Psalm 94: Comfort from the Future

In times of crisis. It's natural for us to cry out to God for help to plead with him to set things right.

Part of what setting things right is is judging the wicked because the crisis is come upon the godly by the triumph of the wicked.

Now at a deeper level. The Psalms teacher and we know that the crisis for the godly has been brought on in part by the sinfulness of the godly, but we certainly don't like trials and difficulties and it's easier to point the blame others when they occur among the many things that the Psalms teachers is that God uses trials for good. Dr. Robert Godfrey is our teacher today on Renewing Your Mind as we continue his series.

Learning to love the songs as we begin it's important to point out that the Psalms are divided into five separate books each with its own theme were continuing to look together at book 4 of the Psalter, the book that is seeking comfort in the face of crisis and I was making the point in the last lecture that in book 4. Very often, comfort is sought by looking backward looking backward to God's faithfulness and creation. Looking backward to God's faithfulness in his covenant with Moses and the chosen people and the idea is the God who is so powerful in creation and so faithful in making covenant with the people he delivered from Egypt can be counted on to help his people in the midst of the crisis that they are currently facing.

But in this lecture I like to us to look at Psalm 94 which breaks with the pattern. One of the things I think is always interesting in Hebrew poetry is that it seems to delight in surprising us with artful variations on the normal way of doing things so often the center is important.

And then sometimes a center is. Or sometimes it's the real center or sometimes a diverse off-center will see that in some other ways. Perhaps as we go along, but here in Psalm 94 we have the psalmist encouraging God's people in the face of the crisis they've been facing to seek comfort not from the past but from the future and maybe that connects even better with us as Americans who tend to be future oriented. Always looking for, not backward. We are a people unfortunately that are inspired by Henry Ford.

Statement history is bunk that you know let's get on with it. So this is a Psalm, maybe more. For Americans looking forward deriving comfort from the future for what God is going to do and here at Psalm 94. Once again we see the importance of the center of the Psalm.

The center of this Psalm is verse 12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline.

Oh Lord, and whom you teach out of your law. Blessed is the man that sound familiar several times in the Psalter. We have statements about the blessed man and of course the most notable one is the very first Psalm the opening words of the Psalter. Blessed is the man here in verse 12. It's the same word for blessed as we have in Psalm one but it's a different word for man. The words in Psalm one are blessed is the male. It is not the inclusive word for males and females and that we could go into that if we had time. I think the reason is that ultimately that blessed man is pointing to the King, who ultimately points to Jesus and that's why Paul Psalm one applies to men and women. The focus is on the man. There this man is again male, but the word is kind of more than a young man perhaps on the theme is in the distress that's being phased young men in particular should be looking to the future. Maybe that's over reading it but anyway it's Blessed is the man I preached on this Psalm recently and I entitled the sermon, how to be happy. I said we Calvinists are way too theological.

Why not have a how to serve on how to be happy and the perhaps the we could sing. Although I wouldn't. Don't worry, be happy to know we can have a little happy music IB music how to be happy.

While this word Blessed is is an interesting word. There you know two words in Hebrew for blessed, there's the act of God blessing which is barroom or the action of blessing. Sometimes God blesses sometimes people bless God and so it can be the same word but it's an action of blessing, chorus, here is a word ashtray which is more the sense of being in a state of blessedness or in a state of happiness.

It's good to be the man who knows God, and who is loved by God and in the midst of this crisis. This Psalm is thinking about what it means to be a happy person in the Lord blessed sounds more spiritual, but happy captures part of the word is not just a radically spiritual state. It is an emotional state as well and it's encouraging us in the face of difficulty still to know that we are a blessed and happy people in the in the Lord about the Psalm begins with the recognition of the fact that the president is troubled, a begins with these really striking words all Lord God of vengeance, O God of vengeance Shine Forth His Own Pl. in Psalter God is called the God of vengeance and clearly this is a prayer for judgment. This is a prayer for God to come and rectify the mess that is being faced. This is a call for judgment, and in our world sometimes were very distressed to think of God in judgment, but the psalmist is not distressed. He thinks it is right that God should come and set things right and part of what setting things right is is judging the wicked because the crisis is come upon the godly by the triumph of the wicked.

Now at a deeper level. The Psalms teacher and we know that the crisis for the godly has been brought on in part by the sinfulness of the godly. They haven't listen to God's word. That's the message of Psalm 81 and so God has brought nations against his people to carry them off into exile and yet God says those people are also wicked for mistreating my people, and so there is a judgment coming to vindicate the people and the Psalm and this with a declaration of that verse 23 he will bring back on them.

Their iniquity, that is the wicked and wipe them out for their wickedness, the Lord our God will wipe them out. That's the judgment that will come and that's very unpopular in the world in which we live today. There are all sorts of perversions of Christianity, Michael Horton, colleague of mine at seminary wrote a wonderful book called priceless Christianity. The tragedy of churches that claim to be Christian inclined to talk about the Bible and claim to talk about God and never really got around to find out Christ and who he is and what is done well. We could also probably write a book on judgment, less Christianity Christianity that wants only to think about the love of God, only to think about the mercy of God, only to think about the kindness of God and we need to keep those things balanced.

But we have to hear the scripture that reminds us that God is a God of judgment as well as a God of mercy, and this Psalm reflects that that in the distress of the man who is happy in God he derives hope from the fact that God will one day appear in judgment and so he knows God is already a God of righteousness, but is prayer is the God will shine forth in who is he's not seeing God's judgment is not seen God's righteousness manifested and he wants to see it.

He wants to have it manifested and that's the prayer that he prays to rise up a judge of the earth repaid to the proud what they deserve, relatively, as we've seen before another Psalms. That's that's tough language. In a lot of ways but you know every time we pray, come quickly, Lord Jesus were praying for judgment and were praying for deliverance but where praying for the end of the day of salvation, and so we we have these mixed dimensions to our spirituality. We really want to see the conversion of the wicked.

We know that today is the day of salvation. We pray for conversion. We pray for missionaries and evangelists, and pastors in their preaching. But we also pray that one day this day of salvation will come to an end by everything being set right. But setting things right is also a day of judgment and we have to let that function in our theology because the Scripture hasn't function that way and because it is a message that the world ought to listen to the world likes to think that it can turn and change. If it must've turn and change at all whenever it wants to do that and the Scripture says to us over and over again.

No, don't presume to presume a number in Luke 13 Jesus is asked is it few that will be saved to an interesting question is, is it few that will be saved and member of Jesus answered he said you strive to enter in it. No matter whether many will be saved, or fuel be. Say what matters is what you be safe and so you better be striving therein because today's the day of salvation.

Don't wait because one day the master is going to go into the feast and you can close the door and you lock and try to get in and you won't be able to what solemn thing to say was it's kind of in the spirit of this song that people mustn't presume on the grace of God, so this Psalm is reflecting as we saw in some ways. In Psalm 49 on the importance of understanding.

Look at verse eight. Understand old dullest of people that were dullest relief probably better would be translated old brutish people go animal like people of people have no more understanding than an animal root. Why don't you understand when will you be wise is understanding that's crucial to being happy, you know happiness is not just a kind of mindless experience, but this Psalm says it's a mind filled experience.

If you know what God's doing.

If you know God is if you know the tragedy of being outside God then you're going to be happier because you you know the way the world works and that's really what's what's happening here night.

I think in some ways this is a song for our time isn't ever looked around and thought what a mess. What a mess. I know why this hit me so hard, but recently it was reported in San Diego County that there are 12,000 people in the county who are being humanly trafficked know what is that mean it means in effect that they are slaves of the sex trade 12,000 slaves in San Diego County and if you put it that way.

Most of them young women and and where's the moral outrage you know, there seems to be governmental outrage about all sorts of things going on Porzio Ridge about this where's the action against this. If it's if it's 12,000 in San Diego County. How many is it nationally. I do know how to extrapolate that II think it's possible that there is many slaves in America today is a word the beginning of the Civil War.

Where's the outrage about the weather. So outrage because people are dull because people don't have a standard of righteousness, I know we can drive sin out of the world as nice as it would be but to be just sort of in different you know the way the news reporters reported on television and studies have shown today that there are 12,000 trafficked people in San Diego County and will be a fair next week at the fairgrounds.

I mean it's it's just kind of mindless information and and this Psalm gives voice to a sense of outrage about what's going on.

Verse 30 Lord, how long shall the wicked. How long shall the wicked exult, they pour out their arrogant words, all the evildoers boast how long is a world going to go on when that arrogant and thus stupid seem to run everything. Now we have to be very careful at this point the way because it's easy when we come to moral outrage in the Scripture to allow ourselves to be morally outraged on her own behalf, and Scripture says no no no no you're not to be morally outraged on your own behalf or to be morally outraged on God's behalf.

Don't let your outrage just be a reflection of your own feelings and convictions in politics or whatever your outrage has to be an outrage on behalf of God in his holiness and his holy law, and then there's some legitimacy to even there we have to be careful what we don't want to go through life as angry people doing like that distresses me in the world in which we live. The Florida Christian seem angry all the time and there's plenty to be angry about, but I think above all, we as Christians ought to be characterized by compassion and love. Most of the time, but that doesn't mean we have to give up understanding that doesn't mean we have to give up wisdom and what is wisdom say wisdom says to people who would be happy, don't envy the wicked. Now they may have a lot of influence. They may have this appalling level of arrogance about themselves. But remember in the first place that they are lawless and there's always a penalty for lawlessness. Verse five they crush your people Lord, and afflict your heritage.

They kill the widow and the soldier and murder the fatherless is not a bad description of abortion in our countries and murderers of the fatherless, the defenseless phthisis this is the picture verse six the the terrible affliction of the week who can't defend themselves, who can't help themselves and so are crushed by the wicked and in God.

It is saying to his people. There has to be a commitment to the holiness of God's law.

We have to have a passion about that at the same time we have to see that the folly of the wicked is not only that there are lawless, but to put it in the vernacular of our time there also clueless. Listen, they say the wicked verse seven.

The Lord does not see the God of Jacob does not perceive really, really, is that is that the position you want to stake your soul on the God doesn't see the God doesn't know verse eight. Understanding dullest of the people. When will you be wise he who planted the ear does he not hear. He who formed the eye does he not see Q disciplines the nations does he not rebuke Peter teaches man knowledge the Lord and sort of giving up on the rhetorical questions he wants a clear answer. Does he who teaches man knowledge the Lord. He knows the thoughts of man and one of the thoughts of man breath breath vapor just gone and and that's a characteristic of these root initially unwise wicked people who think the guy doesn't hear God doesn't see in God doesn't rebuke in God doesn't know and and and again you can see the poetic power here.

You can summarize these verses by saying God knows everything that's true, but to unpack it. If you will, or develop it poetically bring so much more conviction and power and insight to us and so the happy person the blessed person is not the one who wanders off into the lawlessness or the cluelessness of the wicked, but instead embraces the discipline of the Lord.

That's what this introversive know what discipline of the Lord is in mind here road course it could be any kind of discipline but in light of what we've seen in book 3 of the Psalter. I suspect the discipline is particularly that severe discipline of the Lord, for he said his people and ask none of the flex discipline. Scripture recognizes that we prefer rewards to discipline but here in the wisdom and the happiness of the blessedness of the one who knows God's help, we appreciate your discipline as you teach us out of your law, we want to be a learning people the same time I was studying this. I just happen to be reading Calvin's lectures on Zephaniah and was a little weird but I commend them to the really very good and and in their Calvin said very interestingly to my mind the beginning of true religion is teachable.

That's I like that the beginning of true religion is teachable, is how many people are teachable. They know it all already and and here the happy man is the one who is willing to be taught by God out of his law and that person is given rest.

I was intrigued to look that up and see is this Sabbath that's given no it's quiet it's quiet that's given serve as Paul said in first Timothy, may we live in quiet and peaceable days. That's what God is going to give the happy man happy woman rest from days quiet from days of trouble until a pit is dug for the wicked. That is until the day the judgment comes in and the image of the pit being dog is not that God is inactive, but the time for the judgment hasn't been fulfilled because the pit isn't fully dog and so again if we pause and meditate on that image when we think God is inactive. In fact, God is preparing the judgment, and there is this this vision and then moving from this concentration on the folly of the wicked.

He moves to the fatherly care of God for his people and wonderful promises here then are following on verse 14 for the Lord will not forsake his people. He will not abandon his heritage.

They may try to afflict the heritage of God but God will not abandon his heritage. He will not forsake them. And that doesn't just mean that he won't forget them but down to verse 16, who rises up for me against the wicked who stands up for me against evildoers. If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of sign. So God is not only knowing he is also active in the help of his people and here is that common recurring but wonderful word help God's help in Calvin's Geneva. Every service began with the words, our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Quotation from Psalm 128 and that was not original to Calvin. It was something he saw was done in the ancient church and so, in the ancient church in Calvin's church, and Dutch reformed churches through the centuries.

The service begins with those wonderful words of promise and comfort and assurance. Our help is in the name of the Lord. God, maker of heaven and earth. If you want help, there's a good place to find help the one who made heaven and earth and then he goes on when I thought my foot slips, your steadfast love the Lord help me up and then this wonderful verse 19 when the cares of my heart are many your consolations, your comforts cheer my soul now that there's a verse worth memorizing them talk much about memorizing and I'm for as good a memory as I have.

I have real trouble memorizing things WordPerfect and so I'm not a great example of memorization, but memorization is valuable and what a wonderful verse to memorize when the cares of my heart are many, your comforts cheer my soul.

There's there's a wonderful promise for crisis.

There's a wonderful comfort from the book of comforts and as we come to the close of this Psalm and the not only are we sort of speed driving through the Psalter as a whole, but were speed driving through most of the psalms as well and I not covering everything but but look at that verse 22 is another word of comfort in in this world where the wicked seems so powerful the psalmist as the happy man is able to say verse 22 but the Lord has become my stronghold and my God the rock of my refuge, no, those phrases are to be found over and over again in the Psalter God is our stronghold of God is our refuge and and again they may become so common that we neglect the force of it but this is recloser that's a wonderful thing that God is our protector, the God surrounds us stronghold if it cannot be reached, and that's the promise that we have is Dr. Robert Godfrey from his series, learning to love the psalms you're listening to Renewing Your Mind.

And that, thank you for being with us today. The psalms are an incredible source of comfort for us at any time, but especially during these challenging days.

They really show is through holy, inspired language how to process her grief are fear our sorrows as we are portions of Dr. Godfrey series that we hope it's a good reminder that God's word offers us hope and help in every situation will send you all 12 messages from the series onto DVDs when you contact us today with your gift of any amount or number is 800-435-4343. You can also make your request and give your gift online@renewingyourmind.org and it's amazing how the psalms address the wide range of circumstances we encounter in life times of joy and peace times of crisis and turmoil and in the series. Dr. Gottfried bites is to go with them to gain a better understanding of how to read the Psalms. I do understand them and and really how to use them as a guide for prayer will send you the series 12 lessons at all. When you call us at 800-435-4343.

You can also reach us online@renewingyourmind.org and in advance let me thank you for your gift of any amount will tomorrow. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson joins us with a message from his series, the sermon on the mount and here's a preview know it's true, isn't that many of us as Christians. Eliza cluttered up with so many times so many things Jesus is giving us a principal here that brings us back to basics up the subject's so we pray for our daily bread.

We hope you'll join us Thursday for Renewing Your Mind