRUTH; He is THE LIFE my life was meant to feed on; that He is the true love or beauty my soul longs for; that His kingdom is the only kingdom. 4. To confess or pledge allegiance; to fully align with - with my whole heart I believe this and with my life I live according to this truth..That is what David is doing here. 3. “I will remember or recount - all of your wonderful deeds” - a term referring to God’s wonderful acts in Creation or salvific acts in Israel’s history - deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea and the defeat of Pharoah’s army.. the many battles of the Canaan conquest… Why does scripture record these things and talk about them over and over again? 1. That all who come after might know that what God did for the Israelites, lovingly rescuing sinful, broken, rebellious people by grace, he can and will do for you - he will deliver you - Of course it isn’t going to look like the parting of the Red Sea but we must learn to discern the more subtle ways in which God, each day, comforts us, sends help our way through wisdom from his word, or a friend, or a book, ways in which he delivers us from our fears…David built his faith by cultivating a heart of gratitude and praise..Besides all that we know a significantly greater deliverance than slavery in Egypt - by Christ we were delivered from sin, slavery, and death..all through the cross. 2. True and lasting gratitude can only come from a heart that has been touched by grace. To the degree the we understand that everything is a gift from God, that we deserve nothing but judgement, rejection, and punishment from God - only to the degree that we know that will our lives be lived in continual gratitude and praise to God. Martin Luther said it so well, “Before the almighty, we are beggars - all of us”. 4. “I will be glad and rejoice in you” 1. David is not saying that he will be glad because of his circumstance but that he will be glad and rejoice in God no matter his circumstance. 2. Here is a thought I’ve been coming back to all week. If I just keep my eyes on Jesus, who he is, and what he has done; what he says about me, and how he promises to love me no matter what, to be with me no matter what may take place, to turn my bad for good, to persevere goodness for me, and to bring me safely to him through and after this life.. then I can live each day in gladness, joy and peace. I can love my wife and my kids, my roommates, my neighbors friends and enemies.. I can handle whatever life throws at me - because he has me. “I am his and he is mine, I’m bought with the precious blood of Christ.” 3. I quote this all the time, but I do it because it is absolutely essential doctrine for living in this world - “Only Love of the immutable can bring tranquility. God alone is the place of peace that cannot be disturbed, and he will not hold himself from your love unless you withhold your love from him.” - Augustine 5. I will sing praise to your name, O Most high. 1. I will only say this about this verse.. I have found that what you sing, is what you really believe 2. Vs. 3-6 Recalling now God’s faithful deliverance - The wicked's transience vs. God’s Everlasting reign and judgments in vs.7-12 1. “When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence. For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 2. But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.” 1. Listen to the things that David list out - The LORD’s Eternal sovereignty, justice, righteousness, uprightness, a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble, faithful, the avenger of blood, the one who does forget the afflicted…. 3. David reminds himself and us that The Lord is the sovereign king over the universe - his throne is established, and it is established toward justice..In the words of MLKJ - “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”. Dr King spoke of this in regards to the City of God.. and that’s exactly where this psalm leads us… back to contemplating and longing for God’s kingdom. 3. Contemplation #1 1. Reflection - What thanks we owe you God! The one who forgives all our iniquity, who heals all our diseases, who redeems our life from the pit, who crowns us with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies us with good so that our youth is renewed like the eagle's. - the faithful one, the just one, the merciful, the holy, the true one. Our savior, our friend, the lover of our souls! Let’s take a moment to praise God individually. 1. True and lasting gratitude can only come from a heart that has been touched by grace. To the degree the we understand that everything is a gift from God, that we deserve nothing but judgement, rejection, and punishment from God - only to the degree that we know that will our lives be lived in continual gratitude and praise to God. If my life isn’t characterized by thanksgiving and praise am I really rooted in God’s grace? 2. Confession - LORD, we move on so quickly from your many deliverances without deep continual gratitude… yet your mercies are innumerable, they are daily, they are so personal.. In some way I must think I deserve your love, that I’m really not that bad off on my own… confess your lack of gratitude, confess your utter need for God’s daily, moment by moment grace. “I need thee every hour most gracious Lord, no tender voice like thine can peace afford. I need thee, oh, I ned thee, every hour I need thee. Oh Bless me now my savior I come to thee.” 3. Repentance - You who never forget us and are always mindful of our needs - Help our hard and ungrateful hearts put you in remembrance. Bind our wandering hearts to you! Help us to see that no one is as faithful as you, no one loves and accepts us like you, No one has or can rescue us as you have! Turn our hearts to you, O LORD. 4. Scripture 1. “There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will live in safety.” Deuteronomy 33:27-29 2. “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. - Ps 145:13-16 3. Prayer - Lord God we thank you again and again that you have never given up on us; though our love is often cold, you hold us fast. Thank you again and agin for your great mercy. Lord Christ, may the great deliverance that you have given us through the cross be our greatest boasting, may it be where we abide. Keep us living in the shadow of the cross! May we confess you as Lord and your kingdom as the only kingdom all our days. - “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” 4. Psalm 10 - Mankind Predator and Prey - Read 1. In Psalm 9 God Is King and Judge; he is present and acting; in Psalm 10 God is distant.. and Mankind is the one present and acting as Predator and Prey. 2. The characteristics of the wicked - Arrogant, renouncing the LORD, Denial of God’s presence, care or judgement. The wicked are prosperous, their mouth is filled with cursing, lies and oppression, he murders the innocent, takes advantage of the helpless, takes advantage of the poor, he crushes the helpless… Again he says, there is no God, he doesn’t care, I’ll never be judged.. the World and those around him is his for the plundering and the taking. 3. Who hasn’t felt this way? Maybe you feel this way even now - Where is God, doesn’t he see what is happening in the world - Because of greed people are starving, and being blown to pieces. Because of hate and racism families and neighborhoods are being ripped apart.. Because of radical false religion people are being hacked to pieces, raped and displaced.. where is God? I’m overwhelmed by my finances, my marriage is killing me, my kids are breaking my heart, my boss is a heartless jerk and I hate them, my sins or my addiction is overwhelming me…where is God? 4. Listen to this Psalm. The Psalmist is approaching God with brutal honesty, He’s upset, he’s angry at the injustices that he sees; he’s angry about the way the world is, often he’s even angry at the way he is, angry with his own sins, moral failures, inconsistencies and brokenness. But these don’t drive him from God, they drive him to him. He seeks to be rooted in truth and ready to submit to God’s wisdom and God’s ways. While the Psalms allow us to express our raw emotions to God they simultaneously seek to shape them into righteous ones. 1. “The Psalms, in a sense, give you the permission to pour out your complaints in a way that we might think inappropriate, if it wasn’t there in the Scriptures. But on the other hand, the Psalms demand that you bow in the end to the sovereignty of God in a way that modern culture wouldn’t lead you to believe.” - Tim Keller 1. I bring this point up because many of us take a cursory reading of the scripture and think or say, “well I got nothing from that reading” Really? (Bart Ehrman’s question) 2. Did you stop and actually think about your life in any deep significant way, or think about the world around you in any deep significant way. I challenge you to take what is burdening you, what is causing you to pull away from those around you, what is causing you to pull away from God, what is causing you to doubt God’s goodness, what is causing you to be indifferent or hard hearted towards the way of the world and to bring it before God, and wait and listen to his word and to what he will say to you. 5. Even in this Psalm, though David lays out this complaint to the LORD he ends the Psalm with these words - “The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.” 1. How did David know that God would hear the afflicted, that he would strengthen their heart, that God would bring justice to 2. 3. 4. 5. the fatherless and the oppressed, that God would remove all terror from the earth?? David knew(He lived in) the stories of God’s faithfulness and had experienced them himself. - But we know to an even greater degree that God has done all these things and will do all these things because of the work of Jesus! The Cross is the greatest demonstration of God’s hearing those in distress, of strengthening our hearts, of bringing justice to all, and removing all sin and evil from the earth. Christians know he so loves the helpless and the afflicted, and oppressed that he literally became one of them and “by oppression and judgment he was taken away.” -Isaiah 53:3-8 says, “He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone.” We know he cares, we know he loves us - because he came to earth not to bring judgment but to bear it on the cross, so that when he makes all things new he can judge and destroy all sin and evil without destroying us… 5. Contemplation #2 1. Thought - Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Where is God; doesn’t he see; doesn’t he care? - What thoughts or situations come to your mind when you hear these words? 2. Confession - When we see evil running rampant. When we see disease killing our loved ones. When we see injustices taking place from broken down legal systems, to ISIS and other terrorist organizations, to global hunger, to homelessness and refugees, to rape and sex trafficking, from corporate greed to each individual trashing God’s creation, from hate crimes to racism - we doubt your goodness, we doubt your justice, we doubt your presence and your love. 3. Repentance - Forgive us, O God - How can we ever doubt your Love, your care and your presence. You are the only true God who came to this earth to bear our guilt, shame, sin and judgment that we might be forgiven, that we might be healed, that we might be part of a new creation - Your kingdom where righteousness dwells forever. 4. Scripture - “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:35-39 5. Prayer - Holy and Beloved God, it is hard to hope when all seems lost. The darkness has a way of blurring our vision, of taking our eyes off of your goodness and promises. It’s hardest to see your light when our eyes are shut – shut to you, shut to each other, and shut to the suffering that is just barely disguised by thin smiles and haunted eyes. Yet, your light shines through the cross of Christ. Your hope abides with us, awakening us to your love, and calling us to share your light with each other. Help us prepare a way for you in our hearts, that your love might open our hearts to see you fully in the world. Lord you have brought us safely out of a slavery greater than Egypt and prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Have mercy on us today that we might not be overwhelmed by evil but that we would overwhelm evil with good, humbling trusting in your power to save. Amen. Conclusion: How does one handle this sort of world we live in, and not become so jaded or totally removed… The answer is - by deep contemplation and prayer upon Yahweh the Judge and the true King of the World as seen through the work of Jesus. Think through these things daily and the peace of God will be with you.